Religious Diversity
1 min readNestorianism,a branch of Christianity, was introduced into China during the reign of Emperor Taizong.Nestorius(c.386-c.451), the founder, was condemned for practicing heresy and expelled by the Roman Church in 431. He later died in exile in the deserts of western Egypt. His followers seceded from the Roman Church and started spreading their religion to the east.
Olopen(birth and death dates unknown), one of their archbishops, arrived in Chang’ an in 635 with his retinue, calling themselves”Nestorians.”Emperor Taizong appointed Prime Minister Fang Xuanling (579-648) to welcome them and assigned the imperial library to themto translate their religious scriptures. The government even provided funds for the newcomers to build a church in the capital city.
Two other religions, Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism, were also introduced into China during the Tang Dynasty. Zoroastrianism originated in Persia, where it was twice established as the state religion. It had been introduced by Suguda merchantsentering China in the early 4th century, and was officially recognized in the early Tang Dynasty. Manichaeism had been created by Mani (216-c.274),a Persian, later banished by the Zoroastrians. After Mani was persecuted to death by the Persian king Bahram I in 277, his followers fled abroad, spreading their religion to many other places. It has been documented that Manichaeism reached the inlands of China as early as the reign of Emperor Gaozong(r.650-683). Empress Wu, who ruled the Tang Empire from 690 to 705, approved the teachings of Manichaeism as well.
