Faith in Translation: Theological Adapation of East Syriac Christianity in Tang China

This lecture will take place in person at ISAW.

Registration is required at THIS LINK.

For many, the history of Christianity in China begins with the Jesuit missions of the 16th and 17th centuries. However, nearly a millennium earlier, during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), East Syriac Christians had already made their way to China through the ancient Silk Road trade routes spanning Eurasia. This lecture explores the texts and artifacts left by these East Syriac missionaries, discovered in sites such as Dunhuang, Turfan, Xi’an, and Luoyang. Known as Jingjiao in Tang China, the East Syriac Christian tradition reinterpreted its theology to align with Chinese cultural and intellectual frameworks, making it accessible to Tang audiences. By examining this process of theological adaptation, this lecture reveals how East Syriac Christianity engaged with Buddhism and Daoism, blurring traditional boundaries between these religions. This analysis underscores the fluid nature of religious identities in Tang China, challenging rigid categorizations and highlighting the creative exchanges that shaped the Jingjiao community’s theological expressions in this dynamic historical period.

Rong Huang is a Visiting Assistant Professor at NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. She received her PhD and MA from Harvard University, and her BA from Tsinghua University. She was the William R. Tyler Fellow in the Byzantine Studies program at Dumbarton Oaks from 2021 to 2023, where she co-curated an exhibition entitled “Garden and Nature in the Medieval World.” She specializes in early Christianity, medieval Chinese religions, and the development of the Silk Road. Her research examines the engagement of East Syriac Christianity with Chinese Buddhism and Daoism after this tradition arrived in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). She investigates a distinctive collection of theological texts produced by these Syriac missionaries, analyzing their adaptation of Christian thought to Chinese cultural contexts. This work sheds light on how the interaction between these traditions deepened their mutual understanding and highlighted their capacity for meaningful exchange.

The lecture will be followed by a reception.

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