Manichaeism

The religious tradition entitled Manichaeism was developed and started in the Sassanid (Persian) Empire. Its founder was a man named Mani who lived from 216-276 CE and was born in Babylon, or the area located around present day Al-Hillah, Iraq. This gnostic faith of his spread quickly and from the third to the seventh century, it was just as popular as its rival faiths of Buddhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.

During the time of its highest popularity, Manichaeism could be found all the way from the Roman Empire to Southern China. The prophet Mani himself outlined all of his faith's teachings in seven or eight books, all of which he wrote himself. Unfortunately, transcripts of these have been lost through history and now only small fragments of some translations remain. The largest database of information that we have on Mani/Manichaeism is the Cologne Mani-Codex.

This is basically a papyrus codex which can be traced back to the fifth century CE and it holds a hagiography on Mani himself, allowing us to know much about him we would not have been able to before. The main beliefs of Manichaeism are largely dualistic, there is no omnipotent higher good (or, God) but instead we have two opposing forces. One of good, and one of evil. The struggle of light and dark is important; our souls are said to be of light while the earth of dark.

The emergence of such a faith amidst many others leads to many instances. At the one end of the spectrum they clash, and we see this as history shows us Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and Zoroastrian societies all persecuted followers of Manichaeism. On the other side of the spectrum, we ask how did this religion evolve with its rivals, and was there any syncretism involved. The answer to this is yes.

If you study its history you will agree. As the faith moved from its origin it adopted different deities influenced from other faiths, and as its work was translated into neighboring languages of Persian and Chinese, many of the names and principles were translated in order to fit with similar Zoroastrian and Buddhist ideals. So yes Manichaeism is synretic, but what does this mean?

For one thing, for a religion to be syncretic should not be frowned upon. Now yes that is not easy to tell people of the so called 'revealed' faiths such as Christianity and Islam, but it is a reality that should be noted. There are arguments and evidence, albeit limited in some cases, which prove that basically all modern day world religions are partly if not largely syncretic. So for the sake of Manichaeism in our discussion, we can say it progressed normally.

All religions are syncretic. Christianity was influenced by Paganism and Zoroastrianism. Islam was influenced by Judaism and Christianity. Buddhism was influenced by Hinduism. All of these statements are not entirely true, but are not entirely false. There is even evidence out there today that Judaism was influenced by the Paganism of ancient Egypt. In the Roman Empire such syncretism was completely normal as new deities were added to existing pantheons routinely.

Now with all of this syncretic talk feelings can be easily hurt and individuals can become angry, rightfully so too as such talk can seem blasphemous. What we need to do is realize that such scholarly pursuits do not have demeaning intentions and the results found do not falsify certain religions. Now this is of course a sore subject and it is not as easy as it sounds. All in all we can see that Manichaeism was largely syncretic and this resulted in its success.

#6

"Each eye can have its vision separately; but when we are looking at anything... our vision, which in itself is divided, joins up and unites in order to give itself as a whole to the object that is put before it."

-John Calvin

I love to look back on past civilizations (the older the better) and examine them both in the context of their own time and in the context of mine. So, whenever my scholarly aides allow me to do so, I never hesitate. For this reading we took a look at society in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty, with a concentration on the population of Nestorian Christians in the area and their roles as a religious minority.

All in all it was very interesting indeed to see what life was like to have been a member of this ancient society. Many aspects I am very understanding about, such as the cultural aspects of family and honor. However, some of the information caught me off surprise, I never imagined that security would have been so tight back then, in as far as imposing harsh daily curfews. Pondering back on it now though, I can understand the reasoning for it.

Another bit of information which struck my eye, and was particularly appealing for me, was the economy of Chang'an. Wholly based off the trade of goods, which most came from along the silk road, the economy was nothing compared to what we live with nowadays but it is important to notice how vital a part of every citizens life the market economy was. I found it neat that when there were no coins left to use as currency the citizens would use pieces of silk.

The reading for me however peaked when i read the fantastic little short story encountered in Hansen's reading. Entitled The Tale of Li Wa it is a fascinating story as it gives the reader a first hand observation of daily life in Chang'an. Prose speaks to the mind and imagination much clearer than historical fact ever can, even if it may be fictitious. The story follows a young man on his path of education as he struggles for love and struggles with his social class.

With regards to Nestorian Christianity, this was also an interesting part of the reading. Their history is very unique as they have been extremely isolated from the rest of Christendom. This can be noticed in their different beliefs, rejection of the trinity, and their rituals/practices. It was nice to find out that the Nestorians were particularly safe living in Chang'an, as opposed to the numerous Christians being persecuted during the same time in the nearby Roman Empire.