Foreword Preface Abbreviations PART ONE: A History of Encounters "The Luminous Breeze Blew Eastward": The Church of the East from Persia to China "The Brilliant Teaching Turned toward the Tang Empire": The Christian Presence in China between 635 and 845 "The Scriptures Were Translated": The First Christian Texts in Chinese PART TWO: The Texts in Translation Notes on Sources Text A: "Stele of the Diffusion of the Luminous Teaching of Da Qin in China" Text B: "Hymn in Praise of the Salvation Achieved through the Three Majesties of the Luminous Teaching" and "Book of the Honored" Text C: "Discourse on the One God" Text D: "Book of the Lord Messiah" Text E: "Book on Profound and Mysterious Blessedness" Text F: "Book of the Luminous Teaching of Da Qin on Unveiling the Origin and Attaining the Foundation" Bibliography Index of Names, Texts, and Manuscripts

"The book offers a thoughtful, broad, and accurate depiction of Jingjiao Christianity, while also providing great translations of the primary texts. I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in sinology, Chinese Christian history, and Christian missiology." -- Heejun Yang, Reading Religion "Though surely intended for a specialized readership, this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the roots of Christianity in Asia who is also willing to be challenged by other ancient contextualizations of Christianity and willing to imagine other normative frameworks for Christianity." -- Tobias Brandner, Divinity School of Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mission Studies "A welcome and useful addition to the corpus of scholarship on the early Christian missions to China, together with a valuable inclusion of translated texts." -- Dr. Li Tang, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Biblical Studies and Ecclesiastical History, The University of Salzburg "The Luminous Way to the East tells a fascinating story about the spread of the Church of the East to China. Not only does it offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the subject with painstaking synthesis from numerous sources in both Asian and Western languages, but also makes obscure Christian manuscripts from Central Asia and China newly accessible, with lucid translations and meticulous annotations for the English-speaking world." -- Huaiyu Chen, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Arizona State University "The activities of the Syriac-rite Christians in Tang-period China constitute one of the most fascinating episodes both in the history of Christianity and in the religious history of China. In this fully updated English translation of his work -highly readable, of the highest academic standard, and particularly strong in the coverage of Chinese-language sources- Matteo Nicolini-Zani provides us with what is undoubtedly the most thorough and reliable account available today of that remarkable chapter of history." -- Hidemi Takahashi, Professor in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo "It is a must read for all who deal with the history of Christianity in China and Central Asia, but more broadly it will also be of interest to scholars of religion, experts in Chinese Buddhism, church historians, theologians and missiologists. It is surely to become an indispensable English reference work when dealing with the Christian texts from Tang-era China." -- Mark Dickens, Monumenta Serica: Journal of Oriental Studies "Matteo Nicolini-Zani has not only patiently done his very best, but also paved a wider way for scholars to investigate the complexities of Tang Christianity." -- CHU Sin-Jan, Fides et Historia "This book is suitable for professional researchers and readers interested in the history of Chinese Christianity, Syriac Christianity, and Christian missions." -- Wei Xiong, Religious Studies Review

Matteo Nicolini-Zani is a Catholic monk of the ecumenical Monastic Community of Bose, Italy, and a sinologist. As an independent scholar, he conducts historical and literary research on Christianity in China. He is the author of Christian Monks on Chinese Soil: A History of Monastic Missions to China.

Selling point: Offers an overview of the Christian presence in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) Selling point: Contains a richly annotated English translation of the Christian documents produced in Tang China Selling point: Provides source materials with introductory hermeneutical keys for further in-depth theological, missiological, and intercultural investigations relating to Christianity in China