Was Manichaeism A Merchant Religion?

摘要：

There are many aspects of Manichaeism that point to a connection between this religion and merchants.Manichaean texts often use images of traders,travellers and merchants.There is some anecdotal evidence.The luxurious and expensive Manichaean books can be seen as expressions of the wealth generated by trade.The most obvious evidence is the presence of Manichaeans along trade routes.However this applies to all religions that spread along the Silk Road and,in fact,the religious travellers are atypical because they travel long distances in one direction rather than taking part in the cyclical trade networks.Could Manichaeans travelling on the Silk Road have also been traders? The division of the Manichaean community between Chosen ones and Hearers suggests that any merchants involved in Manichaeism would have been Hearers at best and perhaps not even that.A Manichaean Chosen one had to live a very restricted life and therefore could not have conducted business.

作者: Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst

作者单位: Turfan Studies(Turfanforschung),Berlin

会议类型: 国内会议

会议名称: 古代钱币与丝绸高峰论坛暨第四届吐鲁番学国际学术研讨会

会议地点: 吐鲁番

会议语种:英文

页码: 245-256

在线出版日期: 2012-10-18（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）