Manichaean Legacies in a Daoist Order: The Mingshi Tradition in Qingtian

Arabestani, Mehrdad and Yang, Der-Ruey (2026) Manichaean Legacies in a Daoist Order: The Mingshi Tradition in Qingtian. ACTA ORIENTALIA ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE, 79 (1). pp. 75-146. ISSN 0001-6446

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Abstract

This article examines the survival and transformation of Manichaean elements within Mingshi 明氏 Daoist denomination, a recently identified tradition in Qingtian 青田, China. Recognizing Mānī as the Buddha of Light, Mingshi Daoists maintain an eschatology structured around the struggle between Light and Darkness, reflecting Manichaean continuities within a syncretic Daoist framework. Newly discovered scriptures among Mingshi Daoists furthermore illuminate the religious group’s doctrinal formation and its engagement with Manichean elements. Through historical and ethnographic analysis, the study shows how ritual specialists, textual transmission, and evolving community identities sustain and reshape Manichaean-influenced religious forms across changing cultural and political contexts.

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