Chinese Manichaeism

Chinese Manichaeism represents a set of teachings with the purpose of inducing awakening (佛; fó). It is a dualistic religion that believes in the eternal fight between the principles of good/light and evil/darkness, the former being represented by a God known as Shangdi, Míngzūn (明尊; 'Radiant Lord') or Zhēnshén (真神; 'True God'). Salvation is delivered by the Living Spirit (淨活風; Jìnghuófēng) of God, of whom there have been many manifestations in human form, including Mani (摩尼; Móní).

History

Due to how adaptable the teachings and beliefs of Manichaeism are, they were able to spread across a vast expanse of different cultures, from the Roman Empire to the west and China to the east. The religion arrived alongside Christianity through the various south-eastern Chinese seaports and overland Silk Road trade routes from the western desert regions. Sources state that Manichaeism was first introduced into China in 694, but this may have occurred much earlier. Since its introduction, Manichaeism has been deeply sinicised, adapting to the Chinese cultural context.

According to the Chinese Manichaeans of the Ming dynasty, their religion entered the country via Mōzak during the reign of the Emperor Gaozong of Tang (650–683). Pupil of Mōzak Bishop Mihr-Ohrmazd followed his leader into China and was granted an audience with Wu Zetian (who held de facto power in the Tang dynasty between 684 and 690, and ruled as emperor of the Wu Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705) where, according to later Buddhist sources, he presented the Shabuhragan, which ended up becoming the most popular text of the country's Manichaeans. In 731, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang asked a Manichaean to summarize their foreign religious doctrines, and the result was a text known as the Compendium of the Teachings of Mani, the Awakened One of Light. The text interprets the prophet Mani as an incarnation of Laozi (although Manichaeans clashed with the local Chinese Buddhists, they maintained good relations with their Taoist neighbors); a version of the Taoist Huahujing from the 8th century shares the same perspective as the Compendium, stating that Laozi reincarnated among the Western barbarian peoples as the prophet Mani.

Tang dynasty

Manichaeism was introduced into China during the Tang dynasty through Central Asian communities and was regarded as an improper form of Buddhism by the Tang authorities. Although religions of the Western peoples (including those of Bactria and Sogdia) were not outlawed, they were prohibited from spreading among the native Chinese population. However, Manichaeism was a popular faith in northern China during the Tang dynasty.

The north-western Uyghur Khaganate learned of Manichaeism from Sogdian foreigners. After Khagan Bögü Qaghan (759–780) held a three-day discussion with members of the Manichaean clergy, he converted to the religion in 763. Manichaeism subsequently became the official religion of the khaganate, prompting the Babylonian headquarters of Manichaeism to send high-ranking clerics to the northwestern Uyghur territory. Due to the peace between the Uyghurs and Han populations during this time, the Tang government relaxed its restraints on Manichaeism, allowing it to flourish with monasteries built by the Uyghurs in places such as Shaoxing, Yangzhou, Nanjing, and Jingzhou, with the first being built in 768.

Persecution

The years of prosperity for Manichaeism came to an end in the wake of the Kyrgyz defeat of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 and a rising resentment for non-Chinese foreigners. Manichaeism was officially banned and persecuted during the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution started by Emperor Wuzong of Tang in 843. During that year, the Tang dynasty government confiscated all of the property belonging to the Manichaean monasteries, destroyed the temples, burnt their scriptures, laicized or killed the clergy, and specifically executed seventy Manichaean nuns in Chang'an.

Instead of their traditional clothing, the Manichaean priests were ordered to wear hanfu, as the typical Manichaean attire was deemed un-Chinese. In some cases, the Manichaeans were ordered by Tang authorities to dress like Buddhist monks and, since Manichaean priests were known for their long hair, they were forced to have their heads shaven. Over half of the Manichaean population is estimated to have been killed due to Emperor Wuzong's Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution. Two years after the persecution began, a total ban on foreign relations caused Manichaeism to hide underground, from which it has never regained its past prominence.

Song and Yuan dynasties

Though they participated in rebellions against the government during the Song dynasty, the Chinese Manichaeans were continually stamped down by the successive Chinese dynasties, with the Confucian authorities of the Song era disregarding the local Manichaeans as "vegetarian demon-worshippers" (Chinese: 吃菜事魔). During this time, they had a holy book that discussed the natures of light and dark, as well as the past, present, and future, which were viewed as separate worlds. Manichaeans of this era were buried naked, "would not touch liquor...[,] eat meat, [and would not consume] milk and cheese" and did not worship the Buddha, according to Dun J. Li.

Manichaeans' fortunes changed during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, wherein the religion enjoyed a stable existence while the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism served as the de facto state religion. Two elaborate silk paintings survive from this era: Manichaean Diagram of the Universe and Sermon on Mani's Teaching of Salvation.

Further syncretization

Manichaeism survived among the population and had a profound influence on the tradition of the Chinese salvationist religions, integrating with the Maitreya teachings such as the White Lotus Societies. Chinese Manichaeism took inspiration from Taoism, as well as forms of Buddhism, including Chinese Buddhism.

Due to the rise of the Ming dynasty, the name for Manichaeism, Mingjiao, was seen as offensive to the emperor, leading to particular persecution. During and after the 14th century, some Chinese Manichaeans involved themselves with the Pure Land school of Mahayana Buddhism in southern China. Those Manichaeans practiced their rituals so closely alongside the Mahayana Buddhists that, over the years, the two sects became indistinguishable. The Cao'an temple in Fujian stands as an example of this synthesis, as a statue of the "Buddha of Light" is thought to be a representation of the prophet Mani.

Present-day

Cao'an, founded as a Manichaean temple but later associated with Buddhism, has survived to the present day. It features a statue of Mani as the "Buddha of Light". Local villagers near Cao'an still worship Mani, albeit with little distinction between Mani-as-Buddha and Gautama Buddha.

In 2018, rituals were conducted for Lin Deng 林瞪 (1003–1059), a Chinese Manichaean leader who lived during the Song dynasty in the three villages of Baiyang 柏洋村, Shangwan 上万村, and Tahou 塔后村 in Baiyang Township, Xiapu County, Fujian.