Recently discovered ancient Chinese documents on Manichaeism have been introduced, interpreted, analyzed and translated into Persian by two Iranian scholars. Mohammad Shekari, a researcher in oriental religions from the University of Religions and Denominations in the city of Qom, and Sonia Mirzaee, an expert in visual communication from Azad University, have released an article on the newly found documents, according to the website of Written Heritage Research Center (mirasmaktoob.ir).
The 20-page article is published in the autumn 2016-winter 2017 edition of the journal of Religious Studies, affiliated to the university in Qom. The article includes revisions of previously published analyses on three documents found in 2008 in Xiapu County, Fujian Province, southeast China.
According to the research center, the documents date bake to the dynasties of Tang (618-907 AD) and Song (960-1279). One of them has been written by a Manichaean scholar. The other two are descriptions of Manichaeism and its followers in China. They offer new insights into how this dualistic movement was once propagated in China.
Manichaeism was founded in Iran in the 3rd century AD by Mani (216-274) who was known as ‘Apostle of Light’ and ‘Supreme Illuminator.’
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