Ming Cult

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).