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13. Da Qin pagoda near Xi’an (Chang’an)
Circa 8th century CE
South of Xi’an, China
Ricci 13 KP China 2007 234
The title Da Qin appears on the famous Christian stele in Xi’an, referring to Da Qinjiao or the “Roman Religion,” a name for Christianity that was applied to the teachings of the Church of the East in China during the Tang Dynasty.
The scholar P.Y. Saeki reported in the early 1930s that a structure in the mountains south of Xi’an had the peculiar title of “Da Qin,” leading to speculation that the pagoda was once the site of an Eastern Christian monastery. The structure itself is heavily damaged from seismic activity and is in a Buddhist temple compound that has Daoist antecedents, but intriguingly, the pagoda has long had local associations with “the One God.” There are some poorly preserved clay sculptures that have excited some art-historical interest as possible biblical scenes, but until further excavation is done, the site’s Christian connections remain elusive and controversial.
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