The Jesus Sutras and the Xi’an Stele

Record summary

The Xi’an Stele records the arrival and doctrines of the Church of the East in Tang China, while related Dunhuang manuscripts preserve Chinese Christian terminology and liturgical material often called the Jesus Sutras. The corpus is important for comparing translation strategies, doctrinal adaptation and the boundary between Christian scripture, commentary and local religious vocabulary. Scholars generally accept the stele as an eighth-century monument, but individual manuscripts, titles and reconstructions remain textually difficult. Claims that all “Jesus Sutras” form a coherent indigenous scripture should be treated cautiously.