|
Abstract The Assyrian Branch of Christianity began to appear in China in the 7th century . With the introduction of thisformof Christianity ,the Assyrianmissionaries appeared toutilizeseeminglyBuddhist symbols ,such as Lotus ,tospreadthis newbelief totheChineseaudience .Scholarsgenerally maintained that the Lotus Symbol which appeared in Assyrian Christianity in China suggested a close link between Buddhist expressions and Assyrian Christianexpressionsin China ,as these two faiths seemed tointeract closely with each other . The Assyrian Christianity had declined in China since the 9th century and did not reappear until the beginningof the YuanDynastyin13th ,as many of the MongolswereChristiansof the Assyrian Church .These Christians in the Yuan Dynasty usually carried a Bronze Cross (commonly yet wrongly referred toas Nestorian Cross) and many of these crosses contained the Swastika symbol . Based on the Buddhist - Christian relationship during Tang Dynasty , many scholars believe that the Swastika design in the Nestorian Cross further evidenced the continual close relation between Assyrian Christians andBuddhists just as they had done several hundred years ago with the Lotus symbol . The appearance of Lotus and Swastika in Assyrian Christians in China became the strongevidence to support such hypothesis . However this paper would like to suggest that the Lotus and Swastika found in the Assyrian Christian artifacts in China might be a legacy of the Aryan tradition carried over by Persians fromCentral Asia than syncretic integration from Buddhismin China .Such hypothesis may suggest that thereis far less exchange between Assyrian Christianity andBuddhismin China than scholars wished to acknowledge .
|
|
Received: 05 December 2009
Published: 27 April 2010
|
|
|
|
