 | Alopen
The silk road was the most vital link between China and the outside world.
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Alopen is the first recorded Christian missionary to reach China.
During the Tang Dynasty, he was coming from Persia (together with other monks and merchants) and had travelled over the Silk Road to be welcomed at Chang-an (長安) (present day Xian), the capital of Tang dynasty China, in 635, by the Emperor Tang Taizong (唐太宗).
Alopen was a Syrian monk and belonged to the East Syrian Church (also called the Syrian Church of the East). At that time many Syrian merchants, among whom there were many Christians, lived in Persia, which was an important commercial intermediary between China and the Near East.
1a.
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By that time, Persia had already been evangelized by the very active East Syrian Church. To understand better Alopen’s missionary spirit, it is worth reading how Pope John Paul II, in the Post Synodal Apostolic exhortation, Ecclesia in Asia, (New Delhi, November 6, 1999), describes the East Syrian Church:
“The missionary spirit of the East Syrian community in the third and fourth centuries, with its centre at Edessa, was remarkable. The ascetic communities of Syria were a major force of evangelization in Asia from the third century onwards. They provided spiritual energy for the Church, especially during times of persecution.” (9)
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1b.
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Alopen chose a very propitious time to enter China. Under Emperor Tang Taizong (the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty), by the year 630 all hostile neighbouring nations had either been subdued by force or surrendered peacefully by offering a tribute to the great Emperor of China.Tang Taizong could exclaim: “The route to Persia is reopened. All our enemies have surrendered. Now merchants are safe to travel.”
The capital Chang-an was the centre of imperial splendour. Caravans brought with them traders and jugglers, monks and pilgrims from Persia, Armenia and even from Antioch and Byzantium. Their strange appearances and outlandish clothes never failed to amuse the Chinese onlookers. People from Japan and Korea were coming to Chang-an to learn Chinese culture. At the same time, many Chinese were living in neighbouring countries either for military purposes or as merchants.
More than 8000 beautifully crafted, life-size terracotta soldiers were discovered in 1974, in Xian, adjacent to the tomb of the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, who is remembered chiefly for uniting China in 222 BC.
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Tang China had great confidence in her own cultural heritage and was open to all foreign cultures. It was a period when China was most receptive to foreign influence and was ready to borrow from outside art forms and motifs and even to assimilate the faiths of her subject nations and friendly neighbors.
Chang-an was a religious melting pot as well. It was a center of encounter for Zoroastrians, Manicheans and Christians from Persia, Muslims from Arabia and Buddhist monks from India and Japan. In the capital of the Empire, foreigners found Buddhists and Taoists eager to enter into dialogue.
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1c.
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When Alopen with his community of Syrian monks arrived in Chang-an, the famous Buddhist monk Xuanzang (玄奘) (600-664), (his birth name was Chen Hui 陳褘), who had left China in 629 to go to India "in search of the Law" ,had not returned yet. After four years of a dangerous voyage, during which he narrowly escaped death several times, Xuanzang finally reached India in 633. For the coming ten years, he visited Buddhist sacred places and collected Buddhist sûtras. In 645, he was back in Chang-an, bringing with him 657 Buddhist texts, which he began to translate. He founded the famous Faxiang School(法相宗) ,which spread the theory of Weishi (唯識學說). Weishi (唯識) (成唯識論) (Treatise on Establishing Consciousness-Only). This treatise presents the gradual steps from consciousness to “perfect wisdom”, which is the ultimate goal of the human spiritual journey. literally means “consciousness only ”. His philosophy is articulated in the “Cheng weishi lun”
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1d.
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Fa Zang (法藏) (643-712) was another great Master, who contributed (with many other spiritual people) to make Chang-an a crucible of spirituality and contemplation. His family was from Sogdiana, in Central Asia. They migrated to China and were sinicized. Fa Zang himself was born in Chang-an. Because of his knowledge of Western Regions’ languages and Sanskrit texts, for some time he helped Xuan Zang with the translation of Indian sutras. Due to differences of opinions, Fa Zang left Xuan Zang and elaborated his own theory. Later, he founded his own Huayan School (華嚴宗) or Flower Garland School. Fa Zang explained his theory in a book called “Essay on the Golden Lion”(Jin Shizi zhang 金獅子章) in which he explains the steps to Bodhi or Perfect wisdom. His book is a guide and method to this perfect enlightenment.
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1e.
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Han Yu (韓愈) (726-824), the famous Confucian scholar, as a child had lived very near the Jingjiao Monastery in Chang-an. Han Yu would later violently attack Buddhism and work for the renewal of Confucianism as interpreted by Mencius. He was a precursor of Neo-Confucianism as well as an essayist and poet. He was a strong advocate of Confucianism and a relentless opponent of Buddhism.He considered himself a disciple of Confucian- Mencian tradition. He criticized the Six Dynasties’ sophisticated literary style and together with Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元) became strong proponent of the Classical Prose Movement (古文運動) during the mid-Tang Dynasty. Han Yu is considered one of the best essayist of the Tang Dynasty.
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1f.
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Buddism had already entered China since the Eastern Han period but it reached its climax only during the Tang Dynasty. Various Buddhist schools produced all sorts of famous Buddhist monks especially Xuanzang (玄奘大師) of the Faxiang School and Huineng (惠能大師) of the Zen School, whose influence was very popular and very deep.
The Tang dynasty period is rightly called the Buddhist golden age in China. New Buddhist Schools of thought and spirituality, continuous dialogue with Indian Buddhists, and contacts with other Buddhists Masters coming from other regions, prepared the way for Buddhism to spread all over Asia. At the same time, Taoist Schools and Confucianist philosophers made Chang-an a society open to the outside world.
About this time, Emperor Tang Taizong built the famous school, “Hung-wen-kuan” (弘文館), promoted Chinese culture and welcomed to Chang-an all people, who wished to learn Chinese culture. Emperor Tang made the capital of China a meeting cultural ground. Tibetans, people from the ancient city of Gaochang (高昌) in Xinjiang (新彊), scholars from Korea (both during the Goryeo (高麗) period and Shilla (新羅) period, even from Japan, scholars gathered in Chang-an in search of learning. There you could see Confucianists and Taoists with a very open mind dialoguing with foreign scholars.
The emperor Tang Taizong was not a scholar but a military man. He did not want the Confucianists (the intellectual class) to control society. Therefore he welcomed all other new philosophies and religions and adopted an open attitude towards Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and the Jingjiao.
In today's Xian, the Muslim presence is very evident.
Against such a setting, Alopen was able to make his historic journey to China.
Bell Tower of Xi'an
Judging from the way he was welcomed at Chang-an by the Emperor, most probably Alopen was a high ranking monastic representative of the East Syrian Church. The Xian Stele calls him “high ranking monk” (上德). The Xian Stele specifies that in the 9th year of Emperor Tang’s reign (AD 635), the Emperor sent the minister of state Fang Hsuan-ling (房玄齡) to take an escort to the western outposts to meet Alopen (and the other monks), which suggests that elaborate preparations had been made for his coming. Alopen and his companions were taken to the royal palace, where the Emperor after enquiring about their religion, allowed them to have their texts translated in his library.
Great Wild Goose Pagoda (大雁塔) of Xian
In line with his broad policy of toleration and interest in fostering foreign religions, the Emperor granted Alopen permission to translate the 30 Christian books he had brought all the way from Persia. The Emperor assigned 21 Buddhist monks to help Alopen in the work of translation and allowed them to do the work in the Imperial Library. The fact that the first translators of Christian writings were Buddhist monks, explains why so many Buddhist expressions and terminology are found in the earliest Christian
books in China.
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2.
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Ancient Christian manuscripts in China
In the last decades this topic has become very popular. The discovery of the Xian Stele and the Tun-Huang (敦煌) manuscripts has aroused the interests not only of Sinologists all over the world, but of the general public. What used to be called a foreign religion exported from the West, now appears to have deep Chinese roots. For clarity sake we will consider the manuscripts in chronological order. In this way we will be able to see the gradual inculturation and theological depth.
2a.
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Early Period (635-641)
Xian city (detail)
The earliest group of Christian writings in China includes four short books coming from a period between 635 and 641, the period when, according to the Xian Monument, the first Christian missionaries, led by Alopen reached the capital of Chang-an.
In the latest of these four writings, and longest, "The Lord of the Universe's Discourse on Alms-Giving" (世尊佈施論經典) appears the following statement: "Though it is only 641 years since the time of the birth of the Messiah, yet (His name) is known in all parts of the world.” This date, 641, fits in with the time given on the Xian Monument for the arrival of Alopen's party (635), and the translation work done by them. The other three manuscripts of this group are doubtless the ones written prior to 641, that is, between 635 and 638. The first of the three is "The Jesus-Messiah Discourse” (序聽迷詩所經). The second is "The Parable, Part II" (喻第二) (also called "A Discourse on Monotheism"). The third, almost as long as the first, is called "The Discourse on the Oneness of the Ruler of the Universe, Part I" (一天論第一). At this early stage, the Syrian monks, who knew very little Chinese, had to rely entirely on Buddhist translators. This explains why in these early writings Buddhist terminology is widely used. All four of these manuscripts, which are associated with the arrival of the first Christian missionaries, were obtained in China by two Japanese scholars in 1916 and 1922 and are now in Kyoto (京都), Japan.
Let us examine in more detail some of these earliest Christian writings in China.
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2b.
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The most ancient Chinese book in our possession today is “The Book of Jesus -Messiah” “Xu Ting Mi Shi Suo Jing” 序聽迷詩所經.
From all appearances it was originally composed from the Syriac documents to help the Chinese Emperor to understand the new religion that the Persian monks desired to propagate in China. Since the emperor’s edict permitted the diffusion of this religion beginning in 638, this little treatise must have been composed in the years 635-638. This book, that Alopen and his monks, with the help of the Buddhist associates, completed in 638, is not a translation but rather a free adaptation to meet the needs of the mission in Chang-an. It is a short treatise. It has only 170 lines with 17 or 18 words on each line.
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2c.
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The word “Messiah”, in the title of the book is transliterated “mi shi suo” (迷詩所), but in the text is transliterated “mi shi he” (彌師訶) or “mi shi he suo” (迷師訶所).
The name of Jesus was also transliterated. In their tradition, the Syrian monks pronounced Jesus “Ishu”, which was transliterated into「移鼠」. Very soon they saw the unfortunate choice of the Chinese character 「鼠」, which means rat and they quickly changed it.
Mary, the mother of Jesus is transliterated「末豔」, Moyan.
The name of Satan, the devil, is not transliterated (in the earlier manuscripts), but it is translated with the Buddhist “Yienluowang”(閻羅王). In later documents though (as in the Xian Stele) is transliterated with “suo dan” 娑殫 (Satan).
“the person, who always does evil and teaches others evil, does not accept Tianzun’s teaching. He is lost in the road of evil and belongs to Satan”
「人常作惡。及教他人惡。此人不受天尊教。突墮惡道。命屬閻羅王。」
The Holy Spirit is translated the "cool Wind" (liangfeng涼風), or the "pure Breeze" (jingfeng 淨風) and sometimes it is called “Father of Jesus”. The problem of translating the name of God immediately surfaced since this idea is foreign to the Buddhist tradition. After an exchange which certainly could not have been easy, the Buddhist proposed an honorific Buddhist term: “Tianzun” (天尊), the "Heaven Honored One" or "the Celestial Honored One", giving to the word "Tian" (天) the highest possible meaning of supreme power.
“who among all creatures has seen “Tianzun”. No human can see “Tianzun”. Which human has the power to see “Tianzun”. “Tianzun” is like the wind. Which human can ever see the wind.”
「誰見天尊在於眾生。無人得見天尊。何人有威得見天尊。
此天尊顏容似風。何人能得見風。」
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2d.
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This early Chinese Christian classic was an introduction to the Christian faith. The life of our Lord from the Nativity to the Passion was presented for the first time to Chinese readers.
Considering the fact that Alopen and his companions could not have known much Chinese and they probably had only a very vague idea of Buddhism and Taoism, and that those who were helping them in the translation work certainly had no idea whatsoever of the new religion, we remain astounded at the beautiful piece of Christian theology they have produced.
Tang dynasty articraft
The mystery of the Incarnation is presented in a masterly way:
“Mankind was rebellious and committed sins. Many good instructions were not heeded. “Tianzun” sent the "cool Wind" to a young virgin girl named Moyan. The "cool Wind" penetrated into the womb of the young girl who became pregnant. Moyan accepted the instruction of “Tianzun”. The “cool Wind” remained at Moyan’s side. There was no man as husband. All mankind could see there was no man as husband. Mankind heard the teaching. “Tianzun” is powerful. He gave to mankind the hope of purification and conversion. After conceiving, Moyan gave birth to a male child, called Ishu. The “cool Wind” is the father.”
「眾生背面作惡。遂背天尊。天尊見眾生如此憐湣。不少諫作好不依。
天尊當使涼風向一童女。名為末豔。涼風即入末豔腹內。依天尊教。
當即末豔懷身。為以天尊使涼風伺童女邊。無男夫懷任。
令一切眾生見無男夫懷任。使世間人等見即道。天尊有威力。
即遣眾生信心清淨回向善緣。末豔懷後產一男。名為移鼠。父是向涼風。」
Religious and cultural atmosphere of Xian city, during the Tang Dynasty.
The same theological insight pervades the description of Jesus’ death and resurrection:
"The Messiah accepted death vicariously for all. He offered himself to death…
They attached the Messiah to the wood at the fifth hour of the sixth day of fast.
They attached him to the cross at dawn,
but when the sun began to set, great darkness came over all the land.
The earth trembled, mountains split asunder,
all the doors of the tombs in the world opened up
and some of the dead came back to life".
「為今世眾生佈施代命受死。彌師訶將自身與遂即受死。 …
其日將彌師訶。木上縛著五時。是六日齋。平明縛著。及到日西。
四方闇黑地戰山崩。世間所有墓門並開。所有死人並悉得活. 」
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2e.
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In his first Christian book in Chinese, Alopen took pains to show that Christianity contained nothing subversive to China's ancient traditions. He pointed out that loyalty to the state and filial piety to one's parents (basic virtues in Chinese society) were not contrary to Christian teaching. The portrait of the Emperor Taizong was in fact painted on the wall of the first Christian monastic church in Chang-an, reminiscent of the portrait of the Emperor Justinian (483-565) in the Byzantine church in Ravenna.
“All those who fear “Tianzun”, will fear the Emperor.
If you serve “Tianzun” and the Emperor
and serve your father and mother,
you will receive “Tianzun”’s blessings.
All comes to these three duties: First serve “Tianzun”,
Second serve the Emperor, Third serve father and mother.”
「眾生若怕天尊。亦合怕懼聖上以若人先事天尊及聖上。及事父母不闕。
此人於天尊得福。不多此三事。一種先事天尊。第二事聖上。第三事父母。」
Tang Dynasty articraft
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2f.
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The last writing of the early period is:
“Discourse of the World Honored One on Almsgiving” (世尊佈施論經典)
This treatise is dated 641 and gives more details on the life of the Messiah, such as are found in the canonical Gospels.
Occasionally we find an interesting entry. Thus after his resurrection, “He stayed with them during 14 days plus one month. During this time there was not one single day that he did not appear to his friends in some obscure places.”
In the same treatise, we find a significant remark concerning the apparitions after the resurrection.
“The women went to the tomb early in the morning but an angel said to them, ‘The Messiah has risen; he is no longer here.’ The women went where the disciples were assembled to report what they had heard. Just as the first woman had brought the bad account to Adam, who was the origin of sin, in the same way, it was the women who, having gone to the tomb brought back the news of the resurrection.”
“The Messiah sent his disciples to preach his doctrine to every nation. The Holy Spirit, the ‘Pure Breeze’will be with them. The Ascension is barely mentioned, but it does say, ‘The heavens opened and the Messiah appeared in the transparency of heaven. High in the heavens there was the figure of a man seated in the ‘Great and merciful Wind’ .It was in this way that the great sanctification of the world was accomplished.”
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3.
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The Emperor was pleased with Alopen's achievements and with the soundness of this new religion. We must add here that the Syrian monks had a good medical knowledge and were inclined to serve society in any possible way.This must have helped the monks to be welcomed in Xian.
Emperor Tang Taizong
An imperial decree, in the year 638, proclaimed the virtue of the Christian religion (which was officially called “Da-qin Jingjiao” (大秦景教) “The luminous religion of Da-qin”. “Jing” (景) literally means “huge”, “fire”, and “brightness” and “Da-qin” (大秦) means the eastern section of the Roman Empire which included Syria, Judeah etc.
The Xian Stele quotes from the imperial decree in which the Emperor states, the Da-qin Jingjiao is beneficial to both people and society. Let it propagate in the world (濟物利人，宜行天下).
The Emperor ordered to build a Christian monastery, called 「大秦寺」(the Western monastery) in the I-ning quarter (義寧坊) of Xian by local officials. Now the I-ning quarter was in the extreme west of the city where the Persian and Central-Asian traders were concentrated. The site of the monastery is clearly indicated in later historical records: “North of the east of the street is the foreign monastery of Persia. In the 12th Ching-Kuan (貞觀) year (AD 639), Taizong built it for Alopen, a foreign monk of Da-qin.”
We must add here that before 635 many merchants of Persian origin must have lived in Chang-an, and undoubtedly there were some Christians among them. Also, there must have been in the Tang Capital a number of Christians from other neighbouring countries. For all these Christians living in China, the arrival of Alopen and a community of Persian monks must have been a great encouragement and a unifying focus.
The monastery began with 21 monks. Thus the first Christian Evangelization in China began with monasticism (in some way similar to the Buddhist missionaries, who were monks too and lived in monasteries).
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