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text on the stele. The Syriac sections give a list of names of over 70 bishops, priests and
monks.

The story told in the inscription was so amazing that after the inscription's publication in the
early 17

century, its authenticity began to be questioned. Debate and study continued

periodically until, by the late 19

century, numerous scholars had personally examined the

stone and vouched for its authenticity. However, it took a second great archaeological event
to lay any final doubts to rest the discovery of the scrolls of Dunhuang

B. The Scrolls from Dunhuang

In 1908 the French archaeologist and explorer Paul Pelliot came upon a cave 800 miles NW
of Xi'an (1350 miles due E. of Samarkand) that had been sealed in AD 1036. Within was a
treasure trove of ancient art and manuscripts. While many of the precious scrolls were taken
to the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, others found their way onto the black market. Among
those that surfaced in private collections during the following decades were at least 9
Christian texts.

One set of 4 texts may have come from the pen of Alopen himself, the leader of the 635
mission journey. The oldest of the texts is the "Jesus the Messiah Sutra", purchased in 1922
by Dr. Takakusu. Prof. Saeki dates the text between 635-638, declaring it the first Nestorian
sutra ever composed in China. A second manuscript contained three other early sutras
attributed to Alopen -- a "Discourse on Monotheism", a "Parable, Part 2," and a "Discourse
on the Oneness of the Ruler of the Universe." These were purchased in 1916 by another
Japanese collector, Mr. Tomeoka. All four of the documents were published in 1931 by the
Kyoto Institute of the Oriental Culture Academy with an introduction by Prof. Haneda, and
dated to c. 641.

A second series of 5 documents came directly from the cave at Dunhuang but are of a later
date, 4 perhaps from the pen of a Bishop Cyriacus in the early 8

c. and the fifth an

anonymous work of the 10

c. The four eighth-century works are a hymn in adoration of the

Trinity, a Transfiguration hymn (dated AD 720), a work entitled "Sutra Aiming at Mysterious
Rest and Joy", and a "Sutra on the Origin of Origins" (dated AD 717) The 10

century work

is entitled "The Book of Praise" and seems to be equivalent to the diptychs and triptychs used
in the early Greek and Latin church, a set series of prayers and thanksgiving to God for
various living and departed Christian saints and leaders. We will save comment on the
contents of these 9 Chinese Christian documents until later in our presentation.

While additional archaeological evidence came to light in the early twentieth century
confirming that Christianity spread widely in China as a result of the Nestorian mission, it
was not widely noted by scholars. Except for Dr. Saeki's excellent and thorough 1951 book
in English, the story of the Nestorian church in China fell into almost total obscurity among