尊經
This short liturgical text was found on the same scroll as the Hymn of the Three Majesties — Pelliot chinois 3847, recovered from Cave 17 at Dunhuang by Paul Pelliot in 1908. It is a catalog in four parts: a trinitarian invocation that renders the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the Buddhist Three Bodies; a litany of twenty-two "Law-Kings" — biblical patriarchs and saints known by their Syriac names; a complete list of all thirty-five scriptures of the Luminous Religion translated into Chinese; and a colophon recording how those texts reached China.
In 635 CE, five hundred and thirty texts were brought from the West by Alopen. Only thirty-five were ever translated into Chinese — the rest remaining in their palm-leaf manuscripts, unread. This catalog is the only record of what those thirty-five translations were called. The scroll is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.
We bow in reverence to the Sovereign Father Aloha, the Wonderful Body;
to the Sovereign Son the Messiah, the Response Body;
to the Holy Spirit Ruha d-Qudsha, the Witness Body.
These three bodies together return to one.
We bow in reverence to the Law-Kings:
Yuhanna the Law-King,
Luka the Law-King,
Marqus the Law-King,
Mingtai the Law-King,
Mushi the Law-King,
Duohui the Law-King,
Jingtong the Law-King,
Baolu the Law-King,
Qianyan the Law-King,
Naningyi the Law-King,
Minyan the Law-King,
Mosajisi the Law-King,
Yihejisi the Law-King,
Momojisi the Law-King,
Cenwensengqie the Law-King,
the Twenty-Four Saints the Law-King,
Xiannanya the Law-King,
Hesaye the Law-King,
Mishayi the Law-King,
Suoluo the Law-King,
Qulu the Law-King,
Baoxin the Law-King.
We bow in reverence to the scriptures:
the Scripture of Eternal Radiant Sovereign Joy,
the Scripture of the Proclamation of the Origin and Ultimate Root,
the Scripture of the Aspiration to Mysterious Peace and Happiness,
the Scripture of the Heavenly Treasure-Store,
the Scripture of the Many-Wise Holy King,
the Scripture of Asiqulirong,
the Scripture of Primal Unity,
the Scripture of Penetrating the True,
the Scripture of Precious Radiance,
the Scripture of the Transmission of Transformation,
the Scripture of Emptying the Legacy,
the Scripture of the Original Spirit,
the Scripture of the Summary Account,
the Scripture of the Three Ages,
the Scripture of Signs and Examination,
the Scripture of Peaceful Contemplation,
the Scripture of Proclaiming Righteousness,
the Scripture of the Master Shilihai,
the Scripture of Baolu the Law-King,
the Scripture of the Shanhe Precepts,
the Scripture of Yiliyuesi,
the Scripture of Ningyeyi,
the Scripture of Rites and Precepts,
the Scripture of the Piege Revelation,
the Scripture of the Hymn of the Three Majesties,
the Scripture of Mushi the Law-King,
the Scripture of Yiliye,
the Scripture of Efolin,
the Scripture of Baoxin the Law-King,
the Scripture of the Messiah's Sovereignty over Heaven and Earth,
the Scripture of the Four Gates,
the Scripture of Revealing the True,
the Scripture of Mosajisi,
the Scripture of Cilibo,
the Scripture of Wushana.
According to the catalog of the scriptures: the original teachings of Daqin comprise five hundred and thirty texts in all, written in palm-leaf manuscripts in the Indian script. In the ninth year of Zhenguan, during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Great Tang, the most virtuous monk Alopen of the Western Regions arrived in the Central Kingdom, and presented the original texts in their own script. Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng proclaimed the translation and presented it to the throne. Later, the most virtuous monk Jingjing of the original teaching was summoned, and he translated the above thirty texts and scrolls. The remainder of the great number are still in their palm-leaf casings, and have not yet been translated.
Notes on the Text
The Three Bodies
The trinitarian invocation renders the Christian Trinity using the Buddhist doctrine of the trikāya (three bodies of the Buddha):
妙身 (miàoshēn, "Wonderful Body") — the Father. Corresponds to the Dharmakāya, the ultimate, formless, absolute body.
應身 (yìngshēn, "Response Body") — the Son, the Messiah. Corresponds to the Nirmāṇakāya, the emanated body that appears in the world.
證身 (zhèngshēn, "Witness Body") — the Holy Spirit (盧訶寧俱沙, Lúhēníngjùshā, from Syriac Ruha d-Qudsha). Corresponds roughly to the Sambhogakāya, the body of bliss and realization.
"These three bodies together return to one" (三身同歸一體) expresses the Nicene doctrine of consubstantiality — one God in three persons — using Buddhist philosophical vocabulary.
The Twenty-Two Law-Kings
The "Law-Kings" (法王, fǎ wáng) are patriarchs and saints of the Church of the East, their names rendered in Chinese transliteration from Syriac. The Buddhist title 法王 ("Dharma King") is used for what Christianity would call prophets, apostles, and patriarchs. Scholars have tentatively identified some names:
瑜罕難 (Yúhànnán) — Yuhanna / John.
盧伽 (Lújiā) — Luka / Luke.
摩矩辭 (Mójǔcí) — Marqus / Mark.
寶路 (Bǎolù) — Paulos / Paul.
賀薩耶 (Hèsàyē) — Hosea.
報信 (Bàoxìn) — "Message-Bearer" — possibly Gabriel or an apostle title.
Many names remain unidentified with certainty. The list may include Old Testament patriarchs, New Testament apostles, and Church of the East saints. The entry "Twenty-Four Saints" (廿四聖法王) may refer collectively to the minor prophets, the elders of Revelation, or a Syriac liturgical grouping.
The Thirty-Five Scriptures
Of the thirty-five scriptures listed, only a handful survive in any form. The Scripture of the Aspiration to Mysterious Peace and Happiness (志玄安樂經) survives in a separate manuscript in Osaka. The Scripture of the Proclamation of the Origin and Ultimate Root (宣元至本經) survives as a fragment. The Scripture of the Hymn of the Three Majesties (三威讚經) is the companion text on this same scroll. The Scripture of the Messiah's Sovereignty over Heaven and Earth (彌施訶自在天地經) is possibly related to the Sutra of Hearing the Messiah.
The remaining thirty-one scripture titles are known only from this catalog. They are the ghosts of a lost library — five hundred and thirty texts brought from the West, of which only thirty-five were translated, of which only a handful survive.
Colophon
The Book of Veneration (尊經) is an anonymous liturgical catalog of the Church of the East in China, composed before the sealing of Cave 17 at Dunhuang around 1000 CE. It survives on Pelliot chinois 3847, recovered by Paul Pelliot in 1908, now held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. It is catalogued in the Taisho Tripitaka as T2143, Volume 54, alongside the Hymn of the Three Majesties.
This is the only surviving document that records the complete list of Nestorian scriptures translated into Chinese — and the only text in which the Christian Trinity is explicitly mapped onto the Buddhist trikāya.
Translated from Classical Chinese by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Independently derived from the source text. Neither Saeki (1937), Palmer (2001), nor Li Tang (2002) were consulted.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: 尊經
Classical Chinese source text from Pelliot chinois 3847, Bibliothèque nationale de France. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
敬禮妙身皇父阿羅訶、應身皇子彌施訶、
證身盧訶寧俱沙，已上三身同歸一體。
敬禮瑜罕難法王、盧伽法王、摩矩辭法王、明泰法王、
牟世法王、多惠法王、景通法王、寶路法王、
千眼法王、那寧逸法王、珉艶法王、摩薩吉思法王、
宜和吉思法王、摩沒吉思法王、岑穩僧伽法王、廿四聖法王、
憲難耶法王、賀薩耶法王、彌沙曳法王、娑羅法王、
瞿盧法王、報信法王。
敬禮常明皇樂經、宣元至本經、志玄安樂經、
天寶藏經、多惠聖王經、阿思瞿利容經、
渾元經、通真經、寶明經、傳化經、罄遺經、
原靈經、述略經、三際經、徵詰經、寧思經、
宣義經、師利海經、寶路法王經、刪河律經、
藝利月思經、寧耶頤經、儀則律經、毘遏啓經、
三威讚經、牟世法王經、伊利耶經、遏拂林經、
報信法王經、彌施訶自在天地經、四門經、啟真經、
摩薩吉斯經、慈利波經、烏沙那經。
謹案諸經目錄，大秦本教經都五百卅部，並是貝葉梵音。
唐太宗皇帝貞觀九年，西域太德僧阿羅本屆于中夏，並奏
上本音。房玄齡、魏徵宣譯奏言。後召本教大德僧景淨，譯
得已上卅部卷，餘大數具在貝皮夾，猶未翻譯。
Source Colophon
Pelliot chinois 3847, Bibliothèque nationale de France. Chinese text from Chinese Wikisource (zh.wikisource.org/wiki/尊經), cross-referenced against CBETA/NTI Reader (T2143, Vol. 54) and the manuscript images on Gallica (gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8303183c). The manuscript was discovered by Paul Pelliot in 1908 in Cave 17 of the Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
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