The religious smorgasbord of the Ming Cult.

[Ken Cheng]

The Ming Cult was a Manichaeist sect. Its members were required to observe Manichaeist doctrine and rituals (e.g. the sacred flame, etc.), but the Chinese Ming Cult during the HSDS era seemed to be a smorgasbord of faiths. Although all Ming Cult members were, by definition, Manichaeists, Can't Say Monk and Pang the Monk were Buddhists, the Iron Crown Taoist was (as his name indicates) a Taoist. As a Mo Dong Sect member, Cheung Mo Gei was a Taoist.

Some questions:

1). Were Can't Say Monk and Pang the Monk really Buddhists, and the Iron Crown Taoist really a Taoist, or were these merely disguises/covers? Fan Yiu, for example, took on the identity of Monk Fu when he served Chiu Mun, but Monk Fu was just a cover identity for Fan Yiu's espionage work; he was never a real Buddhist monk. Chu Yeun Cheung also often assumed the disguise of a Buddhist monk.

2). If these individuals were indeed Buddhists and Taoists, how were they also Manichaeists? Perhaps Manichaeism allowed its adherents to also believe in other faiths (as long as doing so did not violate Manichaeist doctrine/ritual), but did Buddhism and Taoism allow their believers to also be Manichaeists?

I'm a bit confused by how the Ming Cult's religious smorgasbord works.

[Ian Liew]

Since Manichaeism wasn't really a major Chinese faith, my guess is that the Ming Cult observed the ritualistic form of Manichaeism inherited from the Persian Ming Cult, but was never expected to follow the substance of the religion. The Ming Cult army would never have grown to the size it did if peasants were expected to abandon ancestral worship and other major Chinese religions before hoisting the Ming banner.

[tape]

I too imagine the Ming Cult sect rules were fairly lax as long as the general philosophies weren't disobeyed. I can't quite imagine someone like Zhou Dian abstaining from alcohol and meat, and I think that's actually an official rule that they had?

One of the best ways to succeed in anything is to concentrate on moving the big rocks and not worrying too much about the small rocks.

On a side note, Wuji was not Taoist. I believe it was said that none of the 7 Wudang heroes were actually taoists in practice.