Studies on Nestorian iconology in China and part of Central Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries

Abstract

The period 13-14 century is called “Pax Mongolica”, during which the Mongolian Tribe established an empire across the Eurasian continent and created an unprecedented national migration and great national integration. Because of the unobstructed traffic, a branch of Christian – Nestorianism developed rapidly. Recent years, the ruins of Nestorianism in Eastern Europe and Asia continue to be found, especially Nestorian Stele excavated in 1623 that has opened a prelude to the study of Nestorianism. From the existing Nestorian relics (such as tombstones and architectural monuments), we could find that most of them are decorated with Christian crosses, angels, lotus, moire, canopy or other patterns. The paper will focus on Nestorian images that found from several main archaeological areas: Samarkand, Seven River Basin in Central Asian, especially in the Chu River; Region of Xinjiang; Region of Inner Mongolia and Quanzhou. The goals to be achieved are: 1. To complete the catalogue of Nestorian images in Mongol – Yuan period; 2. To explore the cultural sources and art style of the motifs of Nestorian images such as lotus-cross, “Apsaras”, etc; 3. To explore the propagation process of Nestorianism along the Silk Road; 4. To focus on the characteristics and significance of the localization of Nestorian images under the background of Asian culture.