Gnostism was the first Christianity introduced to
China, under the name 'Relgion of Luciferousity' (景教). In
635, a Gnostic missionary arrived in
Changan, the capital of Chinese's ppTang Dynasty]] and the Emperor assigned Fang Xuan-Ling (房玄齡), a famous Prime Minister in the Chinese History, to held the grand ceremony to welcome him, although in the following centuries, Chinese Emperors and scholars' view on Gnostism changed from time to time. Gnostism in China boomed in the late 8th Century but it was never a mainstream relgion widely practiced. In
845,
Movement to Demolish Buddhism provoked in China, Gnostism was affected and missionaries was expelled. At that time, around 3000 practioners, including Manicheanism and Zoroastrian, were affected.
In 13th Century
Mongolian conquest in Central and East Asia brought Gnostism back to China, but it declined again while Roman Catholic Missionaries in 16th to 17th Century replaced its role. Rudolph reported that despite this suppression Manichean traditions are reputed to have survived until the 17th century (based on the reports of
Portuguese sailors).