Chang’an
Capital of Tang China, on the site of modern Xi’an. The monk Aluoben arrived here in 635, and the edict of 638 ordered a Christian monastery built in its Yining ward.
Chang’an was the capital of the Tang emperors. The Xi’an Stele says that Aluoben was received here by Taizong in 635 (Xi’an Stele, Chinese text, on the year 635), and that after the edict of 638 a monastery was built for his teaching in the city’s Yining ward (Xi’an Stele, Chinese text, edict of 638). The Syriac lines on the stele speak of “Cumdan the royal city” (Xi’an Stele, Syriac text). The stele itself is kept in the Beilin Museum in modern Xi’an.
What happened here
- AD 635, estimated dateThe Church of the East Reaches China
A monk named Aluoben (Alopen) brings Christian scriptures to the Tang capital Chang’an. In 638 the emperor Taizong licenses the teaching and has a monastery built. A stele of 781 tells the story.
Primary sources
The Xi’an Stele
- Xi’an Stele, Chinese text, on the year 635sourcebooks.fordham.edu
- Xi’an Stele, Chinese text, edict of 638sourcebooks.fordham.edu
- Xi’an Stele, Syriac textsourcebooks.fordham.edu