Chinese Islamic architecture

{{Main|History of Islam in China}}

File:Islam_in_China,_with_0.2_(Yang_Zongde_2010).png according to the latest Government Census (2011); Muslims account for 1.45% of the total population.{{refn|group=note|CFPS 2014 surveyed predominantly people of Han ethnicity. This may have resulted in an underestimation of Muslims. CGSS 2006–2010 surveys found an average 2–3% of the population of China declaring to be Muslim.}}For China Family Panel Studies 2017 survey results see [http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/orj360/b8bd941fjw1fau6hf2hv4j20jg09rwff.jpg release #1] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170225053713/http://image101.360doc.com/DownloadImg/2016/12/0603/86161911_1 archived]) and [http://www.isss.edu.cn/cfps/EN/enNews/CFPSNews/2016news/2016-12-30/307.html release #2] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170225211353/http://www.isss.edu.cn/cfps/EN/enNews/CFPSNews/2016news/2016-12-30/307.html archived]). The tables also contain the results of CFPS 2012 (sample 20,035) and Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) results for 2006, 2008 and 2010 (samples ≈10.000/11,000). Also see, for comparison CFPS 2012 data in {{cite journal|last=Lu 卢|first=Yunfeng 云峰|title=卢云峰：当代中国宗教状况报告——基于CFPS（2012）调查数据|trans-title=Report on Religions in Contemporary China – Based on CFPS (2012) Survey Data|journal=World Religious Cultures|year=2014|number=1|url=http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809051625/http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf|archive-date=9 August 2014}} p. 13, reporting the results of the CGSS 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011, and their average (fifth column of the first table).Data from: Yang Zongde, Study on Current Muslim Population in China, Jinan Muslim, 2, 2010.]]

{{Islam in China|culture}}

The history of Islam in China goes back to the earliest years of Islam. According to Chinese Muslims' traditional legendary accounts, Muslim missionaries reached China through an embassy sent by ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (644–656), the third rāshidūn caliph, in 651 CE, less than twenty years after the death of Muhammad (632 CE). Saʿd ibn Abī Waḳḳāṣ, the maternal uncle and second cousin of Muhammad, was sent with a delegation to meet the Chinese Gaozong Emperor. The construction of Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, the first mosque in the country, is attributed to him.{{harvnb|Lipman|1997|p=25}}

According to traditional Chinese Muslim legendary accounts, Islam was first introduced to China in 616–618 CE by some of Muhammad's closest companions (ṣaḥāba): Saʿd ibn Abī Waḳḳāṣ, Sayid, Wahb Abu Kabcha, and another one.{{cite journal |author-last=Gladney |author-first=Dru C. |date=August 1987 |title=Muslim Tombs and Ethnic Folklore: Charters for Hui Identity |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |publisher=Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Asian Studies |volume=46 |issue=3 |doi=10.2307/2056897 |pages=495–532 |issn=1752-0401 |jstor=2056897|s2cid=163809196 }} Wahb Abu Kabcha may have been be a son of al-Ḥārth ibn ʿAbdul al-ʿUzzā (also known as Abu Kabsha). It is reported in other accounts that Wahb Abu Kabcha reached Guangzhou by sea in 629 CE.

While modern historians state that there is no evidence for Waḳḳāṣ himself ever coming to China, they do believe that Muslim diplomats and merchants arrived to Tang China within a few decades from the beginning of the Muslim era. The Tang dynasty's cosmopolitan culture, with its intensive contacts spread across Central Asia and its significant communities of (originally Non-Muslim) Central and West Asian merchants resident in Chinese cities, which helped the introduction of Islam. The first major Muslim settlements in China consisted of Arab and Persian merchants.Israeli, Raphael (2002). Islam in China. United States of America: Lexington Books, page 291, {{ISBN|0-7391-0375-X}}.

During and after the Arab Muslim invasion of Transoxiana, the Umayyad Caliphate deposed Ikhshid, king of the Fergana Valley, in 715 CE, and installed a new king on the throne, Alutar. The deposed king fled to Kucha (seat of Anxi Protectorate), and sought Chinese intervention. The Chinese sent 10,000 troops under Zhang Xiaosong to Ferghana. He defeated Alutar and the Arab Muslim occupation forces at Namangan, reinstalling Ikhshid on the throne.Bai, Shouyi et al. (2003). A History of Chinese Muslim (Vol.2). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. {{ISBN|7-101-02890-X}}., pp. 235-236. Arab sources also report that Qutayba ibn Muslim briefly took Kashgar from China towards 714 CE and withdrew after an agreement,{{cite book |author=Muhamad S. Olimat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cLqpCwAAQBAJ&q=715+Alutar+Ikhshid&pg=PA10 |title=China and Central Asia in the Post-Soviet Era: A Bilateral Approach |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4985-1805-5 |pages=9–}} but modern historians entirely dismiss this claim.{{cite book | chapter = The Arab Conquest | first1 = B. A. | last1 = Litvinsky | first2 = A. H. | last2 = Jalilov | first3 = A. I. | last3 = Kolesnikov | pages = 449–472 | editor-first = B. A. | editor-last = Litvinsky | title = History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750 | location = Paris | publisher = UNESCO Publishing | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-92-3-103211-0 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=883OZBe2sMYC&pg=PA458}}{{EI2 | volume=5 | title=Ḳutayba b. Muslim | first = C. E. | last = Bosworth | author-link = Clifford Edmund Bosworth | pages = 541–542 | url = http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/kutayba-b-muslim-SIM_4577}}{{cite book | title = The Arab Conquests in Central Asia | first = H. A. R. | last = Gibb | author-link = H.A.R. Gibb | publisher = The Royal Asiatic Society | location = London | year= 1923 | url=https://archive.org/details/arabconquestsinc00gibbuoft | oclc = 685253133|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arabconquestsinc00gibbuoft/page/48 48]–51}}

{{Main|Islam during the Tang dynasty}}

File:The Minaret of the Mosque.jpg]]

File:Niujie Mosque - CIMG3698.JPG in Beijing]]

The earliest extant religious structures that display features of Chinese Islamic architecture are the Great Mosque of Xi'an, built in 742 (according to an engraving on a stone tablet preserved inside the building), and the Daxuexi Alley Mosque in Xi'an. The latter was built in 705, according to one inscription attributed to the Emperor Jiajing of the Ming dynasty.{{Cite journal|last=Hagras|first=Hamada|title=The Ming Court as Patron of the Chinese Islamic Architecture: The Case Study of the Daxuexi Mosque in Xi'an|date=2019-12-20|url=http://www.fayoum.edu.eg/english/shedet/ISSUES201908.aspx|journal=SHEDET|issue=6|pages=134–158|doi=10.36816/shedet.006.08|doi-access=free}}

Multiple other mosques were established during the Tang, including the Shengyou Mosque in Quanzhou, the Phoenix Mosque in Hangzhou, the Taiyuan Old Mosque in Shanxi, and more.{{Cite book |last=Steinhardt |first=Nancy |title=A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture |year=2017 |pages=616–635 |chapter=Islamic Architecture and Ornament in China }} Around 13 mosques were recorded to exist by the late Tang period.{{Cite journal |last1=Ryavec |first1=Karl E. |last2=Henderson |first2=Mark |date=2015 |title=A Core-Periphery GIS Model of the Historical Growth and Spread of Islam in China |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01615440.2014.996273 |journal=Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=103–111 |doi=10.1080/01615440.2014.996273 |s2cid=131419328 |issn=0161-5440|url-access=subscription }}

{{Main|Islam during the Song dynasty}}

File:5718-Linxia-City-Heyantou-Gongbei.jpg in Linxia City]]

There are many examples of Chinese Islamic structures built under the Song and Liao dynasties, such as the Niujie Mosque (simplified Chinese: 牛街礼拜寺; traditional Chinese: 牛街禮拜寺; pinyin: Niújiē lǐbàisì; Wade–Giles: Niu-chieh Li-pai-ssu "Oxen Street House of Worship" or Chinese: 牛街清真寺; pinyin: Niújiē Qīngzhēnsì; Wade–Giles: Niu-chieh Ch'ing-chen-ssu "Oxen Street Mosque"), who is the oldest mosque in Beijing. It was first built in 996 under the Liao dynasty, and was subsequently reconstructed as well as enlarged under the Chenghua Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who granted the mosque financial support in 1474, and the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722) of the Qing dynasty.{{cite web|title=Restorations: Olympic Torch Or Rural Touch?|url=http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/articles.php?searchterm=005_refurbMosque.inc&issue=005|publisher=China Heritage Quarterly|access-date=28 October 2012}} Another notable Chinese Islamic building is the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou.{{Cite journal |last=Hagras |first=Hamada |date=2019 |title=Xi'an Daxuexi Alley Mosque: Historical and Architectural Study |url=http://ejars.sohag-univ.edu.eg/IssueFullText?q=91 |url-status=dead |journal=Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies "EJARS" |volume=1 |pages=97–113 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213161912/http://ejars.sohag-univ.edu.eg/IssueFullText?q=91 |archive-date=2019-12-13 |access-date=2019-07-10}} By the late Song dynasty, 28 mosques were recorded in China, with 15 of those being constructed during the Song period.

The Yuan period has been considered a golden age for Islamic architecture in China, with many mosques being established during this period. Mosques were centered around the north China plain, the northwest, and the Yunnan region. Under the Yuan dynasty, Chinese Muslims began referring to their mosques as qingzhensi ("temple of purity and truth").{{Cite book |last1=Maria |first1=Jaschok |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rLBvrlKI7QC |title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture |last2=Jingjun |first2=Shui |date=2005 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-77716-2 |pages=288 |language=en |chapter=Islamic Mosques}} There are many examples of Chinese Islamic architecture built during the Yuan period, such as the Dongsi Mosque (北京东四清真寺) in Beijing, which was enlarged under the Ming dynasty; the Tongzhou Mosque (北京通州清真寺) in Beijing; the Qingjing Mosque (泉州清净寺) in Quanzhou, which is the only structure that features stone entrances; and the Hangzhou Fenghuang Mosque (杭州风凰寺). This period was characterized by an increased and widespread use of Islamic architectural elements, such as high entrances, domes, transition zones, and the use of bricks and stones.{{Cite journal|last=Hagras|first=Hamada Muhammed|date=2017-06-20|title=An Ancient Mosque In Ningbo, China "Historical And Architectural Study"|url=http://ejournal.uin-malang.ac.id/index.php/JIA/article/view/3851|journal=Journal of Islamic Architecture|volume=4|issue=3|pages=102|doi=10.18860/jia.v4i3.3851|issn=2356-4644|doi-access=free}}

In the early Ming period, an increasing amount of mosques and other Islamic institutions adopted strongly Chinese styles of architecture. The additions of pagodas to mosques and their distribution between regular homes made them blend well within the Chinese environment. Tablets and other monuments on mosques written in Chinese became the norm during this period as well.{{Cite journal |last=Israeli |first=Raphael |date=1978 |title=Established Islam and Marginal Islam in China From Eclecticism To Syncretism |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156852078x00044 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=99–109 |doi=10.1163/156852078x00044 |issn=0022-4995|url-access=subscription }}

Later in the Ming dynasty, construction of lecture halls within mosques began in Shaanxi and later spread throughout China. The late Ming and early Qing period saw a rapid growth of construction of mosques.{{Cite journal |last=Zhang |first=Shaodan |date=2022 |title=Islam in the Chinese Religious Landscape: Secularization of Mosque Leadership in Late Imperial China, 1600–1900 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/25899996-20221027 |journal=International Journal of Islam in Asia |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=44–69 |doi=10.1163/25899996-20221027 |s2cid=253132362 |issn=2589-9988|url-access=subscription }}

After 1945 and until the 1980s, Islam was tightly controlled by the state. During the Cultural Revolution a large number of mosques and religious structures were destroyed or damaged. Serious strife occurred such as the Shadian incident in 1975. The opening instituted under Deng Xiaoping relaxed the controls. Traditional Islamic architectural influences started coming in stronger, with many rebuilt and renovated mosques having Islamic-style domes and minarets.{{Cite web |last=星島日報 |title=中國觀察｜清真寺拆圓頂 高調秀整改 |url=https://std.stheadline.com/kol/article/7091/政商KOL-中國觀察-清真寺拆圓頂-高調秀整改 |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=std.stheadline.com |language=zh-Hant-HK}} Shadian's Great Mosque (大清真寺 Da qingzhensi) was constructed with a design inspired from the Middle East.{{Cite web |last=Yusupov |first=Ruslan |date=2023-05-30 |title=Chinese Muslims and police clash over partial demolition of historic mosque |url=https://thechinaproject.com/2023/05/30/chinese-muslims-and-police-clash-over-partial-demolition-of-historic-mosque/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=The China Project |language=en-US}}

Starting in 2018 the government instituted a sinicization policy "to guide Islam to be compatible with socialism and implement measures to sinicise the religion".{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2019-01-09 |title=China passes five-year plan to sinicise Islam, as Beijing tightens grip on major faiths in China |language=en |work=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-passes-five-year-plan-to-sinicise-islam-as-beijing-tightens-grip-on-major |access-date=2023-06-02 |issn=0585-3923}} The campaign is also called the three sanhua (三化), or "the three -izations", to implement "de-Arabization", "de-Saudization" and "de-halalization".{{Cite web |last= |date=2020-11-20 |title=China's new campaign to make Muslims devoted to the state rather than Islam |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-20/china-muslim-minorities-hui-dongxiang-secularization-gansu |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2022-12-13 |title=Planting the Flag in Mosques and Monasteries |url=https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/notes-chinafile/planting-flag-mosques-and-monasteries |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=ChinaFile |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Hui Muslims and police clash in China's Yunnan over mosque dome demolition |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/yunnan-mosque-05302023145532.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Radio Free Asia |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-10-14 |title=China: Situation of Hui Muslims and their treatment by society and authorities; state protection (2020–September 2022) [CHN201172.E] |url=https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2081234.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website= |language=en}} This included removing domes and minarets.{{Cite web |last=Stroup |first=david R. |date=2021-10-01 |title=Sinicization erasing 'Arab-style' mosques in China |url=https://asiatimes.com/2021/10/sinicization-erasing-arab-style-mosques-in-china/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Asia Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=The de-Islamification of Public Space and Sinicization of Ethnic Politics in Xi's China |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/de-islamification-public-space-and-sinicization-ethnic-politics-xis-china |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Middle East Institute |language=en}} This policy has led to public unrest such as in August 2018 at the Weizhou Grand Mosque in Ningxia and in June 2023 in Najiaying, Yunnan.{{Cite news |date=2018-08-10 |title=China mosque demolition sparks standoff in Ningxia |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45140551 |access-date=2023-06-02}}{{Cite web |last=Chang |first=Nectar Gan,Wayne |date=2023-05-30 |title=Thousands of ethnic minority Muslims defy Chinese authorities in defense of mosque |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/30/china/china-yunnan-hui-mosque-protest-intl/index.html |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=CNN |language=en}} Shadian's Great Mosque's architecture is also slated for renovation to remove the dome and remodel the minaret with Chinese traditional architecture.{{Cite web |last=Yusupov |first=Ruslan |date=2023-05-30 |title=Chinese Muslims and police clash over partial demolition of historic mosque |url=https://thechinaproject.com/2023/05/30/chinese-muslims-and-police-clash-over-partial-demolition-of-historic-mosque/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=The China Project |language=en-US}}

• Gongbei (Islamic architecture)
• List of mosques in China
• Menhuan

{{reflist|group=note}}

• {{cite journal |first=Jackie |last=Armijo |date=Winter 2006 |title=Islamic Education in China |url=http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/166/41 |url-status=dead |journal=Harvard Asia Quarterly |volume=10 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055746/http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/166/41/ |archive-date=28 September 2007}}
• {{cite book |last1=Lipman |first1=Jonathan Neaman |title=Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China |date=1997 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-97644-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90CN0vtxdY0C |language=en}}

{{Islamic architecture}}

Category:Chinese architectural history

Category:Chinese architectural styles

Category:Cultural heritage of China

Category:Culture in Gansu

Category:Culture in Ningxia

Category:Culture in Qinghai

Category:Culture in Shaanxi

Category:Culture in Xinjiang

+China

Category:Religious buildings and structures in Xi'an

Category:Islam in China