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CHAPTER CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ¶ THE DISCOVERY, STUDY AND SOURCE OF INTRODUCTION

The Discovery, Study, and Source of SI 寺 IN TURFAN AREA ¶ 1.1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ¶ From the in the Turfan Region

1.1 General Introduction

The excavated documents in Turfan, there were many from Turfan reveal a significant number of Si[^1] that appeared documented in the Gaochang kingdom and in during the Tang period, and as to period. Regarding the religious affiliation of these Si, most Chinese and Japanese the majority of scholars agree from China and Japan concur that they are all of them are Buddhist, although they do not argue in detail one by one.[^2] engage in detailed individual analysis.[^2] They just assumed merely assume that all Chinese word terms Si 寺should belong 寺 correspond to Buddhism. This assumption has led directly to the fact that resulted in all studies scholarly investigations of these Si fall into Si being confined to the study of Buddhism.

However, a few Nevertheless, certain scholars doubt have expressed skepticism regarding the religious identity of these Si Si from the Zoroastrian perspective.[^3] perspective [^3]. This thesis will continue seeks to challenge to this assumption and is devoted to exploring dedicated to examining the religious identities of these Si one by one. systematically. The word term Seng 僧 [monks] will also include. Instead to make a general assumption, the best way to explore the religious identities of be included in this analysis. Rather than making generalized assumptions, the most effective approach to investigating these Si is to examine involves systematically analyzing each individual case, contextualizing them one by one, putting them in a within specific situation as possible, historical contexts based on both textual and archeological archaeological evidence in from the Turfan area (7th-9th centuries). during the seventh to ninth centuries.

Turfan has been historically functioned as a cosmopolitan city where many multiple religions coexisted since ancient times, however, when antiquity. Nevertheless, scholars look at often assume without question that the Chinese Si, they take for granted the assumption that it is Si represents a Buddhist temple rather than a building of structure associated with other religions. religious traditions. This essay attempts to look at the point seeks to examine this issue from the Church of the East[^4] perspective. perspective of the Church of the East[^4].

Si as a religious building also associated with structure linked to the institutional aspect framework of the Church of the East in Turfan[^5] during 7^th^ to 9^th^ the 7th–9th centuries. Its important was ignored significance has been overlooked by recent scholarship. On the one hand, the ecclesiastical organization of the Church of the East in Persian realm have territories has been extensively studied extensively through the works of Fiey[^6] and Wilmshurst[^7]. On the other hand, scholars who studied specializing in Central Asia and China never have not systematically touched addressed this specific topic.

The recent studies Recent scholarly investigations of the Church of the East either focus primarily concentrate on Chinese material materials from Changan and Luoyang from 7 century to 9 century Chang'an and Luoyang during the 7th to 9th centuries, or focus on predominantly examine Syriac and Sogdian (some Old Turkish) fragments in Turfan discovered in Turfan, dating from 8 century to 14 centuries with less concern with the 8th to 14th centuries, with limited attention given to their mutual-connections, co-existence and dialoging interconnections, coexistence, and dialogues with other religions. religious traditions.

The Chinese sources about concerning the Church of the East are limited in to the Changan and Dunhuang, it's never reach to Dunhuang regions, with no extant records reaching the Turfan area, despite the archeological undeniable presence of archaeological sites and Syriac and Sogdian sources existed in there undeniably. The recent studies there. Recent scholarly investigations of the Church of the East are also limited (primarily) have predominantly focused on the doctrinal, liturgical, spiritual, and practical texts. While there are texts, with no specific studies on addressing its broader political, social, economic, or institutional aspects. dimensions. However, the contents of the Christian Turfan fragments housed in Berlin give us nearly no clue of offer minimal insight into the institutional aspect framework of the Church of the East.[^8] Therefore, Consequently, this thesis will seeks to broaden the scope to the sources (mainly of inquiry by examining Chinese) to sources—primarily textual—regarding the political, economic, and social records by examine through the analysis of the Chinese words term Si.

The name of the Si is an important constitutes a significant factor in determining religious identity, although it is also very complex. First, there are family its complexity remains evident. Family temples (abbreviated designated as FS), which are supposed intended to be sponsored by a family clan, and which also clan and reflect their the ethnic and regional identity of associated with the temple. A basic fundamental principle in of this thesis is posits that if the family name responds to aligns with the characteristics of the Sogdian or Persian locality, as argued in Chapter 3, 3 [^1], then it is likely to be correspond to the Church of the East and less likely to be represent a Buddhist temple. If Conversely, if the family name responds to aligns with the characteristics of the Central Plains region (that is i.e., Chinese) region, then [^2], it is a little somewhat more likely to be probable to associate with a Buddhist temple.

It is not enough to rely Relying solely on a family name alone to determine its is insufficient to ascertain an individual's religious identity, because affiliation, as religious beliefs are not necessarily confined within a family, and it is quite possible that there are people of different religious beliefs appearing under the same family name. For example, there are Zoroastrians, Christians, Manichaeans and Buddhists inherently restricted to familial contexts. Diverse faiths, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Buddhism (this is influenced by the Mahayana Buddhism of prevalent in the Central Plains) among the Sogdians. The , were practiced by individuals bearing the same surname. For instance, archaeological evidence from the Tangchao Dun site reveals that Buddhist temples and the Church of the East church were situated approximately 10 minutes apart [^9]. Consequently, the presence of Central Plains family names of the Central Plains are does not necessarily all Buddhist, for example, in the archaeological sites of the Tangchao Dun 唐朝墩, the indicate Buddhist temples and the church of the Church of the East are close by about a 10-minute walk.[^9] It affiliation, and concluding that a site is quite possible to have different religions in the same surname or even in the same family. Therefore, to judge it as a Buddhist temple simply because the family name is from the Central Plains is not a strong enough solely based on such names constitutes an insufficient argument.

[^1]: 寺, usually translated as temple in the aspect of religious identity. I will talk about it later in details.

[^2]: For example, Yan Yaozhong 1992, 2019; Yao Chongxin 1996, 1999 and 2008.

[^3]: Guo Pingliang 1988, Zhang guangda 1999.

[^4]: The Church of the East has often been termed 'Nestorian', however, recent scholars tend to call it as the Church of the East, the term adopted for this paper. See Brock 1996, pp.23-35. My focus is the Church of the East, since other two branches, the Melkites and the Miaphysites, play a less important role in Central Asia and China (Cf. Sims-Williams 1991, pp. 330-34).

[^5]: In this project, I mainly focus on Turfan area, however, it also associated with other area and sources, such as Semirechye, Turfan, Beiting 北庭, Dunhuang, Xaraxoto and Changan.

[^6]: Fiey 1963, 1965, 1968, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1993, 1995a and 1995b.

[^7]: Wilmshurst 2000.

[^8]: According to the email communication with Dr. Erica Hunter on 20 Dec. 2022, she says: "Regrettably none of the Syriac or Sogdian fragments have any colophons. This is a real disappointment, but that is the situation." The colophons are direct evidence of its institutional aspect, since the colophons from the manuscripts is essential for Wilmshurst's studies about the institutional aspect of the Church of the East during 1318-1913. see: Wilmshurst 2000.

[^9]: Ren guan and Wei Jian 2023, p.138.