Published on July 9, 2024, 12:39 am

Immersed within the vast, intricate sea of engraved slabs and columns that form the expansive Stele Forest in Xi’an city lies one of China’s hidden jewels. Known as daqin jingjiao liuxing zhongguo bei (大秦景教流行中国碑) or more casually referred to as the jingjiao bei, it constitutes a crucial relic in Chinese history. Towering at nine feet tall, its surface is perfectly inscribed with 1,900 Chinese hieroglyphs along with smidges of Syriac text. Erected on January 7th, 781 within Chang’an — modern-day Xian’s Tang imperial capital — the stele serves as a historical monument to honor early Christians’ advent to China, bringing their “luminous faith” characterized by worship for Allaha and Mshiha.

The stele inscription reads, “Among the enlightened and holy men who arrived was the most-virtuous Olopun, from Syria…” documenting their resilient journey against elements. Thanks to these diligent pioneers including Olopun for their tireless religious propagation efforts, Christian communities thrived in Tang China. They were graciously welcomed by Emperor Taizong whose syncretic personal religion liberally borrowed from various Eurasian faiths. However, this peaceful existence came to an end due to Emperor Wuzong’s campaign aimed at eradicating all religions except Taoism and Confucianism amidst his desperation quest for immortality. Unfortunately, by 987 A.D., Christianity had nearly become extinct in China.

Despite these severe adversities spanning centuries, Jingjiao — or China’s luminous faith — endured tenaciously thanks to Jesuit missionaries such as Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci who revived Christian practices with cultural sensitivity during the sixteenth century. Fast-forward nearly two centuries; there were approximately 240 thousand Christian followers in China (1844), surging to about 720 thousand by the early 20th century and ballooning up to six million alongside almost thirty-eight million Protestants today.

However, current religious practices in China are very different; Christianity’s deep roots plunged into Chinese soil many centuries ago have been threatened by Marxist-Leninist-Maoist indoctrination since the Communist Party’s seizure of power in 1949. The ongoing drive for Sinicization imposes significant stress on recognized religions such as Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism to adhere strictly to constant political indoctrination from official platforms. Unauthorized religious expressions remain illegal as authorities impose harsh penalties like imprisonment and heavy fines.

Today’s Holy See finds itself in a particularly tricky situation with the Chinese government demonstrating increasing control over the Catholic Patriotic Association whilst threatening independent Catholics with intensified oppression. Despite their secretive accord brokered in 2018 and renewed subsequently, Beijing has repeatedly violated the pact audaciously while the Vatican has remained disturblingly tolerant so far.

China’s persistent co-opting of Catholicism as part of its brutal campaign involving religious oppression, homicide, and organ harvesting is utterly unacceptable. Consequently, Christian practitioners must confront an increasingly difficult predicament that leaves them with arduous choices between joining unprotected underground communities – reminiscent of Nero or Diocletian times – or discreetly accessing banned religious texts despite ruthless laws against “illegal publications.”

The year ahead appears pivotal for Chinese Catholicism’s history. Given its impressive endurance over years weathering relentless persecutions and cultural revolutions’ fury, it surely merits more than just a lingering demise enforced by ruthless communists and gullible prelates onto this “luminous faith”, echoing what was brought forth back on January 7th, 781 by determined evangelists,
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