Christian Designs Found In Tomb Stones Of Eastern Han Dynasty

CL2000.com ^ | 8-2-2002

[blam]

Christian Designs Found in Tomb Stones of Eastern Han Dynasty

[2002-08-02] Studies show that as early as 86 A.D., or the third year under the reign of "Yuanhe" of Eastern Han, Dynasty Christianity entered into China, 550 years earlier than the world accepted time.

When studying a batch of stone carvings of Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.) stored and exhibited in the Museum of Xuzhou Han Stone Carvings, Christian theology professor Wang Weifan was greatly surprised by some stone engravings demonstrating the Bible stories and designs of early Christian times.

Further studies showed that some of these engravings were made in 86 A.D., or the third year under the reign of "Yuanhe" of Eastern Han Dynasty, 550 years earlier than the world accepted time of Christianity's entrance into China.

The 74-year-old professor, who is also a standing member of the China Christian Council, showed reporter a pile of photos of Han stone carvings and bronze basins taken by him. He also compared the designs on them with that of the Bible, composed of fish, birds, and animals demonstrating how God created the earth.

Designs on these ancient stones displayed the artistic style of early Christian times found in Iraq and Middle East area while bearing the characteristics of China's Eastern Han times.

The stone carvings, being important funeral objects, are mainly found in four cities, and Xuzhou is one of them. It is reported that by now more than 20 intact Han tombs have been found, from which nearly 500 pieces of engraved stones were discovered.

It is globally accepted that Christianity was first carried into China by a Syrian missionary Alopen in 635 A.D. the ninth year under the reign of "Zhenguan" of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.).

Some experts once raised doubts that Christianity may have entered China in an early time as the Eastern Han, but lack evidence. Nevertheless, professor Wang's discovery serves to strongly back up the theory and the earlier works of his own. By PD Online Staff Member Li Heng [From: CL2000.com]

[Verginius Rufus]

Interesting. I missed this thread when it was first posted.

In the movie The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Ingrid Bergman plays a young Englishwoman who goes to China as a missionary. She makes a practice of telling stories from the Bible while people are eating in the inn. One day a non-Christian Chinese man who has been listening to her stories fills in for her. He manages to get the stories all jumbled together: Noah is a ship captain who brings presents to the Baby Jesus, etc.

[blam]

" He manages to get the stories all jumbled together: Noah is a ship captain who brings presents to the Baby Jesus, etc."

Following the light from a light house, lol.

[realpatriot71]

Indeed, there is lots of extra-Biblical evidence to suggest he traveled very widely outside the region, including to France and England. Other evidence suggests he traveled to India. Did he also travel to South America???

Interesting, but you want to make this argument based on the slience of the Bible regarding the Lord's years from 12-30? Maybe he rode a purple unicorn, and visited the gnomes at the center of the hollow Earth as well? Occum just rolled over in his grave.

OR, a follower of Jesus - probably an apostle - came to the area preaching the Gospel as instructed by the Lord before He left for Heaven.

Which is the most simple explanation?

[realpatriot71]

If there is no mention of Jesus on these stones, how does he know the designs are Christian? They could be Jewish.

Interesting point. I'm curious wether there is any historical evidence that the Jews and Chinese had contact before the year of 87 AD

[realpatriot71]

"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Mat 15:24 Mark 7:27

Nicely done - at least we know Jesus wasn't out running around the world between the ages of 12 and 30

[Cronos]

may have carried the idea of the gymansium back to China where they were modified into martial arts institutes which began about that period.

Actually, the idea of Martial arts started in the Southern parts of the Indian continent. There is still a martial art form there that dates to pre-Buddhist times. This martial art form (or similar kinds) was taken by Indian Buddhist missionaries sent by the Indian Emperor Ashoka to China. The Chinese (and later the Japanese) used this and developed the higher martial arts.

[Cronos]

Lots of luck on learning much about the Celts and The Lost Tribes of Israel in traditional religion history classes.

Celts are NOT the lot tribe of Israel -- they're not even Semitic, but Indo-European, of the same race as the Indians, Persians, Medea, hittites, GReeks etc.

[Cronos]

There is no proof to suggest that Christ went or did not go outside Israel. South America seems highly improbable -- it was unknown to the old world and to suggest that there would be regular trips to a land way over on the other side of the world is silly

[Cronos]

Jews were merely the custodians of the Hebrew language after the Israelites from the north began their long journey.

The Israelites were moved out of their lands by the Assyrians. it was Assyrian policy to disperse troublesome nations from one end of their empire to the other end. The Asyrian Empire at that time stretched from Canaan to the borders othe Mede Kingdom in Iran. Most likely the "lost tribes" of Israelis were settled in what is now Iraq. As the northern tribes were already amenable to worshipping other Gods, it's more than likely that they got asimilated in the existing communities in Iraq, in Babylonia, etc. The few who did remain faithful would have returned with the southern israelis when the Persians allowed them to rebuild the temple. So,the lost tribes would be ancestors of present day Iraqis -- quite a twist for SAddy, eh?

[Cronos]

Those Klu Klux Klansmen are real nut jobs, they forget that if they are Christians, they are following Christ who was a Jew from the Middle east -- a brown skinned man. Christianity is not about the color of a person's skin or how they look like. KKK are disgusting, and when they try to potray themselves as conservatives, that's een more disgusting -- they give us, true conservatives, a bad name and they drive the blacks (most of whom in the south are conservative, God-fearing, pro-family, pro-life folk) away to the seedy democrats

[Cronos]

You are right the lost tribes did migrate and did regain their Israeli identity.The kazars fit the bill, heathen tribe from the black sea area migrates from old assyria region chooses Judaism instead of islam or christianity.Why? No other group did maybe the lost sheep heard their master?

The Kazars were not from Assyria. Whatever gave you that idea? They were a central asian people -- more closely linked to the Turkic peoples. To ask why they didn't convert to Islam is silly -- Islam didn't exist at that time.

The reason why they converted to Judaism is of course debatable, but one very good reason is that they werew a buffer state between the Christian Byzantine Empire and the Zoroastrian (Mazdaist) Parthian Empire. To opt for a state religion that was one or the other (note that both were monotheist) would be to upset hte balance of power. So, they choose the third path.

[Eternal_Bear]

Some of the Greeks in Central Asia converted to Buddhism. They were in contact with both China and India and would have been the natural intermediaries for the conduit of culture. The Greek gynmasia or the schools of physical culture existed in Central Asia before Ashoka. We know they existed because the foundations of their cities indicate this and it was a prerquisite for Hellenistic culure. The hypothesis that the Chinese borrowed the idea of martial arts academies remains just that, I suspect that they will contend that ther system was developed independently of foreign cultures.

[fso301]

I thought Jews went to China even earlier.

[walden]

Can you provide some references or internet links re Jesus travelling widely?

Thanks!

[Ditter]

Lost Tribes is no longer with us. He seems to have been banned.

[nmh]

The same is true of evolution - only lack of evidence doesn't dampen their faith in evolution.

[Savage Beast]

The same is true of the entire maya.

[Cronos]

The Greek gynmasia or the schools of physical culture existed in Central Asia before Ashoka. We know they existed because the foundations of their cities indicate this and it was a prerquisite for Hellenistic culure.
Thanks! Wasn't that the Gandhara school in Afghanistan? And IIRC there are some folks in Pakistani Occupied Kashmir that are practically Greek in appearance.

[Cronos]

Can you provide some references or internet links re Jesus travelling widely?

I've not heard of any serious study on that, mostly speculation. Therre are stories that He went to Kashmir -- they have a mosque dedicated to the place where Isa Masih the Islamic name for Christ) supposedly went and prayed.

Similarly Buddhists have tried to say that He learnt from masters in Patna.

[Aquinasfan]

Oh, come on now, don't give us some of that new age, mormon nonsense.

I don't think a lot of people realize how "off-center" Mormon beliefs are, considering that their impression of Mormonism comes mostly from misleading Mormon TV commercials.