781 CE
Nestorian Stele Erected In Changan
About this moment
The Xi'an Stele or the Jingjiao Stele (Chinese: 景教碑; pinyin: Jǐngjiào bēi), traditionally translated as the "Nestorian Stele," is a Tang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of early Christianity in China. It is a limestone block 279 centimetres (9 ft 2 in) high with text in both Chinese and Syriac describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China. It reveals that the initial Church of the East had met recognition by the Tang Emperor Taizong, due to efforts of the Christian missionary Alopen in 635.