Alopen
Sign in to saveAlopen (, ; also "Aleben", "Aluoben", "Olopen," "Olopan," or "Olopuen") is the first recorded Christian missionary to have reached China, during the Tang dynasty. He was a missionary from the Church of the East, and probably a Syriac speaker from the Sasanian Empire or from Byzantine Syria. He is known exclusively from the Xi'an Stele, which describes his arrival in the Tang capital of Chang'an in 635 and his acceptance by Emperor Taizong of Tang. His is the earliest known name that can be attached to the history of the Church of the East in China.
Person
- Born
- 0600-00-00
- Died
- 0700-01-01
via Open Library + Wikidata
Recent publications · Crossref
1 total works indexed
- Designing and evaluating alternative livelihoods for shark conservation: a case study on thresher sharks in Alor Island, Indonesia
· 2025 · cited 6x
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Key facts
- Chinese.image
- Alopen in the Xian Nestorian Stele.jpg
- Chinese.caption
- The name "Alopen" (阿羅本) in the Xi'an Stele.
- Chinese.p
- Āluóběn
- Chinese.mc
- alapuənX
via Wikipedia infobox
Key dates
- Born
- 600
- Died
- 1 January 700
via Wikidata · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Tang dynasty
- Place of birth
- Syria
- Occupation
- translator
- Religion
- Nestorianism
Show 1 more fact
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
4 sectionsContents
- History
- See also
- References
- External links
Alopen (, ; also "Aleben", "Aluoben", "Olopen," "Olopan," or "Olopuen") is the first recorded Christian missionary to have reached China, during the Tang dynasty. He was a missionary from the Church of the East, and probably a Syriac speaker from the Sasanian Empire or from Byzantine Syria. He is known exclusively from the Xi'an Stele, which describes his arrival in the Tang capital of Chang'an in 635 and his acceptance by Emperor Taizong of Tang. His is the earliest known name that can be attached to the history of the Church of the East in China.
==History== thumb|right|Detail of the Xi'an Stele artifact, mentioning Alopen Alopen's name is known only from the Chinese of the Xi'an Stele. This may be a transliteration of the Semitic "Abraham" or aloho punoya, "the conversion of God." Amy Chua posits that his name could be a transcription of "Ruben", Alexis Balmont rather advocates for Ardaban.