THE HOLM-NESTORIAN EXPEDITION TO SIAN MCMVII.[1]
BY FRITS V. HOLM, M.R.A.S.
IT is with the greatest regret that I have not been able to enjoy the honor extended to me by the President of the Congress to accept his invitation to be present at the deliberations of the Congress and there exhibit and lecture on the replica of the Nestorian Stone of Sianfu; but I have thought fit to submit a brief statement of my work to the Council, to be dealt with as the President and his Council may decide.
After several months of constant study in the British Museum's library, and due to a keen interest I have always taken in matters Chinese from my former residence in that great empire, I decided to undertake an expedition to the capital of the province of Shensi, Sian-fu, known generally as the place of refuge of the Chinese Court during and after the Boxer troubles. I was fortunate enough to obtain the necessary financial means in London and New York, where I arrived in February, 1907, from Europe, and I likewise found much moral support from several university professors, scientists and museum authorities in various countries.
The chief aim of the expedition was to proceed to Sianfu and there on the spot examine the local and outer relations of the Nestorian Stone of A. D. 781, with a possible view of purchasing the ancient monument or obtaining a true copy or monolith replica of the same.
I copy the following paragraphs from my book-manuscript (part I):
"Of all the historical monuments near and in Sianfu, the famous Nestorian Stone, or Chingchiaopei as the natives call it, un-
- ↑ Communicated to the XV. International Congress of Orientalists at Copenhagen, August 19, 1908, to the Anthropological Society of Washington, the Explorers' Club of New York, West Point Military Academy, Johns Hopkins University, etc. during 1909.
