WI: Zoroastrian China in the 4th century?

[some kind of chimp]

There was a substantial population of Zoroastrians in northern China in the first half of the first millennium (which only disappeared after the Tang persecution).

What if during the chaos of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, a warlord adopts Zoroastrianism, propagates it amongst his tribe / people, and goes on to unify a significant part of the north? Could it survive, and what would the effect of a larger Zoroastrian state in the north be?

 

[some kind of chimp]

Bump. What if in the late 3rd century, the Sassanids commission a Great Zoroastrian Mission which goes down the silk road and tries to make converts? Say they get the Xiongnu chief to convert to the "Fire Worship" in the 280s or 90s. IMO it might appeal to the nomads because the Zoroastrian priests would have no conflicting loyalties and so would be unlikely to betray the converted states. The popularity of Buddhism in China might also sway the Xiongnu to convert.

Also note that at this point Zoroastrianism was an open religion. It was not closed to converts until after the advent of Islam, a fact that gets confused a lot on this site.

 

[prisha]

Also note that at this point Zoroastrianism was an open religion. It was not closed to converts until after the advent of Islam, a fact that gets confused a lot on this site.

see that is the same case with hinduism too. it was pretty much an open religion too, it was not closed to converts till the advent of islam.

 

[mishery]

I suspect you would see some syncreticism with traditional chinese beliefs.

 

[rcduggan]

I suspect you would see some syncreticism with traditional chinese beliefs.

Unless of course most of the population flees south. It happened in OTL during the Sixteen Kingdoms period (IIRC) fleeing the Xiongnu invasion of the north, which resulted in the total Sinicization of the south due to immigrants. So if there was no one, or at most a small portion of the population left, why would they need to syncretize?

Furthermore, the whole point (or partially) of the nomads who invaded the north adopting Buddhism was to offset the power and influence of the Confucianist scholars. IMO the conversion to Zoroastrianism could serve the same purpose: the broken influence of the Confucianists would be attractive to the Xiongnu, and the heart of Zoroastrianism (Sassanid Persia) is far enough away to give them a feeling of independence.

 

[some kind of chimp]

Unless of course most of the population flees south. It happened in OTL during the Sixteen Kingdoms period (IIRC) fleeing the Xiongnu invasion of the north, which resulted in the total Sinicization of the south due to immigrants. So if there was no one, or at most a small portion of the population left, why would they need to syncretize?

Furthermore, the whole point (or partially) of the nomads who invaded the north adopting Buddhism was to offset the power and influence of the Confucianist scholars. IMO the conversion to Zoroastrianism could serve the same purpose: the broken influence of the Confucianists would be attractive to the Xiongnu, and the heart of Zoroastrianism (Sassanid Persia) is far enough away to give them a feeling of independence.

Exactly what I was thinking. So the nomads convert and become well-established in the north, while Confucian China survives in the south, totally Sinicized.

Hmm... I wonder if some Chinese refugees would go to Vietnam, Korea, or Japan. Might those areas get more Sincized then, closely allied with China.

Or what if the Xiongnu conquer Korea, like in northern China much of the population flees to Japan? How plausible is that?

 

[some kind of chimp]

Bump... anyone else?

Another idea I had was a situation like this:

The Sogdians do not convert to Manichaeism, and instead stay Zoroastrian. Thus the city of Turfan is a largely Zoroastrian city, and so is much of the Tarim Basin. when the Gaoche people are expelled from the Rouran in the late 5th century, they settle in Turfan AIOTL. But ITTL they convert to Zoroastrianism. Gaoche contact with China and the Rouran leads to the Sogdians spreading Zoroastrianism there. Eventually one of the rulers of a kingdom of dynasty in the north converts to Zoroastrianism for similar reasons outlined above (offset Confucians, etc). The ruler bans some of the old religions and makes Zoroastrianism the state religion of his state.

Where does it go from here?

And please no "Chinese culture is inevitably monolithic and will return to the status quo soon" comments please. At this point Confucianism was at a nadir and there was no indication that China would ever be put back together again.