- 期刊
古代文書《一神論》的寫作地點
The Place of Authorship for the Ancient Chinese Christian Manuscript Yishen Lun (Discourse on God)
摘要
《一神論》寫於約公元六四一年，發現於二十世紀初，佐伯好郎把它列為景教文獻，為阿羅本公元六三五年抵達長安後「翻經書殿」的作品之一，但他沒有就此提出實質的論證。相反，文中多處顯示《一神論》並不是上書皇帝之類的作品。另一方面，行40－41「喻如從此至波斯，亦如從波斯至拂林，無接界時節」顯示作者是在波斯以東一個與之接壤的地方，所以應是西域（見《漢書．西域傳》）。西域東部的高昌「國人風俗政令、文字亦同華夏」。本文發現，《一神論》內容所顯示的寫作地社會結構（聖主、國王、能自作）、字詞特徵（「苟」、「����布」）和比喻的本地化現象，都和吐魯番高昌國為寫作地之論吻合。《一神論》的神學語言和本地化情況成熟，究竟其教會群體、歷史、神哲學等為何，需作研究。其與阿羅本入華和八世紀中的景教文獻關係，也是重要的研究課題。
並列摘要
In the early 20th Century, Toru Haneda disclosed the existence of an ancient Chinese Christian manuscript from Dunhuang, called Yishen Lun (Discourse on God). Based on Lines 365-366 and 40-41 of the text, he said it was written in AD 641, in a place to the east of Persia. In 1937, Peter Yoshiro Saeki further expanded this interpretation and said that it was written in Chang'an, the capital city of the Tang Empire, as he believed that it was composed by Aluoben, who arrived in Chang'an in 635. This article counters Saeki's assertion, as his assertion is not supported by, and is not consistent with, internal information in the text. Instead this article suggests that the place of authorship should, instead, lie outside China proper, to its west, in what used to be the Kingdom of Gaochang (today's Turfan region of Xinjiang). This is evident, for examples, in the structure of society shown in the text, the unique way of writing some words, the knowledge and use of cotton, and local adaptations of biblical and patristic analogies to an inland desert area. How and when the Christian community from which this document emerged found themselves in Gaochang, and how they should relate to the larger Christian story whether inside and outside of China, are issues that should be further investigated.