Cangnan Stele

The Cangnan Stele is the temple stele of the Yuan Dynasty Manichaean monastery Xuanzhen Temple (选真寺). It is the only Manichean stone monument found in the world so far. The stele has been listed in China as a national second-class cultural relic, now in the Cangnan County Museum, in Zhejiang Province. The monument is 150 cm high, 76 cm wide, and 10 cm thick, half on the forehead of the round stele; the inscription is inscribed in seal script, "Xuansiji". Lin Wushu called the Xuanzhen Temple according to the inscription "It was built by the church of the neighboring countries of Jiangsu, and was built before the Gai Peng family." It means that the Mingjiao of Xuanzhen Temple still inherits the tradition of Manichaeism in the Tang Dynasty, influenced by foreign religions, and is different from ordinary folk religions.