Show I Ii I Ho I Rediscovered th the Nestorian Stone the Ancient Monument of the First Christians in jn China China J k The Original Nestorian Monument a Record of Christianity in n China I 1130 Years Ago As Iu It Stands To i Ji r I t. t t 4 c i i r f 4 j i t. t 4 S Sf PC i iTA z 4 t A 5 TA 1 E 4 t 4 c S 4 St Exciting Quest of a Danish Explorer for an Early Christian Relic as Interesting as the Rosetta Stone I VON HOLM M. M R R. JL L 8 S. is t. FRITS r now thirty years old and has haa had a varied career Having HaTing been educated at the Danish a as a naval ho went v.-ent to the Far EMt Bast In 1901 when the Boxer troubles were hardly over staying there till un 1 In full tun awing tho the Ru China Russo 50 e War Was TOI By oon on Holm M. M AS Yr many d. d day distant by bi caravan from N NOT the tho northeastern corner comer of ot and andIn andIn andIn In one OM of or those provinces s which people people peo pee pie delight In to calling hidden th the province of we find the ancient capital of ot Stan Fu a city BO so old that it Its origin Is La utterly lost Jost In Lu historical obscurity Sian-fu Sian haa become famous for tor three rea rca Bonu ona It was WOI the capital of at the great Tang Dynasty which reigned over China for tor years A A. D. D witnessing and even aiding the tho first Introduction of ot Christianity It was waB the finding place of the ancient Chinese Chi Chi- ne nese Nestorian monument of A. A D. D one one of or the most precious relics of the history of bygone ages agee linking up In rell religious bonds bond Europe and Asia far tar earlier than generally taught and thought And Mid finally fu Sian-fu again cigala became the Chinese capital when In 1900 the late Empress Dowager TsI An fled fied thither during the Boxer troubles and re- re malMd In exile In province for tor nine nino months rlue Nesto-rlue sometimes called caned the Great was wan Patriarch of ot Constantinople Con from anI and he was one of ot the first Protestants the church ever beard heard of He denied the divinity divin divin- It ity of Mary and said that she should never be called by the heathen Egyptian name Mother of God and he maintained that our Saviour had two distinct t the divine Christ and one mundane Jesus Turkey There In Asiatic ns and In Persia are and among the Indian cola cob nies Madras still flourishes the one near Church the Already in its infancy sent Bent out missionaries who travelled tra everywhere everywhere everywhere every every- where and spread knowledge about Christianity Chris Chrt teachings and dogma domai ot of and the tho These missionaries cr crossed what Is t. day to-day called Russian and Chinese Turkestan and following the trade route north of which is older than history they thoy penetrated into China and and through rough the provinces of ot K and reached fu tn where they were kindly received by the mighty Tang emperors Tho The Emperor and his received favorably and the missionaries from Syria were al allowed allowed al- al lowed to preach and erect churches And AndIn Andin Andin in the year or 1180 1130 years ago they de It decided to erect a tablet commemorating their arrival and work in China Chinn I t s i r dj S. S V ii t f R 1 fv ort M- M A S 'S 1 ji 1 I 55 f 1 t r lt tf iL S. S The Tho Great East Eat Gate of Sian Fu Fu the Hidden City 1 S I d S z p. p i 4 r ir-r k Station Where JJ eSt 1 t 4 Js S 5 c Explorer von Holm Life Was I Attempted I- I Ir r 1 4 4 I j t T S j I 1 1 I 4 s I It t f Tic twi i 2 t r- r O i If 4 S 4 6 The Chinese Houseboat in Which von Holm Hoim Carried the Stone Replica Miles Z They then proceeded to carve aud and erect in or near SInn the Chinese Nestorian monument a slab Blab of or stone atone weighing two tons and standing don ton feet high The Inscription consists of or more than two thousand Chinese and Syriac characters and anil Is surmounted by a a. Christian cross crog The Holm n expedition to fu was organIzed organIzed organized organ organ- by me with v mostly American merican capital In order to endeavor to obtain for science the the- ancient Nestorian tablet or otherwise a perfect replica of ot It ItI I succeeded In the latter with some seine risk after having s sp spent nt upwards of a It year in the far tar Interior of or China l regions where but few tew white men had been before before be be- fore tore and these thele almost all missionaries I covered In natIve houseboat hO and fwd by c caravan more than 2500 miles In the Interior of north China Chinn Many thousands of dollars were expended In the that meant privations privations privations quest which was at best an undertaking and daily dally rl risk for tor months Alone with with my Chinese helpers it was not always equally easy Cagy But eventually after many adventures which are too long Ions and numerous to relate here I succeeded In getting to on the now flooded Yangtze River a tw two ton ton replica ten feet teet high of ot the Nestorian monument The most difficult thing in connection with the enterprise enterprise enter- enter ot of this enormous block of ot prise was the transporting o stone atone to the railway ranny station Oh w. w w miles s due ease eMt from Sian We had to build a specially eon constructed cart eart pi ot beams drawn by six air mules mule and led by three men nen nender Inder la In lader der to attain this thie end and it is worth mentioning that due to the badness badness' of the roads and to the n v lug ing h intrigues of the Chinese petty m mandarins alon along th the road It took the replica three months to arrive at tb the th railroad station statton at It was ws at this place that an attempt iraa waa ma made t ta tG assassinate fin te me The Chinese criminals nearly neary succeeded My heavy helmet undoubtedly saved my life but I got a terrible scar on tho tim top of my head from a well directed blow and was unconscious for lor several days afterward Had this attempt taken place farther In the Interior where I should not have been able to secure tho the aid add of a white doctor I am afraid that the result would ba hay hart been different A Standard Oil on steamer took the two ton slab with Its precious Inscription and myself on the lon long trip tri from Shanghai around Asia and Europe to New York The replica of the N Nestorian esto rI an monument has been placed as a loan Joan In the Metropolitan Museum of Art In New York where It will likely remain until taken to a a. permanent resting place elsewhere POS Possibly in Wash Waa ington possibly in London J 1 |