Early Christian Remains of Inner Mongolia

Discovery, Reconstruction and Appropriation
Erscheinungsjahr 2008
ISBN: 978-90-04-16708-7
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 88, 356 Seiten, Format (B × H): 168 mm x 246 mm, Gewicht: 907 g

Reihe: Sinica Leidensia

The early Christian presence in Inner Mongolia forms the subject of this book. These Nestorian remains must primarily be attributed to the Öngüt, a Turkic people closely allied to the Mongols. Writing in Syriac, Uighur and Chinese scripts and languages, the Nestorian Öngüt drew upon a variety of religions and cultures to decorate their gravestones with crosses rising from lotus flowers, dragons and Taoist imagery. This heritage also portrays designs found in the Islamic world. Taking a closer look at the discovery of this material and its significance for the study of the early Church of the East under the Mongols, the author reconstructs the Nestorian culture of the Öngüt.
The reader will find many newly discovered objects not published before. At the same time this study demonstrates how many remaining objects were appropriated and, in many cases, vanished after their discovery.

'I find myself obliged to make a special effort to avoid over-praising this book, a treasure-house of information, drawn on a comprehensive array of sources, some of them hitherto untapped, and splendidly presented on the important subject of Christian presence in East Asia.'
DENIS SINOR, (Indiana University), Journal of Asian History, 43/1 (2009)

Autoren/Hrsg.

Halbertsma, Tjalling H F

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen Katholische Kirchen in Lateinamerika, Afrika, Indien und Asien
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Tjalling Halbertsma (Ph.D., Leiden University) has worked in Mongolia and China as a writer, election adviser and as the first Dutch diplomat posted to Ulaanbaatar. Halbertsma holds the Chair for East Asian Studies, with a focus on modern day Mongolia, at the University of Groningen and is Director International of the Centre for East Asian Studies Groningen (CEASG).