Islam during the Ming Dynasty
Encyclopedia
As the Yuan Dynasty
ended, many Mongols
as well as the Muslims who came with them remained in China
. Most of their descendants took Chinese names and became part of the diverse cultural world of China. During the following Ming rule (1368–1644), Muslims truly adopted Chinese culture. Most became fluent in Chinese
and adopted Chinese names and the capital, Nanjing
, became a center of Islamic learning. As a result, the Muslims became "outwardly indistinguishable" from the Chinese.
The Ming dynasty saw the rapid decline in the Muslim population in the sea ports. This was due to the closing of all seaport trade with the outside world except for rigid government-sanctioned trade.
As a result of increasing isolationism by the Ming Dynasty
, immigration from Muslim countries slowed down drastically however, and the Muslims in China became increasingly isolated from the rest of the Islamic world, gradually becoming more sinicized, adopting the Chinese language and Chinese dress. Muslims became fully integrated into Chinese society. One interesting example of this synthesis was the process by which Muslims changed their names.
Muslims also sought to integrate themselves with the majority of the Chinese people during this time, making themselves undistinguished as possible to assimilate.
During this period, Muslims also began to adopt Chinese surnames. Many Muslim married Han Chinese women and simply took the name of the wife. Other Muslims, who could not find a Chinese surname similar to their own, adopted the Chinese character most similar to their own - Ha for Hasan, Hu for Hussain and Sa'I for Said and so on.
Chinese surnames that are very common among Muslim families are Mo, Mai, and Mu - names adopted by the Muslims who had the surnames Muhammad, Mustafa and Masoud.
Muslim customs of dress and food also underwent a synthesis with Chinese culture. The Islamic modes of dress and dietary rules were maintained within a Chinese cultural framework. Chinese Islamic cuisine
is heavily influenced by Beijing cuisine
, with nearly all cooking methods identical, and differs only in material due to religious restrictions. As a result, northern Islamic cuisine is often included as part of Beijing cuisine
.
During the Ming Dynasty
, Chinese Islamic traditions of writing began to develop, including the practice of writing Chinese
using the Arabic script (xiaojing) and distinctly Chinese forms of decorative calligraphy. The script is used extensively in mosque
s in eastern China, and to a lesser extent in Gansu
, Ningxia
, and Shaanxi
. A famous Sini calligrapher is Hajji
Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang
.
Mosque Architecture began to follow traditional Chinese architecture
. A good example is the Great Mosque of Xi'an, whose current buildings date from the Ming Dynasty
. Western Chinese mosques were more likely to incorporate minarets and domes while eastern Chinese mosques were more likely to look like pagoda
s.
In time, the Muslims who were descendants of immigrants from Muslim countries began to speak local dialects and to read in Chinese Language
.
In Qinghai
, the Salar Muslims voluntarily came under Ming dynasty rule. The Salar clan leaders each capitulated to the Ming Dynasty around 1370. The chief of the four upper clans around this time was Han Pao-yuan and Ming granted him office of centurion, it was at this time the people of his four clans took Han as their surname. The other chief Han Shan-pa of the four lower Salar clans got the same office from Ming, and his clans were the ones who took Ma as their surname.
By the middle of the 16th century occasional Europeans who had a chance to travel in China start reporting on the existence and the way of life of the Chinese Muslims. The Portuguese smuggler Galeote Pereira
, who was captured off the Fujian
coast in 1549, and then spent a few years in Fujian and Guangxi
, has a few pages on the Chinese Muslims ("Moors
" to the Portuguese) in his report (published 1565). He felt that in both places the Muslim community was quickly assimilating into the Chinese mainstream.
were given relative freedom by the Chinese, with no restrictions placed on their religioius practices or freedom of worship, and being normal citizens in Beijing. In contrast to the freedom granted to muslims, followers of Tibetan Buddhism and Catholicism suffered from restrictions and censure in Beijing.
on Islam
, Allah
and the prophet Muhammad
. He had over 10 Muslim Generals in his military. His wife Empress Ma was descended from Muslims, and Zhu Yuanzhang was originally a member of a Muslim rebel group led by Guo Zhixin.
The Emperor built mosques in Nanjing, Yunnan, Guangdong and Fujian. Zhu rebuilt Jin Jue mosque in Nanjing and large numbers of Hui Muslims moved to Nanjing during his rule. He ordered that inscriptions praising Muhammd be put into Mosques.
1,200 Muslims who settled in China during the Yuan dynasty were sent "back" from Gansu to Sa-ma-rh-han (Samarkhand), due to a command from the Emperor to the Governor of Gansu to do so.
Yongle emperor called for the establishment and repair of Islamic mosques during his reign. Two mosques were built by him, one in Nanjing
and the other in Xi'an
and they still stand today. Repairs were encouraged and the mosques were not allowed to be converted to any other use.
Pro Muslim inscriptions were found on stelae erected by the Ming Emperors. The Fuzhou and Quanzhou mosuqes contain the following edict by the Emperor:
The Ming dynasty decreed that Manichaeism
and Nestorian Christianity were illegal and heterodox, to be wiped out from China, while Islam and Judaism were legal and fit Confucian ideology.
Ming Taizu's tolerant disposition for muslims and allowing them to practice their religion led to Arab missionaries continually coming to China during the Ming dynasty, prominent ones included Mahamode and Zhanmaluding (Muhammad and Jamal Ul-din respectively).
, the Qur'an
, and Islamic law. The school grew into a fourteen-course system, with classes in Arabic and Persian
. Other provinces had different systems and different specializations; Lintao and Hezhou provinces had a three-tier educational system in which the youngest children learned the Arabic required for namaz and wudu, and then graduated to more advanced studies. Shandong province became a center specialized in Persian texts. As the Hui Muslim community became more diluted, Chinese scholars worked harder to translate texts into Chinese to both provide more texts for Muslims to convince the ruling Han elite that Islam was not inferior to Confucianism.
The work of Islamic geographers which had reached China during the Yuan Dynasty
was used in the Ming Dynasty to draw the Western Regions
in the Da Ming Hun Yi Tu
, the oldest surviving world map
from East Asia
. Meanwhile further west, Arabic storytellers
were narrating fantastical stories of China, which were incorporated into the One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), the most famous being the story of Aladdin
. Other Arabian Nights tales set in China include "Tale of Qamar al-Zaman and Budur", "The Story of Prince Sayf al-Muluk", and "The Hunchback's Tale" story cycle.
, Muslims from the Middle East
were given elevated status over the native Han Chinese
in Mongol political circles. Perhaps, as a result of this, there were many prominent Muslims who were trusted associates of the highest levels of the Ming government
.
was a merchant and scholor, and the son of Li Lu In 1376 Li Nu visited Ormuz in Persia, converted to Islam
, married a Persian
or an Arab
girl and brought her back to Quanzhou
in Fujian
. One of his descendants was the Neo Confucian philosopher Li Zhi.
.
Lan Yu
, in 1388, led a strong imperial Ming army out of the Great Wall and won a decisive victory over the Mongols in Mongolia, effectively ending the Mongol dream to re-conquer China. Lan Yu was later killed by the Emperor, along with several others, in a purge of those deemed to be a potential threat to his heir apparent.
Mu Ying
was one of the few capable generals who survived the massacre of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. He and his descendants guarded Yunnan, a province near Vietnam
, until the end of the Ming Dynasty
. He and other Muslim Generals loyal to the Ming Dynasty led Muslim troops to defeat Mongol and Muslims loyal to the Yuan dynasty during the Ming conquest of Yunnan
.
Other generals of the Ming Dynasty
include Feng Sheng
, Ding Dexing and Hu Dahai
.
Hala Bashi, a Uyghur
General from Turpan, fought for the Ming dynasty against Miao rebels during the Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty)
. He led Uyghur troops to crush the rebels and settled in Changde, Hunan.
also gave rise to who is perhaps the most famous Chinese Muslim, Zheng He
, a mariner, explorer, diplomat
and fleet admiral
. He was born in 1371, in Yunnan
province. He served as a close confidant of the Yongle Emperor
of China
(reigned 1403–1424), the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty
. Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions, led by Zheng He
into the Indian Ocean
, and as far away as east Africa. Amateur historian Gavin Menzies
claims that Zheng He
traveled to West Africa
, North America
and South America
, Greenland
, Antarctica and Australia
and most of the rest of the world, although this idea is not taken seriously by professional historians.
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
ended, many Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
as well as the Muslims who came with them remained in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Most of their descendants took Chinese names and became part of the diverse cultural world of China. During the following Ming rule (1368–1644), Muslims truly adopted Chinese culture. Most became fluent in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and adopted Chinese names and the capital, Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, became a center of Islamic learning. As a result, the Muslims became "outwardly indistinguishable" from the Chinese.
The Ming dynasty saw the rapid decline in the Muslim population in the sea ports. This was due to the closing of all seaport trade with the outside world except for rigid government-sanctioned trade.
Integration
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, immigration from Muslim countries slowed down drastically however, and the Muslims in China became increasingly isolated from the rest of the Islamic world, gradually becoming more sinicized, adopting the Chinese language and Chinese dress. Muslims became fully integrated into Chinese society. One interesting example of this synthesis was the process by which Muslims changed their names.
Muslims also sought to integrate themselves with the majority of the Chinese people during this time, making themselves undistinguished as possible to assimilate.
During this period, Muslims also began to adopt Chinese surnames. Many Muslim married Han Chinese women and simply took the name of the wife. Other Muslims, who could not find a Chinese surname similar to their own, adopted the Chinese character most similar to their own - Ha for Hasan, Hu for Hussain and Sa'I for Said and so on.
Chinese surnames that are very common among Muslim families are Mo, Mai, and Mu - names adopted by the Muslims who had the surnames Muhammad, Mustafa and Masoud.
Muslim customs of dress and food also underwent a synthesis with Chinese culture. The Islamic modes of dress and dietary rules were maintained within a Chinese cultural framework. Chinese Islamic cuisine
Chinese Islamic cuisine
Chinese Islamic cuisine is the cuisine of the Hui and other Muslims living in China.-History:Due to the large Muslim population in western China, many Chinese restaurants cater to, or are run by, Muslims. Northern Chinese Islamic cuisine originated in China proper...
is heavily influenced by Beijing cuisine
Beijing cuisine
Beijing cuisine is a cooking style in Beijing, China. It is also known as Mandarin cuisine.-Background:Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine has been influenced by culinary traditions from all over China, but the cuisine that has exerted the greatest influence...
, with nearly all cooking methods identical, and differs only in material due to religious restrictions. As a result, northern Islamic cuisine is often included as part of Beijing cuisine
Beijing cuisine
Beijing cuisine is a cooking style in Beijing, China. It is also known as Mandarin cuisine.-Background:Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine has been influenced by culinary traditions from all over China, but the cuisine that has exerted the greatest influence...
.
During the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, Chinese Islamic traditions of writing began to develop, including the practice of writing Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
using the Arabic script (xiaojing) and distinctly Chinese forms of decorative calligraphy. The script is used extensively in mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s in eastern China, and to a lesser extent in Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
, Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
, and Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
. A famous Sini calligrapher is Hajji
Hajji
Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...
Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang
Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang
Hajji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang is an expert in Islamic calligraphy, specializing in the Sini style which originated from the Chinese Muslim tradition. Born in the province of Shandong, he is a lecturer at the Islamic College at Zhengzhou in the province of Henan, and is also a researcher of...
.
Mosque Architecture began to follow traditional Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...
. A good example is the Great Mosque of Xi'an, whose current buildings date from the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. Western Chinese mosques were more likely to incorporate minarets and domes while eastern Chinese mosques were more likely to look like pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
s.
In time, the Muslims who were descendants of immigrants from Muslim countries began to speak local dialects and to read in Chinese Language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
.
In Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, the Salar Muslims voluntarily came under Ming dynasty rule. The Salar clan leaders each capitulated to the Ming Dynasty around 1370. The chief of the four upper clans around this time was Han Pao-yuan and Ming granted him office of centurion, it was at this time the people of his four clans took Han as their surname. The other chief Han Shan-pa of the four lower Salar clans got the same office from Ming, and his clans were the ones who took Ma as their surname.
By the middle of the 16th century occasional Europeans who had a chance to travel in China start reporting on the existence and the way of life of the Chinese Muslims. The Portuguese smuggler Galeote Pereira
Galeote Pereira
Galeote Pereira was a 16th century Portuguese soldier of fortune who has left us one of the earliest accounts by a westerner of life in China's Ming Dynasty, indeed the first detailed observation of that civilisation by a non-cleric since that of Marco Polo....
, who was captured off the Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
coast in 1549, and then spent a few years in Fujian and Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
, has a few pages on the Chinese Muslims ("Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
" to the Portuguese) in his report (published 1565). He felt that in both places the Muslim community was quickly assimilating into the Chinese mainstream.
Freedom
Muslims in Ming dynasty BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
were given relative freedom by the Chinese, with no restrictions placed on their religioius practices or freedom of worship, and being normal citizens in Beijing. In contrast to the freedom granted to muslims, followers of Tibetan Buddhism and Catholicism suffered from restrictions and censure in Beijing.
Ming Emperors and Islam
Hongwu emperor ordered the building of several mosques in southern China, and wrote a 100 character praiseThe Hundred-word Eulogy
The Hundred-word Eulogy is a 100 character praise of Islam, Allah, and the prophet Muhammad written by the Hongwu Emperor of China. Copies of it are on display in several mosques in Nanjing, China.-Chinese:至聖百字讃乾坤?始天?注名傳教大聖降生西域授受天經三十部册普化衆生...
on Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
and the prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. He had over 10 Muslim Generals in his military. His wife Empress Ma was descended from Muslims, and Zhu Yuanzhang was originally a member of a Muslim rebel group led by Guo Zhixin.
The Emperor built mosques in Nanjing, Yunnan, Guangdong and Fujian. Zhu rebuilt Jin Jue mosque in Nanjing and large numbers of Hui Muslims moved to Nanjing during his rule. He ordered that inscriptions praising Muhammd be put into Mosques.
1,200 Muslims who settled in China during the Yuan dynasty were sent "back" from Gansu to Sa-ma-rh-han (Samarkhand), due to a command from the Emperor to the Governor of Gansu to do so.
Yongle emperor called for the establishment and repair of Islamic mosques during his reign. Two mosques were built by him, one in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
and the other in Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
and they still stand today. Repairs were encouraged and the mosques were not allowed to be converted to any other use.
Pro Muslim inscriptions were found on stelae erected by the Ming Emperors. The Fuzhou and Quanzhou mosuqes contain the following edict by the Emperor:
“I hereby give you my imperial decree in order to guard your residence. Officials, civil or military, or anyone, are not to offend or insult you. Anyone who offends or insults you against my imperial order will be punished as a criminal”.
The Ming dynasty decreed that Manichaeism
Manichaeism
Manichaeism in Modern Persian Āyin e Māni; ) was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
and Nestorian Christianity were illegal and heterodox, to be wiped out from China, while Islam and Judaism were legal and fit Confucian ideology.
Ming Taizu's tolerant disposition for muslims and allowing them to practice their religion led to Arab missionaries continually coming to China during the Ming dynasty, prominent ones included Mahamode and Zhanmaluding (Muhammad and Jamal Ul-din respectively).
Muslim Scholarship
The era saw Nanjing become an important center of Islamic study. From there Wang Daiyu wrote Zhengjiao zhenquan (A Commentary on the Orthodox Faith), while his successor, Liu Zhi, translated Tianfang xingli (Islamic Philosophy) Tianfang dianli (Islamic Ritual) and Tianfang zhisheng shilu (The Last Prophet of Islam). Another scholar, Hu Dengzhou started a rigorous Islamic school in Nanjing, which taught hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, and Islamic law. The school grew into a fourteen-course system, with classes in Arabic and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
. Other provinces had different systems and different specializations; Lintao and Hezhou provinces had a three-tier educational system in which the youngest children learned the Arabic required for namaz and wudu, and then graduated to more advanced studies. Shandong province became a center specialized in Persian texts. As the Hui Muslim community became more diluted, Chinese scholars worked harder to translate texts into Chinese to both provide more texts for Muslims to convince the ruling Han elite that Islam was not inferior to Confucianism.
The work of Islamic geographers which had reached China during the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
was used in the Ming Dynasty to draw the Western Regions
Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Jade Gate, most often Central Asia or sometimes more specifically the easternmost portion of it The Western Regions or Xiyu was a...
in the Da Ming Hun Yi Tu
Da Ming Hun Yi Tu
The Great Ming Amalgamated Map or Da Ming Hun Yi Tu is a world map created in China. It was painted in colour on stiff silk and 386 x 456cm in size. The original text was written in Classical Chinese, but Manchu labels were later superimposed on them....
, the oldest surviving world map
World map
A world map is a map of the surface of the Earth, which may be made using any of a number of different map projections. A map projection is any method of representing the surface of a sphere or other three-dimensional body on a plane....
from East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
. Meanwhile further west, Arabic storytellers
Arabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
were narrating fantastical stories of China, which were incorporated into the One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), the most famous being the story of Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
. Other Arabian Nights tales set in China include "Tale of Qamar al-Zaman and Budur", "The Story of Prince Sayf al-Muluk", and "The Hunchback's Tale" story cycle.
Prominent Muslims
During the Yuan DynastyIslam during the Yuan Dynasty
The establishment of the Yuan Dynasty in China had dramatically benefited Islam in China in contrast to previous dynasties. Foreigners in China were given an elevated status in the hierarchy of the new regime. The impact on China by its Muslims at this time, including the advancement of Chinese...
, Muslims from the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
were given elevated status over the native Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
in Mongol political circles. Perhaps, as a result of this, there were many prominent Muslims who were trusted associates of the highest levels of the Ming government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
.
Philosophy
Li NuLi Nu
Lin Nu was a Chinese scholar and merchant in the early Ming dynasty. He is the ancestor of the philosopher Li Zhi.His father was Lin Lu. In 1376 Lin Nu visited Ormuz in Persia, converted to Islam, and married either a Persian or an Arab girl and brought her back to Quanzhou in Fujian.-References:...
was a merchant and scholor, and the son of Li Lu In 1376 Li Nu visited Ormuz in Persia, converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, married a Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
or an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
girl and brought her back to Quanzhou
Quanzhou
Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...
in Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
. One of his descendants was the Neo Confucian philosopher Li Zhi.
Military Generals
Several of the commanders of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, were MuslimHui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
.
Lan Yu
Lan Yu (general)
Lan Yu was a Chinese general who contributed to the founding of the Ming Dynasty. His ancestral home was in present-day Dingyuan County, Anhui. In 1393 Lan was suspected and accused of plotting a rebellion and eventually put to death by the Hongwu Emperor...
, in 1388, led a strong imperial Ming army out of the Great Wall and won a decisive victory over the Mongols in Mongolia, effectively ending the Mongol dream to re-conquer China. Lan Yu was later killed by the Emperor, along with several others, in a purge of those deemed to be a potential threat to his heir apparent.
Mu Ying
Mu Ying
Mu Ying was a general during the Ming Dynasty, and an adopted son of its founder, the Hongwu Emperor . Mu Ying was a Chinese Muslim. Mu Ying was one of the few capable generals who survived the massacre of the Hongwu Emperor....
was one of the few capable generals who survived the massacre of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. He and his descendants guarded Yunnan, a province near Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, until the end of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. He and other Muslim Generals loyal to the Ming Dynasty led Muslim troops to defeat Mongol and Muslims loyal to the Yuan dynasty during the Ming conquest of Yunnan
Ming conquest of Yunnan
The Ming conquest of Yunnan was the final phase in the Chinese Ming dynasty expulsion of Mongol Yuan dynasty rule from China in the 1380s.-War:Muslim troops fought in both the Chinese Ming army and the Yuan Mongol army....
.
Other generals of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
include Feng Sheng
Feng Sheng
Feng Sheng can refer to:Art*Feng Sheng, a character in The Female Prince*Feng Sheng Music, a Chinese record label used by Wang Feng...
, Ding Dexing and Hu Dahai
Hu Dahai
Hu Dahai 胡大海 , styled Tongfu 通甫, was a noted Chinese general of the 14th century who helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty...
.
Hala Bashi, a Uyghur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
General from Turpan, fought for the Ming dynasty against Miao rebels during the Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty)
Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty)
The Miao Rebellions were a series of Rebellions of the aboriginal Miao and other aboriginal tribes of southern China. The Ming Dynasty crushed the rebels with overwhelming force...
. He led Uyghur troops to crush the rebels and settled in Changde, Hunan.
Zheng He
The Ming dynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
also gave rise to who is perhaps the most famous Chinese Muslim, Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
, a mariner, explorer, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and fleet admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
. He was born in 1371, in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
province. He served as a close confidant of the Yongle Emperor
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor , born Zhu Di , was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. His Chinese era name Yongle means "Perpetual Happiness".He was the Prince of Yan , possessing a heavy military base in Beiping...
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(reigned 1403–1424), the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions, led by Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, and as far away as east Africa. Amateur historian Gavin Menzies
Gavin Menzies
Rowan Gavin Paton Menzies is a retired British submarine lieutenant-commander and author. He is best known for his controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, in which he asserts that the fleets of Chinese Admiral Zheng He visited the Americas prior to European explorer...
claims that Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
traveled to West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, North America
North
North is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.North is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the top side of a map is north....
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, Antarctica and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and most of the rest of the world, although this idea is not taken seriously by professional historians.