The Jingjiao Documents (Chinese: 景教經典; pinyin: Jǐngjiào jīngdiǎn; also known as the Nestorian Documents or the Jesus Sutras) are a collection of Chinese language texts connected with the 7th-century mission of Alopen, a Church of the East bishop from Sassanian Mesopotamia, and the 8th-century monk Adam. The manuscripts date from between 635, the year of Alopen's arrival in China, and around 1000, when the cave at Mogao near Dunhuang in which the documents were discovered was sealed.
Restored Mogao Christian painting, possibly a representation of Jesus Christ. The original work dates back to the 9th century.
By 2011, four of the manuscripts were known to be in a private collection in Japan, while one was in Paris. Their language and content reflect varying levels of interaction with Chinese culture, including use of Buddhist and Taoist terminology.[1]
There is no agreed upon name for the collection of texts as a whole. The Japanese scholar P. Y. Saeki described them as the "Nestorian Documents,"[2] which has continued to be used.[3] More recent scholars have moved away from the language of "Nestorian" and simply use the Chinese term, describing them as "Jingjiao Documents."[4]
Sinologist Martin Palmer has attempted to describe these collectively as sutras to connect the documents to Buddhism, given their tendency to use Buddhist terminology. But this is partly related to the names of a subset of the Jingjiao texts which bear the character jing (經). While it is often used to translate into Chinese the Buddhist idea of a sutra, Palmer explains that the character actually means "sacred literature."[5] The character is also used to speak about "classical texts," such as the Confucian Four Books and Five Classics (四書五經), and in the modern rendering for the Bible, Shengjing (聖經).[6] Many of the Jingjiao texts do not use jing but lun (論), which carries a different meaning of "discourse" or "treatise."
List of textsedit
The following list gives some approximate English titles for the various writings and an indication of the present location of the manuscript where known. Scholars are still debating the best translation for many of the terms.[1]
Discourse on the One God, Part Three (一神論巻第三; Yī shén lùn juǎn dì sān), once known as the Tomioka manuscript; now held in Osaka, Japan, by Kyōu Shooku library, Tonkō-Hikyū Collection, manuscript no. 460. It includes the following three texts:
Discourse on Almsgiving of the World-Honored One, Part Three (世尊布施論第三; Shìzūn bùshī lùn dì sān).
Discourse on the Oneness of Heaven (一天論第一; Yītiān lùn dì yī).
Parable, Part Two (喻第二; Yù dì èr).
Sutra on the Origin of Origins (大秦景教宣元本經; Dàqín jǐng jiào xuānyuán běn jīng); now held in Osaka, Japan, by Kyōu Shooku library, Tonkō-Hikyū Collection, manuscript no. 431. An inscribed pillar discovered in Luoyang in 2006, the Nestorian pillar of Luoyang, supplements the incomplete version from Dunhuang. Kojima manuscript B (大秦景教宣元至本經, Dàqín jǐng jiào xuānyuán zhi běn jīng, last known to be in the Dōshisha University library, Kyoto, in 1963) was at one time thought to be the conclusion of this work; see below ref. to Kazuo Enoki, p. 68.
Sutra of Hearing the Messiah (序聽迷詩所經; Xùtīng míshīsuǒ jīng); once known as the Takakusu manuscript; now held in Osaka, Japan, by Kyōu Shooku library, Tonkō-Hikyū Collection, manuscript no. 459.
Liturgical textsedit
The original manuscript of Da Qin Hymn of Perfection of the Three Majesties and Venerable Books
Da Qin Hymn of Perfection of the Three Majesties (大秦景教三威蒙度讚; Dàqín jǐng jiào sān wēi méng dù zàn); now held in Paris, Bib. Nat., Collection Pelliot chinois, no. 3847.
Let Us Praise or Venerable Books (尊經; Zūn jīng), a list of sacred books followed by a short note; contained in the above manuscript in Paris, Bib. Nat., Collection Pelliot, chinois no. 3847.
The Sutra of Ultimate and Mysterious Happiness (志玄安樂經; Zhìxuán ānlè jīng); now held in Osaka, Japan, by Kyōu Shooku library, Tonkō-Hikyū Collection, manuscript no. 13.
Da Qin Hymn to the Transfiguration of the Great Holy One (大秦景教大聖通真歸法讚; Dàqín jǐng jiào dàshèng tōng zhēn guī fǎ zàn). Kojima manuscript A. This manuscript was stolen in Tianjin, China, in 1945 and its whereabouts are now unknown. This manuscript and Kojima manuscript B are suspected of being modern forgeries; see below ref. to Lin & Rong.
The Xi'anStele was erected in 781 to commemorate the propagation of the Da Qin Luminous Religion ("Da Qin" is the Chinese term for the Roman Empire), and covers the preceding 150 years of Christianity in China.
Palmer recently claimed, on the basis of research conducted by scholars in the 1930s, that the Daqin Pagoda near Lou Guan Tai was part of a Da Qin monastery.[citation needed] Lou Guan Tai was the traditional site of Lao Tze's composition of the Tao Te Ching. Buried during a time of religious persecution in the 9th century, the stele was re-discovered in 1625 and is now on display in nearby Xi'an, the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty.
^Saeki, Yoshirō (1951). The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China. Toho Bunkwa Gakuin: Academy of Oriental Culture, Tokyo Institute.
^Tang, Li (2004). A Study of the History of Nestorian Christianity in China and Its Literature in Chinese: Together with a New English Translation of the Dunhuang Nestorian Documents. Peter Lang. ISBN9783631522745.
^Nicolini-Zani, Matteo (2006). "Past and Current Research on Jingjiao Documents: A Survey". In Malek, Roman; Hofrichter, Peter (eds.). Jingjiao: The Church of the East in China and Central Asia. Monumenta Serica Institute. pp. 23–24.
^Palmer, Martin (2001). The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Religion of Taoist Christianity. Piatkus. p. 2. ISBN9780749922504.
^Strand, Mark A. (10 September 2018). "The Origins of the Chinese Union Version Bible - ChinaSource". China Source Quarterly.
Further readingedit
A.C. Moule, Christianity in China Before the Year 1550, (1930) London.
P. Y. Saeki, The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China, (1937) Academy of Oriental Culture, Tokyo: Tokyo Institute, second edition, 1951. Contains the Chinese texts with English translations.
Kazuo Enoki, "The Nestorian Christianism in China in mediaeval times according to recent historical and archaeological Researches", in Problemi Attuali de Scienza e di Cultura, 62, Atti del convegno internazionale sul tema : l'Oriente cristiano nella storia della civiltà (Rome: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 1964), 45–81.
W. Lin & X. Rong, “Doubts Concerning the Authenticity of Two Nestorian Chinese Documents Unearthed at Dunhuang from the Li’s Collection.” China Archaeology and Art Digest Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1996), 5–14.
Martin Palmer, The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity (2001), Wellspring/Ballantine, ISBN0-345-43424-2. Texts translated by Palmer, Eva Wong, and L. Rong Rong.
Li Tang, A Study of the History of Nestorian Christianity in China and Its Literature in Chinese: Together With a New English Translation of the Dunhuang Nestorian Documents (2002), Peter Lang Publishing, 2003 paperback: ISBN0-8204-5970-4. A fresh scholarly translation by a Chinese academic, with historical background and critical linguistic commentary on the texts.
Thomas Moore and Ray Riegert (editors) The Lost Sutras of Jesus: Unlocking the Ancient Wisdom of the Xian Monks (2003), Seastone, ISBN1-56975-360-1. Texts translated by John Babcock.
Christoph Baumer, The Church of the East, an Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (London: I. B. Tauris, 2006).
David Wilmshurst, The Martyred Church: A History of the Church of the East, (2011) London.
External linksedit
The original texts:
(Sutra of Hearing the Messiah )
(Hymn of Perfection of the Three Majesties)
(Feng Wen: Sutra on the Origin of Origins)
二十年来中国大陆景教研究综述(1982—2002) (A survey of Chinese mainland landscape teaching in the past 20 years (1982-2002))
December 15, 2023
jingjiao, documents, chinese, 景教經典, pinyin, jǐngjiào, jīngdiǎn, also, known, nestorian, documents, jesus, sutras, collection, chinese, language, texts, connected, with, century, mission, alopen, church, east, bishop, from, sassanian, mesopotamia, century, monk. The Jingjiao Documents Chinese 景教經典 pinyin Jǐngjiao jingdiǎn also known as the Nestorian Documents or the Jesus Sutras are a collection of Chinese language texts connected with the 7th century mission of Alopen a Church of the East bishop from Sassanian Mesopotamia and the 8th century monk Adam The manuscripts date from between 635 the year of Alopen s arrival in China and around 1000 when the cave at Mogao near Dunhuang in which the documents were discovered was sealed Restored Mogao Christian painting possibly a representation of Jesus Christ The original work dates back to the 9th century By 2011 four of the manuscripts were known to be in a private collection in Japan while one was in Paris Their language and content reflect varying levels of interaction with Chinese culture including use of Buddhist and Taoist terminology 1 Contents 1 Terminology 2 List of texts 2 1 Doctrinal texts 2 2 Liturgical texts 2 3 The Xi an Stele 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksTerminology editThere is no agreed upon name for the collection of texts as a whole The Japanese scholar P Y Saeki described them as the Nestorian Documents 2 which has continued to be used 3 More recent scholars have moved away from the language of Nestorian and simply use the Chinese term describing them as Jingjiao Documents 4 Sinologist Martin Palmer has attempted to describe these collectively as sutras to connect the documents to Buddhism given their tendency to use Buddhist terminology But this is partly related to the names of a subset of the Jingjiao texts which bear the character jing 經 While it is often used to translate into Chinese the Buddhist idea of a sutra Palmer explains that the character actually means sacred literature 5 The character is also used to speak about classical texts such as the Confucian Four Books and Five Classics 四書五經 and in the modern rendering for the Bible Shengjing 聖經 6 Many of the Jingjiao texts do not use jing but lun 論 which carries a different meaning of discourse or treatise List of texts editThe following list gives some approximate English titles for the various writings and an indication of the present location of the manuscript where known Scholars are still debating the best translation for many of the terms 1 Doctrinal texts edit nbsp nbsp Rubbings of a Tang dynasty scriptural pillar the Nestorian pillar of Luoyang the inscription of which bears the Sutra on the Origin of Origins Discourse on the One God Part Three 一神論巻第三 Yi shen lun juǎn di san once known as the Tomioka manuscript now held in Osaka Japan by Kyōu Shooku library Tonkō Hikyu Collection manuscript no 460 It includes the following three texts Discourse on Almsgiving of the World Honored One Part Three 世尊布施論第三 Shizun bushi lun di san Discourse on the Oneness of Heaven 一天論第一 Yitian lun di yi Parable Part Two 喻第二 Yu di er Sutra on the Origin of Origins 大秦景教宣元本經 Daqin jǐng jiao xuanyuan ben jing now held in Osaka Japan by Kyōu Shooku library Tonkō Hikyu Collection manuscript no 431 An inscribed pillar discovered in Luoyang in 2006 the Nestorian pillar of Luoyang supplements the incomplete version from Dunhuang Kojima manuscript B 大秦景教宣元至本經 Daqin jǐng jiao xuanyuan zhi ben jing last known to be in the Dōshisha University library Kyoto in 1963 was at one time thought to be the conclusion of this work see below ref to Kazuo Enoki p 68 Sutra of Hearing the Messiah 序聽迷詩所經 Xuting mishisuǒ jing once known as the Takakusu manuscript now held in Osaka Japan by Kyōu Shooku library Tonkō Hikyu Collection manuscript no 459 Liturgical texts edit nbsp nbsp nbsp The original manuscript of Da Qin Hymn of Perfection of the Three Majesties and Venerable Books Da Qin Hymn of Perfection of the Three Majesties 大秦景教三威蒙度讚 Daqin jǐng jiao san wei meng du zan now held in Paris Bib Nat Collection Pelliot chinois no 3847 Let Us Praise or Venerable Books 尊經 Zun jing a list of sacred books followed by a short note contained in the above manuscript in Paris Bib Nat Collection Pelliot chinois no 3847 The Sutra of Ultimate and Mysterious Happiness 志玄安樂經 Zhixuan anle jing now held in Osaka Japan by Kyōu Shooku library Tonkō Hikyu Collection manuscript no 13 Da Qin Hymn to the Transfiguration of the Great Holy One 大秦景教大聖通真歸法讚 Daqin jǐng jiao dasheng tōng zhen gui fǎ zan Kojima manuscript A This manuscript was stolen in Tianjin China in 1945 and its whereabouts are now unknown This manuscript and Kojima manuscript B are suspected of being modern forgeries see below ref to Lin amp Rong The Xi an Stele edit Main article Xi an Stele The Xi an Stele was erected in 781 to commemorate the propagation of the Da Qin Luminous Religion Da Qin is the Chinese term for the Roman Empire and covers the preceding 150 years of Christianity in China Palmer recently claimed on the basis of research conducted by scholars in the 1930s that the Daqin Pagoda near Lou Guan Tai was part of a Da Qin monastery citation needed Lou Guan Tai was the traditional site of Lao Tze s composition of the Tao Te Ching Buried during a time of religious persecution in the 9th century the stele was re discovered in 1625 and is now on display in nearby Xi an the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty See also edit nbsp Christianity portalChurch of the East in China Daqin Pagoda Xi an SteleReferences edit a b Daniel H Bays 2011 A New History of Christianity in China Wiley pp 4 16 ISBN 978 1 4443 4284 0 Saeki Yoshirō 1951 The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China Toho Bunkwa Gakuin Academy of Oriental Culture Tokyo Institute Tang Li 2004 A Study of the History of Nestorian Christianity in China and Its Literature in Chinese Together with a New English Translation of the Dunhuang Nestorian Documents Peter Lang ISBN 9783631522745 Nicolini Zani Matteo 2006 Past and Current Research on Jingjiao Documents A Survey In Malek Roman Hofrichter Peter eds Jingjiao The Church of the East in China and Central Asia Monumenta Serica Institute pp 23 24 Palmer Martin 2001 The Jesus Sutras Rediscovering the Lost Religion of Taoist Christianity Piatkus p 2 ISBN 9780749922504 Strand Mark A 10 September 2018 The Origins of the Chinese Union Version Bible ChinaSource China Source Quarterly Further reading editA C Moule Christianity in China Before the Year 1550 1930 London P Y Saeki The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China 1937 Academy of Oriental Culture Tokyo Tokyo Institute second edition 1951 Contains the Chinese texts with English translations Kazuo Enoki The Nestorian Christianism in China in mediaeval times according to recent historical and archaeological Researches in Problemi Attuali de Scienza e di Cultura 62 Atti del convegno internazionale sul tema l Oriente cristiano nella storia della civilta Rome Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei 1964 45 81 W Lin amp X Rong Doubts Concerning the Authenticity of Two Nestorian Chinese Documents Unearthed at Dunhuang from the Li s Collection China Archaeology and Art Digest Vol 1 No 1 May 1996 5 14 Martin Palmer The Jesus Sutras Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity 2001 Wellspring Ballantine ISBN 0 345 43424 2 Texts translated by Palmer Eva Wong and L Rong Rong Li Tang A Study of the History of Nestorian Christianity in China and Its Literature in Chinese Together With a New English Translation of the Dunhuang Nestorian Documents 2002 Peter Lang Publishing 2003 paperback ISBN 0 8204 5970 4 A fresh scholarly translation by a Chinese academic with historical background and critical linguistic commentary on the texts Thomas Moore and Ray Riegert editors The Lost Sutras of Jesus Unlocking the Ancient Wisdom of the Xian Monks 2003 Seastone ISBN 1 56975 360 1 Texts translated by John Babcock Christoph Baumer The Church of the East an Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity London I B Tauris 2006 David Wilmshurst The Martyred Church A History of the Church of the East 2011 London External links editThe original texts 序聽迷詩所經 Sutra of Hearing the Messiah 景教三威蒙度讚 Hymn of Perfection of the Three Majesties 冯其庸文 大秦景教宣元至本经 全经的现世及其他 Feng Wen Sutra on the Origin of Origins 二十年来中国大陆景教研究综述 1982 2002 A survey of Chinese mainland landscape teaching in the past 20 years 1982 2002 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jingjiao Documents amp oldid 1188310540, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
