Founded by Mani (
摩尼 c. 216-274 CE) in Sasanian Persia, Manichaeism teaches a cosmic dualism of light versus dark. It reached Tang China via the Silk Road and survived underground in Fujian for centuries as
明教 'Religion of Light' - the same sect Jin Yong romanticized in 《
倚天屠龙记》 (The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber).