Daqin Pagoda
Encyclopedia
Daqin Pagoda in Chang'an
, Shaanxi
Province, located about two kilometres to the west of Louguantai temple, is the remnant of the earliest surviving Christian
church in China. The church and the monastery were built in 640 by early Nestorian missionaries. Daqin
is the name for the Roman Empire
in the early Chinese language
documents of the 1st and 2nd centuries,
by the mid-9th century it was also used to refer to the mission churches of the Syriac Christians.
temple was installed in the pagoda
. The great poet Su Shi
visited the place in 1064 and wrote a well-known poem about it, the poem entitled "Daqin Temple". His younger brother Su Zhe also wrote an "echoing" poem referring to the monks at the temple. An earthquake severely damaged the pagoda in 1556 and it was finally abandoned. Due to the earthquake, many of the underground chambers of the complex are no longer reachable. Daqin was "rediscovered" in 1998 and its roots in early Chinese Christianity were recognized, but controversy remains as scholars, like Jonathan Chaves of the George Washington University
, criticized the lack of details and pointed out that the seriously damaged sculptures are entirely consistent with known Buddhist iconographical schemes instead of Christian ones.
at the walls of Nineveh
, a nativity scene
(depiction of the birth of Jesus) and Syriac
graffiti. Many of these artworks are made from mud and plaster, which suffered during prior centuries from exposure to the elements. Seismic activity and flooding endanger the stability of the pagoda. In 1999, the pagoda's exterior was restored, but overall stability was not improved. Further restoration of the site is planned, as well as exploration, most probably by remote probe, of the collapsed underground chambers.
Outside of the pagoda, a replica of the Nestorian Stele
and its stone tortoise
have been installed.
The exterior of the pagoda and its surroundings were featured in the first episode of the 2009 BBC program "A History of Christianity". The program also features an interview with Martin Palmer by the presenter Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch
.
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
Province, located about two kilometres to the west of Louguantai temple, is the remnant of the earliest surviving Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
church in China. The church and the monastery were built in 640 by early Nestorian missionaries. Daqin
Daqin
Daqin is the ancient Chinese name for the Roman Empire and, depending on context, the Near East, especially Syria. It literally means "Great Qin", Qin being the name of the founding dynasty of the Chinese Empire...
is the name for the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in the early Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
documents of the 1st and 2nd centuries,
by the mid-9th century it was also used to refer to the mission churches of the Syriac Christians.
History
Persecution of Christians in China led to the abandonment of Daqin in about 845. By the Northern Song Dynasty at the latest, a BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
temple was installed in the pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
. The great poet Su Shi
Su Shi
Su Shi , was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and statesman of the Song Dynasty, and one of the major poets of the Song era. His courtesy name was Zizhan and his pseudonym was Dongpo Jushi , and he is often referred to as Su Dongpo...
visited the place in 1064 and wrote a well-known poem about it, the poem entitled "Daqin Temple". His younger brother Su Zhe also wrote an "echoing" poem referring to the monks at the temple. An earthquake severely damaged the pagoda in 1556 and it was finally abandoned. Due to the earthquake, many of the underground chambers of the complex are no longer reachable. Daqin was "rediscovered" in 1998 and its roots in early Chinese Christianity were recognized, but controversy remains as scholars, like Jonathan Chaves of the George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, criticized the lack of details and pointed out that the seriously damaged sculptures are entirely consistent with known Buddhist iconographical schemes instead of Christian ones.
The pagoda today
Inside the pagoda, artistic works in both Western and Asiatic style can still be found, among them JonahJonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
at the walls of Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
, a nativity scene
Nativity scene
A nativity scene, manger scene, krippe, crèche, or crib, is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke...
(depiction of the birth of Jesus) and Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
graffiti. Many of these artworks are made from mud and plaster, which suffered during prior centuries from exposure to the elements. Seismic activity and flooding endanger the stability of the pagoda. In 1999, the pagoda's exterior was restored, but overall stability was not improved. Further restoration of the site is planned, as well as exploration, most probably by remote probe, of the collapsed underground chambers.
Outside of the pagoda, a replica of the Nestorian Stele
Nestorian Stele
The Nestorian Stele is aTang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of history of early Christianity in China. It is a 279-cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese and Syriac, describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China...
and its stone tortoise
Bixi (tortoise)
Bixi , also called guifu or baxia , is a stone tortoise, used as a pedestal for a stele or tablet. Tortoise-mounted stelae have been traditionally used in the funerary complexes of Chinese emperors and other dignitaries. Later, they have also been used to commemorate an important event, such as...
have been installed.
The exterior of the pagoda and its surroundings were featured in the first episode of the 2009 BBC program "A History of Christianity". The program also features an interview with Martin Palmer by the presenter Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch
Diarmaid MacCulloch
Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch FBA, FSA, FR Hist S is Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford...
.