CHINA
669
CHINA
ancestors takes place in the form of libations. an<l the
burning of candles, paper, and incense; this cult was
prohibited the Christians by a Bull of 1742.
Another great and popular superstition is Fung-
shui (wind and water). To describe this is impossible, though it is the daily guide in a Chinaman's life. It is a system of geomancy founded on the "Y-king", systematized in the twelfth century; the date of a marriage, the proper place for a burial ground, a lucky site for a building, etc.. the settlement of all these questions depends on the laws of Fungshui laid down by the professors, who, besides a knowl- edge of Buddhist and Taoist doctrines, hail some superficial ideas regarding natural science, medicine, and astronomj .
M [Ssions. — A ncient Christian. — The introduction of Christianity into China has been ascribed not only to the Apostle of India. St. Thomas, but also to St. Bar- tholomew. In the third century. Arnobius, in "Ad- versus Gentes". speaks of the Seres, with the Persians and the Medes, as among the nations reached by "that new power which has arisen from the works wrought by the Lord and his Apostles". Though there is evidence that Christianity existed in Mesopo- tamia and Persia during the fourth century, as evidenced by the persecutions which began in 345 under Sapor (309-379), there is no proof that it spread to China After the condemnation of Nes- torius. Patriarch of Constantinople, at the Council of Ephesus (431) and his banishment, his disciples spread his errors through Asia. They seem to have reached China in the seventh century, according to the Si-ngan-fu inscription. It should be added that, according to Ebedjesus, some thought that Achaeus, Archbishop of Seleucia, had created a metropolitan see in China in 41 1, while others said that the metro- is of China dated only from Saliba Zacha, patriarch of the Nestorians from 714 to 728. Accord- ing to Pauthier, the T'ang Emperor, Hiuan T'sung issued in 74."i an edict wherein it was stated that tin- temples of the religion from Ta Ts'in being known popularly as Persian temples, it was ordered that, tins being inaccurate, thenceforward the latter name should be changed to Ta Ts'in temples.
Si-ngan-fu Inscription. — In the year 1625, tie- Jesuits at Peking were informed that a slab referring to the Christian religion had been found not long be- fore, possibly in 1623, at Ch'ang-ngan (Si-ngan-fu). Father Nicolas Trigault was sent to inspect the which had been discovered at Cheu-che, some distance from Ch'ang-ngan. It was one of the monu- ments called by < hinese antiquaries pei. The French traveller. Gronard. who visited Si-ngan-fu a few years ago eives the following measurements: height 7 ft. '.! ms.. width 2 ft. 9 ins., thickness 10 ins. At the top is incised, under which nine large characters in three columns form the heading, which reads as follows: "Monument commemorating the introduc- tion and propagation of the noble law of Ta Ts'in in the Middle Kingdom". According to the text of the inscription, Olopen arrived from Ta Ts'in at Ch'ang-ngan in the ninth year of the period Chang- kwan (635); Emperor T'ai Tsung sent his minister, Duke rang Huan-ling, to receive him and conduct him to tie- palace; the Scriptures were translated, and the emperor becoming convinced of the correct- or -- and truth of < Mopen's religion, gave special orders for its propagation, and in tin- seventh month of the twelfth year of Chang-kwan (638), in the autumn. issued a proclamation: a Ta Ts'in monastery was built, etc. The conclusion of the inscription runs as follows: "Erected in the second year of the period Kicn-chung (781) of the great T'ang dynasty, the year star being in Tso-yo. on the seventh day of the iirst month, being Sunday". The inscription con- f 1780 characters: in addition to the Chinesi characters, at the foot and on the sides, the stele
also exhibits a series of data in the Syriac language,
in Estrangelo characters. Sir Henry Yule (Marco
Polo, II, 27) thinks that Olopen is only a Chinese form
for rabban. a monk, while Prof. Hirth makes Olopen
stand for Ruben, or Rupen. It appears from a
paper by J. Takakusu (Ts'ung-pao, VII, 589-591) that
Adam (King-tsing), who erected the monument under
Te-tsung, under the same emperor, translated, with
a Buddhist, a Buddhist Sutra, the "Satparamita",
from a Hu text.
The question of the authenticity of the inscription has been formerly often raised, but to-day no one can doubt the genuineness of this most important docu- ment for the history of the propagation of the Faith in the Far East; we fully agree with A. Wylie, who writes: "If the Nestorian tablet can be proved a forgery, there are few existing memorials of bygone dynasties which can withstand the same style of arguments. " This inscription is generally considered as emanating from Nestorians ; but this is supported only by circumstantial evidence, for it must be re- marked that nothing in it is characteristic of Nestor- ianism.
Nestorians. — The Nestorians were successful in con- verting the Keraits to Christianity at the beginning of the eleventh century, as related by the Christian historian, Bar Hebrseus. The Keraits remained Chris- tians till the time of Jenghiz Khan, as is attested by Rashiduddin; their head is spoken of by Rubruck and Marco Polo as Ung Khan (Wang Khan), identi- fied with Prester John: when Wang Khan was de- feated by Jenghiz, his niece, Sorhabtani, married Tuli, the fourth son of the conqueror, and became the mother of Kublai. When Kublai removed his capital to Peking, he founded in 1289 the chief Christian consistory, under the name of Ch'ung-fu- Ize; the priests of the Nestorian sect were known as (71 (Ye-li Ko-wen), but this term was later ap- plied to Christians in general, who were called by the Mohammedans Tersa (transcribed Tie-sie). The last name, however, disappeared with the removal of the capital to Peking. Mar Sergius, a Nestorian. and other Christians are mentioned in a description of Chin-kiang-fu. The Nestorians had a number of bishoprics throughout Asia and two archbishoprics, one at Cambaluc (Peking), one at Tangut (Tanchel I ; there is even a record of a Chinese Nestorian, Mar Jabalaha (b. 1245), a pupil of another Nestorian, Rabban Sauma (b. in Peking), being appointed Patriarch of Persia when Denha died, though he was unacquainted with the Syriac tongue. This is a proof of the influence of the Mongols of China. Buddhism, however, prevailed at court, and two of the Nestorian churches were converted into heathen temples. The prosperity of the Nestorians in China continued throughout the Mongol period. We may judge of their numbers and influence by the fact that Friar Odoric. about 1324, found three Nestorian churches in the city of Yang-chou, but soon after- wards they fell into decay. Evidence of their exist- ence was found by the Jesuits at the beginning of the - \ enteenth century.
Medieval Catholic Missions. — The great religious crusade in Asia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries dates from the Council of Lyons, held in 1245 by Pope Innocent IV. The interests of Chris- ten, loin were threatened by the Mongolian conquest, and it became necessary to send ambassadors to tie- Tatar chief to find out his intentions. Two mendicant orders, the Franciscans and Dominicans, who had been instituted at the beginning of the thirteenth century, were ready to furnish the agents for the mission. John of Piano Carpini, a Franciscan, accompanied by Friar Stephen of Bohemia, left Lyons on 16 April, 1245, and was joined at Breslau by Friar Benedict, a Pole. They went by way of Moscow and Kieff, and in February, 1246, reached
