78 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. second year of the period I-Fong (677), three devout Persians desired that another temple should be con- structed." A Chinese encyclopedia *, published under the dy- nasty of Song, in the year 1005, contains the following imperial decree : — " In the ninth moon of the fourth year of the period Thien-Pao (745), the emperor issued a decree, in which it is said: ' The luminous doctrine came from Ta-Thsin; its partisans transmitted it from one to the other, so that at last it spread through the Central kingdom. Then they began to build temples, and from thence came their name, temples of Ta-Thsin.' If it is desired, to make them known to men, it is necessary to ascend to their origin ; and that is why, in the two capitals of China, it is proper to change the name of temple of Po-Sse into temple of Ta-Thsin. It is proper that, in all the circles of the empire, this rule should be con- formed to." This imperial decree of 745 is reported in an en- cyclopaedia published in 1005 ; the passages from Min- Khieou, author of a " Description of Si-ngan-Fou," were, published in 1060 ; so this cannot be accounted for by the supposition of a " pious fraud of the Jesuits." These decisive testimonies were repeated by Tsien- che (who was living in 1063, under the emperor Jin- Tsoung, and was a contemporary of the above-named Min-Khieou) in his work, entitled, "Examination of the Luminous Doctrine."f Tsien-che, after having cited the very words of the encyclopaedia, and of Min-Khieou, his contemporary,
- It is called Tse-fou-youen-Kouei.
"Bibliotheque Imperiale," No. 574., vol. viii. lib. 108.
