Early Period Through the Tang Dynasty

Since Roman times, China has had periodic contact with Western Europe, chiefly via traders who traveled over the various land routes that are cumulatively referred to as the Silk Road. The earliest documented contact between China and Christianity occurred during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when the Nestorian monk (and also bishop) Alopen arrived in Xi'an in 635. The Nestorian faith was granted official dispensation in an edict of toleration by the Tang Taizong emperor. This edict survives in the famous Nestorian stele, still extant in Xi'an. Carved in 635 and unearthed in Xi'an in 1635, it tells the story of the Christian faith of the Nestorians. Nestorian Christianity reportedly spread to ten provinces in western and northwestern China, with churches established in more than 100 cities. It is known that monasteries were constructed and some thirty Christian books and treatises were translated into Chinese. In addition to the Nestorian stele itself, there are many examples of stone crosses carved in the distinctive Nestorian style throughout China, especially in Beijing and Quanzhou.

In communicating the message of Jesus Christ, the Nestorians adapted Daoist, Confucian, and especially, Buddhist terms and concepts. Adaptation and translation of Christian religious terminology into Chinese is a rigorous and difficult linguistic and theological exercise. Some scholars feel that the use of Buddhist concepts led to a diminution of the distinctiveness of the Christian message, and further led to Nestorianism becoming confused with a variant school of Buddhism. Nonetheless, Chinese historical sources indicate a persecution began under the Wenzong Emperor in 845, and the Nestorian Christian faith was nearly eliminated. The direct causation of this persecution remains unclear. Some cite political problems from close association with various ruling authorities. Others cite the aforementioned conflation with Buddhism, the lack of native Chinese leadership in the churches, or the lack of permanent ties with the home countries of Nestorianism in the Persian orbit. Another point of tension may have been the conflict with the core Confucian values of parental respect and filial piety caused by Nestorian monastic celibacy. While all of these points can generally be rebutted with other evidence, it is important to note that the very issues that presented difficulties in the 7th and 8th centuries often reappeared in later centuries. What is certain is that the first Christian movement in China, with a few localized exceptions, practically disappeared.