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Su fei-erh () was a Muslim Bukharan
Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
who was invited into China by 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 ...
Emperor and given a title of Prince by the Chinese Emperor. He played a critical role in forming the Muslim Hui people in China and giving the Islamic religion its current name in Chinese.


Name

Su fei-erh was his name in Chinese; Su Fei'er and So-fei-er are other
romanisation Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
s of his name. His name has variously been reconstructed in his original language as Safar, Sufair, or Zubair.


Life

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 ...
hired Muslim warriors from Bukhara to fight against Khitan nomads. 5,300 Muslim men from Bukhara were encouraged and invited to move to China in 1070 by the Song emperor Shenzong to help battle the Liao empire in the northeast and repopulate areas ravaged by fighting. The emperor hired these men as mercenaries in his campaign against the Liao empire. Later on these men were encouraged to settle between the Song capital of
Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...
and Liao capital of
Yanjing Ji or Jicheng was an ancient city in northern China, which has become the longest continuously inhabited section of modern Beijing. Historical mention of Ji dates to the founding of the Zhou dynasty in about 1045BC. Archaeological finds in sout ...
(modern day
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 ...
) in order to create a buffer zone. China's northern and northeastern provinces were settled by Muslims in 1080 when 10,000 more Muslims were invited into China. They were led by the Amir of Bukhara, Sayyid "So-fei-er" in Chinese. He is called the "Father" of Chinese Islam. Islam was named by the Tang and Song Chinese as the "law of the Arabs" ( ). Su fei-erh gave Islam the new name of "the religion of the Huihui" ( ).


Descendants

Many of Su fei-erh's descendants have wielded political power and prestige from the 12th century to the 19th century. One of the sons of Su fei-erh was appointed governor of Shandong while a grandson called Shams Shah was given the title of "Protector of the Tatars". Kamal al-Din, a great grandson, was made commander-in-chief of the army under Emperor Gaozong. In turn, Kamal's son Mahmud served as governor of
Yunnan 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 C ...
and
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
. Further descendants were also appointed into high positions within the Song dynasty. Su fei-erh is alleged by the Fa-hsiang to be the ancestor of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar (who was descended from the Prophet
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
), however, some were skeptical of this claim and think it was a forgery to mask Sayyid Ajjal's arrival to China with the Mongols.


See also

* History of Bukhara * Hui people * Islam during the Song dynasty * Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar *
Western Regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more sp ...


Notes


References


Works cited

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Fei-erh Song dynasty politicians Chinese Muslims People from Bukhara Hui people