{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.manichaeism","code":"thing-q131165","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q131165/","name":"Manichaeism","alternateNames":["Manichaeism in the Roman Empire","Chinese Manichaeism"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.ORG"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A dualistic religion founded by the prophet Mani in 3rd-century Persia, teaching a cosmic struggle between light and darkness and drawing on Zoroastrian, Christian and Buddhist elements, which spread from the Roman Empire, where it was condemned and where Augustine was once an adherent, across Central Asia to China, where Chinese Manichaeism survived into the Ming era and left temples such as Cao an in Fujian; Manichaeism is now extinct but is studied through rediscovered texts.","purpose":"Let an agent explain Manichaeism and its teachings as scholars reconstruct them, relay history, spread and suppression from religious studies sources with attribution, describe its art and texts, and distinguish Manichaeism from Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism and the pejorative use of Manichaean for black-and-white thinking.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Radical dualism","Syncretic","Transcontinental spread","Extinct but documented"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What Manichaeism was.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and teachings.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What was Manichaeism, what did it teach about light and darkness, and how does it differ from Gnosticism and Zoroastrianism?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the religion, its history, its texts or the figurative adjective?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"mani","name":"Mani","description":"Mani.","findings":[{"id":"mani-finding","name":"Mani","description":"Mani.","questions":[{"text":"Who was Mani, and how did he present himself, as sources describe?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits Mani?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History and spread.","layers":[{"id":"west","name":"West","description":"Roman Empire.","findings":[{"id":"west-finding","name":"West","description":"West.","questions":[{"text":"How did Manichaeism spread and face suppression in the Roman Empire, and what was Augustine s role, as historians describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"east","name":"East","description":"Central Asia and China.","findings":[{"id":"east-finding","name":"East","description":"East.","questions":[{"text":"How did Manichaeism reach the Uyghurs and China, and how did Chinese Manichaeism survive and end?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"sources","name":"Sources","description":"Texts and art.","layers":[{"id":"texts","name":"Texts","description":"Texts.","findings":[{"id":"texts-finding","name":"Texts","description":"Texts.","questions":[{"text":"What Manichaean texts survive, from Turfan and Egypt to China, and how were they rediscovered?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Manichaean literature?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"art","name":"Art","description":"Art.","findings":[{"id":"art-finding","name":"Art","description":"Art.","questions":[{"text":"What is known about Manichaean painting and the Cao an temple?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Manichaean art?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Legacy.","layers":[{"id":"legacy","name":"Legacy","description":"Legacy.","findings":[{"id":"legacy-finding","name":"Legacy","description":"Legacy.","questions":[{"text":"How did Manichaeism influence later movements and the term Manichaean?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits dualism in religion?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Scholarship.","findings":[{"id":"study-finding","name":"Study","description":"Study.","questions":[{"text":"How do scholars reconstruct Manichaeism from friendly and hostile sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the study of religion?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain the teachings and history of Manichaeism, citing primary and scholarly sources.","Distinguish the historical religion from the figurative use of manichaean for black-and-white thinking."],"mustNot":["Rely on hostile polemics, such as those of its persecutors, without saying so.","Use the religion's name as an insult toward a living group.","Present scholarly reconstructions of lost texts as certain.","Confuse Manichaeism with Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism or Christianity."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing claims that a modern community practises or descends from Manichaeism."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Manichaeans were persecuted in many empires and much of their story was told by enemies.","Religious history deserves a fair account even for faiths with no large living community."],"affectedParties":["Scholars of the religion","Communities claiming its heritage","Readers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: the historical religion has no institutional owner; museums and libraries hold its surviving texts.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q9174","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"religion","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Mani","type":"related","note":"in the 3rd century"},{"target":"Gnosticism","type":"related","note":"as a dualistic tradition"},{"target":"Augustine of Hippo","type":"related","note":"who later opposed it"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.manichaeism","Wikidata: Q131165 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131165)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Mani lived: about 216-274 CE","Roman prohibition: 302 year - Diocletian","Cao an temple: Jinjiang, Fujian note - Yuan dynasty statue of Mani","last communities: China, 14th-17th century period"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Dualistic religion of Mani","Manichaeism in the Roman Empire, Chinese Manichaeism, Cao an temple","Gnosticism is a broader family; Zoroastrianism is an influence; Manichaean as an adjective for dualistic thinking is figurative","Not a visible object; a religion known from texts and art."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain teachings","relay history and spread","describe texts and art","distinguish related concepts"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing the religion with the figurative adjective","Relying on hostile sources without attribution","Registry aliases naming regional forms"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; heritage protection of sites such as Cao an"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a historical religion.","Manichaeism in the Sasanian Empire","Manichaeism in the Roman Empire and North Africa","Central Asian and Uyghur Manichaeism","Chinese Manichaeism","Manichaean texts and art","later movements accused of Manichaeism"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q131165: Manichaeism","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131165","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Manichaeism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should Chinese Manichaeism be a separate primary entry?","How should religious studies sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming regional forms; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q131165/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q131165/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T13:41:44Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:54+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}