Manichaean Art and Calligraphy

Art and calligraphyplayed a central role in Manichaeismfrom its inception in S. Baby- lonia in the third century until its final disappearancefrom South China in the sixteenth century. Mani, the founder of the sect, had anticipated the problems which his disciples might encounter in presenting his very graphic teaching on cosmogony to an average audienceby providing them with visual aids in the form of a picture book (Greek/Coptic: Ev'xwv,Middle Persia/Parthian:Ardahang, Chinese: Ta-men-ho-it'u).1 Since Mani had in- tended that the unique revelation he had receivedfrom his Divine Twin should be literally understood, an actual pictorial representationof the myth would serve to guard against al- legoricalinterpretation. The importancegiven to artisticendeavours in the early history of the sect is evident from accounts of its missionary activities. The first Manichaeanmis- sionariesto the Roman Empire were accompaniedby scribes (Middle Persian: dibtrin)and those who went with Mar Ammo to Abar.cahr(the Upper Lands) had among them scribes and a miniature painter / book illuminator (nibegan-nigär).2We also learn from a letter to Mar Ammo from Sisinnios,the archego.rof the sect after the death of Mani, that duplicate copies of the Ardahangwere being made at Merv in Khorasan.3The early Manichaeansalso devel- oped a special Estrangela script from the Aramaic script which was in use in and around Palmyra which gave the Manichaeantexts a unique appearance.This script was used for texts in Syriac, Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian and Old Turkish. No copies of the Ardahanghas survived the systematicdestruction of Manichaeanbooks by the sect's many opponents. One can, however, surmisefrom the sub-title of the work in Chinese: T'a erh-t.rungt'u (The drawing of the Two Great Principles)4that it contained graphic representationsof the basic elements of the Manichaeancosmogonic myth. The work was also provided with an explanatory text or commentary (Parthian: Ardahang and from a publichsed fragment of the latter we learn that the Ardahangcontains a depiction of the Great Fire (ädurwuzurg) which would swallow up earth in the Final Mo- ment.5That the Ardahangcontains drawings detailing eschatologicalevents can also be in- ferred from a remark by one of Mani's disciplesin the Kephalaiawhich reminds his master that while the latter had describedeverything in full in pictures, especiallythe Final Judge- ment, he had not depicted the way of salvation for the catechumens.6 59 The importancegiven by the Manichaeansto artistic endeavourswas a hall mark of their reli- gion and one which impressed even their opponents. St. Ephraim of Nisibis (later deacon of Edessa) begrudged the Manichaeansof the artistic skills of their founder: "So also Mani painted in colours on a scroll ... the likenessof the wickednesswhich he created out of his mind ... as he said, I have written them in books and pictured them in colours; let him who hears them in words also see them in an image, and let him who is unable to learn them from words learn them from pictures.1117A high standard of production charac- terizes extant Manichaeanmanuscripts and codices and we know from Augustine that this was something which the Manichaeanswere proud of in Roman North Africa: "Haesitan- tibus vobis et quid respondeatisnon invenientibusconspiciuntur tam multi et tam grandes et tam pretiosi codices vestri et multum dolentur labores antiquariorum et saccellimise- rorum et panis deceptorum."8In Central Asia where Manichaeismwas the officialreligion of the Turkish Khaghan, Manichaeanart came into full flowering and it was from excava- tions at Koco (near modern Turfan) that we have come to possesssome of its finest speci- mens in the form of frescoes,temple flags and illuminated manuscripts.Art also played an important part in the religious life of the Manichaeansin China. Among the works seized by Confucianofficials from the Manichaeansof Wen-chou in 1120are: TheSutra (or Book) of Illustrations(T'u-ching = Ardahang?),The Portrait of the Buddhaof the First Thought(i. e. the Primal Man) (Hsien-i focheng), The Portrait of the BuddhaJesus (I-shu focheng), The Por- trait of Goodand Evil (Shan-o cbeno)and ThePortrait of the Four Kingsof Heaven(Ssu t'ien- wangcheng).`' Given the importance of art in the history of Manichaeism,it is indeed remarkablethat we have to wait so long for a general study of the subject. ManichaeanArt and Calligraphy (Iconography of Religions XX, Institute of Religious Iconography, State University of Groningen, Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1982,50pp.) by Prof. Hans-JoachimKlimkeit, an editor of this journal, fills a serious gap. It calls for comparison with the majesticwork of A. von Le Coq, Die buddhistischeSpa'tantike in MittelasienII: Die ManichdlscheMiniaturen (Berlin, 1923) but we must bear in mind from the outset that the latter is devoted solelyto the discoveries at Turfan and is limited to frescoes and miniatures whereas the new work gives a general coverage of nearly all known examples of Manichaean art from finds in Egypt and Tunhuang as well as Turfan. The slimnessof the newwork beliesits importance.For those especiallywho can not read German or have no easy accessto Le Coq's rare and very ex- pensive work (Reprinted in Graz in 1979) it will be their only guide to the subject. Al- though generai studies of Manichaeismare otten well illustrated,'" Klimkeit's work is the only one so far which attempts to interpret the miniaturesand paintings in the light of what we know about Manichaeantheology and ethics. Much more is now known about Man- ichaeandoctrines since the publication of Le Coq's work as our information on the subject has been greatly augmented by manuscriptalfinds from Tunhuang, Medinet Medi and Ly- copolis. Klimkeit is therefore in a much stronger position to attempt the work of inter- pretation than his predecessor. The introduction consists of succinct and informative chapters on the life of Mani and his teaching. This is then followed by a fascinatingdiscussion on Manichaeanartistic tech- niques, especiallythose employed in producing the frescoes and miniatures from Turfan.