From “Here” to Persia: The Place of Authorship of the Ancient Chinese Christian Manuscript Yishen Lun (Discourse on God)

Abstract

The seventh century Chinese Christian manuscript Yishen lun (Discourse on God) is not what Jingjiao scholarship has said it is, i.e., an Aluoben document composed in Chang’an. This article explains why and examines information available in the text, including the political and social structure of the place of authorship, unusual terms such as zuoren, gǒu and dié, and localization details such as the fabric used for Jesus’ burial and the modification of analogies, and arrives at the conclusion that it was written in the Xiyu (Western Region), at a place such as Gaochang (Turfan). Similarity in language between Yishen lun and other manuscripts from Dunhuang and Turfan also lends support to this view.