Chinese Manichaeism, also known as Monijiao () or Mingjiao ( or 'bright religion'), is the form of Manichaeism transmitted to and currently practiced in China. Chinese Manichaeism rose to prominence during the Tang dynasty and despite frequent persecutions, it has continued long after the other forms of Manichaeism were eradicated in the West. The most complete set of surviving Manichaean writings were written in Chinese sometime before the 9th century and were found in the Mogao Caves among the Dunhuang manuscripts.
Chinese Manichaeism represents a set of teachings with the purpose of inducing awakening ( ), and 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, "Radiant Lord" or 真神 "True God". Salvation is delivered by the Living Spirit ( ) of God, of whom there have been many manifestations in human form, including Mani ( ).
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 brought into China in the year 694, but this may have happened much earlier. Since its introduction, Manichaeism has been deeply sinicised in its style, adapting to the Chinese cultural context.
According to the Chinese Manichaeans of the Ming dynasty, their religion entered the country through Mōzak during the reign of the Emperor Gaozong of Tang (650–683). The 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, the Emperor Xuanzong 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 the 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 north-western 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's defeat of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 and a rising resentment for non-Chinese foreigners. Manichaeism was officially banned and persecuted through the suppression of non-Chinese religions started by the 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.