Recherche par auteur > Hsu Maria

The well-known Xi'an Stele erected in 781 attests that the first East Syrian missionary monk, Aluoben, arrived in Chinese capital Chang-an in 635, under the Tang Dynasty (618-907). His arrival was also very significant for the Church of the East (i.e. Jingjiao Christianity in China) with the successful evangelization in the Far East. A huge interest in his path has motivated this study. Since the ancient Silk Routes were very important means for interaction between the regions, the Silk Routes also determined the path of religious evangelizing toward the Far East, especially related to the expansion of the Church of the East.

In order to understand the gradual ecclesiastical development of the Church of the East, my research attempts to study the ancient cities from the southern part of the Caspian Sea in the 5th century AD, along the ancient Khorasan and Segestan regions, then, passing on Transoxiana region, classical Oxus River, between Syr Darya and Amu Darya, where the Sogdian traders lived, towards the east by Jëtisuw/Semiryechye region, the Tarim Basin, via China's provinces. With the help of methodology of Christian topography, this research attempts to reconstruct the ancient cities on the Silk Routes, and to re-envisage the original appearance of gradual ecclesiastical development by the Church of the East in Central Asia and in China, and their total disappearance from China in the 10th century AD.

Since this research uses a topographical method, which means by the methodology can examine the literal accuracy of the source materials such as the canonical sources, the literary sources, the epigraphic, archaeological and architectonical evidence or traces to ensure the authenticity of the source materials. And for the proposal of panel indicated by this international meeting, I will try to give an overview of archaeological sources relating to this research, which means that I will try to present several ancient cities with the archaeological traces, remains, objects left of the Church of the East on the ancient Silk Routes in Central Asia until the 7th century AD.