Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1244 Epilogue : This cross has rich connotations
(All the religious content in this chapter is not made up, but only states the basic situation of Nestorianism.)
(This is a postscript, please stop accusing me of writing nonsense. All that nonsense is to present the world of Ming Dynasty and its time and space. I am almost done.)
Winter goes and spring comes, and in the blink of an eye it is already a new year.

The chemists who were summoned by the Ministry of Rites to compile textbooks could only rest on New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month.

There is no other way. This series of steps, including compilation, proofreading, printing, and distribution, must be completed before the start of the school year to ensure that all public schools across the country can get the new version of the chemistry textbooks.

Remote areas are tough.

Xie Yan wrote a compilation proposal and threw it to the textbook group and left it alone. His colleagues had no objection to this and instead felt that Xie Yan was well versed in the ways of the world.

There's no need to steal the credit from everyone else!

For a chemistry textbook for the imperial examination compiled in this way, even if Xie Yan's name was to be signed in the author column, he would definitely be listed last.

This year's New Year's Day grand court assembly and the first month of the lunar year suburban sacrifices have all been cancelled.

Especially the suburban sacrifices, which were very expensive. One sacrifice could easily cost several million strings of cash.

Save if you can.

In two or three years, when the little emperor gets married, it won’t be too late to hold a suburban sacrifice then.

In another year and space, Genghis Khan died in Diaoyucheng.

Mongolia still exists today, but it is just a few tribes in the northern desert, and they are divided into various places and cannot be connected at all.

Some Mongolian tribes have even given up the name "Mongolian" and renamed their tribes after the river where they migrated or the name of the first chieftain of the migration.

Mobei is quite interesting now. Nestorianism has spread from the vicinity of Yanran to Beihai and Hulunbuir. Those grassland tribes believe in both Nestorianism and Shamanism.

……

At this moment, Xie Yan was burning incense in the church.

During the New Year, the princess took him everywhere to worship gods and pray for the baby in her belly.

Then he realized that there was a Christian church in Luoyang, the capital of the Ming Dynasty!

But this church is extremely strange.

First of all, the priests are very unserious, they all shave their heads and grow beards.

Secondly, there is no crucifix to be seen, there is only a bare cross in the church.

When priests help to pray, they do not pray while holding the Bible, but chant scriptures like Taoist priests and monks.

Xie Yan even heard the priests chanting: "The Supreme Heavens deeply admire and sigh, the earth remembers the peace and harmony of all..."

Does Christianity also have heavens?

Did Brother Zhu and his people reform Christianity, or did Nestorianism develop into this way?

That's how it is!

Since the Five Dynasties, one branch of Christianity has evolved in Xinjiang, and another branch in Mobei. The former absorbed a large number of religions (mainly Buddhism and Taoism), while the latter absorbed the belief in Changshengtian in the grasslands.

With the expansion of the Ming Dynasty, the two dioceses were connected and continued to merge with each other.

After the blessing, the priest gave the princess a blessed cross: "Wear the cross, chant morning and night, and you will surely be blessed by the gods in heaven."

"Thank you, Master!"

Zhu Tangxi took the cross with both hands.

During the New Year period, she has worshipped many gods and collected a large number of Buddhist beads and talismans.

Xie Yan was so shocked by this that he couldn't help asking, "What's your name, sir?"

The bald priest said: "My Buddhist name is Baoling."

The Nestorian monks had Buddhist names in the Tang Dynasty, and their names contained both Chinese meanings and Western transliterations.

For example, the Buddhist name "Baoling" actually means "Paul".

His French name “Prudence” actually means “Samson” (a Jewish leader in the Bible).

"I am from Hebei and lived in Huangzhou before. There is no Christianity in those two places," Xie Yan asked. "I am very interested in Christianity. I wonder if you can teach me about it?"

The bald priest was very happy. He thought he could get the prince consort to convert to Cross Gate: "Princess, prince consort, please come in and have some tea."

Zhu Tangxi didn't care about it. She believed in everything and she would not stop her husband from joining the religion.

The couple was taken to the abbot's room.

That’s right, this Christian priest, Father Paul, is the abbot of Luoyang Cross Temple.

Not only do they shave their heads, but they also eat vegetarian food and prohibit killing.

The couple came to the abbot's room and a monk brought them tea.

Father Paul sat cross-legged with a wooden fish in front of him.

Xie Yan looked at the wooden fish on the table and then at the cross on the priest's chest.

Damn...

"Can I see the cross of His Holiness?" Xie Yan asked.

Father Paul smiled and said, "Of course."

Xie Yan took the cross and looked at it carefully.

There is no Jesus crucified on it, but there are many complex patterns and words.

At the intersection of the cross, there is a large ring with a six-petal lotus painted inside and four small circles painted outside.

At the bottom, there is a nine-petal lotus.

There is a flame on the top and the inside of the flame is shaped like the sun.

There are eight small circles on the four sides.

"What does this cross represent?" Xie Yan asked.

Father Paul said, "Judge the four directions."

Xie Yan asked: "What god do you believe in?"

"Aloha, the God of Creation," Father Paul replied. Aloha is the transliteration of "Allah" in the Tang Dynasty, which is the God in the West.

Father Paul continued, "The God of our religion is a trinity. As the saying goes, we pay homage to the Father Araha (God), the Son Misha (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit)."

Xie Yan was stunned when he heard this.

The three above mentioned have other names in Nestorianism, such as Tianzun, Shizun, and Jingfeng.

Xie Yan inquired carefully and found out that the cross represented the four directions and eight poles. The sun flame on the top represented that they worshipped fire (Zoroastrianism), light (Manichaeism), and the East (Taoism).

As for the six-petal and nine-petal lotus, they are naturally related to Buddhism. Some parishes have a swastika in the middle of their crosses.

Monotheism is indeed still monotheism, but it has become a religion in which one god created the world and is the teacher and king of all gods, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

They even worship the Eternal Heaven of the grassland!
Xie Yan instantly felt that the cross in his hand contained infinite divine power. How many gods and Buddhas from the East and the West were gathered here?

If this cross were taken to Rome, the Pope would probably be so angry that he would launch another Crusade.

Xie Yan asked some more questions about the doctrine and was deeply shocked again.

Father Paul proclaimed the name of the Supreme God, and said to Xie Yan who was standing up to say goodbye: "Your Majesty is a man of wisdom and has a connection with our religion. This Bible is given to you."

Xie Yan got a Bible in a daze and took the princess out of the church and went home.

On the way, I couldn't help but read it while sitting in the carriage, and soon I read the content about creation.

It is not that if we just say "let there be light", there will be light in the world.

Rather, it is: "Judging the cross, the four directions are determined; beating the primordial wind to produce the two energies; the dark sky changes and the heaven and earth open; the sun and the moon move and the day and night work; the craftsman completes all things, but establishes the first man; grants good harmony to calm the sea of ​​transformation. The nature of the whole is empty but not full; the heart of simplicity has no desires."

Pope: ????

"Liulang, do you believe in Christianity?" Zhu Tangxi asked.

Xie Yan shook his head: "This Bible can be read as a story book. Are there many Christians in Luoyang?"

Zhu Tangxi said: "Not many. Maybe only a few thousand believers, all of whom came from Anxi, Gansu, Qihe, and Mobei to settle in Luoyang and their descendants."

"No one stopped them from building the temple?" Xie Yan asked.

Zhu Tangxi asked back: "Why stop me?"

That’s right. Who would have the time to stop a religion that combines Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Shamanism... and even Confucianism?
Christianity has been united by Chinese civilization!

Also targeted for united front work were the Mupai Desert Cult in the Seven Rivers Protectorate and the Kingdom of Dayuan.

Zhu Tangxi wore the blessed cross on his chest, a string of blessed Buddhist beads on his wrist, and a blessed talisman in the sachet around his waist.

With so many magical instruments protecting her, the baby in her belly will definitely be born safely.

After returning home, Xie Yan flipped through the Bible for a while, then put it on the bookshelf to collect dust, and continued to go learn piano with the princess.

He has learned the basic fingering of the guqin, but due to lack of practice, his playing is not smooth.

I'm currently learning the twelve musical notes and pentatonic scale, which is quite complicated.

It was not until two days ago that Xie Yan learned that ancient Chinese music consisted of more than just the five notes of gong, shang, jue, zhi and yu.

Instead, these five tones are used as the backbone, and different partial tones are added to form different six-tone, seven-tone, eight-tone, and nine-tone modes.

As for the seven-tone scale in the West, the concept of seven tones is mentioned in Zuo Zhuan and Guoyu. The inscriptions on the Zenghouyi chime bells that were unearthed directly prove the existence of seven tones.

But Chinese ancient music still mainly relies on five notes, because the remaining two notes are not very harmonious.

Xie Yan thought that it would be interesting to use those two tones more often and create something "alternative".

"What is Liu Lang thinking about?" Zhu Tangxi saw Xie Yan in a daze.

Xie Yan said: "I think the fingering of the guqin is too complicated, and the five-tone, six-lü and seven-tone are too complex. Can we simplify the many musical scales and create an instrument that can play various musical scales by just pressing it?"

Zhu Tangxi laughed and said, "How can there be anything easy in this world? Even playing music is lazy."

Xie Yan said: "Being lazy is the ladder to progress. In order to be lazy, the ancients used boats and carriages instead of walking, and now there are even trains. It is too difficult for me to learn the guqin, wouldn't it be great to make a musical train?"

Zhu Tangxi couldn't help laughing at this remark.

So, how does a piano work?

Xie Yan's understanding of the piano is limited to the black and white keys visible to the naked eye.

Forget it, let’s learn lü lü first.

After all, the piano was invented based on the twelve-tone equal temperament.

Xie Yan felt that he had lost his ambition because of his own hobbies. He had made some progress in the field of chemistry, improved cement, and invented the ball mill. Now he was thinking about making a piano.

But he was telling the princess the truth, the fingering of the guqin was too complicated and difficult.

Lie down for a while.

Xie Yan yawned and lay down on the couch.

Alas, I was thinking about saving people some time ago, but now I am indulging in leisurely enjoyment.

Or maybe life is too comfortable and I have no motivation to strive for success.

Zhu Tangxi lay down next to him, stroking her belly and said, "The Lantern Festival is coming in two days. I want to go see the lanterns, but I'm afraid there will be too many people and it will scare the baby in my belly."

"Didn't we agree to watch it from the city wall of the imperial city?" Xie Yan said.

Zhu Tangxi pouted: "You can only watch from the city wall, it's fun to visit the Lantern Festival. This is the first Lantern Festival that Liu Lang and I have spent together, and I always feel regretful that I can't visit the Lantern Festival."

Xie Yan consoled her, "Maybe next year. Let's go shopping together with the child."

"It won't work next year either. The baby is only four or five months old." Zhu Tangxi was unhappy. Pregnant women have big mood swings.

Xie Yan smiled and said, "Leave the kids at home, and we can go to the Lantern Festival together."

Zhu Tangxi stroked her belly and said, "My poor child, your father disliked you before you were even born."

Xie Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he got up and ran to listen to the fetal movement.

(End of this chapter)