Nestorian remains of Inner Mongolia : discovery, reconstruction and appropriation

The author takes a closer look at the Nestorian remains of Öngöt in Inner Mongolia. He introduces a number of recently discovered remains, from the Mongol period, mostly gravestones with inscriptions in Syriac, Chinese and Uighur, which have not been published before. He also submits his own fieldwork in the region, including the documentation of newly discovered remains of the Nestorian Church of the East and related oral history. The thesis consists of four parts and is illustrated with plates and concluded with a number of appendixes. Part I provides an introduction to the medieval sources on the Nestorian presence in the Far East, the associated terms and the historical framework. Part II presents a new synthesis of publications and unpublished sources on the Nestorian remains in Inner Mongolia. Part III provides a historical reconstruction of the Nestorian culture in Inner Mongolia. Part IV provides an insight in the contemporary interpretation and appropriation of Nestorian material of Inner Mongolia by herders and farmers of both Han Chinese and Mongolian descent.