The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui
2-tsu
2,
Xiao'erjing
Xiao'erjing or Xiao'erjin or Xiaor jin or in its shortened form, Xiaojing, literally meaning "children's script" or "minor script" (cf. "original script" referring to the original Perso-Arabic script; zh, s=本经, t=本經, p=Běnjīng, Xiao ...
: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
n
ethnoreligious group
An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of people who are unified by a common religious and ethnic background.
Furthermore, the term ethno-religious group, along with ethno-regional and ethno-linguistic groups, is a s ...
predominantly composed of
Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, mainly in the
northwestern provinces and in the
Zhongyuan
Zhongyuan (), the Central Plain(s), also known as Zhongtu (, lit. 'central land') and Zhongzhou (, lit. 'central region'), commonly refers to the part of the North China Plain surrounding the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River, centere ...
region. According to the 2011 census, China is home to approximately 10.5 million Hui people. The 110,000
Dungan people
Dungan, Xiao'erjing: ; zh, s=东干族, t=東干族, p=Dōnggān zú, w=Tung1kan1-tsu2, , Xiao'erjing: ; russian: Дунгане, ''Dungane''; ky, Дуңгандар, ''Duñgandar'', دۇنغاندار; kk, Дүңгендер, ''Düñgende ...
of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
are also considered part of the Hui ethnicity.
The Hui have a distinct connection with
Islamic culture
Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predomi ...
. For example, they follow
Islamic dietary laws
Islamic dietary laws are dietary laws that Muslims follow. Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are '' '' (, "lawful") and which are '' '' (, "unlawful"). The dietary laws are found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as well as in coll ...
and reject the consumption of
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
, the most commonly consumed meat in China, and have developed their own variation of
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...
. They also dress differently than the Han Chinese, some men wear white caps (
taqiyah
In Shi'ism, ''Taqiya'' or ''Taqiyya'' ( ar, تقیة ', literally "prudence, fear")R. STROTHMANN, MOKTAR DJEBLI. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed, Brill. "TAKIYYA", vol. 10, p. 134. Quote: "TAKIYYA "prudence, fear" ..denotes dispensing with th ...
) and some women wear
headscarves, as is the case in many
Islamic culture
Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predomi ...
s.
The Hui people are one of 56
ethnic groups recognized by China. The government defines the Hui people to include all historically Muslim communities not included in China's other ethnic groups; they are therefore distinct from other Muslim groups such as the
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
. The Hui predominantly speak
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, while maintaining some
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
phrases. The Hui ethnic group is unique among Chinese ethnic minorities in that it is not associated with a non-
Sinitic language
The Sinitic languages (漢語族/汉语族), often synonymous with "Chinese languages", are a group of East Asian analytic languages that constitute the major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is frequently proposed that there is ...
.
Definition
Ancestry
Hui people descend from
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
and
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
immigrants. Their ancestors were of primarily East Asian and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n origin, with some
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
ern ancestry from ethnic groups such as
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
and
Iranians, who spread Islam. 6.7 percent of Hui peoples' genetics have a Middle Eastern origin,
however most Hui samples have very similar characteristics to other
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
n populations, revealing a common genetic makeup.
They show significant genetic homogeneity with the Han Chinese population in
Linxia and with other East Asian populations rather than European or Middle Eastern, supporting a simple
cultural diffusion
In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as conceptualized by Leo Frobenius in his 1897/98 publication ''Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis'', is the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technolo ...
as the origin of the Hui in China.
Several medieval Chinese dynasties, particularly the
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
, Song and
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
Yuan Dynasties, encouraged immigration from predominantly Muslim
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, with both dynasties welcoming traders from these regions and appointing Central Asian officials. In subsequent centuries, the immigrants gradually mixed with the Han Chinese, eventually forming the Hui.
Included among the Hui in Chinese census statistics (and not officially recognized as separate ethnic groups) are members of a few small non-Chinese-speaking communities. These include several thousand
Utsuls
The Utsuls ([]; ), are a Chamic languages, Chamic-speaking East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group which lives on the island of Hainan and are considered one of the People's Republic of China's Unrecognized ethnic groups in China, unrecognized ...
in southern
Hainan Province, who speak an
Austronesian language (
Tsat) related to the language of the Vietnamese
Champa Muslim minority, who according to anthropologist
Dru Gladney
Dru Curtis Gladney (November 3, 1956 – March 17, 2022) was an American anthropologist who was president of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College and a professor of anthropology there. Gladney authored four books and more than 100 acade ...
, descend from Champa people who migrated to
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
. A small Muslim minority among
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
's
Bai people
The Bai, or Pai ( Bai: Baipho, (白和); ; endonym pronounced ), are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, Bijie area of Guizhou Province, and Sangzhi area of Hunan Province. They constitu ...
are classified as Hui as well, although they speak
Bai. Some groups of
Tibetan Muslims
Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Kachee (; ; also spelled Kache), form a small minority in Tibet. Despite being Muslim, they are officially recognized as Tibetans by the government of the People's Republic of China, unlike the Hui Muslims, ...
are classified as Hui as well.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the term "Hui" was applied by the Chinese government to one of China's ten historically Islamic minorities. Earlier, the term referred to Chinese-speaking groups with (foreign) Muslim ancestry. Practising Islam was not a criterion. Use of the Hui category to describe foreign Muslims moving into China dates back to the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(9601279).
After arriving in China, the Hui were found in most provinces and therefore varied greatly from region to region. During their stay in southern China,
Jesuit missionaries
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
did not see much difference between the Hui and the Han Chinese, except for their religion. Western missionaries who entered
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
and
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
after the 18th century, on the other hand, considered the Hui in the north-western provinces an ethnic group between the Turkic, Han and Arab peoples.
Genetics
The East Asian Y-chromosome
haplogroup O-M122
Haplogroup O-M122 (also known as Haplogroup O2 (formerly Haplogroup O3)) is an Eastern Eurasian Y-chromosome haplogroup. The lineage ranges across Southeast Asia and East Asia, where it dominates the paternal lineages with extremely high freque ...
is found in large quantities, about 24–30%, in other Muslims groups close to the Hui like the
Dongxiangs, Bo'an, and
Salar people
The Salar people ( zh, c=撒拉族, p=Sālāzú) are a Turkic ethnic minority of China who largely speak the Salar language, an Oghuz language. The Salar people numbered 130,607 people in the last census of 2010.
The Salars live mostly in ...
. While the Y chromosome
haplogroup R1a
Haplogroup R1a, or haplogroup R-M420, is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup which is distributed in a large region in Eurasia, extending from Scandinavia and Central Europe to southern Siberia and South Asia.
While R1a originated c. 22,000 to 2 ...
(found among
Central Asians
Central Asia is a diverse land with many ethnic groups, languages, religions and tribes. The nations which make up Central Asia are five of the former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which have ...
,
South Asians
South Asian ethnic groups are an ethnolinguistic grouping of the diverse populations of South Asia, including the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. While Afghanistan is variously considered to b ...
and Europeans) are found among 17–28% of them. Other haplogroups include
D-M174,
N1a1-Tat, and
Q, commonly found among East Asians and Siberians. The majority of Tibeto-Burmans, Han Chinese, and
Ningxia
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in ...
and
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
Hui share paternal Y chromosomes of East Asian origin which are unrelated to Middle Easterners and Europeans. In contrast to distant Middle Easterners and Europeans with whom the Muslims of China are not significantly related, East Asians, Han Chinese, and most of the Hui and Dongxiang of Linxia share more genes with each other. This indicates that native East Asian populations converted to Islam and were culturally assimilated and that the Chinese Muslim populations are mostly not descendants of foreigners as claimed by some accounts, while only a small minority of them are.
A study in 2020 found that the Hui people descended almost exclusively from indigenous
East Asian people
East Asian people (East Asians) are the people from East Asia, which consists of China, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea. The total population of all countries within this region is estimated to be 1.677 billion and 21% of the ...
, with only minor contribution from
West-Eurasian populations (specifically Iranian merchants). The formation and ethnogenesis of Hui people can be attributed to the cultural transformation of local Chinese residents. The results of the genetic data and admixture analysis showed significant genetic homogeneity between Hui and East Asian populations, and could not prove whether or not Hui received any genetic contribution from populations outside of East Asia.
An overview study in 2021 estimated that
West Eurasian
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...
-related admixture among the average Northwestern Chinese minority groups was at ~9.1%, with the remainder being dominant
East-Eurasian ancestry at ~90.9%. The study also showed that there is a close genetic affinity among these ethnic minorities in
Northwest China
Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2.
The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...
(including
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
, Huis,
Dongxiangs,
Bonans,
Yugur
The Yugurs, Yughurs, Yugu (; Western Yugur: ''Sarïg Yogïr''; Eastern Yugur: ''Šera Yogor''), traditionally known as Yellow Uyghurs, are a Turko- Mongolic ethnic group and one of China's 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, consisting ...
s and
Salars) and that these cluster closely with other
East Asian people
East Asian people (East Asians) are the people from East Asia, which consists of China, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea. The total population of all countries within this region is estimated to be 1.677 billion and 21% of the ...
, especially in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, followed by
Mongolic, and
Tungusic speakers, indicating the probability of a shared recent common ancestor of "Altaic speakers".
Another study in 2021 revealed that Hui people themselves have only a limited amount of West-Eurasian-related ancestry at a proportion of ~6%, but show massive genetic affinity (~94%) with both indigenous
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
and
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
as well as Tungusic/Mongolic-speaking Chinese groups.
Another study found that the average Hui people's ancestry is of nearly exclusive East Asian origin, and that geneflow from non-East Asian groups into the "Ancestral Hui population" was generally limited and rare. A genome analysis, using the ancestry-informative SNP (AISNP) analysis, found only 3,66% West-Eurasian-like admixture among Hui people, while the
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
harbored the relative highest amount of West-Eurasian-like admixture at 36.30%.
Official
![Muslim_meat_shop_halal_sign,_Hankow_China,_1935](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Muslim_meat_shop_halal_sign%2C_Hankow_China%2C_1935.jpg)
The official Chinese government defines the Hui people as an ethnicity without regard to religion. It identifies the Hui by their ancestry only, and includes those who do not practice Islam.
Huihui
''Huihui'' () was the usual generic term for China's Muslims (White Hui), Persian Christians (Black Hui) and Jews (Blue Hui) during the
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
and
Qing dynasties
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
. It is thought to have had its origin in the earlier ''Huihe'' () or ''Huihu'' (), which was the name for the
Uyghur State of the 8th and 9th centuries.
[; or ] Although the ancient Uyghurs were not Muslims
the name ''Huihui'' came to refer to foreigners, regardless of language or origin, by the time of the
Yuan (1271–1368) and Ming Dynasties (1368–1644).
The use of Hui to denote all foreigners - Muslims,
Nestorian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...
Christians, or Jews - reflects bureaucratic terminology developed over the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Arab were ''white cap'', Persians ''black cap'' and Jews ''blue cap'' Huihui. Islamic mosques and Jewish synagogues at the time were denoted by the same word, ''Qīngzhēnsì'' (: Temple of Purity and Truth).
Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...
called both foreign Jews and Muslims in China ''Huihui'' when he forced them to stop
halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
and
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
methods of preparing food:
"Among all the ubjectalien peoples only the Hui-hui say "we do not eat Mongol food". inggis Qa’an replied:"By the aid of heaven we have pacified you; you are our slaves. Yet you do not eat our food or drink. How can this be right?" He thereupon made them eat. "If you slaughter sheep, you will be considered guilty of a crime." He issued a regulation to that effect... n 1279/1280 under Qubilaiall the Muslims say: "if someone else slaughters he animal
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
we do not eat". Because the poor people are upset by this, from now on, Musuluman uslimHuihui and Zhuhu ewishHuihui, no matter who kills he animal
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
will eat tand must cease slaughtering sheep themselves, and cease the rite of circumcision."
The widespread and rather generic application of the name ''Huihui'' in Ming China was attested to by foreign visitors as well.
Matteo Ricci, the first
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
to reach
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
(1598), noted that "Saracens are everywhere in evidence . . . their thousands of families are scattered about in nearly every province" Ricci noted that the term ''Huihui'' or ''Hui'' was applied by Chinese not only to "Saracens" (Muslims) but also to Chinese Jews and supposedly even to Christians. In fact, when the reclusive
Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...
first saw a picture of Ricci and
Diego de Pantoja
Diego de Pantoja or Diego Pantoja ( Chinese: 龐迪我, ''Pang Diwo''; April 1571, Valdemoro, Spain – January 1618, Portuguese Macau, China) was a Spanish Jesuit and missionary to China who is best known for having accompanied Matteo Ricci in Be ...
, he supposedly exclaimed, "Hoei, hoei. It is quite evident that they are Saracens", and had to be told by a
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
that they actually weren't, "because they ate pork". The 1916 ''
Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics
The ''Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics'' is a 12-volume work (plus an index volume) edited by James Hastings, written between 1908 and 1921 and composed of entries by many contributors. It covers not only religious matters but thousands of an ...
'', Volume 8 said that Chinese Muslims always called themselves Huihui or Huizi, and that neither themselves nor other people called themselves Han, and they disliked people calling them Dungan. French army Commandant Viscount D'Ollone wrote a report on what he saw among Hui in 1910. He reported that due to religion, Hui were classed as a different nationality from Han as if they were one of the other minority groups.
''Huizu'' is now the standard term for the "Hui nationality" (ethnic group), and ''Huimin'', for "Hui people" or "a Hui person". The traditional expression ''Huihui'', its use now largely restricted to rural areas, would sound quaint, if not outright demeaning, to modern urban Chinese Muslims.
Dungan
![Dungan mosque in Karakol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Dungan_mosque_in_Karakol.jpg)
Dungan (; russian: Дунгане) is a term used in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
and in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
to refer to Chinese-speaking Muslim people. In the censuses of Russia and Central Asian nations, the Hui are distinguished from Chinese, termed Dungans. However, in both China and Central Asia members of this ethnic group call themselves Lao Huihui or Zhongyuanren, rather than Dungan. Zhongyuan 中原, literally means "The Central Plain," and is the historical name of
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
and
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
provinces. Most Dungans living in Central Asia are descendants of Hui people from Gansu and Shaanxi.
Hui people are referred to by Central Asian Turkic speakers and Tajiks by the
ethnonym
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...
''
Dungan Dungan may refer to:
* Donegan, an Irish surname, sometimes spelled Dungan
* Dungan people, a group of Muslim people of Hui origin
** Dungan language
** Dungan, sometimes used to refer to Hui Chinese people generally
* Dungan Mountains in Sibi Dist ...
''.
Joseph Fletcher
Joseph Francis Fletcher (April 10, 1905 in Newark, New Jersey - October 28, 1991 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American professor who founded the theory of situational ethics in the 1960s, and was a pioneer in the field of bioethics. Flet ...
cited Turkic and Persian manuscripts related to the preaching of the 17th century
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
ian
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
master
Muhammad Yūsuf (or, possibly, his son
Afaq Khoja
Afaq Khoja ( ug, ئاپاق خوجا), born Hidayat Allah ( ug, هدایتالله; ), also known as Apaq Xoja or more properly Āfāq Khwāja ( fa, آفاق خواجه), was a Naqshbandi īshān and political leader with the title of Khwaja ...
) inside the
Ming Empire
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
(in today's
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
and/or
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
), where the preacher allegedly converted ''ulamā-yi Tunganiyyāh'' (i.e., "Dungan
ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
") into
Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
.
As early as the 1830s, ''Dungan'', in various spellings appeared in both English and German, referring to the Hui people of Xinjiang. For example, James Prinsep in 1835 mentioned Muslim "Túngánis" in ''Chinese Tartary''. The word (mostly in the form "Dungani" or "Tungani", sometimes "Dungens" or "Dungans") acquired currency in English and other western languages when books in the 1860–70s discussed the
Dungan Revolt.
Later authors continued to use variants of the term for Xinjiang Hui people. For example,
Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of ''Pacif ...
, writing ca. 1940, maintained the terminological distinction between these two related groups: the "Tungkan" (the older
Wade-Giles spelling for "Dungan"), described by him as the descendants of the Gansu Hui people resettled in Xinjiang in the 17–18th centuries, vs. e.g. the "Gansu Moslems" or generic "Chinese Moslems".
The name "Dungan" sometimes referred to all Muslims coming from
China proper
China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...
, such as Dongxiang and Salar in addition to Hui. Reportedly, the Hui disliked the term Dungan, calling themselves either HuiHui or Huizi.
In the Soviet Union and its successor countries, the term "Dungans" (дунгане) became the standard name for the descendants of Chinese-speaking Muslims who emigrated in the 1870s and 1880s to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, mostly to today's
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
and south-eastern
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.
Panthay
![Kunming - Riverside Halal Beef Restaurant - P1340576](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Kunming_-_Riverside_Halal_Beef_Restaurant_-_P1340576.JPG)
The
Panthay
Panthays () form a group of Chinese Muslims in Burma. Some people refer to Panthays as the oldest group of Muslims in Burma. The exact proportion of the Chinese Muslim group in the local Chinese population remains unknown due to a lack of data. H ...
are a group of Chinese Muslims in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
(Burma) and
Yunnan Province
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
. In
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, Chinese Muslims are referred to as
Chin Ho (). was used by Turkic Muslims to refer to ethnic Chinese. When Central Asian invaders from
Kokand
Kokand ( uz, Qo‘qon/Қўқон/قوقان, ; russian: Кока́нд; fa, خوقند, Xuqand; Chagatai: خوقند, ''Xuqand''; ky, Кокон, Kokon; tg, Хӯқанд, Xöqand) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the sou ...
invaded
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
, in a letter the Kokandi commander criticised the Kashgari Turkic Muslim Ishaq for allegedly not behaving like a Muslim and wanting to be a (Chinese).
Other nomenclature
Islam was originally called Dashi Jiao during the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
, when Muslims first appeared in China. "Dashi Fa" literally means "Arab law" in
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
. Since almost all Muslims in China were exclusively foreign Arabs or Persians at the time, it was rarely mentioned by the Chinese, unlike other religions like
Zoroastrism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
or
Mazdaism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
, and
Nestorian Christianity
The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
, which gained followings in China. As an influx of foreigners, such as Persians, Jews and Christians, the majority of whom were Muslims who came from western regions, were labelled as
Semu
Semu () is the name of a caste established by the Yuan dynasty. The 31 Semu categories referred to people who came from Central and West Asia. They had come to serve the Yuan dynasty by enfranchising under the dominant Mongol caste. The Semu were ...
people, but were also mistaken by Chinese for Uyghur, due to them coming from the west (Uyghur lands). The name "Hui Hui" was applied to them, and eventually became the name applied to Muslims.
Another, probably unrelated, early use of the word ''Huihui'' comes from the
History of Liao
The ''History of Liao'', or ''Liao Shi'' (''Liáo Shǐ''), is a Chinese historical book compiled officially by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), under the direction of the historian Toqto'a (Tuotuo), and finalized in 1344.Xu Elina-Qian, ...
Dynasty, which mentions
Yelü Dashi
Yelü Dashi (; alternatively ), courtesy name Zhongde (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Dezong of Western Liao (), was the founder of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). He initially ruled as king from 1124 to 1132, then as e ...
, the 12th-century founder of the
Kara-Khitan Khanate
The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai (), also known as the Western Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a Sinicized dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be an ...
, defeating the ''Huihui Dashibu'' () people near
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
– apparently, referring to his defeat of the
Khwarazm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...
ruler
Ahmed Sanjar
Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118,[Khwarazm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...]
is referred to as ''Huihuiguo'' in the ''
Secret History of the Mongols
''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fa ...
'' as well.
While ''Huihui'' or ''Hui'' remained a generic name for all Muslims in Imperial China, specific terms were sometimes used to refer to particular groups, e.g. ''Chantou Hui'' ("
turban
A turban (from Persian دولبند, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...
ed Hui") for Uyghurs, ''Dongxiang Hui'' and ''Sala Hui'' for
Dongxiang and
Salar people
The Salar people ( zh, c=撒拉族, p=Sālāzú) are a Turkic ethnic minority of China who largely speak the Salar language, an Oghuz language. The Salar people numbered 130,607 people in the last census of 2010.
The Salars live mostly in ...
, and sometimes even ''Han Hui'' () ("Chinese Hui") for the (presumably Chinese-speaking) Muslims more assimilated into the Chinese mainstream society.
Some scholars also say that some Hui used to call themselves (Hui Hanzi) "Muslim Han" but the Communist regime separated them from other Chinese and placed them into a separate ethnicity, "Huizu".
![5612-Linxia-City-halal-bathhouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/5612-Linxia-City-halal-bathhouse.jpg)
In the 1930s, the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP) defined the term Hui as indicating only
Sinophone
Sinophone, which means " Chinese-speaking", typically refers to an individual who speaks at least one variety of the Chinese language. Academic writers often use the term Sinophone in two definitions: either specifically "Chinese-speaking popula ...
Muslims. In 1941, this was clarified by a CCP committee comprising ethnic policy researchers in a treatise entitled "On the question of Huihui Ethnicity" (Huihui minzu wenti). This treatise defined the characteristics of the Hui nationality as an ethnic group associated with, but not defined by, Islam and descended primarily from Muslims who migrated to China during the Mongol-founded Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), as distinct from the Uyghur and other Turkic-speaking ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The Nationalist government by contrast recognised all Muslims as one of "the five peoples"—alongside the
Manchus
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...
,
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
,
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
and
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
—that constituted the Republic of China.
A traditional
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
term for Islam is "" (
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: , literally "the religion of the Hui"). However, since the early days of the PRC, thanks to the arguments of such Marxist Hui scholars as
Bai Shouyi
Bai Shouyi (; February 1909 – March 21, 2000), also known as Djamal al-Din Bai Shouyi, was a Chinese ethnologist, historian, social activist, and writer who revolutionized recent Chinese historiography and pioneered in relying heavily on scie ...
, the standard term for "Islam" within the PRC has become the
transliteration
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
"" (pinyin: , literally "Islam religion"). The more traditional term ''Huijiao'' remains in use in Singapore, Taiwan and other overseas Chinese communities.
Qīngzhēn: (, literally "pure and true") has also been a popular term for Muslim culture since the Yuan or Ming Dynasty. Gladney suggested that a good translation for it would be the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
. i.e. "ritual or moral purity" The usual term for a mosque is (), i.e. "true and pure temple", and is commonly used to refer to halal eating establishments and bathhouses.
In contrast, the Uyghurs were called "Chan Tou Hui" ("Turban Headed Muslim"), and the Turkic Salars called "Sala Hui" (Salar Muslim), while Turkic speakers often referred to Hui as "Dungan".
Zhongyuan ren: During the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, the term ''Zhongyuan ren'' () was the term for all Chinese, encompassing
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
and Hui in Xinjiang or Central Asia. While Hui are not Han, they consider themselves to be Chinese and include themselves in the larger group of ''Zhongyuan ren''. The
Dungan people
Dungan, Xiao'erjing: ; zh, s=东干族, t=東干族, p=Dōnggān zú, w=Tung1kan1-tsu2, , Xiao'erjing: ; russian: Дунгане, ''Dungane''; ky, Дуңгандар, ''Duñgandar'', دۇنغاندار; kk, Дүңгендер, ''Düñgende ...
, descendants of Hui who fled to Central Asia, called themselves ''Zhongyuan ren'' in addition to the standard labels ''lao huihui'' and ''huizi''.
Some Uyghurs barely see any difference between Hui and Han. A Uyghur social scientist, Dilshat, regarded Hui as the same people as Han, deliberately calling Hui people Han and dismissing the Hui as having only a few hundred years of history.
Pusuman: ''Pusuman'' was a name used by Chinese during the
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
. It could have been a corruption of ''
Musalman'' or another name for Persians. It means either Muslim or Persian. Pusuman Kuo (Pusuman Guo) referred to the country where they came from. The name "Pusuman zi" (pusuman script), was used to refer to the script that the HuiHui (Muslims) were using.
Muslim Chinese:
![Beijing-Niujie-Minzu-Tuanjie-Da-Jiating-3660](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Beijing-Niujie-Minzu-Tuanjie-Da-Jiating-3660.JPG)
The term ''Chinese Muslim'' is sometimes used to refer to Hui people, given that they speak Chinese, in contrast to, e.g., Turkic-speaking Salars. During the Qing Dynasty, ''Chinese Muslim'' (Han Hui) was sometimes used to refer to Hui people, which differentiated them from non-Chinese-speaking Muslims. However, not all Hui are Muslims, nor are all Chinese Muslims, Hui. For example,
Li Yong is a famous
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
who practices Islam and
Hui Liangyu
Hui Liangyu (,
Xiao'erjing: ; born October 1944) was a Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China in charge of agriculture.
Biography
Hui was born in Yushu, Jilin Province. He is a member of the Hui ethnic minority. Starting in 1969, h ...
is a notable atheist Hui. In addition, most Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kirghiz and
Dongxiang in China are Muslims, but are not Hui.
John Stuart Thomson, who traveled in China, called them "Mohammedan Chinese". They have also been called "Chinese Mussulmans", when Europeans wanted to distinguish them from
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
.
Non-Muslim Huis
Throughout history, the identity of Hui people has been fluid, changing as was convenient. Some identified as Hui out of interest in their ancestry or because of government benefits. These Hui are concentrated on the southeast coast of China, especially
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
province.
Some Hui clans around
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
in Fujian, such as the
Ding
Ding may refer to:
Bronze and ceramics
* Ding (vessel), a bronze or ceramic cauldron used in ancient and early imperial China
* Ding ware, ceramics produced in Dingzhou in medieval China
People
* Ding (surname) (丁), a Chinese surname and lis ...
and
Guo
"Guo", written in Chinese: 郭, is one of the most common Chinese surnames and means "the wall that surrounds a city" in Chinese. It can also be transliterated into English as Cok, Gou, Quo, Quach, Quek, Que, Keh, Kuo, Kwo, Kuoch, Kok, Koc, ...
families, identify themselves by ethnicity and no longer practice Islam. In recent years, more of these clans have identified as Hui, increasing the official population. They provided evidence of their ancestry and were recognized as Hui. Many clans across Fujian had genealogies that demonstrated Hui ancestry. These clans inhabited Fujian, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. None of these clans were Muslims but they do not offer pork during their
ancestral worship
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
.
In Taiwan, the Hui clans who followed
Koxinga
Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...
to Formosa to defeat the Dutch settled no longer observe Islam and their descendants embrace the
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
. The Taiwanese branch of the Guo (Kuo in Taiwan) clan with Hui ancestry does not practice Islam, yet does not offer pork at their ancestral shrines. The
Chinese Muslim Association
The Chinese Muslim Association (CMA) is an organization of Chinese Muslims in the Republic of China (Taiwan). A rival group, the Chinese Muslim Youth League competes with it in Taiwan.
History
In Mainland China
The Chinese Muslim Associatio ...
counts these people as Muslims. Also on
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, one branch of the Ding (Ting) clan that descended from
Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar
Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ( fa, سید اجل شمسالدین عمر بخاری; ; 1211–1279) was Yunnan's first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China.
Life
Shams al-Din was of Central Asian ...
resides in
Taisi Township in
Yunlin County
Yunlin County (Mandarin pinyin: ''Yúnlín Xiàn''; Taigi POJ: ''Hûn-lîm-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Yùn-lìm-yen'') is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County t ...
. They trace their descent through him via the Quanzhou Ding family of Fujian. While pretending to be
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
in Fujian, they initially practiced Islam when they came to Taiwan 200 years ago, but their descendants have embraced Buddhism or Taoism.
An attempt was made by the Chinese Islamic Society to convert the Fujian Hui of Fujian back to Islam in 1983, by sending four Ningxia imams to Fujian. This futile endeavour ended in 1986, when the final Ningxia imam left. A similar endeavour in Taiwan also failed.
Before 1982, it was possible for a Han to "become" Hui by converting. Thereafter, a converted Han counted instead as a "Muslim Han". Hui people consider other Hui who do not observe Islamic practices to still be Hui. They consider it impossible to lose their Hui nationality. For both of these reasons, simply calling them "Chinese Muslims" is no longer accurate, strictly speaking, just as with
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
in former Yugoslavia.
History
Origins
![Prayers at Dongguan mosque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Prayers_at_Dongguan_mosque.jpg)
Many Hui are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers. On the southeast coast (e.g.,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
) and in major trade centers elsewhere in China, some are of mixed local and foreign descent. The foreign element, although greatly diluted, came primarily from
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
(''Bosi'') traders, who brought Islam to China. These foreigners settled and gradually intermarried, while assimilating Chinese culture.
Early European explorers speculated that T'ung-kan (Dungans, i.e. Hui, called "Chinese Mohammedan") in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, originated from
Khorezmians who were transported to China by the Mongols, and descended from a mixture of Chinese, Iranian and Turkic peoples. They also reported that the T'ung-kan were
Shafi'ite
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
s, as were the
Khorezmians.
The Hui people of
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
and
Northwestern China
Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2.
The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...
resulted from the convergence of Mongol, Turkic, and Iranian peoples or other Central Asian settlers recruited by the Yuan dynasty, either as artisans or as officials (the ''
semu
Semu () is the name of a caste established by the Yuan dynasty. The 31 Semu categories referred to people who came from Central and West Asia. They had come to serve the Yuan dynasty by enfranchising under the dominant Mongol caste. The Semu were ...
''), formed the second-highest stratum in the Yuan ethnic hierarchy (after the Mongols but above Chinese). A proportion of the ancestral nomad or military ethnic groups were originally
Nestorian Christians
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...
, many of whom later converted to Islam under the
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
and
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
dynasties.
Sects of Islam
![5741-Linxia-Huasi-Gongbei](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/5741-Linxia-Huasi-Gongbei.jpg)
Most Hui are Sunni Muslim following different Sufi schools. Ma Tong recorded that the 6,781,500 Sunni Hui in China followed 58.2%
Gedimu
Gedimu () or ''Qadim'' ( ar, قديم}) is the earliest school of Islam in China. It is a Hanafi, non-Sufi school of the Sunni tradition. Its supporters are centered on local mosques, which function as relatively independent units.
It is numerical ...
, 21%
Yihewani
Yihewani (), or Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, d=al-Iḫwān), (also known as Al Ikhwan al Muslimun, which means Muslim Brotherhood, not to be confused with the Middle Eastern Muslim Brotherhood) is an Islamic sect in China. Its adherents are calle ...
, 10.9%
Jahriyya
Jahriyya (also spelled Jahrīya or Jahriyah) is a ''menhuan'' ( Sufi order) in China, commonly called the New Teaching (''Xinjiao''). Founded in the 1760s by Ma Mingxin, it was active in the late 18th and 19th centuries in what was then Gansu Pr ...
, 7.2% Khuffiya, 1.4%
Qadariyya
Qadariyyah ( ar, قدرية, Qadariyya), also Qadarites or Kadarites, from (), meaning "power"); was originally a derogatory term designating early Islamic theologians who rejected the concept of predestination in Islam, ''qadr'', and asserted t ...
and 0.7%
Kubrawiyya
The Kubrawiya order ( ar, سلسلة کبرویة) or Kubrawi order, also known as ''Firdausia Silsila'', is a Sufi order that traces its spiritual lineage (''Silsilah'') to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, through Ali, Muhammad's cousin, son-in-l ...
Sufi schools.
Among the northern Hui, Central Asian
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
schools such as
Kubrawiyya
The Kubrawiya order ( ar, سلسلة کبرویة) or Kubrawi order, also known as ''Firdausia Silsila'', is a Sufi order that traces its spiritual lineage (''Silsilah'') to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, through Ali, Muhammad's cousin, son-in-l ...
,
Qadiriyya
The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...
, and
Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
yya (
Khufiyya
Khufiyya (; Arabic: خفيه, the silent ones) is a Sufist order of Chinese Islam. It was the first Sufist order to be established within China and, along with Jahriyya, Qadiriyya and Kubrawiyyah, is acknowledged as one of the four orders of ...
and
Jahriyya
Jahriyya (also spelled Jahrīya or Jahriyah) is a ''menhuan'' ( Sufi order) in China, commonly called the New Teaching (''Xinjiao''). Founded in the 1760s by Ma Mingxin, it was active in the late 18th and 19th centuries in what was then Gansu Pr ...
) were strong influences, mostly of the
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...
Madhhab
A ( ar, مذهب ', , "way to act". pl. مَذَاهِب , ) is a school of thought within ''fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence).
The major Sunni Mathhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.
They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE an ...
, whereas among the southeastern communities the
Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
Madhhab is more common. Southeastern Muslims have a much longer tradition of synthesizing
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
teachings with
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
ic teachings and reportedly have contributed to Confucianism from the
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
period on. Before the "
Yihewani
Yihewani (), or Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, d=al-Iḫwān), (also known as Al Ikhwan al Muslimun, which means Muslim Brotherhood, not to be confused with the Middle Eastern Muslim Brotherhood) is an Islamic sect in China. Its adherents are calle ...
" movement, a Chinese Muslim sect inspired by the Middle Eastern reform movement, northern Hui Sufis blended
Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
teachings and
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
practices with Sufi philosophy.
Kaifeng Jews
Many
Jews in China
Jews and Judaism in China are predominantly composed of Sephardi Jews and their descendants. Other Jewish ethnic divisions are also represented, including Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews and a number of converts.
The Jewish Chinese community manif ...
, for example the
Kaifeng Jews
The Kaifeng Jews ( zh, t=開封猶太族, p=Kāifēng Yóutàizú; he, יהדות קאיפנג ''Yahădūt Qāʾyfeng'') are members of a small community of descendants of Chinese Jews in Kaifeng, in the Henan province of China. In the early ...
, and in particular the Jewish Zhang family Zhang of Kaifeng at the start of the 20th century, converted to Islam and became Hui people.
Converted Han
![Ma Hetian](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Ma_Hetian.jpg)
According to legend, a Muhuyindeni person converted an entire village of Han with the surname
Zhang Zhang may refer to:
Chinese culture, etc.
* Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname
** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname
* Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu
* Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan
* ''Zha ...
to Islam. Hui also adopted Han children and raised them as Hui.
Hui in
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
with the surnames
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
(唐) and
Wang
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname
* Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname
* Titles in Chinese nobility
* A title in Korean nobility
* A title in Mongolian nobility
Places
* Wang River in Thai ...
(汪) descended from Han Chinese who converted to Islam and married Muslim Hui or
Dongxiangs, joining the Hui and Dongxiang ethnic groups, both Muslim.
Tangwangchuan and Hanjiaji were notable as towns with a multi-ethnic community, with both non-Muslims and Muslims.
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
official Ma Hetian visited
Tangwangchuan and met an "elderly local literatus from the Tang clan" while he was on his inspection tour of Gansu and Qinghai.
In
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
province in the 1800s, a Muslim Hui woman married into the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
Kong lineage of
Dachuan District
Dachuan District () is a district of Dazhou in northeastern Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Prote ...
, which was descended from Confucius. The Han Chinese groom and his family converted to Islam after the marriage.
[
] In 1715 in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
province, a few Han Chinese descendants of Confucius also surnamed Kong married Hui women and converted to Islam.
[ Archives on this are stored in ]Xuanwei
Xuanwei () is a county-level city in the northeast of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Qujing.
Administrative divisions
Xuanwei City has 9 subdistrict ...
city
Around 1376 the 30-year-old Chinese merchant
Lin Nu Lin Nu (林駑, Xiao'erjing: ) was a Chinese merchant and scholar in the early Ming dynasty. He is the ancestor of the philosopher Li Zhi. His family was Han Chinese in origin and the branch that remained true to Han culture cut off the Lin Nu's bra ...
visited
Ormuz
The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz; fa, هرمز; pt, Ormuz) was located in the eastern side of the Persian Gulf and extended as far as Bahrain in the west at its zenith. The Kingdom was established in 11th century initially as a depe ...
in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, and married a Semu girl ("") (either Persian or Arab) and brought her back to
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
in
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
.
The Confucian philosopher
Li Zhi Li Zhi may refer to:
*Emperor Gaozong of Tang (628–683), named Li Zhi, Emperor of China
*Li Ye (mathematician) (1192–1279), Chinese mathematician and scholar, birth name Li Zhi
*Li Zhi (philosopher) (1527–1602), Chinese philosopher from the M ...
was their descendant.
Current situation
![XianNight2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/XianNight2.jpg)
The
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
wreaked much havoc on all cultures and ethnicities in China. The quelling of Hui militant rebels at the hands of the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
in Yunnan, known as the
Shadian incident
The Shadian incident () was an uprising of Muslim Hui people during the Chinese Cultural Revolution which ended in a military-led massacre. The massacre took place in seven villages of Yunnan Province, especially at the Shadian Town of Gejiu ...
, reportedly claimed over 1,600 lives in 1975.
Different Muslim ethnic groups in different regions are treated differently by the Chinese government in regards to religious freedom. A greater freedom is permitted for Hui Muslims, who can practice their religion, build mosques, and have their children attend mosques, while more controls are placed specifically on Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Since the 1980s, Islamic private schools have been supported and permitted by the Chinese government in Muslim areas, except for Xinjiang due to the separatist sentiment there. Although religious education for children is officially forbidden by law in China, the CCP allows Hui Muslims to have their children educated in the religion and attend mosques, while the law is enforced on Uyghurs. After secondary education is completed, China then allows Hui students who would like to, embark on religious studies under an imam. China does not enforce the law against children attending mosques on non-Uyghurs in areas outside of Xinjiang.
Hui religious schools are also allowed to establish a large autonomous network of mosques and schools run by a Hui Sufi leader, which was formed with the approval of the Chinese government even though he admitted to attending an event where Osama Bin Laden spoke.
Hui Muslims who are employed by the state are allowed to fast during
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
, unlike Uyghurs in the same positions. The number of Hui going on
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
is expanding, while Uyghurs find it difficult to get passports to go on Hajj. Hui women are allowed to wear
veils
A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...
, while Uyghur women are discouraged from wearing them.
Many Hui women wear veils and headscarves. There is a major halal industry and Islamic clothing industry to manufacture Muslim attire such as skull caps, veils, and headscarves in the Hui region of Ningxia.
China banned a book entitled ''Xing Fengsu'' ("Sexual Customs") which insulted Islam and placed its authors under arrest in 1989 after protests in Lanzhou and Beijing by Chinese Hui Muslims. During the protests, the Chinese police provided protection to the Hui Muslim protestors, and the Chinese government organized public burnings of the book. The Chinese government assisted them and gave into their demands because Hui do not have a separatist movement, unlike the Uyghurs.
In 2007, anticipating the coming "Year of the Pig" in the
Chinese calendar
The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar 曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar 曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar 曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...
, depictions of pigs were banned from
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
"to avoid conflicts with ethnic minorities". This is believed to refer to China's population of 20 million
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s (to whom pigs are considered "
unclean").
In response to the 2015
''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting Chinese state-run media attacked ''
Charlie Hebdo
''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
'' for publishing the cartoons insulting Muhammad, with the state-run ''
Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
'' advocated limiting freedom of speech, while another state-run newspaper ''
Global Times
The ''Global Times'' () is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese ultra-nationalistic perspective. The publi ...
'' said the attack was "payback" for what it characterised as Western colonialism and accusing ''Charlie Hebdo'' of trying to incite a clash of civilizations.
Allegation of repression
Hui Muslims have been alleged to have experienced greater repression of religious activities in recent years. In 2018,
paramount leader
Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
issued a directive aimed at the sinicization of Chinese Muslims. Since then, the government has been accused of repressing aspects of Hui culture deemed "Arab". Most of these repressions have been limited to the removal of aesthetically Islamic buildings and symbols, with the government renovating architecture to appear more Chinese and banning Arabic signs in Hui regions. More drastic repressions have been taken, such as closing mosques or removing licenses from imams who have traveled outside of China.
In order to sinicize the Hui, schools and mosques in Ningxia have been changed to include traits from traditional Han architecture.
At least two Hui Muslims have allegedly been included in the
reeducation camps, termed "Vocational Education and Training Centers" which the Chinese government claims are aimed at reforming the political thought of detainees, including
extremist religious beliefs and separatist or terrorist sympathies. One or more of the Hui within these camps may have faced torture, and are allegedly grouped in different cells from Kazakhs and Uighurs, and on rare occasion die from stress.
Tensions between Hui and Uyghurs
Tensions between Hui Muslims and Uyghurs have arisen because Hui troops and officials often dominated the Uyghurs and crushed Uyghur revolts. Xinjiang's Hui population increased by more than 520 percent between 1940 and 1982, an average annual growth of 4.4 percent, while the Uyghur population only grew at 1.7 percent. This dramatic increase in Hui population led inevitably to significant tensions between the Hui and Uyghur populations. Many Hui Muslim civilians were killed by Uyghur rebel troops in the
Kizil massacre
The Kizil massacre () occurred in June 1933, when Uighur and Kirghiz Turkic fighters of the First East Turkestan Republic broke their agreement not to attack a column of retreating Hui Chinese soldiers and civilians from Yarkand New City on thei ...
of 1933.
Some Uyghurs in
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
remember that the Hui army at the
Battle of Kashgar (1934) massacred 2,000 to 8,000 Uyghurs, which causes tension as more Hui moved into Kashgar from other parts of China. Some Hui criticize Uyghur separatism and generally do not want to get involved in conflict in other countries.
Hui and Uyghur live separately, attending different mosques.
During the 2009 rioting in Xinjiang that killed around 200 people, "Kill the Han, kill the Hui." is a common cry spread across social media among Uyghur extremists.
The Uyghur militant organization
East Turkestan Islamic Movement
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) or the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), formerly known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other names, is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Western China. Its stated goals a ...
's magazine ''Islamic Turkistan'' has accused the Chinese "Muslim Brotherhood" (the
Yihewani
Yihewani (), or Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, d=al-Iḫwān), (also known as Al Ikhwan al Muslimun, which means Muslim Brotherhood, not to be confused with the Middle Eastern Muslim Brotherhood) is an Islamic sect in China. Its adherents are calle ...
) of being responsible for the moderation of Hui Muslims and the lack of Hui joining militant jihadist groups in addition to blaming other things for the lack of Hui Jihadists, such as the fact that for more than 300 years Hui and Uyghurs have been enemies of each other, no separatist Islamist organizations among the Hui, the fact that the Hui view China as their home, and the fact that the "infidel Chinese" language is the language of the Hui.
Even among Hui Salafis (
Sailaifengye) and Uyghur Salafis, there is little coordination or cooperation and the two have totally different political agendas, with the Hui Salafists content to carry out their own teachings and remain politically neutral.
Hui Muslim
drug dealer
A drug is any chemical substance
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by ...
s are accused by
Uyghur Muslims of pushing heroin onto Uyghurs.
There is a typecast image in the public eye of Hui being the province of heroin dealers.
Tibetan-Muslim sectarian violence
![A new Muslim Mosque in Lhasa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/A_new_Muslim_Mosque_in_Lhasa.jpg)
In Tibet, the majority of Muslims are Hui people. Antagonism between Tibetans and Muslims stems from events during the Muslim warlord Ma Bufang's rule such as the
Ngolok rebellions (1917–49)
The Golok or Ngolok (; ) peoples live in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China around the upper reaches of the Yellow River () and the sacred mountain Amne Machin (). The Golok were renowned in both Tibet and China as ferocious fi ...
and the
Sino-Tibetan War
The Sino-Tibetan War (, lit. Kham–Tibet dispute) was a war that began in 1930 when the Tibetan Army under the 13th Dalai Lama responded to the attempted seizure of a monastery. Chinese-administered eastern Kham region (later called Xikang), ...
, but such hostility was suppressed after the
annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China
Tibet came under the control of People's Republic of China (PRC) after the Government of Tibet signed the Seventeen Point Agreement which the 14th Dalai Lama ratified on 24 October 1951, but later repudiated on the grounds that he rendered his ...
.
However, renewed Tibetan-Muslim violence broke out in the wake of the gradual liberalization of China, that resulted in increased movement of people, such as Han and Hui Chinese, into Tibetan areas.
Muslim restaurants were attacked, and apartments and shops of Muslims were set on fire in the riot in mid-March 2008, resulting in death and injury. Tibetans also boycotted Muslim owned businesses. In August 2008, the main mosque in
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
was burned down by Tibetans during the
2008 Tibetan unrest. Some Muslims avoided overt display of religious identity in the wake of the violence. Many Hui Muslims also supported the repression of Tibetan separatism by the Chinese government, complicating their relationship.
Problems also exist between Chinese-speaking Hui and Tibetan Hui (the Tibetan-speaking
Kache
Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Kachee (; ; also spelled Kache), form a small minority in Tibet. Despite being Muslim, they are officially recognized as Tibetans by the government of the People's Republic of China, unlike the Hui Muslims, w ...
minority of Muslims).
Sectarian conflict
There have been many occurrences of
violent sectarian fighting between different Hui sects, mostly dating from the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. Sectarian fighting between Hui sects led to the Jahriyya rebellion in the 1780s and the 1895 revolt. After a hiatus after the People's Republic of China came to power, sectarian infighting resumed in the 1990s in Ningxia between different sects. In recent years, the
Salafi movement in China has increased rapidly among Hui population with more mosques occupied under Salafis in China. Several sects refuse to intermarry with each other. One Sufi sect circulated an anti-Salafi pamphlet in Arabic.
A small but growing number of Huis who supported or even joined the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
. Chinese officials were believed to have ignored growing Hui Sufis' resentment against growing Salafi movement until recently. ISIL had released a music video called "I am a mujahid" (我們是Mujahid) in Mandarin to reportedly attract Hui Muslims into joining the organization.
Relations with other religions
Some Hui believed that Islam was the true religion through which
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
could be practiced, superior to "barbarian" religions, and accused Buddhists and Daoists of "
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
", like most other Confucian scholars. Among the many Muslims in pre-Chinese
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
, the
Kokonor Hui community was permitted to maintain the abattoirs outside the confines of the
girdling pilgrims' circuit of the city.
Muslim general
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general.
General Ma started an industrialization pro ...
allowed
polytheist
Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...
s to openly worship and
Christian missionaries
A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...
to station themselves in Qinghai. Ma and other high-ranking Muslim generals attended the
Kokonuur Lake
Qinghai Lake or Ch'inghai Lake, also known by other names, is the largest lake in China. Located in an endorheic basin in Qinghai Province, to which it gave its name, Qinghai Lake is classified as an alkaline salt lake. The lake has fluctuate ...
Ceremony where the God of the Lake was worshipped, and during the ritual, the Chinese National Anthem was sung, participants bowed to a Portrait of
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
party founder Dr.
Sun Zhongshan, and to the God of the Lake. Offerings were given to Dr. Sun by the participants, including Muslims. Ma Bufang invited Kazakh Muslims to attend the Ceremony. Ma Bufang received audiences of Christian missionaries, who sometimes preached the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
. His son
Ma Jiyuan received a silver cup from the missionaries.
The Muslim
Ma Zhu
Ma Zhu (馬注) (1640 – after 1710) was a Chinese Hanafi- Maturidi scholar. Ma was noted for his combining of Confucian and Islamic values in his philosophy.
Biography
Ma was born in Yongchang Fu in Yunnan Province during the reign of t ...
wrote "Chinese religions are different from Islam, but the ideas are the same."
During the
Panthay Rebellion
The Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873), also known as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion (Tu Wen-hsiu Rebellion), was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other (Muslim as well as non-Muslim) ethnic groups against the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in southwe ...
, the Muslim leader
Du Wenxiu
Du Wenxiu (, Xiao'erjing: ) (1823 to 1872) was the Chinese Muslim leader of the Panthay Rebellion, an anti-Qing revolt in China during the Qing dynasty. Du had ethnic Hui ancestry.
Early life and background
Born in Yongchang (now Baoshan, Y ...
said to a Catholic priest- "I have read your religious works and I have found nothing inappropriate. Muslims and Christians are brothers."
Culture
Sects
Mosques
![The Mosque in Guangzhou 27](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/The_Mosque_in_Guangzhou_27.JPG)
The style of architecture of
Hui mosques varies
according to their sect. The traditionalist
Gedimu
Gedimu () or ''Qadim'' ( ar, قديم}) is the earliest school of Islam in China. It is a Hanafi, non-Sufi school of the Sunni tradition. Its supporters are centered on local mosques, which function as relatively independent units.
It is numerical ...
Hanafi Sunnis, influenced by Chinese culture, build mosques which look like Chinese temples. The reformist modernist
Yihewani
Yihewani (), or Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, d=al-Iḫwān), (also known as Al Ikhwan al Muslimun, which means Muslim Brotherhood, not to be confused with the Middle Eastern Muslim Brotherhood) is an Islamic sect in China. Its adherents are calle ...
, originally inspired by
Salafism
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...
, build their mosques in a middle-eastern style.
Foot binding
Hui women once practiced
foot binding
Foot binding, or footbinding, was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls in order to change their shape and size. Feet altered by footbinding were known as lotus feet, and the shoes made for these feet were kno ...
, at the time a common practice across China. It was particularly prevalent in
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
. The
Dungan people
Dungan, Xiao'erjing: ; zh, s=东干族, t=東干族, p=Dōnggān zú, w=Tung1kan1-tsu2, , Xiao'erjing: ; russian: Дунгане, ''Dungane''; ky, Дуңгандар, ''Duñgandar'', دۇنغاندار; kk, Дүңгендер, ''Düñgende ...
, descendants of Hui from northwestern China who fled to Central Asia, also practised foot binding until 1948. However, in southern China, in
Canton,
James Legge
James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator
who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the London ...
encountered a mosque that had a placard denouncing footbinding, saying Islam did not allow it, since it violated God's creation.
Cultural practices
![Hui family eid](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Hui_family_eid.jpg)
French army Commandant Viscount D'Ollone reported in 1910 that Sichuanese Hui did not strictly enforce the Islamic practices of
teetotal
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...
ing, ritual washing and Friday prayers. Chinese practices like
incense burning at
ancestral tablets and honoring
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
were adopted. One practice that was stringently observed was the ban on pork consumption.
![HuiChineseMuslim2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/HuiChineseMuslim2.jpg)
The Sunni
Gedimu
Gedimu () or ''Qadim'' ( ar, قديم}) is the earliest school of Islam in China. It is a Hanafi, non-Sufi school of the Sunni tradition. Its supporters are centered on local mosques, which function as relatively independent units.
It is numerical ...
and the
Yihewani
Yihewani (), or Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, d=al-Iḫwān), (also known as Al Ikhwan al Muslimun, which means Muslim Brotherhood, not to be confused with the Middle Eastern Muslim Brotherhood) is an Islamic sect in China. Its adherents are calle ...
burned incense during worship. This was viewed as
Daoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
or
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
influence. The Hui were also known as the "white capped". Hui used incense during worship, while the
Salar, also known as "black capped" Hui considered this to be a
heathen ritual and denounced it.
In
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
province, during the Qing Dynasty, tablets that wished the Emperor a long life were placed at mosque entrances. No
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
s were available and no chanting accompanied the call to prayer. The mosques were similar to Buddhist temples, and incense was burned inside.
Hui enlisted in the military and were praised for their martial skills.
Circumcision
Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...
in Islam is known as ''
khitan''. Islamic scholars agree that it is required (mandatory), or recommended. The practice is seen as symbol of Muslim belief. Since circumcision in China does not have the weight of pre-existing traditions as it does elsewhere in the Muslim world, circumcision rates among Hui are much lower than among other Muslim communities (where the procedure is nearly universal).
Names
The long history of Hui residence and mixing in China has led the Hui to adopt names typical of their Han neighbors; however, some common Hui names are actually Chinese renderings of common Muslim (i.e.
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
),
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n, and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n names. For instance, surname "Ma" for "
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
".
Hui people usually have a Chinese name and a Muslim name in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, although the Chinese name is used primarily. Some Hui do not remember their Muslim names.
Hui people who adopt foreign names may not use their Muslim names. An example of this is
Pai Hsien-yung
Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai (; born July 11, 1937) is a Chinese writer from Taiwan who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer". He was born in Guilin, Guangxi at the cusp of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Pai's father was the Kuomintang (KMT) ge ...
, a Hui author in America, who adopted the name Kenneth. His father was Muslim general
Bai Chongxi, who had his children adopt western names.
Surnames
Hui people commonly believe that their surnames originated as "Sinified" forms of their foreign Muslim ancestors some time during the Yuan or Ming eras. Common Hui surnames:
A
Ningxia
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in ...
legend states that four common Hui surnames—Na,
Su, La, and
Ding
Ding may refer to:
Bronze and ceramics
* Ding (vessel), a bronze or ceramic cauldron used in ancient and early imperial China
* Ding ware, ceramics produced in Dingzhou in medieval China
People
* Ding (surname) (丁), a Chinese surname and lis ...
—originate with the descendants of
Nasruddin
Nasir al-Din ( ar, نصیر الدین or or , 'defender of the faith'), was originally a honorific title and is an Arabic masculine given name and surname. There are many variant spellings in English due to transliteration. Notable people with ...
, a son of
Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar
Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ( fa, سید اجل شمسالدین عمر بخاری; ; 1211–1279) was Yunnan's first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China.
Life
Shams al-Din was of Central Asian ...
, who "divided" the ancestor's name (''Nasulading'', in Chinese) among themselves.
Literature
The
Han Kitab is a collection of Islamic and Confucian texts written by various Hui authors in the 18th century, including
Liu Zhi. New works were written by Hui intellectuals following education reform by
Ma Clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse ...
warlords and
Bai Chongxi. Some texts were translated from Arabic.
A new edition of a book by
Ma Te-hsin
Yusuf Ma Dexin (also ''Ma Tesing''; 1794–1874) was a Hui Chinese Hanafi-Maturidi scholar from Yunnan, known for his fluency and proficiency in both Arabic and Persian, and for his knowledge of Islam. He also went by the Chinese name Ma Fuchu. ...
, called ''Ho-yin Ma Fu-ch'u hsien-sheng i-shu Ta hua tsung kuei Ssu tien yaohui'', first printed in 1865, was reprinted in 1927 by Ma Fuxiang. General Ma Fuxiang invested in new editions of Confucian and Islamic texts. He edited ''Shuofang Daozhi'', a gazette and books such as Meng Cang ZhuangKuang: Hui Bu Xinjiang fu.
Language
The Hui of Yunnan, whom the Burmese called Panthays, were reportedly fluent in Arabic. During the
Panthay Rebellion
The Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873), also known as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion (Tu Wen-hsiu Rebellion), was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other (Muslim as well as non-Muslim) ethnic groups against the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in southwe ...
, Arabic replaced Chinese as the official language of the rebel kingdom.
Published in 1844, ''The Chinese repository, Volume 13'' includes an account of an Englishman who stayed in the Chinese city of
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
, where he visited the local mosque. The Hui running the mosque was from Shandong and descended from residents of the Arabian city of
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
. He was able to read and speak Arabic with ease, but was illiterate in Chinese, although he was born in China and spoke Chinese.
Marriage
Hui marriages resemble typical Chinese marriages except that traditional Chinese rituals are not used. Endogamy is practiced by Hui, who mainly marry amongst themselves rather than with Muslims from other sects. However, the Hui Na family in Ningxia is known to practice both parallel and cross
cousin marriage
A cousin marriage is a marriage where the spouses are cousins (i.e. people with common grandparents or people who share other fairly recent ancestors). The practice was common in earlier times, and continues to be common in some societies toda ...
.
The Najiahu village in Ningxia is named after this family, descended from
Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar
Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ( fa, سید اجل شمسالدین عمر بخاری; ; 1211–1279) was Yunnan's first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China.
Life
Shams al-Din was of Central Asian ...
.
Outside marriage
Intermarriage generally involves a Han Chinese converting to Islam when marrying a Hui, and marriage without conversion only takes place rarely. In Hui discourse, marriage between a Hui woman and a Han man is not allowed unless the Han converts to Islam, although it occurred repeatedly in Eastern China. Generally Han of both sexes have to convert to Islam before marrying. This practice helped increase the population of Hui. A case of switching nationality occurred in 1972 when a Han man married a Hui and was considered a Hui after converting.
''Zhao nuxu'' is a practice where the son-in-law moves in with the wife's family. Some marriages between Han and Hui are conducted this way. The husband does not need to convert, but the wife's family follows Islamic customs. No census data documents this type of marriage, reporting only cases in which the wife moves in with the groom's family. In
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
province, a marriage was recorded between a Han boy and Hui girl without the Han converting, during the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. Steles in Han and Hui villages record this story and Hui and Han members of the Lineage celebrate at the ancestral temple together.
In Beijing Oxen street Gladney found 37 Han–Hui couples, two of which were had Hui wives and the other 35 had Hui husbands. Data was collected in different Beijing districts. In Ma Dian 20% of intermarriages were Hui women marrying into Han families, in Tang Fang 11% of intermarriage were Hui women marrying into Han families. 67.3% of intermarriage in Tang Fang were Han women marrying into a Hui family and in Ma Dian 80% of intermarriage were Han women marrying into Hui families.
Li Nu Lin Nu (林駑, Xiao'erjing: ) was a Chinese merchant and scholar in the early Ming dynasty. He is the ancestor of the philosopher Li Zhi. His family was Han Chinese in origin and the branch that remained true to Han culture cut off the Lin Nu's bra ...
, the son of Li Lu, from a Han Chinese Li family in Quanzhou visited
Hormuz in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
in 1376. He married a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
or an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
girl, and brought her back to
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
. He then converted to Islam. Li Nu was the ancestor of Ming Dynasty reformer
Li Chih.
In
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
province in the 1800s, a Muslim Hui woman married into the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
Kong lineage of Dachuan, which was descended from Confucius. The Han Chinese groom and his family were only converted to Islam after the marriage by their Muslim relatives. In 1715 in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
province, few Han Chinese married Hui women and converted to Islam.
Jiang Xingzhou 姜興舟, a Han
bannerman lieutenant from the Bordered Yellow Banner married a Muslim woman in
Mukden
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the prov ...
during Qianlong's late reign. He fled his position due to fear of being punished for being a bannerman marrying a commoner woman. He was sentenced to death for leaving his official post but the sentence was commuted and he was not executed.
In the
Dungan Revolt (1895–96) Dungan revolt may refer to:
* Dungan revolt (1862–77) Dungan revolt may refer to:
* Dungan revolt (1862–77), rebellion of various Muslim ethnic groups in Shaanxi and Gansu, China
* Dungan revolt (1895–96) Dungan revolt may refer to:
* Dunga ...
400 Muslims in Topa
多巴 did not join the revolt and proclaimed their loyalty to China. An argument between a Han Chinese and his Muslim wife led to these Muslims getting massacred, when she threatened that the Muslims from Topa would attack Tankar and give a signal to their co-religionists to rise up and open the gates by burning the temples atop the hills. The husband reported this to an official and the next day the Muslims were massacred with the exception of a few Muslim girls who were married off to Han Chinese.
Hui men marrying Han women and Han men who marry Hui women achieve above average education.
Education
Hui have supported modern education and reform. Hui such as
Hu Songshan
Hu Songshan (1880–1955), a Hui, was born in 1880, in Tongxin County, Ningxia, China. His Muslim name in Arabic was Sa'd al-Din ( ar, سعد الدين '; ). Although he was born Sufi and turned Wahhabi, he changed his views and turned his ...
and the
Ma Clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse ...
warlords promoted western, modern secular education. Elite Hui received both Muslim and
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
education. They studied the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
and Confucian texts like the
Spring and Autumn Annals
The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The ''Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...
. Hui people refused to follow the
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chinese ...
. Instead, they taught both western subjects such as science along with traditional Confucian literature and classical Chinese, along with Islamic education and Arabic. Hui warlord
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general.
General Ma started an industrialization pro ...
built a girls' school in
Linxia that taught modern secular subjects. Hui have had female imams, called Nu Ahong for centuries. They are the world's only female Imams. They guide females in prayer but are not allowed to lead prayers.
Military service
![F985680007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/F985680007.jpg)
Muslims have served extensively in the Chinese military for a long time in Chinese history, as both officials and soldiers, often filling the more distinguished military positions. During the Tang dynasty, 3,000 Chinese soldiers and Arab 3,000 Muslim soldiers were traded to each other in an agreement. In 756, 3,000 Arab mercenaries joined the Chinese against the An Lushan rebellion. A mythical Hui legendary folklore account claims 3000 Chinese soldiers were swapped by Guo Ziyi with the Muslims for 300 "Hui" soldiers, and said that only 3 Hui survived the war against An Lushan and populated Ningxia. A massacre of thousands of foreign Arab and Persian Muslim merchants and other foreigners by former Yan rebel general Tian Shengong happened during the An Lushan rebellion in the Yangzhou massacre (760), The rebel Huang Chao's army in southern China committed the Guangzhou massacre against over 120,000 to 200,000 foreign Arab and Persian Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian merchants in 878-879 at the seaport and trading entrepot of Guangzhou.
During the Ming dynasty, Hui generals and troops loyal to Ming fought against Mongols and Hui loyal to the Yuan Dynasty in the Ming conquest of Yunnan. Hui also fought for the emperor against aboriginal tribes in southern China during the Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty), Miao Rebellions. Many Hui soldiers of the Ming dynasty then settled in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
and Hunan provinces.
During the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, Hui troops in the Imperial army helped crush Hui rebels during the Dungan revolt (1895–1896), Dungan revolt and Panthay Rebellion. The Qing administration in Xinjiang also preferred to use Hui as police. Yang Zengxin, the Han Chinese governor of Xinjiang, extensively relied on Hui generals like Ma Shaowu and Ma Fuxing. Qing Muslim general Zuo Baogui (1837–1894), from Shandong province, was killed in Pyongyang, Pingyang in Korea by Japanese cannon fire in 1894 while defending the city, where a memorial to him stands. Hui troops also fought western armies for the first time in the Boxer Rebellion, winning battles including the Battle of Langfang and Battle of Beicang. These troops were the Kansu Braves led by General Dong Fuxiang.
Military service continued into the Republic of China period. After the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
party took power, Hui participation in the military reached new levels.
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
and
Ningxia
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in ...
were created out of
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
province, and the Kuomintang appointed Hui generals as military governors of all three provinces. They became known as the
Ma Clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse ...
. Many Muslim
Salar joined the army in the Republic era; they and
Dongxiang who have joined the army are described as being given "eating rations" meaning military service.
The Chinese government appointed Ma Fuxiang as military governor of Suiyuan. Ma Fuxiang commented on the willingness for Hui people to become martyrs in battle (see Martyrdom in Islam), saying:
They have not enjoyed the educational and political privileges of the Han Chinese, and they are in many respects primitive. But they know the meaning of fidelity, and if I say "do this, although it means death," they cheerfully obey.
Hui generals and soldiers fought for the Republic against Tibet in the
Sino-Tibetan War
The Sino-Tibetan War (, lit. Kham–Tibet dispute) was a war that began in 1930 when the Tibetan Army under the 13th Dalai Lama responded to the attempted seizure of a monastery. Chinese-administered eastern Kham region (later called Xikang), ...
, against Uyghur rebels in the Kumul Rebellion, the Soviet Union in the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang and against Japan in the Second Sino Japanese War. The Japanese planned to invade Ningxia from Suiyuan in 1939 and create a Hui puppet state. The next year in 1940, the Japanese were defeated militarily by Kuomintang Muslim general Ma Hongbin. Ma Hongbin's Hui Muslim troops launched further attacks against Japan in the Battle of West Suiyuan. The Chinese Islamic Association issued "A message to all Muslims in China from the Chinese Islamic Association for National Salvation" in
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
of 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
We have to implement the teaching "the love of the fatherland is an article of faith" by the Prophet Muhammad and to inherit the Hui's glorious history in China. In addition, let us reinforce our unity and participate in the twice more difficult task of supporting a defensive war and promoting religion... We hope that ahongs and the elite will initiate a movement of prayer during Ramadan and implement group prayer to support our intimate feeling toward Islam. A sincere unity of Muslims should be developed to contribute power towards the expulsion of Japan.
![1955 Ma Bufang with KMT ambassador to Saudi Arabia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/1955_Ma_Bufang_with_KMT_ambassador_to_Saudi_Arabia.jpg)
"Ahong" is the Mandarin Chinese word for "imam". During the war against Japan, the imams supported Muslim resistance, calling for Muslims to participate in the fight against Japan, claiming that casualties would become shahid, shaheeds (martyrs). Ma Zhanshan was a Hui guerilla fighter against the Japanese.
Hui forces were known for their anti-communist sentiment, and fought for the Kuomintang against the CCP in the Chinese Civil War, and against rebels during the Ili Rebellion.
Bai Chongxi, a Hui general, was appointed to the post of Minister of National Defence, the highest military position in the Republic of China. After the Communist victory and evacuation of the Kuomintang to Taiwan, Hui people continued to serve in the military of the Republic as opposed to the Communist-led People's Republic. Ma Bufang became the ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Saudi Arabia. His brother, Ma Buqing, remained a military general on Taiwan.
Bai Chongxi and Ma Ching-chiang were other Hui who served in Taiwan as military generals.
The PLA recruited Hui soldiers who formally had served under Ma Bufang, as well as Salafi soldiers, to crush the Tibetan revolt in Amdo during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Politics
![NRA Generals Northern Expedition](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/NRA_Generals_Northern_Expedition.jpg)
The majority of the Hui Muslim
Ma Clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse ...
Generals were Kuomintang party members and encouraged Chinese nationalism in their provinces. Kuomintang members Ma Qi, Ma Lin (warlord), and Ma Bufang served as military governors of
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
, Ma Hongbin served as military governor of
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, and Ma Hongkui served as military governor of Ningxia. General Ma Fuxiang was promoted to governor of Anhui and became chairman of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs. Ma Bufang, Ma Fuxiang, and Bai Chongxi were all members of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, which ruled China in a one-party state. Member
Bai Chongxi helped build the Taipei Grand Mosque on Taiwan. Many members of the Hui
Ma Clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse ...
were Kuomintang.
Hui put Kuomintang Blue Sky with a White Sun party symbols on their Halal restaurants and shops. A Christian missionary in 1935 took a picture of a Muslim meat restaurant in Hankow that had Arabic and Chinese lettering indicating that it was Halal (fit for Muslim consumption). It had two Kuomintang party symbols on it.
Increasing religiosity in China
According to
Dru Gladney
Dru Curtis Gladney (November 3, 1956 – March 17, 2022) was an American anthropologist who was president of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College and a professor of anthropology there. Gladney authored four books and more than 100 acade ...
, professor at Pomona College in California and a leading scholar on the Hui people, Hui Muslims are enjoying a resurgence in religiosity in China, and that the number of practising Muslims among the Hui people, are rising as well as a "dramatic increase" in the number of Hui women wearing the Hijab, and the numbers of Hui going on the Hajj, Haj. There are also estimated twice as many mosques in China today than there were in 1950, in which majority were built by Hui Muslims.
One of the reasons for the trend in China, is that Hui Muslims play a vital role as being middlemen in trade between the Middle East and China, and the China-Middle East trade has become increasingly important to the communist nation. Consequently, the government has started constructing a $3.7 billion Islamic theme park called "World Muslim City", in Yinchuan, one of Hui Muslims hubs. Additionally unlike Uyghurs, who faces far more restrictions in religious freedoms, Hui Muslims generally do not seek independence from China and have a cultural affinity to the Han, and are far more assimilated into mainstream Chinese life. "It's not an issue of freedom of religion," says Gladney, "Clearly, there are many avenues of religious expression that are unfettered in China, but when you cross these very often nebulous and shifting boundaries of what the state regards as political, then you're in dangerous territory. Obviously this is what we see in Xinjiang and in Tibet".
Outside mainland China
A community of Hui migrated to Taiwan after the Communist victory in China.
In Southeast Asia, presence of Hui Muslims may date back 700 years to the time of Zheng He, who was a Hui.
[
] Hui also joined the wave of Chinese migrants that peaked between 1875 and 1912. They inhabited Penang, Sabah, Singapore and Pangkor prior to World War II. Most were Min Nan, Hokkien-speaking coolies and merchants from
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
. The colonial British welfare system was commissioned according to language groups, so the Hui were classed as Hokkien. A small number of Hui may have become assimilated into mainstream Chinese society and local Muslim populations.
In 1975, five Hui leaders started a campaign to get every clansman to put up a notice listing their ancestors for 40 generations, as a way of reminding them of their origins. The exact Hui population is unclear today as many families left Islam before independence. In 2000 official census figures gave the number of Muslim Chinese in Malaysia as 57,000 but most were Han converts. According to the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, the surnames Koay, Ma, Ha, Ta, Sha, Woon, and An (or Ang) may indicate Hui ancestry.
Saudi Arabia was settled by hundreds of Hui Muslim soldiers under Ma Chengxiang after 1949.
The Hui General
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general.
General Ma started an industrialization pro ...
settled permanently in Mecca in 1961. For a while Cairo was the dwelling place of Ma Bukang and Ma Bufang in between the time they were in Saudi Arabia.
The death of
Ma Jiyuan in Jeddah on 27 February 2012 was greeted with sorrow by the Chinese consulate.
The Panthays in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
and some of the Chin Haw in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
are Hui Muslims, while Hui in Central Asia and Russia are called Dungans.
Ethnic tensions
The Dungan and Panthay revolts were set off by racial antagonism and class warfare, rather than religion. During the Dungan revolt (1862–77) fighting broke out between Uyghur and Hui groups. In the military, imbalances in promotion and wealth were other motives for holding foreigners in poor regard.
In 1936, after Sheng Shicai expelled 20,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Qinghai, the Hui led by Ma Bufang massacred their fellow Muslims, the Kazakhs, until only 135 remained.
The Hui people have had a long presence in Qinghai and Gansu, or what Tibetans call Amdo, although Tibetans have historically dominated local politics. The situation was reversed in 1931 when the Hui general Ma Bufang inherited the governorship of Qinghai, stacking his government with Hui and Salar and excluding Tibetans. In his power base in Qinghai's northeastern Haidong Prefecture, Ma compelled many Tibetans to convert to Islam and acculturate. Tensions also mounted when Hui started migrating into
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
in the 1990s. In February 2003, Tibetans rioted against Hui, destroying Hui-owned shops and restaurants.
[
] Local Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders led a regional boycott movement that encouraged Tibetans to boycott Hui-owned shops.
Tensions with
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
arose because Qing and Republican Chinese authorities used Hui troops and officials to dominate the Uyghurs and crush Uyghur revolts. Xinjiang's Hui population increased by over 520 percent between 1940 and 1982, an average annual growth of 4.4 percent, while the Uyghur population only grew at 1.7 percent. This dramatic increase in Hui population led inevitably to significant tensions between the Hui and Uyghur populations. Many Hui Muslim civilians were killed by Uyghur rebel troops in the
Kizil massacre
The Kizil massacre () occurred in June 1933, when Uighur and Kirghiz Turkic fighters of the First East Turkestan Republic broke their agreement not to attack a column of retreating Hui Chinese soldiers and civilians from Yarkand New City on thei ...
(1933).
Some Uyghurs in
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
remember that the Hui army at the Battle of Kashgar (1934), 1934 Battle of Kashgar massacred 2,000 to 8,000 Uyghurs, which caused tension as more Hui moved into Kashgar from other parts of China. Some Hui criticize Uyghur separatism and generally do not want to get involved in conflict in other countries.
Hui and Uyghur live separately, attending different mosques.
During the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, 2009 rioting in Xinjiang that killed around 200 people, "Kill the Han, kill the Hui" was the recurring cry spread across social media among extremist Uyghurs.
Related group names
*
Dungan Dungan may refer to:
* Donegan, an Irish surname, sometimes spelled Dungan
* Dungan people, a group of Muslim people of Hui origin
** Dungan language
** Dungan, sometimes used to refer to Hui Chinese people generally
* Dungan Mountains in Sibi Dist ...
(in
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
)
*Panthays, Panthay (in Burma)
*Utsul (in
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
Island; speakers of a Malayo-Polynesian language, but officially classified by the Chinese government as Hui)
See also
*Dungan Revolt (1862–1877), Hui Minorities' War
*Hui pan-nationalism
*Hui people in Beijing
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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* Unknown year, Google summary has 2011, preview pages have 1997, Worldcat has eBook for the ISBN.
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* This is an English translation by Louis J. Gallagher of the Latin work, ''De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas'' based on
Matteo Ricci's journals. There is also [ full Latin text].
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Further reading
* "CHINA'S ISLAMIC HERITAGE" Newsletter (Australian National University), No. 5, March 2006.
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External links
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Britannica Hui People
{{Authority control
Hui people,
Ethnic groups officially recognized by China
Ethnoreligious groups in Asia
Muslim ethnoreligious groups
Muslim communities of China