Английская Википедия:Cross Temple, Fangshan
Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:EngvarB Шаблон:Infobox historic site
The Cross Temple (Шаблон:Zh)Шаблон:Efn is a former place of worship in Fangshan, Beijing. During different periods, it was used by either Buddhists or the Church of the East, a Nestorian Christian sect. It is the only site of the Church of the East in China still in existence.
Scholars debate the periodisation of when the Cross Temple was used by Nestorians. Originally built as Buddhist temple, the site was in use by Nestorians during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)—with some hypothesising that it had also been used by Nestorians during the Tang dynasty (618–907). After the end of the Yuan, the temple reverted to Buddhist use until its sale in the early 20th century. The site's buildings were demolished during the late 1950s; presently, only pedestals, steles, and the buildings' foundations remain on-site. In 2006, the ruins were named a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.
Today, the site features two ancient steles, as well as groundwork and the bases of several pillars. During the early 20th century, two stone blocks featuring carved crosses were discovered at the site; they are now on display at the Nanjing Museum.
History
There are two stone steles at the site of the Cross Temple, with one dating to the Liao dynasty (916–1125), and the other to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368).Шаблон:Sfn The inscriptions borne by the steles are the principal sources used to study the site's history, including dates and the names of contemporary people.Шаблон:Sfn However, the inscriptions contain errors,Шаблон:Sfn and the temple's history remains the subject of considerable speculation among academics.Шаблон:Sfn
Early history
According to the Liao stele, a Buddhist monk named Huijin (Шаблон:Zhi) began building the temple in 317—the first year of the reign of Emperor Yuan, founder of the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420).Шаблон:Sfn In 639, during the Tang dynasty (618–907), a monk named Yiduan (Шаблон:Zhi) re-furnished the temple.Шаблон:Sfn The scholar Wang Xiaojing proposes that the author of the Liao stele conflated the Jin with the Later Jin dynasty (936–947).Шаблон:Sfn Names for the monastery during Jin and Tang periods is not known.Шаблон:Sfn
Nestorian Christianity was first recorded in Tang China during the 7th century,Шаблон:Sfn and some scholars suggested that the temple may have belonged to the Church of the East in China around this time. The Japanese scholar P. Y. Saeki speculated that believers fleeing from Chang'an to Youzhou and Liaodong during the 9th-century Huichang persecution of Buddhism, which also affected the Church of the East, began using the temple.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Tang Xiaofeng additionally points to inscriptions on the Liao stele as an indication that Christian crosses were present at the temple prior to the Liao dynasty. In addition, Tang claims that another text written by Шаблон:Ill in 987 indicated a Nestorian presence in Youzhou.Шаблон:Sfn However, British sinologist Arthur Christopher Moule believed that there was insufficient evidence to show that the Church of the East existed in Beijing before the 13th century.Шаблон:Sfn
10th century
According to the Liao stele, the Cross Temple used to be called "Chongsheng Yuan" (Шаблон:Zhi) during the Liao dynasty, when Buddhists rebuilt it during the reign of Emperor Muzong of Liao. However, the exact date of rebuilding was unclear: although the stele claims the tenth year of Emperor Yuan's reign—corresponding to 960—it states "Bingzi" (Шаблон:Zhi) as the sexagenary cycle; these two statements do not align,Шаблон:Sfn differing by a span of 16 years.Шаблон:Sfn The Liao stele does not indicate any relationship between the site and Christianity, and it is believed that Chongsheng Yuan was a Buddhist temple.Шаблон:Sfn The scholar Шаблон:Ill held that Nestorian activities at the site commenced only after Buddhist activity had ended.Шаблон:Sfn
13th–14th centuries
After the Mongol conquest of the Jurchen Jin capital of Zhongdu (located in modern Beijing) in 1215, Nestorianism began spreading throughout the area. During the Yuan, Beijing had a metropolitan bishop.Шаблон:Sfn Wang hypothesized that a Nestorian passed by Fangshan, discovered the abandoned temple, and turned it into a monastic retreat.Шаблон:Sfn Tang Xiaofeng and Zhang Yingying suggest it is also possible that the Cross Temple was rebuilt during this period.Шаблон:Sfn
Many scholars have considered that the Nestorian monk Rabban Sauma, a Uyghur born in Beijing during the Yuan,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn may have some connection to the Cross Temple. Moule conjectures that the site was probably near the retreat of Bar Sauma.Шаблон:Sfn Shi Mingpei argues that the description of Rabban Sauma's retreat is "extremely similar" to the Cross Temple and its surrounding terrain.Шаблон:Sfn In her 2011 book East Syriac Christianity in Mongol-Yuan China, Tang Li asserts that Rabban Sauma came from the site.Шаблон:Sfn
Wang estimates that Nestorians abandoned the site before 1358, when it began to be rebuilt by Buddhist monks;Шаблон:Sfn this rebuilding was completed in 1365.Шаблон:Sfn According to the Yuan stele, a Buddhist monk named Jingshan (Шаблон:Zhi) initiated the reconstruction because he dreamed of a deity in his meditation, and then saw a shining cross on top of an ancient dhvaja at the temple site.Шаблон:Sfn The Yuan stele records the temple's major benefactors as being the prince of Huai Шаблон:Ill, the eunuch-official Zhao Bayan Bukha, and the minister Шаблон:Ill, with the inscription itself being made by Шаблон:Ill.Шаблон:Sfn In 1992, Xu Pingfang suggested that Temür Bukha would be familiar with Nestorian practices because of his Nestorian grandmother Sorghaghtani Beki. Therefore, he would request that the Buddhist temple continue to use the name "Cross Temple" when it was rebuilt, and that its Nestorian artefacts to be preserved.Шаблон:Sfn However, modern scholars generally consider the information regarding the Yuan benefactors to be false, and the inscription itself to be a forgery done during the Ming dynasty.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Wang suggests that the official name of the temple during the Yuan period was "Chongsheng Yuan".Шаблон:Sfn She further argues that the Han Chinese population at the time used the term "cross temple" to refer to Nestorian churches in general, and that Nestorians at the time would not have called it "Cross Temple".Шаблон:Sfn However, because the name "Cross Temple" was simple and direct, local residents began to use it after the arrival of the Nestorians.Шаблон:Sfn
15th–16th centuries
Nestorians continued to have a presence in northern China during the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644). During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Ming (1436–1449), some Nestorians were still present in Fangshan: a record shows that some Nestorian monks visited Fangshan's Yunju Temple around the year 1437.Шаблон:EfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci learned from a Jewish person that there was an existing Nestorian population in northern China. According to Ricci, the Chinese Nestorians were keeping their religious identity a secret, but they still referred to a former Nestorian church as the "Cross Church".Шаблон:Sfn
In 1535, the site was rebuilt by a Buddhist monk named Dejing (Шаблон:Zhi), supported by local villagers and the family of Gao Rong (Шаблон:Zhi), a nephew of the powerful eunuch official Шаблон:Ill. During reconstruction, the inscriptions of the Liao and Yuan steles were altered—with the building officially known as the "Cross Temple" by this time.Шаблон:Sfn
20th–21st centuries
Around 1911, the Buddhist monks sold the temple and the surrounding lands.Шаблон:Sfn According to P. Y. Saeki, the Scottish diplomat Reginald Johnston first rediscovered the site during the summer of 1919.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Saeki himself visited the site in 1931, and recorded that most of the site's buildings still existed at that time.Шаблон:Sfn According to Saeki, the first building after the Shanmen entry was the Hall of Four Heavenly Kings. Beyond the hall, there was a courtyard with two gingko trees, and the Liao and Yuan steles were next to each tree. To the right of the courtyard, there was a kitchen and a dormitory for the monks. To the left of the courtyard, there was another dormitory building. The Main Hall of the temple was at the end of the courtyard, and it contained three statues of Buddha.Шаблон:Sfn
In the 1950s, following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the remaining buildings of the Cross Temple were destroyed.Шаблон:Sfn During the Cultural Revolution, the two steles were knocked down and broken into pieces.Шаблон:Sfn In the 1990s, the Beijing branches of the China Christian Council (CCC) and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) rebuilt the walls around the Cross Temple site.Шаблон:Sfn In 2006, its ruins were named a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.Шаблон:Sfn
Current state
The Cross Temple is the only surviving Nestorian site in China.Шаблон:Sfn It is located near Chechang Village (Шаблон:Zhi), Fangshan. The grounds are Шаблон:Cvt across from east to west, and Шаблон:Cvt across from north to south. It is surrounded by walls on four sides, with entrances in the north and south. No buildings remain standing.Шаблон:Sfn After severe raining in 2012 damaged the site and the walls, gutters and surveillance cameras were added.Шаблон:Sfn
There is some groundwork at the north and west parts of the site, where the Main Hall and the dormitory of the Buddhist monks once stood.Шаблон:Sfn The Main Hall measured Шаблон:Cvt from north to south, and Шаблон:Cvt from east to west. There are pillar bases scattered the ruins of the Main Hall, and remnants of stairs in front.Шаблон:Sfn
In front of the Main Hall, there are two gingko trees: one ancient, and one new. The newer tree was planted to replace another ancient one, which was destroyed by fire.Шаблон:Sfn There was a Shanmen building Шаблон:Cvt to the south of the Main Hall, with dimensions Шаблон:Cvt by Шаблон:Cvt, but its ruins are hardly noticeable now.Шаблон:Sfn
Relics
Stone steles
There are two steles at the Cross Temple site: the Liao stele was raised in 960, and the Yuan stele was raised in 1365. Both were re-carved during the Ming dynasty in 1535. During the Cultural Revolution, the steles Liao stele was broken in the middle and part of its bottom left corner went missing, while the Yuan stele was broken into three pieces. During the early 21st century, both were repaired and re-raised.Шаблон:Sfn Both steles bear inscriptions, though they do not explicitly mention Christianity.Шаблон:Sfn The Yuan stele features a cross at its top, but it is not likely made by the Nestorians, as stele making was a Han Chinese practice, but there were very few Han Nestorians during the Yuan dynasty.Шаблон:Sfn In a 2007 article, the scholar Tjalling Halbertsma recognised that the cross on the Yuan Stele has been "overlooked", with no academic documentation.Шаблон:Sfn
Scholars generally agree that while the two steles were from the Liao and Yuan dynasties respectively, their inscriptions were tampered with by Ming writers, and there are errors in their stated dates and names of individuals.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn According to Wang Xiaojing, in order to elevate the temple's status and garner more support and donations from Buddhists,Шаблон:Sfn the Ming writers changed the inscriptions of the two steles to claim that the temple received royal charters,Шаблон:Sfn that it had received donations from famous figures, and that it had been larger in size during the Yuan period. Tang Xiaofeng and Zhang Yingying suggest that the altered inscriptions were based on existing rumours.Шаблон:Sfn
A replica of the Xi'an Stele was added to the site during the early 21st century, placed in front of the north wall.Шаблон:Sfn
Stone plaque
A stone plaque inscribed with the characters Шаблон:Zhc had previously been installed atop the temple's gate.Шаблон:Sfn Records from 1919 indicated the plaque was still present, but in 1931 Saeki noted that it had fallen off and broken. When Wu Mengling (Шаблон:Zhi) visited the site in October 1992, he found one of the broken pieces in front of the gingko trees.Шаблон:Sfn According to Wang, the plaque is currently stored by the Fangshan District Bureau of Cultural Artifacts,Шаблон:Sfn though Tang and Zhang claim it is on display at the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum.Шаблон:Sfn
Carved stone blocks
There were previously two blocks of carved stone at the Cross Temple site. They are first mentioned by H. I. Harding, second secretary of the English mission in Peking,Шаблон:Sfn who wrote that they were discovered in the summer of 1919 by Christopher Irving—a pseudonym of Reginald Johnston.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Harding recorded claims by the monks that the blocks had been discovered underground in 1357, during repairs to the temple's Hall of Heavenly Kings.Шаблон:Sfn
Fearing that foreigners might remove the stone blocks from the site, Шаблон:Ill and Wang Zuobin of the Peiping Commission for the Preservation of Antiquities (Шаблон:Zhi) surveyed the site in September 1931.Шаблон:Sfn The following month, the blocks were transported to the Peiping Museum of HistoryШаблон:Efn for exhibition.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn During the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were transferred to Nanjing, and are currently on display in the Nanjing Museum. A replica of one of the blocks is in the collection of the National Museum of China, and two replicas are at the nearby Yunju Temple.Шаблон:Sfn
Description
The two stone blocks are rectangular, with a vertical hollow in the rear. They are Шаблон:Cvt tall and Шаблон:Cvt wide. For each, the front face and sides are Шаблон:Cvt and Шаблон:Cvt thick, respectively. Each have crosses carved into their front face, and flowers carved into each of their two sides.Шаблон:Sfn According to Tang Li, Christians following East Syrian traditions in the Far East often showed an adoration of the cross and images.Шаблон:Sfn According to Niu Ruiji, the two stone blocks were originally connected, with the two crosses at the opposite ends.Шаблон:Sfn
While both feature crosses and flowers in vases, details of the carvings differ between the two blocks. The sides of one block feature chrysanthemums in a vase;Шаблон:Sfn the cross on its front is supported by clouds and lotuses, and features a Шаблон:Ill (Шаблон:Zhi) at its centre. Additionally, the cross is surrounded by an inscription in Syriac, which reads:Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Blockquote
According to Moule, F. C. Burkitt found the same text, with the addition of the phrase "the living cross", in one of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Museum.Шаблон:Sfn P. G. Borbone stated that a bronze mirror discovered in Inner Mongolia was possibly produced "in imitation" of the Fangshan cross.Шаблон:Sfn
On the other stone block, the cross also has a Baoxianghua pattern, but there are two heart-like shapes extensions at the left and right ends of the cross. It is also mounted on two layers of lotuses, one facing up and one facing down. On the side, it depicts peonies in a basin.Шаблон:Sfn
Xu Pingfang noted that the style of the details of the carvings is similar to other Yuan ErkehünШаблон:Efn carved stones, and flowers were a contemporary theme. He considered the two stone blocks "the most exquisite" among the cross carvings from the Yuan dynasty currently known.Шаблон:Sfn
See also
Nestorians in China
- Alopen – 7th-century Nestorian missionary, first recorded Nestorian Christian to have reached China
- Adam – 8th-century Nestorian monk in China
- Yahballaha III – 13th-century Yuan Nestorian monk, pupil of Bar Sauma, later Patriarch of the Church of the East
Nestorian artefacts
- Murals from the Christian temple at Qocho – Christian murals dating to the 7th—9th centuries
- Xi'an Stele – 8th-century Tang-era stele documenting Nestorian Christianity in China
- Nestorian pillar of Luoyang – 9th-century Tang Chinese pillar
- Daqin Pagoda – claimed to be a Tang-era Nestorian site
Christianity in Beijing
- List of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing
- Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Beijing – the oldest Catholic church in Beijing
- Zhalan Cemetery – a Ming-era cemetery in Beijing for Catholic missionaries who died in China
- Holy Saviour's Cathedral – a former Anglican cathedral
- Christian-founded institutions: Peking Union Medical College (Шаблон:Abbr 1906), Yenching University (1919–1952), Fu Jen Catholic University (Шаблон:Abbr 1925, later re-established in Taiwan in 1961)
Other West Asian religious sites in China
- Xianshenlou – the sole surviving Zoroastrian building in China, built during the Song dynasty (960–1279)
- Cao'an – a Song dynasty temple originally used by Chinese Manichaeists, now used by Buddhists
- Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, built during the 7th century
Notes
References
Citations
Newspapers
Dissertations
Journal articles
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Book chapters
Books
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Further reading
External links
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