Islam during the Qing Dynasty
Encyclopedia
Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911). The Qing rulers were Manchu
, not Han
, and were themselves a minority in China
. The Qing Dynasty witnessed five Muslim rebellions.
was at war with the Zunghar Khanate
in the northwest. With the conquest of the Dzungaria, there was attempt to divide the Xinjiang region into four sub-khanates under four chiefs who were subordinate to the emperor. Similarly, the Qing made members of was a member of the Ak Tagh
liq clan of East Turkestan Khojas
, rulers in the western Tarim Basin
, south of the Tianshan
Mountains. In 1758-59, however, rebellions against this arrangement broke out both north and south of the Tian Shan mountains. Then in the oasis of Ush to the south of Lake Balkash in 1765.
In Gansu
, disagreements between the adherents of Khafiya and Jahriya, two forms of Sufism
as well as perceived mismanagement, corruption, and anti-Muslim attitudes of the Qing officials resulted in attempted uprisings by Hui
and Salar followers of the Jahriya in 1781 and 1783, but they were promptly suppressed.
Kashgaria was able to be free of Qing control during an invasion by Jahangir Khoja who had invaded from Kokand, which lasted from 1820–1828. The oases of Kashgar
and Yarkand were not recaptured by the Qing until 1828, after a three year campaign. In Kashgaria, this was followed by another invasion in 1829 by Mahommed Ali Khan and Yusuf Khoja, the brother of Jahangir. In 1846, a new Khoja
revolt in Kashgar
under Kath Tora led to his accession to rulership of Kashgar as an authoritarian ruler. His reign, however, was brief, for at the end of seventy-five days, on the approach of the Chinese, he fled back to Kokand
amid the jeers of the inhabitants.
The last of the Khoja revolts was in 1857 under Wali Khan
, a self-indulgent debaucherer, and the murderer of the famous German
explorer, Adolf Schlagintweit
. Wali Khan had invaded Kashgar
from his base in Kokand
, capturing Kashgar. Aside from his execution of Adolf Schlagintweit, his cruelty found many other reflections in the local legends. It is said that he killed so many innocent Muslims that four or six minarets were built from the skulls of the victims (kala minara); or that once, when an artisan made a sabre for him, he tested the weapon by cutting off the artisan's son head, who came with his father and was standing nearby, after that with words " it's a really good sabre " he presented artisan with a gift. This reign of tyranny did not make Kashgarians miss the Khoja too much when he was defeated by Qing troops after ruling the city for four months and forced to flee back to Kokand.
of Yunnan
. Disagreements between Muslim
and non-Muslim tin miners was the spark that lit the tensions that led to war. The Muslims
were led by, for the most part of the war, by Du Wenxiu (1823-1872). The insurgents took the city of Dali
and declared the new nation of Pingnan Guo, meaning “the Pacified Southern Nation”. The rebellion found support among China
's aboriginal population and Burma.
from the provinces of Shaanxi
, Gansu
, Ningxia
and Xinjiang
, lasted from 1862 to 1877. The failure of the revolt led to the flight of many Dungan
people into Imperial Russia.
muslim population of Beijing was unaffected by the Muslim rebels during the Dungan revolt. Professor Hugh D. R. Baker stated in his book "Hong Kong images: people and animals", that despite the massive killings between government forces and muslim rebels in the Dungan revolt (1862–1877) in Gansu
, "Yet while this slaughter was going on, we are told, 200,000 Muslims in Beijing
remained quite unaffected, neither giving nor suffering any trouble".
s revolted against the Qing Dynasty, most notably in the Dungan revolt (1862-1877) and the Panthay rebellion 1856-1873) in Yunnan
. The Manchu government ordered the extermination of all rebels, killing a million people in the Panthay rebellion, and several million in the Dungan revolt
However, Muslims in other parts of China proper like in the east and southern provinces who did not revolt, were not affected at all by the rebellion, and experienced no genocide, nor did they seek to revolt. It was reported that Muslim villages in Henan province, which was next to Shaanxi, were totally unnaffected and relations between Han and Hui continued normally.
Elisabeth Allès wrote that the relationship between Hui Muslim and Han peoples continued normally in the Henan
area, with no ramifications or consequences from th Muslim rebellions of other areas. Allès wrote in the document "Notes on some joking relationships between Hui and Han villages in Henan" published by French Centre for Research on Contemporary China that "The major Muslim revolts in the middle of the nineteenth century which involved the Hui in Shaanxi, Gansu and Yunnan, as well as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, do not seem to have had any direct effect on this region of the central plain."
Many Muslims like Ma Zhan'ao
, Ma Anliang
, Dong Fuxiang
, Ma Qianling
, and Ma Julung defected to the Qing dynasty side, and helped the Qing general Zuo Zongtang
exterminate the Muslim rebels. These Muslim generals belonged to the Khafiya sect, and they helped Qing massacre Jahariyya rebels. General Zuo moved the Han around Hezhou out of the area and relocated them as a reward for the Muslims there helping Qing kill other Muslim rebels.
In 1895, another Dungan Revolt (1895)
broke out, and loyalist Muslims like Dong Fuxiang
, Ma Anliang
, Ma Guoliang, Ma Fulu
, and Ma Fuxiang
suppressed and massacred the rebel Muslims led by Ma Dahan
, Ma Yonglin
, and Ma Wanfu
.
A Muslim army called the Kansu Braves led by General Dong Fuxiang
fought for the Qing dynasty against the foreigners during the Boxer Rebellion
. They included well known Generals like Ma Anliang
, Ma Fulu
, and Ma Fuxiang
.
In Yunnan
was noted that the Qing armies only massacred the muslims who had rebelled, and spared muslims who took no part in the uprising.
, Xi'an
, Hangzhou
, Guangzhou
, and other places (in addition to those in the western Muslim regions). The architecture typically employed traditional Chinese styles, with Arabic-language inscriptions being the chief distinguishing feature. Many Muslims held government positions, including positions of importance, particularly in the army.
Sufism
spread throughout the Northwestern China in the early decades of the Qing Dynasty (mid-17th century through early 18th century), helped by somewhat easier travel between China and the Middle East. The most important Sufi orders (menhuan) included:
In the 19th century, Chinese Muslims also became the first Muslims in New Zealand
(See Islam in New Zealand
). They came as golddiggers to work in the Dunstan gold fields in Otago
in 1868.
of various sects increased in China after the Opium Wars, they became interested in converting China's Muslims to Christianity. A significant amount of research was dedicated to the Muslim "problem", as Marshall Broomhall
called it, but the effort resulted in no large-scale conversions.
Under the "fundamental laws" of China, one section is titled "Wizards, Witches, and all Superstitions, prohibited." The Jiaqing Emperor
in 1814 A.D. added a sixth clause in this section with reference to Christianity. It was modified in 1821 and printed in 1826 by the Daoguang Emperor
. It sentenced Europeans to death for spreading Christianity among Han Chinese and Manchus (tartars). Christians who would not repent their conversion were sent to Muslim cities in Xinjiang, to be given as slaves to Muslim leaders and bey
s.
Some hoped that the Chinese government would discriminate between Protestantism and Romanism, since the law was directed at Romanism, but after Protestant missionaries in 1835-6 gave Christian books to Chinese, the Daoguang Emperor demanded to know who were the "traitorous natives in "Canton who had supplied them with books." The foreign missionaries were strangled or expelled by the Chinese.
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644-1911). The Qing rulers were Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
, not Han
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...
, and were themselves a minority in China
Ethnic minorities in China
Ethnic minorities in China are the non-Han Chinese population in the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic of China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority. As of 2010, the combined population of officially recognised minority...
. The Qing Dynasty witnessed five Muslim rebellions.
Early revolts in Xinjiang, Shaanxi and Gansu
From 1755–1757, the Qianlong EmperorQianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
was at war with the Zunghar Khanate
Zunghar Khanate
The Zunghar Khanate was a nomadic power on the Eurasian steppe. It covered the area called Dzungaria and stretched from the west end of the Great Wall of China to present-day eastern Kazakhstan, and from present-day northern Kyrgyzstan to southern Siberia .In 1678 Galdan received from the Dalai...
in the northwest. With the conquest of the Dzungaria, there was attempt to divide the Xinjiang region into four sub-khanates under four chiefs who were subordinate to the emperor. Similarly, the Qing made members of was a member of the Ak Tagh
Ak Tagh
Aq Tagh, literally "White Mountain" in Chagatai Turki, was a faction of Turkestani Naqshbandi Sufism originated in Samarkand. During the Chagatai Yarkand Khanate in modern day Xinjiang, two Naqshbandi factions, the Aq Tagh and the Qara Tagh vied for popularity and political power by allying with...
liq clan of East Turkestan Khojas
Khoja (Turkestan)
Khwāja or Khoja, , a Persian word literally meaning 'master', was used in Central Asia as a title of the descendants of the famous Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi teacher, Ahmad Kasani . The most powerful religious figure in the late Timurid era was the Naqshbandi Shaykh Khoja Ahrar...
, rulers in the western Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
, south of the Tianshan
Tianshan
Tianshan may refer to:*Tian Shan, a mountain range in Central Asia*Tianshan District, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China*Tianshan Subdistrict, Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia, China*Tianshan Town, Ar Horqin Banner, in Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia, China...
Mountains. In 1758-59, however, rebellions against this arrangement broke out both north and south of the Tian Shan mountains. Then in the oasis of Ush to the south of Lake Balkash in 1765.
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...
, disagreements between the adherents of Khafiya and Jahriya, two forms of Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
as well as perceived mismanagement, corruption, and anti-Muslim attitudes of the Qing officials resulted in attempted uprisings by Hui
Hui 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...
and Salar followers of the Jahriya in 1781 and 1783, but they were promptly suppressed.
Kashgaria was able to be free of Qing control during an invasion by Jahangir Khoja who had invaded from Kokand, which lasted from 1820–1828. The oases of Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
and Yarkand were not recaptured by the Qing until 1828, after a three year campaign. In Kashgaria, this was followed by another invasion in 1829 by Mahommed Ali Khan and Yusuf Khoja, the brother of Jahangir. In 1846, a new Khoja
Khoja (Turkestan)
Khwāja or Khoja, , a Persian word literally meaning 'master', was used in Central Asia as a title of the descendants of the famous Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi teacher, Ahmad Kasani . The most powerful religious figure in the late Timurid era was the Naqshbandi Shaykh Khoja Ahrar...
revolt in Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
under Kath Tora led to his accession to rulership of Kashgar as an authoritarian ruler. His reign, however, was brief, for at the end of seventy-five days, on the approach of the Chinese, he fled back to Kokand
Kokand
Kokand is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 . Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana...
amid the jeers of the inhabitants.
The last of the Khoja revolts was in 1857 under Wali Khan
Wali Khan (khoja)
Wali Khan was a member of the Ak Taghliq clan of East Turkestan Khojas, who invaded Kashgaria fromKokand on several occasions in the 1850s, and succeeded in ruling Kashgar for a short while....
, a self-indulgent debaucherer, and the murderer of the famous German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
explorer, Adolf Schlagintweit
Adolf Schlagintweit
Adolf von Schlagintweit was a German botanist and explorer of Central Asia. The standard author abbreviation A.Schlag. is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a botanical name....
. Wali Khan had invaded Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
from his base in Kokand
Kokand
Kokand is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 . Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana...
, capturing Kashgar. Aside from his execution of Adolf Schlagintweit, his cruelty found many other reflections in the local legends. It is said that he killed so many innocent Muslims that four or six minarets were built from the skulls of the victims (kala minara); or that once, when an artisan made a sabre for him, he tested the weapon by cutting off the artisan's son head, who came with his father and was standing nearby, after that with words " it's a really good sabre " he presented artisan with a gift. This reign of tyranny did not make Kashgarians miss the Khoja too much when he was defeated by Qing troops after ruling the city for four months and forced to flee back to Kokand.
Panthay Rebellion
The Panthay Rebellion lasted from 1855 to 1873. The war took place mostly in the southwestern provinceProvince
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of 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...
. Disagreements between Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and non-Muslim tin miners was the spark that lit the tensions that led to war. The Muslims
Hui 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...
were led by, for the most part of the war, by Du Wenxiu (1823-1872). The insurgents took the city of Dali
Dali, Yunnan
Dali City is a county-level city in and the seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, northwestern Yunnan province of Southwest China.-History:...
and declared the new nation of Pingnan Guo, meaning “the Pacified Southern Nation”. The rebellion found support among 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...
's aboriginal population and Burma.
Dungan Revolt
The Dungan revolt by the HuiHui 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...
from the provinces of 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...
, 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 Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, lasted from 1862 to 1877. The failure of the revolt led to the flight of many Dungan
Dungan
Dungans , called by Chinese and translated in Chinese language as Hui , are an ethnic group of Persian origin. The Dungans are dispersive people, comprising the majority population of Ningxia Autonomous Region, and scatter in other parts of China...
people into Imperial Russia.
Muslims in Beijing during the Rebellion
The HuiHui 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...
muslim population of Beijing was unaffected by the Muslim rebels during the Dungan revolt. Professor Hugh D. R. Baker stated in his book "Hong Kong images: people and animals", that despite the massive killings between government forces and muslim rebels in the Dungan revolt (1862–1877) 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...
, "Yet while this slaughter was going on, we are told, 200,000 Muslims in Beijing
Beijing
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...
remained quite unaffected, neither giving nor suffering any trouble".
Rebellions
During the mid-nineteenth century, the MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s revolted against the Qing Dynasty, most notably in the Dungan revolt (1862-1877) and the Panthay rebellion 1856-1873) 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...
. The Manchu government ordered the extermination of all rebels, killing a million people in the Panthay rebellion, and several million in the Dungan revolt
However, Muslims in other parts of China proper like in the east and southern provinces who did not revolt, were not affected at all by the rebellion, and experienced no genocide, nor did they seek to revolt. It was reported that Muslim villages in Henan province, which was next to Shaanxi, were totally unnaffected and relations between Han and Hui continued normally.
Elisabeth Allès wrote that the relationship between Hui Muslim and Han peoples continued normally in the Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
area, with no ramifications or consequences from th Muslim rebellions of other areas. Allès wrote in the document "Notes on some joking relationships between Hui and Han villages in Henan" published by French Centre for Research on Contemporary China that "The major Muslim revolts in the middle of the nineteenth century which involved the Hui in Shaanxi, Gansu and Yunnan, as well as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, do not seem to have had any direct effect on this region of the central plain."
Many Muslims like Ma Zhan'ao
Ma Zhan'ao
Ma Zhan’ao was a Chinese Muslim General who defected to the Qing Dynasty in 1872 during the Dungan revolt along with his General Ma Qianling and General Ma Haiyan who served under him during the revolt. He first sent Ma Chun to negotiate a surrender with General Zuo, but Zuo suspected a ruse. Ma...
, Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang , a Hui, was born in 1855, in Linxia, Gansu, China. He became a general in the Qing dynasty army, and of the Republic of China. His father was Ma Zhanao, and his younger brother was Ma Guoliang...
, Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang , a Chinese, was born Gansu, China. He commanded an army of Chinese Muslim soldiers, which included the later Ma clique generals Ma Anliang and Ma Fuxiang. According to the Western calendar, his birth date is in 1839.- Religion :Conflicting accounts are given about his religion and...
, Ma Qianling
Ma Qianling
Ma Qianling was a Dongxiang Muslim General who defected to the Qing Dynasty in 1872 during the Dungan revolt along with his superior General Ma Zhanao and General Ma Haiyan. He then assisted General Zuo Zongtang in crushing the rebel Muslims. His trading activities were a success...
, and Ma Julung defected to the Qing dynasty side, and helped the Qing general Zuo Zongtang
Zuo Zongtang
Zuo Zongtang , spelled Tso Tsung-t'ang in Wade-Giles and known simply as General Tso in the West, was a Chinese statesman and military leader in the late Qing Dynasty....
exterminate the Muslim rebels. These Muslim generals belonged to the Khafiya sect, and they helped Qing massacre Jahariyya rebels. General Zuo moved the Han around Hezhou out of the area and relocated them as a reward for the Muslims there helping Qing kill other Muslim rebels.
In 1895, another Dungan Revolt (1895)
Dungan Revolt (1895)
The Dungan Revolt was a rebellion of various Muslim ethnic groups in Qinghai and Gansu against the Qing Dynasty.-Revolt:Rival Sufi Naqshbandi orders fought against each other. They accused each other of various misdeeds, and filed a lawsuit against each other through the office of the Xining prefect...
broke out, and loyalist Muslims like Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang , a Chinese, was born Gansu, China. He commanded an army of Chinese Muslim soldiers, which included the later Ma clique generals Ma Anliang and Ma Fuxiang. According to the Western calendar, his birth date is in 1839.- Religion :Conflicting accounts are given about his religion and...
, Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang , a Hui, was born in 1855, in Linxia, Gansu, China. He became a general in the Qing dynasty army, and of the Republic of China. His father was Ma Zhanao, and his younger brother was Ma Guoliang...
, Ma Guoliang, Ma Fulu
Ma Fulu
Ma Fulu , a Hui, was the son of General Ma Qianling, and the brother of Ma Fucai, Ma Fushou, and Ma Fuxiang. He joined the martial arts hall and attended military school. In 1895, he served under general Dong Fuxiang, leading loyalist Chinese Muslims to crush a revolt by rebel Chinese Muslims and...
, and Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang . Ma, a Dongxiang muslim leader, had a military and political career which spanned the Qing dynasty through the early Republic of China and illustrated the power of family, the role of religious affiliations, and the interaction of Inner Asian China and the national government of...
suppressed and massacred the rebel Muslims led by Ma Dahan
Ma Dahan
Ma Dahan was a Dongxiang muslim who formed a pact with the fellow Dongxiang Ma Wanfu when rebelling against the Qing dynasty in 1895. They led their followers in Hezhou, Didao, and Xunhua to revolt...
, Ma Yonglin
Ma Yonglin
Ma Yonglin was a Chinese Muslim leader of the Multicoloured Mosque who participated in the Dungan revolt and the Muslim revolt of 1895 against the Qing dynasty. He antagonized mobs of Hui, Dongxiang, Baoan, and Salars to overthrow the Qing dynasty in Xunhua, Qinghai. Brigadier General Tang Yanhe...
, and Ma Wanfu
Ma Wanfu
Ma Wanfu was a Dongxiang-Imam of the village Guoyuan in Hezhou...
.
A Muslim army called the Kansu Braves led by General Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang , a Chinese, was born Gansu, China. He commanded an army of Chinese Muslim soldiers, which included the later Ma clique generals Ma Anliang and Ma Fuxiang. According to the Western calendar, his birth date is in 1839.- Religion :Conflicting accounts are given about his religion and...
fought for the Qing dynasty against the foreigners during the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
. They included well known Generals like Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang , a Hui, was born in 1855, in Linxia, Gansu, China. He became a general in the Qing dynasty army, and of the Republic of China. His father was Ma Zhanao, and his younger brother was Ma Guoliang...
, Ma Fulu
Ma Fulu
Ma Fulu , a Hui, was the son of General Ma Qianling, and the brother of Ma Fucai, Ma Fushou, and Ma Fuxiang. He joined the martial arts hall and attended military school. In 1895, he served under general Dong Fuxiang, leading loyalist Chinese Muslims to crush a revolt by rebel Chinese Muslims and...
, and Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang . Ma, a Dongxiang muslim leader, had a military and political career which spanned the Qing dynasty through the early Republic of China and illustrated the power of family, the role of religious affiliations, and the interaction of Inner Asian China and the national government of...
.
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...
was noted that the Qing armies only massacred the muslims who had rebelled, and spared muslims who took no part in the uprising.
Culture
In the Qing dynasty, Muslims had many mosques in the large cities, with particularly important ones in 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...
, 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...
, Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, and other places (in addition to those in the western Muslim regions). The architecture typically employed traditional Chinese styles, with Arabic-language inscriptions being the chief distinguishing feature. Many Muslims held government positions, including positions of importance, particularly in the army.
Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
spread throughout the Northwestern China in the early decades of the Qing Dynasty (mid-17th century through early 18th century), helped by somewhat easier travel between China and the Middle East. The most important Sufi orders (menhuan) included:
- The QadiriyyaQadiriyyaThe Qadiriyya , are members of the Qadiri Sufi order...
, which was established in China through Qi JingyiQi JingyiQi Jingyi , also known as Hilal al-Din, was a Chinese Sufi master, instrumental in the spread of the Qadiriyyah school among Chinese Muslims. He was known among his followers as Qi Daozu , i.e...
(祁静一), also known as Hilal al-Din (1656-1719), student of the famous Central Asian Sufi teachersKhoja (Turkestan)Khwāja or Khoja, , a Persian word literally meaning 'master', was used in Central Asia as a title of the descendants of the famous Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi teacher, Ahmad Kasani . The most powerful religious figure in the late Timurid era was the Naqshbandi Shaykh Khoja Ahrar...
, Khoja Afaq and Koja Abd Alla. He was known among the Hui Sufis as Qi Daozu (Grand Master Qi). The shrine complex around "great tomb" (Da Gongbei) in Linxia remains the center of the Qadiriyya in China. - The Khufiyya: a NaqshbandiNaqshbandiNaqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
order, established in China by Ma LaichiMa LaichiMa Laichi , also known as Abu 'l-Futūh Ma Laichi, was a Sufi master, who brought the Khufiyya movement to China and created the Huasi menhuan - the earliest and most important Naqshbandi order in the history of Islam in China.-Afaq Khoja's blessing:Ma Laichi is a hybrid of Hui and Han Chinese...
(1681-1766). - The JahriyyaJahriyyaJahriyya is a Sufi order in China that once existed in Persia and the Turkish World. Founded by Hadrat Abu Yaqub Yusuf Hamdani, it was brought to China in the 1760s by Ma Mingxin...
: another NaqshbandiNaqshbandiNaqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
menhuan, founded by Ma MingxinMa MingxinMa Mingxin was a Dungan Sufi master, the establisher of the Jahriyya Sufi order in China.-Names:Ma Mingxin's religious name was Ibrāhīm. After returning to China from Arabia he started calling himself 'Azīz.He was also called Muhammad Emin.-Life:A Persian-speaking Muslim from Gansu, Ma Mingxin...
(1719-1781).
In the 19th century, Chinese Muslims also became the first Muslims in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(See Islam in New Zealand
Islam in New Zealand
Islam in New Zealand began with the arrival of Muslim Chinese gold prospectors in the 1870s. Small numbers of Muslim immigrants from India and eastern Europe settled from the early 1900s until the 1960s. Large-scale Muslim immigration began in the 1970s with the arrival of Fiji Indians, followed in...
). They came as golddiggers to work in the Dunstan gold fields in Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
in 1868.
Christian missionary activities
As the presence of Christian missionariesMissionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
of various sects increased in China after the Opium Wars, they became interested in converting China's Muslims to Christianity. A significant amount of research was dedicated to the Muslim "problem", as Marshall Broomhall
Marshall Broomhall
Marshall B. Broomhall , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the China Inland Mission. He also authored many books on the subject of Chinese missionary work. He was the most famous son of the anti-opium trade activist and General Secretary of the C.I.M...
called it, but the effort resulted in no large-scale conversions.
Under the "fundamental laws" of China, one section is titled "Wizards, Witches, and all Superstitions, prohibited." The Jiaqing Emperor
Jiaqing Emperor
The Jiaqing Emperor was the seventh emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1796 to 1820....
in 1814 A.D. added a sixth clause in this section with reference to Christianity. It was modified in 1821 and printed in 1826 by the Daoguang Emperor
Daoguang Emperor
The Daoguang Emperor was the eighth emperor of the Manchurian Qing dynasty and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1820 to 1850.-Early years:...
. It sentenced Europeans to death for spreading Christianity among Han Chinese and Manchus (tartars). Christians who would not repent their conversion were sent to Muslim cities in Xinjiang, to be given as slaves to Muslim leaders and bey
Baig
- History & Origins:The name Baig originates from a Turkic clan called Barlas . They played a pivotal role in Turko-Persian empires in Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia....
s.
The clause stated: "People of the Western Ocean, [Europeans or Portuguese,] should they propagate in the country the religion of heaven's Lord, [name given to Christianity by the Romanists,] or clandestinely print books, or collect congregations to be preached to, and thereby deceive many people, or should any Tartars or Chinese, in their turn, propagate the doctrines and clandestinely give names, (as in baptism,) inflaming and misleading many, if proved by authentic testimony, the head or leader shall be sentenced to immediate death by strangulations : he who propagates the religion, inflaming and deceiving the people, if the number be not large, and no names be given, shall be sentenced to strangulation after a period of imprisonment. THose who are merely hearers or followers of the doctrine, if they will not repent and recant, shall be transported to the Mohammedan cities (in Turkistan) and given to be slaves to the beys and other powerful Mohammedans who are able to coerce them. . . . All civil and military officers who may fail to detect Europeans clandestinely residing in the country within their jurisdiction, and propagating their religion, thereby deceiving the multitude, shall be delivered over to the Supreme Board and be subjected to a court of inquiry."
Some hoped that the Chinese government would discriminate between Protestantism and Romanism, since the law was directed at Romanism, but after Protestant missionaries in 1835-6 gave Christian books to Chinese, the Daoguang Emperor demanded to know who were the "traitorous natives in "Canton who had supplied them with books." The foreign missionaries were strangled or expelled by the Chinese.