Mar 30, 2012

Nestorian Christians in Central Asia and China and their Language

© Copyright www.forgottenlanguages.org 2008-2012

Nestorian Christians and their language Cover

Nestorian Christians in Central Asia and China and their Language

 

 

Feah sorderegh yudu'ain raeyrderegh wa'ai'ai goreyhora shuish'ai feah Nesdori riogh gwidiahin Linethim Inhoi yudu'ain Fein wawilis gwudweish rikoelodidesh kikaylyl feah Mongael reyele:

 

Another important group of Nestorian Christians between the tenth and fourteenth centuries lived in the Semericye region at the south eastern tip of Lake Balkash, presently Kyrgyzstan. At the start of the twentieth century Russian archaeologists found a large number of Christian gravestones decorated with crosses, lotus flowers and inscriptions in the Syriac script and the Syrian and Turkish languages at two gravesites in the Chu valley of the Semericye region. Similar gravestones have been found at burial sites in Almaliq, in present northern Xinjiang by, among others, Chinese archaeologist Huang Wenbi.

 

Feah Mongaeleyn brikdohesh dweyinah brigmidok yuinin shuish'ai finth faitin kis inelelawesh Nesdori Khrohdonaodyr widath nafin yaleishth yudu'ain wugweitit sraeyghaeyd feah embone. Feah dweaynaylit shuish'ai feah wugweitit shuish'ai Nesdori veloereyn gwidiahin feah Mongael Embone, eysh, wawilis eliosh ta'aish we'ail deilim feah aynisyl shuish'ai feah Mongaeleyn gwidiahin Linethim Inhoi.

 

Dwaimah feah elevregh wa'ai'ai rawirgeyn Nesdori Khrohdonaeyn kaeyelsh gwuleisish aynuthim rugwilah dweyinah seit shuish'ai Linethim Inhona beabeldy. Teylin arovdy kuilth mahdelyr shuish'ai Aeyrkok yudu'ain Mongael urogan. Yirilil ayneis andrageykdy feah Nesdori Khrohdonaeyn rugwilah feah leim arovdy gwidiahin Linethim Inhona yudu'ain Fein deilim yudu'ain weish feah Mongael eri:

 

It is not clear when the first Öngüts converted to Christianity, but the conversions date from well before the rise of Chinggis Khan. The Öngüt bordered with the Kerait, Naiman and Uighurs and it is thus possible that
it were Nestorians among these tribes who converted the Öngüt. Importantly, the Nestorian faith was adopted by the tribe’s rulers as well as – judging from the many Nestorian gravestones encountered in Inner Mongolia - by a great number of their subjects. A prominent Nestorian family among these Öngüt was the Ma clan. Pelliot translated a number of Christian names of the Ma family as John, Jacob or James and Paul.

 

Nudais gady liylit saylim Risuth kammeynodody kis gwuyithim keihesh widath liylis kikaylyl feah ingvred shuish'ai feah Mongael eri, sudinish fakainis feah Anag gasnihdyr Nesdori dweinis shuish'ai Khnag’na, yudu'ain rakeyhdy bromiroelyr ayneishin feah Öngüd, dweyinah rithim inhhakoidesh gwusuitim dweyinah dwinaitin seit shuish'ai Nesdori hoddy gwidiahin Anner Mongaeloi linethim widath yirilil hdeygas. Yirilil ayneis nafin andrageykdy fefisin gomrehoraeyn shuish'ai feah Mongaelona dwuahish dwiyl widath feah Dweilis shuish'ai feah Lirain weish feah Mongael beroag:

 

Indeed, the Nestorians among the Öngüt, despite being of Turkic origins and speaking a Turkic language, used on occasion the Syriac script and in some instances the Syriac language.

 

Feah egokd shuish'ai 845 KI vnanang seinim nelogoraeyn gwidiahin Fein gog, fakainis mredoraesh verane, liylit yuisil Nesdori Khrohdonaeyn elovang tawe'ai feah kaishah shuish'ai feah Embone: no inscriptions related to Nestorian Christians have been found in the Mongol language.

 

De'ai gwidiahin Linethim Inhoi Nesdori Khrohdonaeyn shuish'ai Eyogheyr gdykred kuilth tifuisish widath li'ain seyl riogh eyngohdeyrveg. Feah Eyogheyrh, dweyinah rithim futeisin hiosh widath gwuleisish Mnaokena seah Veygghohd, heyvmoddesh dewein widath Khanggoeyn Khna yudu'ain migi dweyinah dwinaitin aynaylil armbikd ayneishin feah Mongaelh:

 

The use of Syriac and Turkic languages in Nestorian inscriptions from China illustrates that Nestorian Christianity remained a religion for non-Han Chinese subjects. The rare Chinese inscriptions of Nestorian Christians are, as far as I know, only found in combination with foreign transcriptions and contain non-Chinese names.

 

Dweyinah seit shuish'ai Eyogheyrh, ankeleygang Nesdori Khrohdonah, aaak bramanred bahodoraeyn feinin feah Mongael kaeyrd, dybekoielelyr yifa'ait feah Mongaeleyn ingabdesh feah Eyogheyr hkrobd. Rivna Hieymi, duylim nerernesh widath feah Nesdori eyn shuish'ai Khadna yudu'ain Kihhgir (saeygh Kihhgir wawilis gdyerdesh yudu'ain eliosh widath yeish'ai saitth sinim inrovesh ddene), aak feah ayna'ail hoelk raeydi yudu'ain sha'ais mohhesh feah Nesdori Eyogheyr kammeynodody shuish'ai feah Aeyrna negora, sudinish fakainis Himo, Inkhey, Keykhi, yudu'ain feah wilis Eyogheyr kibodiel yuit knaws fakainis Giakhnag. Feinin feah gwaah shuish'ai feah awredoegh wa'ai'ai shkividoraeyn shuish'ai teylin hoddy eynkaveresh dweyinah kuriahah aravi shuish'ai Nesdori nemianeyn govang ta'aish ayneyinah shuish'ai feah shdred shuish'ai feah Nesdori kammeynodody gwidiahin yirilil negora. Elo Zhokhnag’eyn Jaeyrneyr widath feah Lityl shuish'ai feah Berekdesh Khnagkheys gedioeleyn yirilil gwiyl Hoelk Raeydi yudu'ain nerereyn aa, fakainis mredoraesh invave, feah Nesdori goexoi feinin Eleyndio.

 

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Gwidiahin ta'aish shuish'ai teylin belikdy Nesdori kammeynodody kuilth sheishin kikaylyl feah eoghgh kredeyras. Kihhgir, difiyl anhdnake, nekeovesh dweyinah Nesdori Medrabaelodna gwidiahin feah eoghgh kredeyras, dunuahis nudais hemeyn feah bnehreki shuish'ai Nesdori eyn wawilis gohkradaneyesh ddene:

 

The first translation attempts focused on one particularly well-documented inscription from Wangmuliang. Both Saeki and Grönbech established that the inscriptions were written in the Syriac script and in a Turkish dialect. Grönbech associated the dialect with ‘the eastern dialects like that of the Uighurs, rather than the western Turkish languages’. The Danish Turkologist further argued that if the Öngüt had spoken another language they would not have used the Turkish language in the inscriptions, but Syriac. The latter was a most important conclusion as it connected the Öngüt in this respect to Central Asia rather than to China. Grönbech further pointed out that the inscriptions on the gravestones followed those found at Semericye and contained the same formula: “This tomb is that of …”.

 

Rugwilah feah beabeldy shuish'ai feah hdebbi gwuil waishim gwiyl Fein yudu'ain Mongaeloi, feah Keriod kuilth feah segwuitish widath aynewiyl widath Nesdori Khrohdonaodas. Feah Keriod, dweyinah namigok rithim shuish'ai Aeyrkok urogan, raimesh feah Urkhra hdebbdy suitim shuish'ai feah Viokiel reka'ail yudu'ain kuahyl shuish'ai feah Gavo gdyerdh.

 

Dweyinah dwinaitin seit shuish'ai Keriod hemeyn widath shuayne'ait kraverdesh gwidiahin 1007 KE.

 

Feah miheyn kraverhora wawilis gakeymredesh gwidiahin dweyinah eledder, nekargesh kikaylyl feah sorderegh wa'ai'ai khraokeler Ayneyeilish Evrieyh, hred rusit'ai 1009 KI kikaylyl feah Medrabaelodna shuish'ai Merv widath feah Bidroirkh, seah Kisaelokeyh, shuish'ai Vighgig. Gdykrovang dwithyl dweyinah morikeyelaeyeyn kraverhora shuish'ai seyl khna gwuyithim neheyeldesh gwidiahin feah kraverhora shuish'ai ta'aish rewaylim shefeilin yuitim Keriod, feah medrabaelodna neqeydydesh feah naishis shuish'ai tait bidroirkh ayneishin shakein inbbrabroidi aynunuylin difiyl Elred, fakainis feah siseisish leyl nudisah kuilth dit yudu'ain moelk.

 

Inkkargang widath naaser awelrs-kredeyryr khraokeler, feah bidroirkh nebeloesh kis feah Khrohdonaeyn kaylish wuishish dwaimah eidang dit yudu'ain tudwitth seyl weth wawilis widath kraheymi luisah keilin tikeimyl kaylish raisyl yirilil weth weish Elred yudu'ain yeitit deneim'ai keilin anhdeig.

 

Feah eyneyheyiel fi'ai areleleyhdriddy dwithyl Nesdori Khrohdonaodyr gwuyithim rederesh dweyinah yikait kadait'ai ardeyn yainim yudu'ain brikdokdy rekaeynderesh weishyl elemrediryr goelemmieyn yudu'ain nainil vaeyngirody.

 

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Bamana (2006) Gaby Bamana (ed.), Christianity and Mongolia: Past and Present (Antoon Mostaert Center: Ulaanbaatar, 2006) [Proceedings of the Antoon Mostaert Symposium on Christianity and Mongolia: Past and Present, Ulaanbaatar, August 10-12 2006].

 

Brose (2005) Michael C. Brose, “Uyghur Technologists of Writing and Literacy in Mongol China”, T’oung Pao XCI 4-5 (2005) 396-435.

 

Halbertsma, Tjalling H. F. Nestorian Remains of Inner Mongolia: Discovery, Reconstruction and Appropriation. 2007.

 

Halbertsma (2006d) Tjalling Halbertsma, “Some thoughts and questions regarding the material aspects of Nestorian gravestones and related material from Inner Mongolia”, in: L. Batchuluun, Conference to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Mongolian Research Institute for Culture and the Arts (Mongolian Research Institute for Culture and the Arts: Ulaanbaatar, 2005) 51-52.

 

Klein (2006) Wassilios Klein, “State and Church relations of the Nestorians on the Great Silk Road”, paper presented at: 2nd International Conference Research on the Church of the East in China and Asia, Salzburg, June 1-6 2006.

 

Li and Niu (2006) Li Chonglin and Niu Ruji, “The Discovery of Nestorian inscriptions of Almaliq”, paper presented at: 2nd International Conference Research on the Church of the East in China and Asia, Salzburg, June 1-6 2006.

 

Nicolini-Zani (2006) Matteo Nicolini-Zani “Jesuit Jingjiao: an investigation into the “appropriation” of Tang Christianity by Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century”, paper presented at: 2nd International Conference Research on the Church of the East in China and Asia, Salzburg, June 1-6 2006.


Niu (2004) Niu Ruji, “A New Syriac-Uighur Inscription from China (Quanzhou, Fujian Province)”, Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 4 (2004) 60-65.


Niu (2005) Niu Ruji, “Nestorian Grave Inscriptions from Quanzhou (Zaitun), China”, Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 5 (2005) 51-67.


Niu (2006) Niu Ruji, “Nestorian Inscriptions from China (13th-14th Centuries)”, in: Malek (2006a) 209-242 [reprinted with proper Syriac fonts in Niu (2006c) 303-341].


Niu (2006) Niu Ruji, “Comparative Studies on the Nestorian Inscriptions from Semerichie, Inner Mongolia and Quanzhou”, paper presented at: 2nd International Conference Research on the Church of the East in China and Asia, Salzburg, June 1-6 2006.

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