Frits Vilhelm Holm

“ A large brick entrance in ruins and some remnants of a decayed Löss wall show the former large extent of the temple. But to-day we only find a comparatively modern center building, which is more of a farm than a temple. Everybody was busy with the wheat harvest, even the three Buddhist priests, and nobody interfered with me as I walked about snapshooting and wondering at the ruinous surroundings of such an invaluable monument. ”

“ Thus, by correct and enlarged purity of principle, and undeviating consistency in sympathy with others; by extended commiseration rescuing multitudes from misery, while disseminating blessings on all around, the cultivation of our doctrine gained a grand basis, and by gradual advances its influence was diffused. If the winds and rains are seasonable, the world will be at rest; men will be guided by principle, inferior objects will be pure; the living will be at ease, and the dead will rejoice ”

“ Twenty-seven sacred books [5] have been left, which disseminate intelligence by unfolding the original transforming principles. By the rule for admission, it is the custom to apply the water of baptism, to wash away all superficial show and to cleanse and purify the neophytes. As a seal, they hold the cross, whose influence is reflected in every direction, uniting all without distinction. As they strike the wood, the fame of their benevolence is diffused abroad; worshiping toward the east, they hasten on the way to life and glory ”

“ Tablet Eulogizing the Propagation of the Illustrious Religion in China, With a Preface; Composed by King-Tsing,
A Priest of the Syrian Church.
BEHOLD the unchangeably true and invisible, who existed through all eternity without origin; the far-seeing perfect intelligence, whose mysterious existence is everlasting; operating on primordial substance he created the universe, being more excellent than all holy intelligences, inasmuch as he is the source of all that is honorable. ”

“ The true Lord is without origin,
Profound, invisible, and unchangeable;
With power and capacity to perfect and transform,
He raised up the earth and established the heavens.
Divided in nature, he entered the world,
To save and to help without bounds ”

“ Holm, the enterprising young Danish traveler who on another page gives an account of his recent Nestorian expedition to Sian-fu, certainly deserves the heartiest congratulations on the success of his very notable achievement. Although the rare value of his prize, the earliest Christian monument in China dating from 781 A. D., has long been acknowledged by students and missionaries, he is the first who has had the enterprise to cause a copy to be made and conveyed to the Western world. ”

“ Photograph by Holm.
It is not a generally known fact that in North China, in the provinces of Shansi, Shensi, Kansu and Honan, thousands of Chinese families live all their lives in caves dug out of the Löss. This wonderful geological deposit is indeed the fortune of the peasant of North China. It yields two harvests a year, the first a wheat-crop, the second a crop of maize, millet and the like. ”

“ After the final establishment of the Ming dynasty almost nothing is known concerning either them or the Nestorians, and it is probable that during the wanderings of the defeated Mongols the adherents of both sects gradually lapsed into ignorance and thence easily into Mohammedanism and Buddhism. There is no reasonable doubt, however, that during the three centuries ending with the accession of Hungwu the greater part of Central Asia and Northern China was the scene of many flourishing Christian communities. ”

“ At the present time no works composed by their priests, or remains of any churches belonging to them or buildings erected by them, are known to exist in the Empire, though perhaps some books may yet be found. The buildings erected by the Nestorians for churches and dwellings were, of course, no better built than other Chinese edifices, and would not long remain when deserted; while, to account still further for the absence of books, the Buddhists and other opposers may have sought out and destroyed such as existed, which even if carefully kept would not last many generations. ”

“ Our great benefactor, the Imperially-conferred-purple-gown priest, [8] I-sz', titular Great Statesman of the Banqueting-house, Associated Secondary Military Commissioner for the Northern Region, and Examination-palace Overseer, was naturally mild and graciously disposed; his mind susceptible of sound doctrine, he was diligent in the performance: from the distant city of Râjagriha, [9] he came to visit China; his principles more lofty than those of the three dynasties, his practice was perfect in every department ”

“ According to the Illustrated Memoir of the Western Regions, and the historical books of the Han and Wei dynasties, the kingdom of Syria reaches south to the Coral Sea; on the north it joins the Gem Mountains; on the west it extends toward the borders of the immortals and the flowery forests; on the east it lies open to the violent winds and tideless waters. The country produces fire-proof cloth, life-restoring incense, bright moon-pearls, and night-lustre gems. Brigands and robbers are unknown, but the people enjoy happiness and peace. None but Illustrious laws prevail ”

“ And when the agriculturist seeks a home, he takes his spade or shovel and he digs for his wife, his children and himself, a cave in the soft Löss wall, which, although badly ventilated, gives him a safe shelter, cool in the heat of the summer and offering a cosy corner during the harsh winter. These caves are almost destitute of any furniture; sometimes we only find the kang or hot bedstead, a "sofa" made of Löss and heated from below with a steady fire, which cheers the whole family and the rare traveler during the long winter night. ”

“ This replica is one of the most beautiful pieces of Chinese workmanship I have ever seen. In the first place there is not a measure, not a character, not a detail that differs from the original tablet— even the weight is the same. ”

“ Corvino, a Roman Catholic missionary, arrived in India in 1291 and thence proceeded in 1292 with a caravan to China where he was kindly received by Kublai Khan. He came in contact with the native Chinese Christians, but they were by no means pleased at his arrival. The Nestorians opposed his progress for eleven years and hampered him in his work whenever they could, but he built churches and baptized nearly 6000 persons in spite of their opposition. ”

“ Like most stones of a similar kind it stands on the back of a clumsily worked stone-tortoise, but nothing is left of a protecting shed, and nothing indicates, as some authors most likely wrongly, assert, that the stone and its neighbors, which do not even stand in a straight line, have ever been built into a brick wall. An old picture of the stone shows it encased in a kind of brick niche, and it is by no means impossible that this has given rise to the wrongful idea concerning a brick wall. ”

“ The 'Peilin,' or 'forest of tablets,' a place where innumerable small and large tablets with inscriptions of great age are kept, was the destination of the Chingchiaopei. The 'Peilin' is a place of great interest, and it is well-nigh incredible that the officials on the spot had never thought of moving the stone thither. ”

“ It would seem that during the sway of the Mongol princes these missionaries carried on their work chiefly among their tribes. It is, if such was the case, less surprising, therefore, that we hear nothing of them and their converts after the Chinese troops had expelled Kublai's weak descendants from the country in 1368, since they would naturally follow them into Central Asia. ”

“ SKETCH-MAP OF THE POSITION OF THE NESTORIAN TABLET.
From a sketch by Mr. Holm.
less complete, of the Chinese and Syriac inscriptions have been published. The task of translating the ca. 2000 characters on the stone is a very difficult one, but the translation by the well-known sinologist Dr. Wylie, [2] is generally considered the best.
"On the 10th of June, 1907, I first visited the resting-place of the unique monument. ”

“ E. C. Bridgman published Kircher's Latin translation with the French version of Dalquié, and another of his own, which brought it more into notice. The style is very terse, and the exact meaning not easily perceived even by learned natives. ”