A certain Alopen in Xi'an : Early Christians in China
- Alex Van Egmond
- Jul 7, 2025
- 10 min read
Christianity has a rich and intricate history in China, one that reaches back to the earliest days of the faith.
In the fifth century AD, Nestorian Christians from Central Asia made their way along the Silk Road, establishing communities as they traveled and quietly spreading their beliefs across the vast landscape.
Though their influence remained modest—especially when compared to deeply rooted traditions like Buddhism—their presence was far from insignificant.
The story of the Nestorians in China is a lesser-known but compelling chapter in religious history. In this article, I will explore the essence of Nestorianism and examine the evidence that reveals their presence on Chinese soil.
Text: Alex van Egmond
Nestorianism was an early Eastern branch of Christianity that emerged in the fifth century AD. It was based on the writings of Nestorius, a Syrian monk who served as Patriarch of Constantinople from 428 to 431.
Nestorius emphasized a clear distinction between the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ. As a result, Mary could be considered only the mother of the human Jesus, without any divine status of her own.
At the time, Nestorius’s ideas were deemed heretical by the Christian orthodoxy. After the Council of Ephesus in 431, he was exiled to the Egyptian desert, where he died in 451.
His followers carried on his teachings within the Assyrian Church of the East, though they remained a minority in regions like Mesopotamia and Persia.
Persecution by local rulers eventually pushed them to spread further across Asia. Nestorian communities took root as far afield as India, and by the seventh century, Nestorianism had reached China via the Silk Road.
There, Nestorian Christians established churches and communities in cities such as Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an) and Luoyang. In Chinese sources, their theology was referred to as 'the Luminous Religion' (明教, Míngjiào)—a term used broadly to describe various forms of Christianity.
Nestorian Christians were initially well received in China. They adapted to Chinese culture, using the Chinese language and terminology to spread Christianity. They also translated important religious texts into Chinese, including the Bible and liturgical writings.
But they were also fortunate in the timing of their arrival.
The Tang Dynasty (618-877) was a golden age in Chinese history, a period marked by great confidence in its own culture. The imperial court was open to foreign influences and exchanges, creating a favorable environment for the arrival of new ideas and religions.
Through military campaigns to the west, the Tang Dynasty expanded its influence. Around 630, the submission of various peoples in Turkestan opened and secured the route to and from Persia, making safe travel possible once more.
It was along this route that the first missionaries journeyed eastward, bringing with them the teachings of Nestorius.
The mission
According to tradition, a Syrian monk named Aluoben or Alopen (阿羅本) arrived in China in 635 as the first Christian missionary. In 638, he received official permission from Emperor Taizong (626–648) to establish a church.
Alopen ordained 21 monks and began the translation of theological writings. For this work, he was granted access to the imperial library. With the help of Chinese collaborators, he completed his first translation in 638.
It was not a strict translation in the modern sense, but rather an interpretation of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah. Alopen emphasized that Christianity could be harmonized with Chinese values, explaining that loyalty to the state and filial piety did not conflict with Christian teachings.
The emperor was pleased with Alopen’s efforts and ordered the construction of a monastery in the western part of Chang’an, where many Central Asian merchants lived—some of whom were already Nestorian Christians.
Emperor Gaozong, Taizong’s successor, was also impressed by the Christians in his realm. In an imperial edict, he granted Alopen the title of Spiritual Master. From there, Nestorianism began to spread beyond Chang’an — this much is certain.
Monasteries existed in cities such as Luoyang, Dunhuang, Lingwu, and likely also in what is now Sichuan Province. However, biographical details about Alopen and the activities of the Nestorian community in China remain scarce.
The same is true for the Nestorian monk Adam, also known as Adam of Xi’an, who is credited with composing the text for the Nestorian Stele. This monument—rediscovered in the 17th century—bears his name in both Syriac and Chinese (Jǐngjìng, 景淨).
It is believed that Adam was born in 750 or 751, and that he was the author of the so-called Jingjiao documents — a collection of Nestorian Christian texts written in Chinese. These documents were uncovered in 1908 in a sealed cave in Dunhuang, offering rare insight into the intellectual and theological efforts of the Nestorian church in Tang-era China.
Because of his excellent command of classical Chinese, scholars believe that Adam grew up in China and received a traditional Chinese education. His writings reveal a remarkable blending of Taoist and Confucian concepts with the Christian gospel.
This approach reflected the Nestorians’ strategy of cultural adaptation. For example, the opening section of the Nestorian Stele describes God as the 'Creator of the ten thousand things' — a direct reference to the Dao De Jing.
Before creation, the cosmos is depicted as a state of chaos, and only when qi separates to form the opposing poles of Heaven and Earth can God begin His work. This imagery aligns closely with traditional Chinese cosmology and likely caused little friction among the Tang elite.
During the Tang dynasty, there were even Nestorian bishops residing in China. One such figure, Bishop Gabriel (Jíeliè, 及烈), is mentioned in several sources. Active in the early 8th century, he arrived in Canton (modern-day Guangdong) by 713 or earlier.
To gain favor with the emperor, Gabriel presented 'marvelous objects' — curiosities that captured the court’s imagination. The emperor was impressed, and in 732, the bishop embarked on a second mission to Chang’an, which further advanced the Nestorian cause in the Tang Empire.
Decline
Under the patronage of the Tang emperors, Nestorianism flourished in China. An imperial edict from 744 formally recognized the presence of Nestorians from the Roman Empire (!) and granted them permission to continue their religious activities.
But that prosperity was not to last. In 840, Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, and Taoist influence dominated the court. His persecution of Buddhism in 845 extended to other foreign religions as well—including Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism.
The final blow came with the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907. Yet there is evidence that small Nestorian communities survived in remote corners of the empire.
Dunhuang, a vital hub along the Silk Road, maintained a Nestorian presence. In the Mogao Caves near the city, ancient manuscripts have been discovered that bear clear connections to Nestorian Christianity.
Above all, Nestorian communities remained active in Turpan, about 500 kilometers west of Dunhuang in what is now Xinjiang Province.
Historical sources and archaeological discoveries—such as inscriptions and tombstones — suggest that Nestorianism continued to exist in Turpan well into the fourteenth century.
Even the world-renowned Marco Polo mentions Nestorian churches, notable Nestorian figures, and cities with active Nestorian communities in his travel accounts.
In 1278, Marco Polo traveled from Khanbaliq (present-day Beijing) to Quanzhou. Along the way, in Zhenjiang — just south of the Yangtze River — he noted the presence of two Nestorian churches founded by a bishop named Sergius.
To Polo, the Nestorians were heretics, deviating from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote:
'There are people who follow the law of Christ, but not according to the ordinances of the Roman Church, for in many things they go astray'.
Another traveler who encountered Nestorian communities was the Flemish missionary William of Rubruck, who journeyed to the Mongol court in the 13th century.
Rubruck’s account is considered far more reliable than Marco Polo’s, as he was the first Western observer to provide accurate descriptions of Buddhist customs. His theological training also enabled him to distinguish more clearly between different religions. Along his route, he encountered Jacobites, Greek Orthodox Christians, and Muslims, among others.
Like Polo, however, Rubruck regarded the Nestorians as heretics, accusing them of corruption and naivety. Their critical observations coincided with a revival of Nestorianism in China during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).
The Mongol ruler of China, Kublai Khan (1215–1294), had no objections to the presence of Nestorians in his empire. In fact, his mother was a Nestorian, and it is known that Kublai Khan allowed Nestorian priests to burn incense before him. On Easter and Christmas, he even kissed the holy scriptures.
At court, Kublai Khan appointed a Nestorian as head of the Ministry of Western Astronomy and Medicine. However, it should be noted that, with the exception of Islam, the Mongol ruler maintained good relations with all religions within his realm.
Just as Nestorianism in the Tang Dynasty had relied heavily on imperial patronage for its survival, so too did it depend on the favor of the emperor in the Yuan Dynasty. With the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368 and the rise of the Ming Dynasty, Nestorianism gradually faded from China.
Modern Nestorians
Even today, new discoveries continue to shed light on the early history of Christianity in China. In 2014, the discovery of a Nestorian tomb in Henan Province made significant headlines.
The tomb, marked with a Syriac cross, contained the remains of a Christian and was the oldest Nestorian grave found to date. The discovery was made at the site of the Longmen Caves, known for their many Buddhist and Taoist sculptures.
Researcher Jiao Jianhui, who made the discovery, speculated that this new find may offer fresh insights into the alleged suppression of Nestorianism under Buddhism. These kinds of discoveries continue to piece together the hidden history of Nestorian Christianity in ancient China.
However, the disappearance of Nestorian communities after the fourteenth century remains a well-established fact. In Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan region, and in India, Nestorianism continued to exist in a handful of places.
Persecutions in the 19th and 20th centuries, carried out by the Iraqi and Turkish governments, significantly reduced the number of believers. The remaining followers then spread across the globe, and today the number is estimated to be around 300,000.
Nestorianism lives on today under the name Assyrian Church of the East, with the current patriarch, Mar Awa III, residing in the United States. His predecessor, Mar Dinkha IV, who led the church from 1976 to 2015, was highly successful in expanding the membership and strengthening ties with the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1978, he had his first meeting with Pope John Paul II, and subsequent discussions with the Vatican culminated in 1994 in an official mutual recognition. This marked the end of over 1,500 years of condemnation of Nestorianism.
Perhaps even more fascinating was the visit of Mar Awa III to China in 2012. Prior to his consecration as patriarch, he visited Xi'an as a priest and celebrated the Holy Eucharist in Aramaic, the classical Semitic language. He also visited the Nestorian Stele.
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The Nestorian Stele
In 1623 or 1625, the Nestorian Stele was discovered in Xi'an. Weighing two tons, this stone, also known as the Xi'an Stele, is a historical artifact that offers significant insight into the early history of Christianity in China.
The stele was discovered during excavation work at the Chongren Temple site, just outside Xi'an. This limestone tablet, dating back to 781, features inscriptions in both Chinese and Syriac, describing the last 150 years of Christianity's history in China.
The inscriptions recount the arrival of the first Nestorian missionaries, including Alopen, during the Tang Dynasty, their interactions with the imperial courts, and the establishment of Nestorian communities.
Shortly after the discovery, a Chinese Christian informed the Jesuits in Beijing. A copy of the stele was promptly translated into Latin and sent to Europe.
Before the discovery, the Jesuits had no idea that Christianity had already arrived in China a thousand years earlier. It is important to note, however, that they viewed Nestorianism as heresy, and there was resistance from the Roman Catholic Church to studying the stele.
The authenticity of the stele even became the subject of heated debates among European scholars in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Nonetheless, the Nestorian Stele remains invaluable, as it provides tangible evidence of early Christianity in China and the contact between Nestorians and Chinese society.
It sheds light on the religious diversity and tolerance of ancient China, where various religions and philosophies coexisted. The title etched on the stele refers to the teachings from Daqin (大秦), which is the Chinese name for the Roman Empire.
The discovery of the stele sparked renewed interest in the early history of Christianity in China. Today, the monument is still on display at the Stele Forest Museum in Xi'an, though the inscriptions and illustrations have become almost illegible over the centuries.
Palm Sunday in Turpan
Between 1902 and 1914, the Germans Albert von Le Coq (1856–1935) and Albert Grünwedel (1860–1930) carried out a total of four archaeological expeditions to the Turpan Oasis, located in Xinjiang Province.
The goal of these expeditions was to collect as many significant artifacts and texts as possible. Professor Grünwedel, who headed the ethnographic department of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin, was the leading figure behind these expeditions.
Inspired by the findings of Russian expeditions in Central Asia, Grünwedel was able to secure financial backing, including support from the Krupp company, to lead the first expedition in 1902–1903.
The result was 46 crates filled with paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and an additional 13 crates containing zoological objects. This success quickly led to the organization of a second expedition the following year, which headed to the Turpan Depression.
This second expedition was led by his assistant, the wealthy brewer Le Coq, as Grünwedel had to cancel due to health issues. Le Coq worked rigorously and even sawed frescoes from the rocks to ship them to Berlin, which is why his name today carries a bitter aftertaste in China.
Nonetheless, the second expedition yielded an even greater treasure, including the discovery of a Christian church in Qocho, located thirty kilometers from Turpan. Inside the church, the expedition members uncovered three frescoes depicting Palm Sunday, repentance, and the Entry into Jerusalem.
Of course, Le Coq immediately set to work cutting them out and sending them to Berlin. The final fresco, depicting the Entry into Jerusalem, was lost, surviving only as a sketch that Grünwedel made in 1905. However, the fresco depicting the Palm Sunday procession shows a priest with an Asian appearance and three figures holding palm branches.
The priest in the fresco holds an incense burner in one hand and, in his other hand, probably a vessel of holy water. The fresco further depicts a woman in a red robe, devoutly folding her hands in prayer.
Both of these frescoes are now on display at the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in Berlin, and they date from the seventh to ninth century.
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