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The Jesus Sutras (Part 1)_ Introduction _ The Jesus Question

The document discusses the historical presence of Christianity in China, particularly through the 'Jesus Sutras,' a set of scrolls from the 7th and 8th centuries that blend Jesus' teachings with Eastern thought. It highlights the efforts of Persian missionaries to adapt Christian teachings to the Chinese worldview, addressing local spiritual concerns rather than imposing Western theological frameworks. The timeline provided outlines key events in the history of Christianity in China, including the establishment of monasteries and the eventual persecution of Christians.

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2 views3 pages

The Jesus Sutras (Part 1)_ Introduction _ The Jesus Question

The document discusses the historical presence of Christianity in China, particularly through the 'Jesus Sutras,' a set of scrolls from the 7th and 8th centuries that blend Jesus' teachings with Eastern thought. It highlights the efforts of Persian missionaries to adapt Christian teachings to the Chinese worldview, addressing local spiritual concerns rather than imposing Western theological frameworks. The timeline provided outlines key events in the history of Christianity in China, including the establishment of monasteries and the eventual persecution of Christians.

Uploaded by

hispalis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Jesus Question

Tracing the identity of Jesus through


history, art, and pop culture

The Jesus Sutras (Part 1): Introduction


Posted on August 22, 2011 by Victoria Emily Jones

Several months ago I watched a BBC documentary series by Oxford professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, called A
History of Christianity. In the first DVD, MacCulloch travels to China and discusses, on site in Xian, the exist
of a Christian community that flourished there in the seventh century, and contributed greatly to the faith.

The fact that Christianity had taken root in China as early as the 600s was news to me. Of course I had always
known that Christianity started in Asia, but when I reflect on its origins, I tend to follow the strand that travel
straight from the Near East to Rome, forgetting that Christianity also spread out in other directions and devel
unique forms among those cultures in which it landed. The European Christianity out of which American
Christianity grew is only one of many Christian traditions that span the globe, and by no means the “truest” o
most authoritative version, even though it wields the most power.

After viewing the documentary, I wanted to find out more about how Christianity came to China, and especial
about the so-called “Jesus Sutras” on which the early Chinese Christians based their understanding of Christ.
main source of information is Martin Palmer’s book The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoi
Christianity.

The Jesus Sutras, in a nutshell, are


a set of eight Chinese scrolls from the
seventh and eighth centuries that
combine the teachings of Jesus with
the principles of Eastern thought.
They are based on the second-century
Syriac text Teachings of the Apostles,
which Persian missionaries brought
to China around 635 AD and
translated into Chinese, with the
financial support of the emperor. But
rather than doing a straight
translation, the missionaries
The Da Qin pagoda was erected in 781 in Xian as an
add-on to the Christian monastery that had been built incorporated elements of Taoist and
there in 640. The persecution of Christians led to its
Buddhist spirituality, which they had
abandonment in 845.
learned from the people they had met
along their 3,000-mile Silk Road This painting was done by Niu Guang X
journey. They wanted to share Jesus with the Chinese, but they wanted to 2005. The calligraphy at the right explain
history of the pagoda and how he serve
place him in a context that they would understand and appreciate. translator for a visiting group of Christia
1997. It concludes, “I have written this a
offering to the Body of our Lord, to sha
Palmer puts it this way:
together and remember His grace.”

Instead of doing what many missionaries have tried to do—namely,


make people adapt to a Western mind-set of original sin and the
classic death-resurrection model—these teachings take seriously the spiritual concerns of China
and offer Jesus and his teachings as a solution to these issues. These Sutras enter directly into the
challenge of the Chinese worldview, bringing salvation to the people rather than trying to
reconfigure their entire worldview. (175)

This sort of spiritual fusion raises many questions. Namely, is the gospel of Jesus being compromised so that
can fit into a framework that’s already in place? How can the canonical Christian scriptures, which grew out o
Hebraic and Greco-Roman cultural contexts, apply to people of different times, places, and backgrounds? Sho
doctrine be fixed or fluid? Where’s the line between contextualization and syncretism?

The translation of Christian scriptures into Chinese for the first


time posed a challenge for the translators, seeing as the Chinese
believed in karma rather than sin, and in reincarnation rather
than heaven or hell. They weren’t asking, as Western theology
presupposes, “How can I be freed from sin?” Instead, they viewed
desire as their main enslaver, and sought release from the
endless cycle of suffering it causes. The Persians, in their
translation work, did make an effort to explain the concept of a
triune God, and what separates man from said God (sin), and
why the death of the second person of the Godhead was
necessary (atonement), but they also addressed the existential
concerns of the Chinese, answering questions that Westerners Christian priests in a procession on Palm Sunday, in a 7th- o
don’t think to ask. The Sutras present Jesus as a savior—not only century wall painting from a church in China.

a savior from sin but from the hopelessness of perpetual


existence in this world.

Here’s a timeline that breaks down the relevant chronology. I’ve set some key names and places in boldface:

635: A small band of Persian missionaries, led by the monk Aluoben, arrive at the Tang dynasty capital
Xian.
638: Emperor Taizong builds a translation center for the Christian delegation, who immediately sets to
work “translating” (adapting) the scriptures they brought into Chinese. Four different manuscripts are
produced.
640: The first Christian monastery is built in China, referred to in historical writings as the Da Qin (“of t
West”) monastery.
720: Chinese monks start writing their own Christian sutras, which have a liturgical focus.
752: The Church in China is now essentially cut off from its Mother Church in Persia, due to Muslim contr
over old travel routes.
781: The Stone Sutra Stele is erected to celebrate the building of the Da Qin pagoda. The Chinese Chu
is now well-established and widespread, and still imperially supported.
795: Persecution begins under the Taoist/Confucian bureaucracy.
841-845: The Chinese Court dissolves all Christian monasteries so that it can confiscate their land and we
An imperial edict orders this action on the grounds that this new religion “adulterate[s] the customs of Ch
1005: The Jesus Sutras are sealed up in a cave at Dunhuang, 1,000 miles west of Xian.
1623: The Stone Sutra Stele is discovered by gravediggers. The stele contains a 150-year history of Christi
in China, from its beginnings in 635.
1907: The cave at Dunhuang is rediscovered and its contents scattered by Western explorers and Chinese
antiquity robbers.
1920s: The Jesus Sutras are purchased by Japanese and European collectors from antique dealers in and
around Beijing.
1998: The still-intact Da Qin Pagoda is discovered by Martin Palmer and his team of researchers. Insid
statues, underground passageways, and artifacts that give insight into the era and rituals of the early Chin
Christians.
2001: The Jesus Sutras, written by Martin Palmer, is published by Wellspring/Ballantine. To my knowled
Palmer’s is the first English translation of the Sutras.

The Jesus Sutras are held today in private collections in France and Japan, largely inaccessible to the public. I
real shame that so little information can be found about them online. I’d really like to change that. The Sutras
a rich and beautiful body of spiritual writings, and I hope that you check back regularly as I delve deeper into
them.

Read Part 2: The Religion of Light.


This entry was posted in Theology and tagged christianity in china, da qin pagoda. Bookmark the permalink.

21 Responses to The Jesus Sutras (Part 1): Introduction

J O says:
August 24, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Thanks for sharing this interesting article.


Reply

Malcolm Duff says:


September 1, 2011 at 5:46 pm

Hi Victoria, I came across your blogs because I am doing some research into the Nestorian Church’s missionary engagem
and relationship with other faiths. You might be interested to read A church on fire – the Nestorian Missionary Enterpr
by john stewart, which tells of their spread across Asia from Syria and Persia, and of surviving Nestorians in India. Ther
also other histories of the Church, but not much has been written analysing their contextual theological approach. Keep
the good work!
Reply

0shay0 says:
January 27, 2012 at 12:38 am

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