Preface Abbreviations List of Figures Introduction 1 A Venerable Ancestor: The Appropriation of Tang Christianity by Jesuit Missionaries and Chinese Converts  1 The Context: The Tang Christian Stele and Its Interpretations  2 The Precious Stele: A Foundation Stone for the Seventeenth-Century China Mission  3 The Holy Crosses: The Xi’an Stone Confirmed by Other Ancient Traces of Christianity in China 2 A Multi-Level Commentary: The Correct Explanation of the Tang “Stele Eulogy on the Luminous Teaching” by Manuel Dias Jr.  1 Between Interpretation, Instruction, and Apology: The Contents  2 A Complex Work with a Long Life: The Structure, Editions, and Reprints  3 The Man behind the Text: The Author Annotated translation Preliminary Note on the Translation “Correct Explanation of the Tang Stele Eulogy on the Luminous Teaching” (Tang jingjiao beisong zhengquan 唐景教碑頌正詮) by Manuel Dias Jr., s.j.  Preface  《景教流行中國碑頌并序》  [Ancient Traces of the Heavenly Studies]  Correct Explanation of the Stele Eulogy on the Diffusion of the Luminous Teaching in China Appendix 1: “After Reading the Stele Inscription of the Luminous Teaching” (Du jingjiao beishu hou 讀景教碑書後, 1625) By Li Zhizao 李之藻 Appendix 2: “Stele Inscription for the Church of the Luminous Teaching” (Jingjiaotang beiji 景教堂碑記, between 1625 and 1627) By Xu Guangqi 徐光啓 Appendix 3: “A Clarification about an Iron Cross” (Tie shizi zhu 鐵十字著, 1627) By Xu Guangqi 徐光啓 Appendix 4: “Preface to the Stele with a Cross Unearthed in Wurong” (Wurong chudi shizijia beixu 武榮出地十字架碑序, 1633) By Zhang Geng 張賡 Appendix 5: “A Poem in Honor of Giulio Aleni, s.j.” (Late Ming dynasty) By Ke Xianshi 柯憲世 Appendix 6: “Outline of the Orthodox Way of the Lord of Heaven” (Tianzhu zhengdao jielüe 天主正道解略, 1644) By José Estevão de Almeida, s.j. and Inácio da Costa, s.j. Appendix 7: “A Study of the Luminous Teaching” (Jingjiao kao 景教考, ca. 1644) By Qian Qianyi 錢謙益 Bibliography Index