As the founding king of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's life is legendary.
He was born in Haozhou to a poor peasant family, because he was the eighth oldest in the family, and his father Zhu Shizhen named him Zhu Zhongba, a name that Guo Zixing acquired for him after he joined the Red Turban Army. According to the "Zhu Shide Monument", Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestors all made a living from farming, and because his father and grandfather were in arrears in taxes, the family moved to the Huai River Valley to hide debts. In order to fill his stomach, Zhu Yuanzhang began to herd cattle for the landlords in the village at a very young age.
In 1343, a severe drought struck Haozhou, and the ensuing plague took the lives of many of the victims. Less than half a month later, Zhu Yuanzhang's parents died of illness. In order to survive, Zhu Yuanzhang and his brother and nephew were forced to flee separately. Cornered, Zhu Yuanzhang traveled to Guyang, Ruyang and other places and later arrived at the Huangjue Temple. At that time, peasant uprisings were raging in various places, and Zhu Yuanzhang was also exposed to the saying of "the Birth of the Ming King, the Purification of All Sentient Beings" propagated by the White Lotus Sect in the north during his three years of wandering life.
Regarding the relationship between Zhu Yuanzhang and the Ming Sect, there are many theories circulating in the field of historiography.
Some people infer from the contents of the twenty-five chapters of the Book of the Slaughtering dragon in the heavens that Zhu Yuanzhang joined the Ming Sect in his early years, and it was precisely because of the support of the ming sect's huge power that Zhu Yuanzhang was able to finally rise to the top of the world.
There is also a theory that although Zhu Yuanzhang did not join the Ming Sect, many of his soldiers were from the Ming Sect. Because the Ming Sect played a pivotal role in the uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he set the name of the country as "Ming".
Although these statements are all speculations and inferences of historians, it is an indisputable fact that Zhu Yuanzhang once made a fortune by means of the Ming Sect. At the end of the book "Yitian Slaughtering Dragon", it is written: "Because Zhu Yuanzhang started from the Ming Sect, he had to carry a 'Ming' character in his national name. ”
So, what kind of religious organization is the Ming Sect?
Unlike Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions that are still active around the world today, Mingism is a religion that only historians can notice. Because it always appears in Jin Yong's various martial arts novels, so when it comes to Mingjiao, people will always think of "Yitian Slaughtering Dragon", think of Xiao Zhao and Zhang Wujie's entangled love story, and few people will pay attention to the Mingjiao itself. According to historical records, Mingism originated from Persian Manichaeism, was introduced to the Central Plains during the Tang Wu Zetian period, and after the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, it tended to die out at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
So, what did such a short-lived Ming Sect look like in real history?
Mingism, also known as Manichaeism, originated in ancient Persia and was founded by the Persian Manichaeans. Due to the deep influence of Christianity and the Iranian Zoroastrian Mazda doctrine, Manichaeism is also known as the "dualistic religion". According to legend, Manichaeism arrived in northwest China during his travels in the third century AD, but manichaeism was officially introduced to China around the seventh century AD.
The initial spread of Manichaeism in China was not smooth, and many Manichaean monks could only spread the teachings under the guise of Buddhism. From the time of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Manichaeism gradually spread near the Protectorate of Ansidur. It was not until the first year of Wu Zetian's reign that Manichaeism was officially introduced to China. The Dayun Guangming Temple, built in Chang'an in the third year of the Gregorian calendar, is the best proof of the introduction of Manichaeism to China.
In the process of spreading Manichaeism in China, it actively absorbed the local Taoist and folk belief culture. Because of its doctrine of belief that "light will eventually triumph over darkness," Manichaeism was later renamed "Mingism." In ancient times, the development of Ming Buddhism incorporated many religious components such as Buddhism, Taoism, and White Lotus Buddhism. Its followers regard Mani as the "god of light", worship the sun and the moon, advocate daily vegetarian diet, abstain from alcohol, and pay attention to unity.
In this "Kingdom of Light", light, goodness, peace, order, and cleanliness are their dogmas, and the Manichaean classic "Lower Zan" "Sighs the Boundary Text" says:
The light is universally pure, and the silence of the often happy is unmoved.
He who suffers joy has no trouble, and if he speaks of suffering, there is no use.
Always in the light of happiness, if there is no use in saying that there is a disease.
If there is a person who lives in another country, he will not worry about it.
The place is solemn and pure, and all evils are impure and pure;
Happiness is full of Chang Kuantai, and words are useless.
It is said that the rulers of Manichaeism, Persia are called Chavan, and the Eastern Lands are called Ming Father and Great Ming Zun. The Dark Kingdom is full of fireworks, sullenness, hurricanes, sludge, poisonous water, ruled by the Dark Lord, inhabited by five types of demons, indulging in lust and quarrels all day long, light and darkness several wars, the Dark Lord let the demons give birth to human ancestors. Because human beings are the descendants of the demons of darkness, Daming Zun sent messengers of light to save the souls of mankind with light elements...
It can be said that it is precisely because of the strong religious foundation of the Ming Religion that many peasant uprisings will use it as a tool for organizing the masses. For example, the uprising launched by Mother B during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and the Fang La rebellion that appeared during the Two Song Dynasties, were all linked by The Ming Sect. Even, soon after the introduction of Ming buddhism to the Tang Dynasty, it was introduced to uighurs, and it was revered as the "state religion" by the latter.
The Tang Dynasty's attitude toward the Ming Sect was constantly changing with the political relations between the two countries. After the Anshi Rebellion, because the Uighurs helped tang to quell the chaos, Manichaeism was able to spread widely in the Tang Dynasty, and the relations between the two countries warmed up. According to the Old Book of Tang, the Uighur prime minister ordered more than 570 Manichaeans to personally greet the princess, which shows that the ming influence has long extended to the political field of the two countries.
In the first year of Huichang, the Uighurs were defeated by the Uighurs. At the time of the decline of the country, the Tang court's attitude towards the Ming Sect immediately underwent a huge change. According to the "Huichang Yipin Collection", in the third year of Huichang, the Tang court suddenly changed its attitude and ordered the closure of the Mani Temple, which was built in various parts of Jianghuai. The "Record of entering the Tang Dynasty and Seeking the Dharma" also records this incident, that is, in April of the third year of Huichang, Tang Wuzong ordered the murder of the Manichaean monks in the world, and more than seventy Manichaean masters in Chang'an City died in this robbery. On the other hand, because the imperial court banned the spread of Ming religion in China, the Ming religion organization in the Central Plains gradually lost contact with the Manichaean arch-religion in the western region.
After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, some Ming scholars built many Ming temples, such as the Lucao Nunnery built on Huabiao Mountain in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, which is the only remaining Ming temple in China.
Just as the Ming Dynasty had a bad destiny in the Central Plains, the development of Manichaeism in Persia, its birthplace, was also full of twists and turns.
According to legend, soon after the establishment of Manichaeism, Manichaeism was regarded by the Sassanids as a religion that threatened its rule. To prevent Manichaeism from "demagogizing", the Persian king ordered manichaeism to be executed in 276 AD and declared manichaeism a pagan religion. Like the anti-Buddhist campaign of the Tang Dynasty, many Manichaeans were persecuted to death by the Persian Sassanids. Other Manichaeans fled east to Central Asia and joined the Manichaean Order.
The Manichaean Order of Central Asia was founded by Manichaean disciple Amo and had a wide influence in Central Asia, and the Ming Sect that developed in China during the Tang and Ming dynasties was transmitted from the Central Asian Manichaean Order. Around the sixth century AD, the Central Asian Manichaean Order, under the leadership of Satur, announced its secession from the Manichaean Archchut in Babylon, and the Central Asian Manichaean Order was completely separated from the Persian Manichaean Archchus.
In other words, the Ming religion introduced to China has little to do with the Persian Manichaean arch religion, and the statement mentioned in the Book of the Slaughter of the Dragon in the Heavens is also incorrect.
Soon after the independence of the Manichaean Order of Central Asia, the Sassanid Dynasty of Persia went to war with the Byzantine Empire. Due to the failure to defeat the Byzantine Empire and the severe weakening of its power, the Sassanid Empire was destroyed by the Arab Empire in 651 AD, and Persian Manichaeism was completely extinct. On the other hand, the Central Asian Moni Order, which "protected the self-preservation of the Wise Man," also ushered in the catastrophe.
After the Arab Empire occupied Persia, it vigorously promoted Islam, coupled with the oppression of Muslim and Mongol forces at the same time, and the Central Asian Manichaean Order was forced to perish. As a result, the Ming Religion, which was once introduced to China and developed secretly, became the only remaining "bloodline" of Manichaeism. At this point, it is not difficult to judge that the Persian arch-religion mentioned in the Book of the Dragon Slayer in the Heavens has no historical basis at all for going thousands of miles to the Central Plains to find the holy woman.
Finally, let's talk about zhu Yuanzhang's relationship with the Ming Sect.
Although the Ming Sect of the Central Plains flourished at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, this good situation did not last long. On the one hand, the teachings of the Ming Sect were absorbed and developed by other secret religions such as the White Lotus Sect, and their own power was greatly reduced. On the other hand, because the Ming Sect has been active underground for a long time, over time it has had other names in various places, such as the Erjunzi in Huainan and the Vajra Zen in Jiangxi, etc., all of which have taken away some of the forces of the Ming Sect.
In the surging peasant uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it was the "Red Turban Army" that Zhu Yuanzhang had joined the most. As we all know, Zhu Yuanzhang originated in the "Red Turban Army", and the "Red Turban Army" has a Ming religious background. Some people have analyzed that Zhu Yuanzhang joined the Ming Sect in his early years, so he would set the name of the country as "Ming". The two-hundred-year history of the Ming Dynasty also began with the Ming Sect. Although this statement is somewhat far-fetched, it also has a certain historical basis.
What is intriguing is that Zhu Yuanzhang, who originated from the Ming Sect, later led to the decline of the Ming Sect. According to historical records, after Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, he issued an edict strictly prohibiting secret sects such as the Ming Sect and the White Lotus Sect. At the same time, he also classified the teachings of the Ming Sect as "Left Path Evil Arts" and wrote them into the Ming Laws. At this point, Mingism has completely become a "pagan religion" in the eyes of the rulers, and it has no longer flourished as before.
Subsequently, the White Lotus Sect continued to develop in the form of various tribes, such as the Tang Sai'er Rebellion during the Yongle Period, the White Lotus Rebellion in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, etc., since then, the Ming Sect has gradually declined.
Resources:
["History of Ming", "Zhu Shide Monument", "Old Book of Tang", "Huichang Yipin Collection", "Entry into the Tang Dynasty to Seek the Law", "Lower Praise"]