Mānī’s Biography in a Newly Identified Manichaean Scripture from Qingtian (Zhejiang Province)

During ethnographic field trips in Qingtian 青田 (Zhejiang Province), Mehrdad Arabestani (University of Teheran) and Yang Der-Ruey (Nanjing University) identified five previously unknown Manichaean scriptures. In the appendix to their study, published in March 2026, Yang Der-Ruey provides critical editions of the Chinese texts. The present study focuses on one of these five manuscripts, titled “The Scripture of Bequeathed Teachings Preached by the Great Light Envoy While Alive and [Before] His Parinirvāṇa” (Da guangming shi zhushi ji banniepan yijiao jing 大光明使住世及般涅槃遺教經). The aim is to determine the hagiographical tradition the text preserves concerning the life of Mānī (216–ca. 277 CE), the founder of Manichaeism. The biographical passages from this Manichaean scripture (printed in the fifteenth century) have been excerpted and translated into English and are accompanied by detailed explanations and commentaries. Thus, this contribution primarily focuses on the philological work. However, the paper also addresses underlying research questions concerning the authenticity, significance, and relation to visual remains of this newly identified scripture.