明教

Míngjiào
proper noun

Meanings

  1. 1 Mingjiao, the Chinese form of Manichaeism, a folk religion of the Song to Ming periods
  2. 2 Ming Cult, the sect led by Zhang Wuji in Jin Yong's The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber

Examples

HSK 5
Míngjiào láizì gǔdài de Móníjiào.
Mingjiao came from the ancient religion of Manichaeism.
HSK 7-9
Hěnduō rén shì cóng wǔxiá xiǎoshuō lǐ dìyī cì tīngshuō Míngjiào de.
Many people first heard of the Ming Cult in wuxia novels.

Tips

history
Manichaeism reached China under the Tang. After it was banned in 843 it lived on in the southeast as 明教, 'the religion of light', mixed with Buddhist and Daoist elements. The 草庵 temple near 泉州 keeps a rare stone statue of Mani as the Buddha of Light.
culture
In 金庸's 《倚天屠龙记》 the sect is a hunted brotherhood that 张无忌 leads against the Yuan, and the novel plays on the theory that the Ming dynasty, 明朝, took its name from it.

Stroke Order

明 míng
教 jiāo