Corpus Nestorianum Sinicum: ‘Thus Have I Heard on the Listening of Mishihe (the Messiah)’ and ‘Discourse on the One-God’: A Theological Approach with a Proposed Reading Structure and Translation

The formidable task accomplished by the members of the (jing-jiao) or luminous teaching community during the Tang Dynasty in China (618-907 CE), chronologically constitutes the first documented engagement between Jesus’ message and the Chinese people. The entire group of Jingjiao manuscripts can be designated as the Corpus Nestorianum Sinicum, and two documents, the Thus have I heard: On the listening of the Messiah, and also the Discourse on the One-God, represent the main goal of investigation throughout this dissertation. As a preparatory step, the writer deemed it necessary to elaborate an interlinear version, in which the manuscripts were transcribed in sequential order and numerically organized by columns. Then, he was able to single out the different stages of development and the background in their composition of the final product that has been transmitted to us in the Takakusu and Tomioka manuscripts respectively. The theological value of the study focused on the individuation, exposition, and explanation of the Christian Godhead, Christological, and Soteriological Concepts that were contextualized using Chinese Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian technical terms within both documents. Moreover, based on modern Chinese transcriptions and different translations with a more specific philological and historical approach, the author has included his own theological translation underlining the core faith elements of the Jingjiao community. Finally, for a deeper understanding and interpretation, the writer also has integrated a proposed reading structure that is the principal hermeneutical tool-key to approach both manuscripts within a new theological outlook and in the viewpoint of a new redating and authorship.