Located at the southern foot of Mount Huabiao in Jinjiang City, the "Cao'an" is regarded as one of the most well-preserved Manichaean sites. Since Quanzhou's airport is located in Jinjiang City, Cao'an became my first stop on my trip to Quanzhou.
Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking at the "Cao'an" in the distance, its style is no different from most of the temples in southern Fujian, and if it is not admired, its existence will indeed be ignored.
The kusanagi have survived in this architectural form, which is also related to the historical development of Manichaeism.
Founded in Persia in the third century AD, Manichaeism was first born out of Zoroastrianism and combines many elements of Christianity and Buddhism.
The name of the Founder is Manichae, hence the name of the Founder. In China, it has another name called "Mingjiao", and friends who have read Jin Yong's novel "The Book of the Dragon Slaughtering in the Heavens" may be more familiar with this name.
In 276 AD, Mani was crucified on the cross by King Bahram II of the Sassanid Dynasty of Persia. As a result, his followers began to flee Persia, and Manichaeism flourished in many parts of Eurasia.
In 694, during the reign of Wu Zetian, Manichaeism spread to China with Persian merchants.
After the Anshi Rebellion, Manichaeism flourished for a while because of its contribution to the Gaochang Uighur Khaganate in helping the Tang Dynasty quell the chaos.
At that time, a large Manichaean monastery was established in Chang'an, called "Dayun Guangming Temple". However, when Tang Wuzong destroyed buddhism, he may not have figured out what the relationship between Manichaeism and Buddhism was at that time, so Manichaeism was regarded as a branch of Buddhism, unfortunately lying on the gun, and the Dayun Guangming Temple was also demolished.
There was a mage named Hulu at dayun Guangming Temple, who fled south to Quanzhou. After Hulu's death, he was buried in Qingyuan Mountain, Quanzhou. From this time on, Manichaeism quietly sowed a seed in Quanzhou.
In 1979, in the well in front of the Cao'an, a large black-glazed porcelain bowl from the Song Dynasty was found, on which the inscription "Ming Church" was written, and it is now in the collection of the Jinjiang Museum.
At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, this kind of black glazed bowl was fired, there were many magnetic stoves in Jinjiang, and the same type of discovery was also found in the suburbs of Quanzhou City, and the written records of the Manichaean ruins of the Cao'an temple corroborated with the porcelain bowls of the black-glazed "Ming Church", indicating that as early as the Song Dynasty, this was an important place for Manichaean activities.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang gained the military power of the Ming Sect East Road Army, Chen Youyu obtained the military power of the Ming Sect West Road Army, zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youyu launched a big war at Poyang Lake in order to compete for the world, and the Ming Sect believers were seriously killed and injured.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang said that after the emperor established the Ming Dynasty, he wantonly killed the Ming Sect members who helped him fight the world, and dealt a very severe blow to Manichaeism, so after the Ming Dynasty, Manichaeism collapsed.
After a long time, the grass temple will be abandoned, and everyone will gradually not understand its origin, and many people think that it is a small Taoist temple in the countryside, or a small Buddhist temple.
After talking about the development of Manichaeism in China, let's introduce you to the "Cao'an".
Founded in the 10th-11th centuries of the Northern Song Dynasty, The Grass Temple was originally a building built by the grass, so it was called the Grass Temple.
The stone statue enshrined in the temple is the statue of Mani, which was later called Mani Guang Buddha, but it has nothing to do with Shakyamuni in Buddhism.
The statue of manichae buddha and the stone building of the current main body were built in the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty, that is, in 1339 AD.
Because Manichaeism does not practice idolatry in its teachings, there is no statue of Manichae in other places, especially in Persia, the birthplace of Manichaeism.
This stone statue of Cao'an was carved by the locals for Mani according to Chinese traditions, which is actually inconsistent with the original teachings of Manichaeism.
In the process of carving, everyone is actually not clear about what to carve into, so they refer to a lot of Elements of Taoist carving. Therefore, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, many readers traveled here and thought that Cao'an was a Taoist temple.
With the discovery of archaeological excavations, manichaean sites have been discovered in the world, including our Fujian region and the Turpan region of Xinjiang, but the Manichaean stone statue in the grass temple is the only Manichaean statue in the world, which is very precious!
Quanzhou Cao'an Temple tour guide
Address: No. 92, Huabiao Mountain Foothills West Road, Jinjiang City, Quanzhou City
Admission: Free
Opening hours: 9:00-17:00
Transportation: Bus No. 3, 11, 16 Cao'an Station