Amid tensions in the Middle East, the official Weibo account of the Iranian Embassy in China posted a message suspected to be the slogan of the Ming cult from Jin Yong’s novel, causing confusion among Chinese netizens.
On Friday (June 20), the Iranian Embassy’s official Weibo posted: “Blazing holy fire, vanquish demons, burn with a remnant body, restore peace to the world.”
Some netizens pointed out this was an adaptation of the Ming cult slogan from Jin Yong’s The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber: “Burn my remnant body, blazing holy fire. What joy is there in life, what pain in death? For good against evil, only for the light. Joys and sorrows, all return to dust. Pity us humans, so much suffering! Pity us humans, so much suffering!”
This topic sparked heated discussion on Weibo, with some netizens expressing confusion and believing that using martial arts novel content to express an official position was inappropriate.
Other netizens pointed out that one of the origins of the Ming cult, the Zoroastrianism, was the state religion of the ancient Persian Empire; later, it waned with the rise of Islam. Now, the Islamic Republic of Iran is once again referencing “holy fire,” which does not align with its own religious beliefs and appears rather incongruous.
Some netizens also felt that the Iranian Embassy’s official Weibo simply wanted to convey a sense of tragic heroism, and since The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber has ties with Persia, the content was borrowed for use; no need to be overly critical.