Islam in China
The first mention of the Arabs in China is found in the Annals of the T’ang Dynasty (618-907). The Arabs were called Tazi and Tashi in Chinese. In 713, a Tazi ambassador arrived in China. In 924, another Tazi visited A-Po-Ki, chief of the K’tan and camped on the banks of the Orkhon. (river in Mongolia). In 1020, a Leao (Portuguese ?) princess married a Tazi chief.
The Muslims paid tribute to the Chief of the Si-leao(?) or Kara K’itai(?) and in the 12th century, there was a regiment of the coreligionists in the army of Kin. At the beginning of the Sung dynasty (960-1279), twenty embassies of the Tazi are counted. After that, the name Tazi disappears and is replaced by Huei Huei.
When did Islam penetrate China? An inscription on the stele (plates?) states that the doctrine of Islam penetrated during the reign of K’ai’hung (581-600) an emperor during the Sui dynasty.) It suffices to note that the date was622.
The inscription in the mosque of Ts’iuen-cheu (Ch’uan-chou) in Fukien is actually the most ancient known in China. The inscription records that the mosque was constructed in the year 400 and it was repaired in 710 by Ahmad son of Muhammed a native of Jerusalem, surname Haji Ruku of Shiraz.
Formerly, the inscription in the mosque at Canton was considered the most ancient in China. In 757, a colony of Muslims established in Canton revolted. Rebels, perhaps pirates, burned the city and put it to sack, massacring 5,000 foreign merchants. The great mosque of Holy Rememberance Huei-sheng- se built in the T’ang Dynsty was destroyed by fire in 744 and rebuilt in 750-752. Only the ruins of a tower marked the first structure.
At the end of the Ninth century, the Muslims transferred their principal mart in the Far East to Kalah in the Malay Peninsula, which inherited the commercial importance of Ceylon.
During the Mongol period, colonies of Muslims were numerous along the coast of China, according to evidence from the Maghreb traveller Ibn Battatua in the 14th century. The Arab geographer mentioned the following cities in China: Khanfu (Hang-chou), Khanju( Chang chou), Yanju(Yang -chou, Zaitun (Ts’iuen-cheu){Ch’uan-Chou, Sila (Korea) Sand ju (Su chou). He knew of Lake Sikku( Si Hu. Ibn Batuta remarked that in all the cities of China, there was always Shiek ul Islam and Cadi to act as judges among the Muslims. The Arabs called the Chinese Faghfur, a variant of the Persian Baghpur ( son of God) the equivalent to T’ien tseu (son of heaven). China was Shin or Maha Chin, sometimes Tung-t’u , Land of the Orient.
The prosperity of the Muslim maritime colonies seems to have been ephemeral if we judge by their population today. However, the Muslims also came by land.
In Yunnan, a province in Southwest China was one place where the land migration took place. Marco Polo tells us of a Muslim leader, who commanded the Tartar troops in the battle in which these launched against the King of Mien (Burma) at Voshan (Yung-ch’ang)[Pao-shan]. The Burmese were defeated despite their numbers and elephants.
“and when the leader of the Tartar army knew for sure that the KIng was coming against him with so great a multitude, he was troubled for he had but 10,000 horsemen. But he was certainly a most valiant man at arms and an excellent general; He was called Nescradin. He assembled and exhorted his men and took every means to defend his country and his people.”(The Book of Marco Polo Chapter? How the Great Khan Conquered the Kingdom of Minin and Bangla)
Nacr ed-Din was the eldest son of Sayyid Ejell who played a considerable part during the Mongol period replaced his father as governor of Yunan and died 1292.
Shams ed-Din was also called Omar. When Ghengis Khan made war in the west, Shams ed Din went to meet him and submitted his thousand manned horsemen. The Emperor put Omar in his army to join in the attack with the expedition. He called Omar Seyyid Ejell, a person of noble blood. Seyyid Ejell was to occupy various important positions within the Mongol government. In 1272 he became governor of Yunnan and occupied that post until he died in 1279 at 69 years old.
During his administration, Seyyid Ejell undertook great irrigation works to reclaim land and stop floods. He instituted the burial of the dead by cremation. As for the introduction of Islam, he taught the people “the religion of Muhammad at the same time as the respect for Confucius, to which he raised temples at the same time he was building mosques.”
The following account of a certain Haji Muhammad of Arab descent but born in Hainan attribute Yunnan to the expansion of Muslims in China:
“Formerly, when Raja Tang Wang was King of China, he had an unquiet mind. One night he dreamt that there were Muslims on each side of China wearing a turban rolled around his head, garments which descended to his feet and their face covered in hair. Upon, this, he sent a number of junks to search for these people and send them to China. He ordered them to live in Canton, Hunan , Yunnan , Ham su,Su-sun and Hainan. In the course of centuries, the race spread across the whole country until a man named Sultan Sleman became King of Yunnan. Thereafter, trouble broke out in various parts of the country.”Bayan-Fen Chan retained the Ministry of Finance upon the death of his father. In the west, they believe the Islam religion came overland from Turkestan, and penetrated into the country via the Kok north and east Tibet.
The author continues his confused and hard-to-read study by proceeding to Szechwan, Kansu, His-an and Peking. He has figures estimating the number of Muslims in each city. However, quotes a Major d’Ollone “I do not see any means of calculations allowing us currently to reach an overall figure with any pretence of accuracy.” -Tom
Cordier, Henri Islam in China in Brunei Museum Journal 1977
A presentation of BornoHistory.net
Sa********@gm***.com
Tom McLaughlin
Kuching
