![Phoenix Mosque 07 2013-11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Phoenix_Mosque_07_2013-11.JPG)
Phoenix Mosque () is a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
,
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 ...
. It is known for being one of the four great mosques of China. It is also one of the earliest mosque built in China. The origin of this mosque dates back to 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 ...
or
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 ...
.
The Phoenix Mosque had been rebuilt several times. It was first destroyed around the end of Song dynasty. During the following
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 ...
, in 1281, the mosque was repaired under the financial assistance of Ala al-Din, a Persian settler in China.
The minaret of the mosque was removed in 1928 due to the construction of adjacent roads. In 1953, the mosque underwent a complete maintenance and repair project.
The structure of the main building was heavily influenced by traditional
Chinese Architecture
Chinese architecture (Chinese:中國建築) is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and it has influenced architecture throughout Eastern Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, the ...
while also retaining features of
Islamic Architecture
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...
. The existing prayer hall was built in the year of 1281 during the rule of
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 ...
.
Muslim community in Hangzhou
China's southeast coastal region was an important site for exchange between Chinese and Arabic communities through the maritime Silk Road. Particularly, this provided an opportunity for Muslim communities to be established in port cities like Hangzhou. This cultural exchange was only heightened when Hangzhou became the capital of the Song dynasty during its last century. During the Song dynasty, a majority of the Muslim immigrants in Hangzhou came from an Arabic-Islamic cultural background due to the trade relations between the Arab world and Song government. Despite the steady growth of the Muslim community in the region, their influence on local society was still minimal.
After the fall of the Song dynasty, the new Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty continually welcomed Muslim traders and people into the region.
During this period, Hangzhou became a flourishing cosmopolitan city with an influential and active Muslim community. Muslims in Hangzhou had their own settlements, burial grounds, and a few Friday mosques.
Travelers like
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
and
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
, described Hangzhou as being large and vibrant.
In fact, Italian missionary
Odoric of Pordenone
Odoric of Pordenone, OFM (1286–1331), also known as Odorico Mattiussi/Mattiuzzi, Odoricus of Friuli or Orderic of Pordenone, was an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar and missionary explorer. He traveled through India, the Greater Sunda Is ...
even wrote that Hangzhou was "the City of Heaven" and noted that he met some people in Venice who had also visited Hangzhou.
While a large portion of the Muslim community in Hangzhou were Arab and Persian Muslims, there were also diasporic Muslims from Annam, India, and Korea.
Additionally, there were also some Muslim immigrants from other regions in China as well. Later in 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 ...
, there was yet another influx of Chinese Muslims to Hangzhou as the region became a hotbed of the silk industry. Indeed, the Muslim community was so well-rooted that during the
Qianlong period in 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 Qing emperor's consort, the Fragrant Concubine, visited the Phoenix Mosque whenever she passed through Hangzhou.
Architecture of the mosque
The main entrance to the Phoenix Mosque is on the east side of the complex. Due to this, once a worshipper enters the complex, they immediately face the
qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...
containing the
mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
. Notably, it is the oldest mosque with this arrangement.
The qibla is located at the back of a central, octagonal domed space. There are two domes on either side of the central dome that are hexagonal in shape.
The interior of the central dome is decorated with painting depicting flowers, mountains, animals, and rivers. These paintings are contained with a symmetrical floral motif. These well-preserved decorations date back to 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 ...
. The two surrounding domes have a similar design as well.
The zone of transition between the dome and the prayer hall is decorated with honeycomb and tiered plaster surfaces. The prayer hall itself is made of brick and is the oldest remaining part of the building.
[Chang, Jing Qi. 1982. “Islamic Architecture in China”. In The Changing Rural Habitat; Volume 2: Background Papers, edited by Brian Brace Taylor. Singapore: Concept Media/Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1982.] This is reminiscent of the
muqarnas
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...
, a structural motif common in Islamic mosque architecture.
However, this mosque also features
corner bracketing characteristic of Chinese temples. The row of three domes described previously is also a feature of Chinese architecture. Thus, this mosque demonstrates a blend of Chinese and Islamic architectural styles.
The mosque features an I-shaped floor plan, which is named the gong-plan for the Chinese character "工."
This configuration is characterized by two large halls joined by narrow arcade. In Chinese architecture, this plan is usually reserved for important buildings. For instance, some of the halls in the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...
in
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 ...
have this plan as well.
Additionally, the floor plan of this mosque is said to also resembles its namesake "phoenix," as the main worship hall spreads out beyond the center of the mosque like the wings of a phoenix.
The first written association of this mosque with the phoenix is found on a 15th-century stele written by Liu Zhiping, but it is possible that the name predates the inscription.
The steles and tombstones
Much of the historical record of this mosque is recorded on a collection of steles that are now housed within the mosque complex. They corroborate information about the historical location of the mosque and also describe other nearby centers of worship such as a
Uighur mosque and a
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 N ...
church.
These steles also show that the mosque has had many historical names before its current name. Some historical names include the Temple of Ritual Salutations, Wu-lin Gardens, and Li Bai Temple. Other steles in the mosque complex corroborate evidence that the mosque was built in the Tang dynasty but destroyed by fire at the end of the Song.
In addition to the steles, the mosque currently houses twenty-one
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 ...
tombstones which were retrieved from a Muslim cemetery. These tombstones are written in stylized Arabic and Persian and detail the deaths of some military and religious figures, as well as merchants. Some of the tombstones include dates given in not only the
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...
, but the Turkish animal calendar and
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 ...
as well. This shows the multicultural and cosmopolitan characteristic of Mongol rule in the area.
The style of the inscriptions also shows the rich Muslim community of the area during this period in time. Three of the elegies on the tombstones were composed specifically for the memorialized person. Hangzhou not only hosted skilled engravers to inscribe the works, but also poets to write compositions for these steles.
The mosque currently
Today's Phoenix Mosque is around half the size that it was in the Song or Yuan dynasty. While it used to be one of the six mosques servicing the Muslim community in Hangzhou, it is now the only remaining mosque.
Currently,
Friday prayers
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
and
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...
are not prayed, and the prayer has moved to the
new Hangzhou Mosque.
Repair and renovation history
The Phoenix Mosque has been destroyed, renovated, and repaired several times. Its current form is an amalgamation of changes made during these periods of reconstruction.
1451 renovation
![Phoenix Mosque 08 2013-11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Phoenix_Mosque_08_2013-11.JPG)
Notably, this restoration contributed the current mihrab of the Phoenix mosque. It is made from gilded red wood and has inscribed verses from the Qur'an.
1743 renovation
This restoration was presided over by a local Muslim scholar called Scholar Ding. An inscription detailing this project lists 233 donors, including from many regions outside of Hangzhou. The longest distance donation is one from Cangzhou, which today is in the
Hui Autonomous Region near
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 ...
. This record shows that long distance donors and diasporic donor networks contributed to the survival of large mosques like the Phoenix Mosque in regions where the Muslim population was the minority.
The opening lines of the inscription detailing this renovation evokes an edict passed by the first Ming emperor,
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...
. In this edict, the Emperor commissions two mosques in
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
and
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
. At the time, the 1743 inscription was written, it had been nearly 400 years since the issuing of the Emperor's edict. Unlike Buddhism and Daoism, Islam was less institutionalized by the imperial government. This inscription shows that aspiration of the Muslim community to be institutionally recognized in the same way as other faiths.
Other renovations
The mosque used to have a minaret that was destroyed in 1929 and replaced by a gate. The current gate with two minaret-like towers was constructed in 1953.
References
Mosques in Hangzhou
{{PRChina-mosque-stub