Daqin Pagoda

TheDaqin Pagoda(Chinese:大秦塔) is a Buddhist pagoda inZhouzhi CountyofXi'an(formerlyChang'an),ShaanxiProvince,China, located about two kilometres to the west ofLouguantaitemple. The pagoda has been claimed as aChurch of the East in Chinachurch from theTang dynastybut there has been no conclusive evidence of such a connection.
Daqinis the ancient Chinese name for theRoman Empireor, depending on context, theNear East, especiallySyria.
The Daqin Pagoda is first attested in 1065, when the Chinese poetSu Dongpovisited it and wrote a well-known poem about it, "Daqin Temple". His younger brotherSu Zhealso wrote an "echoing" poem referring to the monks at the temple. Anearthquakeseverely damaged the pagoda in 1556 and it was finally abandoned. Due to the earthquake, many of the underground chambers of the complex are no longer reachable.
The seven-storeyed octagonal brick pagoda is about 34 meters high (was thought to be 32 in the past). Each side of the first storey measures 4.3 meters.
The Daqin Pagoda was visited byAssyrian Church of the EastbishopMar Awa Royelin 2012 as part of a follow-up visit to China in 2010, upon invitation from the Jingjiao Fellowship and director Mr. David Tam.
In 2001 the pagoda was claimed byMartin Palmer, the translator of several popular books onsinology, includingZhuangziandI Ching, as a form ofChristianityfrom the Tang dynasty, in his controversial bookThe Jesus Sutras. According to Palmer, the church and the monastery were built in 640 by early Church of the East missionaries.Daqinis the name for theRoman Empirein the earlyChinese-languagedocuments of the 1st and 2nd centuries;by the mid-9th century it was also used to refer to the mission churches of the Syriac Christians.
Supporters of Palmer's claims have drawn attention to details which suggest that the monastery was earlier a Christian church, including a supposed depiction ofJonahat the walls ofNineveh, anativity scene(depiction of the birth of Jesus) andSyriacgraffiti.  The east-facing orientation of the complex is also advanced as evidence of its Christian origin since Chinese Daoist and Buddhist temple complexes face north or south.
As a potential stimulus to the district's tourist trade, Palmer's claims have been given wide publicity by the local authorities but have also received approbation by Chinese academics.  The exterior of the pagoda and its surroundings were featured in the first episode of the 2009 BBC programA History of Christianity.The program also featured an interview with Palmer by the presenter ProfessorDiarmaid MacCulloch.
Despite the publicity they have received, Palmer's claims are controversial, and have been dismissed by Michael Keevak, the author ofThe Story of a Stele, and by David Wilmshurst, the author ofThe Martyred Church: A History of the Church of the East.
James Morris of theUniversity of St. Andrewshas stated of the pagoda that "until more detailed archaeological analysis of the site is undertaken [...] we must be content in maintaining that there are no proven direct archaeological remains for the presence of Christianity during theTángperiod."
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