| Xiabuzan | |
|---|---|
| Material | paper |
| Writing | Middle Chinese |
| Created | Tang Dynasty |
| Discovered | 1907 in Dunhuang Mogao Caves Buddhist scripture cave |
| Present location | LondonBritish Library |
| Identification | S.2659 |
The Xiabuzan (Chinese: 下部讚[1]) is a Chinese Manichaean hymn scroll found by British archaeologist Aurel Stein in the Mogao Grottoes. It contains a series of hymns used in religious ceremonies. It is currently held at the British Library, where it is catalogued as number S.2659.[2][3]
The first volume of the manuscript is slightly incomplete, and the content is written in the form of poetry. Among them, there are 1254 sentences of seven-character poems, and a few four-character and five-character poems.[4] According to Lin Wushu's research, these hymns were translated from a Middle Iranian language, rather than original by the Manichaeans.[2] Many of the contents are dedicated to the Yishu (Jesus), and the hymn to the highest deity of Manichaeism.[5]
After Manichaeism was introduced into China, because the image of Jesus was quite unfamiliar to Chinese culture, missionaries combined it with Buddhist imagery, called Jesus Buddha, and made him a model of great mercy and relief.[6] Therefore, believers wrote in the following excerpt from the hymn "Praise Jesus Text", which is like a Buddhist scripture in the Chinese Manichaean hymn scroll.
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