The Ming Cult is a fictional cult and martial arts school featured in the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong , first published in serial form from 1961 to 1963. It is also briefly mentioned in The Legend of the Condor Heroes , another novel also by Jin Yong. It is loosely based on Manichaeism , an actual gnostic religion which originated in Persia in the 3rd century CE and later spread to other parts of the world, including China . The cult's headquarters is at Bright Peak ( 光明頂 ; guāngmíng dǐng ) in the Kunlun Mountains and it has several other bases spread throughout China. Its most powerful skills are the "Heaven and Earth Great Shift" ( 乾坤大挪移 ; qián kūn dà nuó yí ) and the "Martial Arts of the Holy Flame Tablets" ( 聖火令武功 ; shèng huǒ lìng wǔ gōng ).
26-530: In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber , the Ming Cult is also known as the "Cult of Mani " ( 摩尼教 ; mó ní jiào ) to martial artists in the jianghu but its more common name is "Mo Jiao" ( 魔教 ; mó jiào ), which literally means "Demonic Cult". The cult originated in Persia and spread to China in the seventh century. The cult is secretive and conducts its activities far away from the eyes of other schools in
52-412: Is a Mongol princess and formerly Zhang Wuji's arch-rival as she keeps thwarting his plans to improve the Ming Cult's relations with the "orthodox" schools. However, Zhang Wuji still succeeds in gaining the trust of nearly all the "orthodox" schools. Although they start off on opposing sides, they gradually fall in love, and Zhao Min reluctantly turns against her fellow Mongols to help Zhang Wuji. Towards
78-591: Is allowed, the one Yin Li loves is the teenage Zhang Wuji, not the grown up Zhang Wuji. Meanwhile Xiaozhao has to return to Persia to succeed her mother as the Persian Ming Cult's leader. Although Zhou Zhiruo is in love with Zhang Wuji, she has no choice but to turn against him because she is bound by an oath she made to her martial arts master , Abbess Miejue of the Emei School , who hates anyone related to
104-593: Is his true love and they leave to lead a reclusive life far away from society. In the afterword of the novel, the author Jin Yong explains that Zhang Wuji has less heroic traits compared to Guo Jing and Yang Guo , the protagonists of the first two books in the Condor Trilogy , and he has a fair share of strengths and weaknesses. His personality is strongly influenced by social factors and people around him, and he has no chance of escaping from harsh reality most of
130-409: Is initially mortally wounded but he wanders into an isolated valley by chance and discovers the long-lost Nine Yang Manual . He masters the inner energy skills described in the book, uses them to heal himself and becomes a formidable martial artist in the process. Later on, he helps to resolve the conflict between the "evil" Ming Cult and the six major "orthodox" schools, which are bent on destroying
156-411: Is lamentable, but death is also painful. Only with the brightness can we do good and exterminate evil. Joy and sorrow will all become dirt and dust eventually. Pity the people of my world! They face many hardships indeed! Pity the people of my world! They face many hardships indeed! The cult is actually a righteous school and not an evil cult as it is perceived in the wǔlín . Though it was welcomed during
182-554: Is often regarded as a branch of the Ming Cult and deemed to be as equally evil and unorthodox in the wulin because of Yin Tianzheng's affiliation with the Ming Cult. The Heavenly Eagle Cult merges with the Ming Cult after Yin Tianzheng's maternal grandson, Zhang Wuji , becomes the new leader of the Ming Cult. The names Ming Jiao (literally "Religion of Light") and Moni Jiao (literally "Religion of Mani ") were used in China during
208-407: Is qualified to cultivate it. (Although Yang Xiao was allowed to study it for many years when he wasn't the undisputed leader). The main purpose of the "Heaven and Earth Great Shift" is to reverse the two kinds of qi of Heaven and Earth, namely rigidity and softness, yin and yang , and the red colour of the cultivator's face indicates the sinking of blood and the transformation of true qi in
234-488: Is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong . Zhang Wuji's parents are from opposing sides of the wulin (martial artists' community). His father, Zhang Cuishan, is an apprentice of Zhang Sanfeng , the highly respected leader of the "orthodox" Wudang School ; his mother, Yin Susu, is the daughter of Yin Tianzheng, the chief of the "evil" Heavenly Eagle Cult . Zhang Wuji
260-468: The Five Elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal). The cult's members are spread throughout these five banners. The cult has headquarters and bases spread throughout the land and are often disguised as ordinary buildings, such as inns and shops, to avoid identification by the government. The cult's main headquarters, called the zǒngtán ( 總壇 ), is based on Bright Peak ( 光明頂 ; guāngmíng dǐng ) in
286-580: The Kunlun Mountains . The Ming Cult's structure in Persia differs from the one in China. In Persia, the cult is led by a woman who is selected from three specially chosen virgins called "Holy Maidens" ( 聖女 ; shèng nǚ ). There are twelve Guardian Kings ( 寶樹王 ; bǎo shù wáng ) instead of four. The Three Messengers (Wind, Cloud and Moon) are tasked with safekeeping the Holy Flame Tablets, the cult's most sacred artifacts. They are also
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#1732780350909312-684: The Song dynasty to describe the faith practiced by Chinese adherents of Manichaeism such as the White Lotus . Mani (prophet) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 200572400 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:52:31 GMT Zhang Wuji Zhang Wuji ( 張無忌 ; Zhāng Wújì )
338-457: The Tang dynasty , it faces persecution later on by the government during the Song dynasty due to slanderous remarks made by its enemies in the imperial court. Apart from that, many martial artists and schools in the wǔlín who are unaware of the cult's real motives due to its conservative nature often speculate that it is inherently evil and start spreading rumors. The cult's image in society and in
364-484: The jiào zhǔ ( 教主 ; 'cult master'). The Left and Right Bright Messengers ( 左右光明使 ; zuǒyòu guāngmíng shǐ ) serve as the leader's deputies. The cult also has four Guardian Kings ( 護教法王 ; hù jiào fǎ wáng ) who assist the leader in overseeing the cult's activities. Ranked below the Guardian Kings are the chiefs of the five banner divisions ( 旗主 ; qí zhǔ ). The five divisions are each named after one of
390-538: The wǔlín ( 武林 "martial artists' community"). Its founding principles also deviate largely from other schools. While others typically seek to achieve a dominant position in the wǔlín , the Ming Cult strongly adheres to its faith and laws, which revolve around the notion of "delivering humankind from suffering and eliminating evil". This is aptly summed up in a mantra widely repeated by its members, which goes: 熊熊聖火，焚我殘軀。生亦何哀，死亦何苦？為善除惡，惟光明故。喜樂悲愁，皆歸塵土。憐我世人，憂患實多！憐我世人，憂患實多！ The blazing holy flame burns my withered body. Life
416-486: The wǔlín is adversely affected and marred, and it often struggles to survive in the face of powerful rivals who seek to destroy it. During the Mongol -led Yuan dynasty , the Ming Cult starts a rebellion to overthrow the corrupt Yuan government and restore peace and order. However, its objective is not echoed by other schools and the common people; conversely, it faces hostility from them. The six leading orthodox schools in
442-411: The wǔlín – Shaolin , Wudang , Emei , Kunlun , Kongtong and Mount Hua – form an alliance to attack the cult at its headquarters on Bright Peak. The Ming Cult's newly elected leader, Zhang Wuji , resolves the conflict and opens the cult to the wǔlín for the first time. Views and attitudes towards the cult start to change for the better, and the cult earns strong support in its mission to topple
468-511: The Ming Cult. Before her death, Miejue devises a vicious scheme for Zhou Zhiruo to seize the Dragon-Slaying Saber and Heaven-Reliant Sword by exploiting Zhang Wuji's love for her apprentice. Zhou Zhiruo secretly carries out this plan and attempts to push the blame to Zhao Min. Later, she turns vicious after Zhang Wuji publicly embarrasses her by abandoning her for Zhao Min just as she and Zhang Wuji are about to be married. Zhao Min
494-513: The Yuan government. Zhang Wuji eventually passes the leadership of the Ming Cult to Yang Xiao and retires from the jianghu . Zhu Yuanzhang , a minor leader in the cult, betrays his fellows and unites all rebel factions in China under his control. He ultimately topples the Yuan dynasty, defeats his rivals such as Chen Youliang , and establishes the Ming dynasty . The cult is headed by its leader, called
520-415: The body. The Heavenly Eagle Cult ( 天鷹教 ; 天鹰教 ; Tiān Yīng Jiào ) was founded by one of the Ming Cult's Guardian Kings, "White Brows Eagle King" Yin Tianzheng. Yin left the Ming Cult in anger during its internal conflict and established his own school. The Heavenly Eagle Cult does not follow the Ming Cult's original practices and customs but its members are still morally disciplined. The Heavenly Eagle Cult
546-444: The cult. He earns the respect of the cult's members and becomes its leader after mastering the skill " Heaven and Earth Great Shift ". He reforms the cult and helps to mend its relations with other schools. Throughout his adventures, Zhang Wuji gets romantically involved with four maidens: Yin Li (Zhu'er), Xiaozhao, Zhou Zhiruo and Zhao Min . Yin Li turns out to be Zhang Wuji's maternal cousin. Even though at that time cousin marriage
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#1732780350909572-498: The end of the novel, Zhang Wuji saves Xie Xun, who has been captured, and exposes the truth behind the causes of the conflicts between the Ming Cult and the "orthodox" schools. He becomes a key figure in leading the wulin and rebel forces to overthrow the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty , but decides to retire from the wulin after mistakenly believing that the Ming Cult's members are plotting to betray him. He decides that Zhao Min
598-464: The forbidden area of the Ming Cult's headquarters at Bright Peak in the Kunlun Mountains , where the general altar of the Ming Cult in China is located. The "Heaven and Earth Great Shift" originated from the Ming Cult of Persia, and is the most powerful skill in the Western Regions . It is a martial art handed down from generation to generation in the Ming Cult and only the leader of the cult
624-409: The most powerful in martial arts of all the cult's members in Persia. The "Heaven and Earth Great Shift" ( 乾坤大挪移 ; qián kūn dà nuó yí ; 'Universal Grand Shift') also translated into English as "Universal Grand Shift", is one of the Ming Cult's most powerful skills. It is also the signature skill of Zhang Wuji , the protagonist of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber . Zhang Wuji learns it in
650-459: The time. Although he chooses Zhao Min in the end, his love life is in a mess as he is very indecisive on which of the four maidens he truly loves. He may be a formidable martial artist just like Guo Jing and Yang Guo, but he is not suited to lead a martial arts school. On a personal level, he is sincere and self-sacrificing towards his followers, but he lacks the ambition and decisiveness that would enable him to remain in power. In fact, he only becomes
676-463: Was born on a reclusive volcanic island, where he spent his childhood with only his parents and his godfather, Xie Xun. When he was about ten years old, his parents brought him back to China and they soon found themselves the target of several martial artists trying to force them to reveal the whereabouts of Xie Xun, who possesses the highly coveted Dragon-Slaying Saber. His parents refused to betray Xie Xun and took their own lives. The orphaned Zhang Wuji
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