The Manichaean Turpan documents found in Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves include many documents and works of

Manichaean art Manichaeism has a rich tradition of visual art, starting with Mani (prophet), Mani himself writing Arzhang, the Book of Pictures. One of Mani's primary beliefs was that the arts (namely painting, calligraphy, and music) were of the same esteem as ...

found by the

German Turfan expeditions The German Turfan expeditions were four archeological expeditions to Turpan, Turfan in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang, China, conducted between 1902 and 1914. They were initiated by Albert Grünwedel, a former director at the Ethnolog ...

History

Many important finds were made by the Turfan expeditions, especially on the second expedition, at a number of sites along the ancient northern route around the

Taklamakan The Taklamakan Desert ( ) is a desert in northwest China's Xinjiang region. Located inside the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, it is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains to the west, the Tian Shan range to the n ...

desert. They discovered important documents and works of art (including a magnificent wall-painting of a

Manichaean Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

bishop ozhak previously mistakenly identified as

Mani Mani may refer to: People * Mani (name), (), a given name and surname (including a list of people with the name) ** Mani (prophet) (c. 216–274), a 3rd century Iranian prophet who founded Manichaeism ** Mani (musician) (born 1962), an English ...

) and the remains of a

Nestorian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

(Christian) church near ancient Khocho (Qara-khoja or

Gaochang Gaochang (; Old Uyghur: ''Qocho''), also called Khocho, Karakhoja, Qara-hoja, Kara-Khoja or Karahoja (قاراغوجا in Uyghur), was an ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Sanbu Town ...

), a ruined ancient city, built of mud, east of Turfan.Hopkirk (1980), pp. 118, 122–123.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts include

Sogdian-language Manichaean letter The Sogdian-language Manichaean letter is a Sogdian letter written by Shahryâr Zâdag to Mu Wei (bishop, leader) of the Eastern Diocese, found in Xinjiang Baziklik Thousand-Buddha Caves, selected National Precious Ancient Books. This item is ...

Art

Visual art includes: * Leaf from a Manichaean book MIK III 4959 * Leaf from a Manichaean book MIK III 4974 * Leaf from a Manichaean book MIK III 4979 * Leaf from a Manichaean book MIK III 6368 *

Manichaean temple banner MIK III 6286 Manichaean Temple Banner Number " 6286" is a Manichaean monastery flag banner collected in Berlin Asian Art Museum, made in the 10th century AD. It was found in Xinjiang Gaochang by a German Turpan expedition team at the beginning of the 20th ...

* Manichaean wall painting MIK III 6918

Gallery

File:Fragment of Uyghur Manichaean Hanging Scroll.jpg, Fragment of

Uyghur Uyghur may refer to: * Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China) ** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs *** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...

hanging scroll "MIK III 6251" File:Manichaean Banners.jpg,

temple banners "MIK III 6286" and "MIK III 6283" File:Light Maiden Image on a Manichaean Temple Banner.jpg, Reconstruction of the Light Maiden image on the Manichaean banner "MIK III 6286" File:Jesus Image on a Manichaean Temple Banner.jpg, Reconstruction of the Jesus image on the Manichaean banner "MIK III 6286" File:Leaf from a Manichaean Book (MIK III 4959).png, Leaf from a Manichaean book "MIK III 4959" File:Leaf from a Manichaean Book (MIK III 4965).jpg, Leaf from a Manichaean book "MIK III 4965" File:Leaf from a Manichaean Book (MIK III 4979).jpg, Leaf from a Manichaean book "MIK III 4979" recto File:Manichaean Bema Scene.jpg, Leaf from a Manichaean book "MIK III 4979" verso File:Manicheans.jpg, Leaf from a Manichaean book "MIK III 6368" recto File:Leaf from a Manichaean Book.jpg, Leaf from a Manichaean book "MIK III 6368" verso File:Leaf from a Manichaean Book (MIK III 8259 folio 1).jpg, Leaf from a Manichaean book "MIK III 8259" folio 1 recto File:Deities of Earth and Moon Scene (MIK III 6278).jpg, Fragment of a Manichaean textile display "MIK III 6278" File:Manichaean wall painting from Chotcho.jpg, Fragment of a Turfan Manichaean wall painting "MIK III 6918"

References

{{Manichaeism footer Manichaean art of East Central Asia Turpan Chinese artifacts held abroad

History

Manuscripts

Art

Gallery

See also

References