Thursday, April 26, 2018
哈佛大学燕京学社举行有关中国回族穆斯林民间出版物的学术讲座
2018年4月25日中午12点，哈佛大学燕京学社在会议室举行了有关中国回族穆斯林民间出版物的学术讲座，讲座是用英文。上海师范大学退休教授王建平应邀进行演讲。他介绍说，改革开放的80年代以后，大约有百种不定期的刊物出现。有些因为经费问题和其他原因而终止出版，但目前仍然有几十种刊物坚持下来了。它们中的大多数是各地地方伊协的出版物，但也有一些是民间组织和慈善组织赞助出版的。它们大多是季刊，或半年刊，也有月刊的，比如《穆斯林通讯》。它们的印数从几百册到千册的。也有少数逾万册的。有些刊物在排版、印刷、纸张、装订和风格上都很上乘。它们靠自己筹资，自费经营，很不容易。大约有60名左右的中外学者出席了学术讲座。王建平教授讲完后，回答了听众席里提出的不少问题。讲座历时一个半多小时。讲座的主持者是哈佛燕京图书馆馆长郑炯文博士。
Friday, March 9, 2018
PEACE AND JUSTICE: REACTION OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN SOUTH YUNNAN TO POLITICAL ADVERSITY
PEACE AND JUSTICE: REACTION OF THE MUSLIM
COMMUNITY IN SOUTH YUNNAN TO POLITICAL
ADVERSITY1
Wang Jianping
Shanghai Normal University, China
Abstract
The Muslims who live in the Yunnan province of China strive to
follow the principles advocated in the Quran, while living as a minority in
a non-Islamic society. Yet the cultural mainstream of contemporary Chinese
life often clashes with the core beliefs of the Islamic tradition. Therefore,
the Yunnanese Muslims frequently face political pressures as they
try to maintain their distinct Islamic way of life. This paper investigates
the methods that Yunnanese Musilims employ to confront an adverse,
political environment. Particularly their use of the values of peace and
justice.
Prajna Vihara, Volume 13, Number 1-2, January-December, 2012, 309-323 309
c 2000 by Assumption University Press
The fundamental values of most religious traditions certainly contain
those of peace and justice. The same is true for Islam, especially in
the case of the minority Muslims who live in Yunnan, the most southwest
province in China. They exert a great effort, for example, to follow the
principles advocated in the Quran, while living as a minority in a non-
Islamic society. Since often idolatry, atheism, and materialism have become
the norm in contemporary Chinese life, this challenges the core
beliefs of the Islamic tradition, and as a result the Yunnanese Muslims
frequently face political pressure as they try to maintain their distinct Islamic
way of life. How do these Muslims cope in this environment as
minorities? How do they deal with the political pressures often facing
their community? In essence, they employ peace and justice, the only
weapons at the disposal of this group of Muslim minorities to confront an
often adverse, political environment.
A Historical Review: How to Survive Strong Political Adversity
To illustrate this point I would like to select two examples from
past history demonstrating how the Hui Muslims dealt with crisis situations.
The first one is The Event of the Mutual Protection which took
place in Nagu Township, Tonghai County. The year 1858 was the climax
of the Hui Uprising against the Qing Empire’s ethnic cleansing policy,
while the Hui force was once very powerful and the Muslim upheaval
army was surrounding Hexi Town of Tonghai County. The Hui in Nagu
Village accepted the proposal raised by the Han gentries to urge the
Muslims to make a peace agreement with the Han villages around the
area. Therefore, the Hui accepted the responsibility to protect the lives
and properties of their neighboring Han people based upon the principle
312 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
of the mutual protection. Later on as the imperial force got the upper
hand and wanted to destroy the Hui village of Nagu, the Han people
came out to protect the Muslims. Hence, the Hui in Nagu Village never
did interfere with the Han villagers raising pigs, nor did they interfere in
the Han people’s funeral services. The Muslims and non-Muslims respected
each other, and the mosque, the Buddhist temple and the Taoist temple
stood in the same area, and the different believers peacefully followed
their own religions in this chaotic period.2
The second example is The Event of the Severing of Kin Relations
for the sake of Justice. In the 1920s, during the warlord period in
the Republic, the Hui militant organization led by Bai Qizhou in Shadian
Village raided a French freight train on its way from Vietnam to Kunming,
the capital of Yunnan Province. The French diplomats lodged a protest
over the robbery to the provincial governor who in return ordered the
punishment of the raiders. The local authorities in Southern Yunnan declared
that if the Hui community did not hand over Bai Qizhou, the national
troops would ransack this Muslim enclave. After hearing the news,
the Hui Village Autonomous Committee held the meetings and carefully
considered the consequences if the community would shelter the criminals.
So they decided to punish Bai Qizhou. However, Bai Qicheng, the
elder brother of Bai Qizhou, was the local commander of a militant group
and he strongly resisted the pressure from the Hui Village Autonomous
Committee on the basis of family ties. Under such circumstances the
Committee had to sacrifice the two brothers in order to protect the interests
of the whole Muslim village. So they waited for the day that Commander
Bai Qicheng came to mosque for prayer, and killed him in the
mosque, and carried out the death sentence to Bai Qizhou by other means.
After that the Committee also dissolved the Hui militant organization and
yielded the weapons to the local authorities. They did that because the
community led by the moderate Hui gentleman Bai Liangcheng thought
that raiding and robbery were unjust actions according to the teaching of
the Quran, therefore, the community must penalize the wrongdoers even
if it meant violating the kin relations among the Muslims themselves.3
After the Hui Village Autonomous Committee killed the local commander
Bai Qicheng, the corpse was buried. However, a Non-Muslim
official wanted to behead Commander Bai’s corpse due to his personal
Wang Jianping 311
enmity with Bai. According to Islamic law, a buried corpse of a Muslim
could not be disgraced. However, with the support of the local authorities
the official insisted upon it. The Hui had to bite the bullet and behead
Bai’s corpse. Bai Liangcheng, the cousin of Commander Bai said. with
tears in his eyes, that “The Commander has done lot of good things for
the locality, not only in religion, but also in education. All of these successes
are tied to his support. But we have been ordered to execute him,
and we do this after considering the overall situation”.4
It can be seen from the above-mentioned two events that the
Muslims in Yunnan knew the arts of how to safeguard their lives in the
history when the tide was strongly against them.
Living in the Time of “the Great Cultural Revolution”
The Cultural Revolution is one of the darkest times in the history
of China. In such a political turmoil followed the great persecution of
many religions and the religious believers, how did the Hui Muslims suffer
from this catastrophe? It was the greatest trial for the Muslims since
Islam came to China.
During the fanatical “Cultural Revolution” led by the Gang of
Four in the period spanning 1966-1976, all religious activities were prohibited
by the revolutionary regime. Religious people were often treated
as counter-revolutionaries and faced the risk of being put into jail. All
mosques, about more than 490, in Yunnan province were closed down by
force, their buildings either being occupied for other purposes or being
destroyed.5 The copies of the Quran and other Islamic books were confiscated
or were thrown into fire. Almost all the Islamic cultural heritage
was damaged or destroyed by the Red Guards or the revolutionaries. All
1300 Akhonds in the province had been denounced and even physically
tortured, paraded in public as demons, or evil forces. One case occurred
in the early days of the Cultural Revolution, when some revolutionary
rebels incited the non-Muslim pupils from a Chinese primary school to
rush into the Shuncheng Street Mosque in Kunming and post a portrait of
Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the Chairman of Communist Party of China
onto the wall of mihrab (niche, the direction to Mecca) in the prayer-hall.
312 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
The Akhond of the mosque could not do anything in the presence of the
revolutionaries. However, after the Red Guards went home, Akhond silently
asked a few Muslim pupils to take down the portrait of Chairman
Mao, since Islam strongly opposing the idolatry worship. Later on this
action was discovered by the revolutionaries who accused this event as
“the counter-revolutionary”. However, Mr. Wang Lianfang, a Hui worked
in the Cultural Revolutionary Leading Team Office calmly explained to
the people that Islam was a monotheistic religion, appealing for understanding
from the revolutionary Red Guards. Nevertheless, Wang was
charged as a reactionary and was deprived of all political rights for ten
years, but his peaceful way in dealing with atheists at that time was respected.
6
As the Hui Muslims in Shadian faced the People Liberation Army
which had laid siege to the Islamic movement, the Muslim villagers had
to give up the arms and open the village gate to welcome the arrival of the
military troops on December 8, 1968.7
Due to the insistence of the Muslims in Shadian of Southern Yunnan
on practicing Islam, the Communist authorities in the province regarded
this Muslim community as a “Hornet’s Nest”, and sent military regiment
of a thousand soldiers to surround Shadian Village and eventually station
themselves in this Muslim community. After the troops entered the village
the soldiers arrested the Muslim leaders. The Chinese soldiers consumed
pork meat in the mosque, and threw pig bones into a well whose
water was used for ritual ablution and for drink. The army used the mosque
as their cafeteria and dormitory. The soldiers even held a party in the
prayer-hall of the mosque. They tortured anyone who practiced Islam
and insulted them with a pig-head hung around the Muslim's neck and
enforced them to lick the pig-head. The soldiers also insulted the Muslims
and requested them to imitate pigs, gnawing on toilet walls and rolling
downhill which caused one Muslim woman to have a miscarriage.
They also pulled off the beard of an old Muslim for the punishment of his
keeping Sunnat tradition of Islam. Such persecution and humiliation lasted
for one year. The Muslims in Shadian had to suffer this humiliation only
finding solace in the teaching of the Quran that Allah would bless those
who have a determination to endure the political stress during the Cultural
Revolution.8
Wang Jianping 313
In the period of the 1960s and the 1970s when the extreme leftists
and politicians were rampant, the Muslims were forced to raise pigs and
eat pork meat. Any religious activities were prohibited by the atheist authorities.
The Muslims had to endure this religious persecution. Some of
them turned to the ground to pray, fast and study the Arabic Quran. They
also had to hide their religious and ethnic identities in order to avoid such
rude persecution and physical suffering. For them, keeping the faith deep
in their heart was also to uphold peace and justice in values and in worldview.
9 Therefore, since practicing religion was prohibited, the Muslims
in Yunnan maintained such religious practices secretly or quietly underground.
Forgiveness for the Wrongdoings of “the Cultural Revolution”
During the time of the Cultural Revolution, in 1975, the Gang of
Four cracked down on the struggle of the Muslims in Southern Yunnan
for their religious freedom. Using artillery they totally destroyed several
Muslim villages and killing over 1,600 Muslims, and injuring at least 5,000
in the so-called Shadian Incident.10 However, after the Cultural Revolution,
in 1979 the Yunnan government changed their view of this “Counter-
Revolutionary Rebellion”, and compensation was made to those Muslim
families which lost lives in the violent crack-down. The Muslims in Shadian
community understood that this terrible slaughter was committed by the
Gang of Four, and that it should not blame the junior officials in the grassroots
level of the locality. Consequently, the Muslims easily forgave those
who had committed these grave mistakes during the Cultural Revolution.
They looked forward to future, and with the broad and tolerant mind the
Muslims did not take any revenge in redressing this horrible event.11
Why did the Muslims easily forgive all the wrongs done to them?
Because they understood: “Our Hui are a geographically scattered ethnic
minority, if we do not keep good relation with Han Chinese and other
non-Muslim ethnic groups, or if we fall into factional fighting among
ourselves, without a solidarity and stable social environment, it is impossible
for us to develop or to have wealth. … Once the confrontation with
others occurs, we should be good at mutually understanding and mutu-
314 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
ally tolerant with the other side, even the confrontation is intense we
should uphold the Hadith: “It is the imperative obligation to obey the
state”, rely upon the government to solve the problem according to the
state legal procedures.12
After Shadian Massacre was redressed and the mistake was corrected
by the central government in Beijing, the PLA commanders went
to Shadian to apologize to the Muslims. Shadian Muslim villagers touched
by this gesture and said: “During the ten years’ turmoil we, the Muslims
were the victims, so were the PLA soldiers, the roots were due to the
Iblis [Shaitan or evil] Lin Biao (1907-1971) and the Gang of Four”.13
Taking the Initiative for Making Compromises if a Dispute Takes
Place
The Muslims in South Yunnan always follow the principle: to obey
their country’s constitutional laws must be a duty and compulsory obligation
for every Muslim. This mentality is entirely in conformity with the
Hadith: “Submitting to the order of the state is the imperative obligation”.
14
The Hui in Guanyi Village and the Han in Xiangmu Village, Jianshui
County, were very hostile to each other because of some historical reasons.
However, to reduce the social tension, the Hui leaders initiatively
went to Han’s village to make the gesture of compromise and tried to
bury the hatred between the two ethnic groups. The Han were pleased by
such a gesture and the hostile atmosphere was gradually disappeared.
Particularly, the Hui Muslims in Shadian community excluded all former
complaints, even sent their delegation with gifts going to the front of
Sino-Vietnam border to make condolences with the military PLA, which
once cracked down on the religious movement of the Shadian Hui during
the Cultural Revolution.15
Another case of Muslims preventing violence was Ma Jiangang, a
retired official who had served in the local administrative agency for 21
years. He returned to his hometown in Luxi County. Because of his fame
and virtue and the Hui Muslims asked him to act as arbitrator to resolve
a confrontation. In 1941 there was a severe draught in the area and this
Wang Jianping 315
caused the bloodshed over the dam of the river between the Muslim villages
at the upper reach of the river and the non-Muslim villages at the
lower reach. The latter wanted to dig an outlet in the dam to allow water
for drinking and to alleviate the great draught. The confrontation escalated
and both sides lost many lives. The possibility of an ethnic massacre
between the Muslims and non-Muslims was looming, Mr. Ma Jiangang
got news of this danger and immediately came to the site of the confrontation
and used his great influence to stop his Hui people from engaging
in further violence and appealed both sides to make peace over the issue
of the water distribution. Due to his peaceful efforts the bloody massacre
was avoided, and a peace agreement was reached on the matter of dividing
the river water fairly.16
Sacrificing Oneself for the Interests of the Majority of Muslims
The Hui Muslims in Yunnan, being an ethnic minority and living in
scattered enclaves, have a tradition of sacrificing their leaders to protect
the lives of the whole community in times of crisis. This ensured their
survival among an overwhelmingly Han majority society armed with the
very powerful cultural forces of Confucianism, Buddhism and later Communism.
The most remarkable example was Tu Wenxiu (1827-1873), the
leader of the Hui Uprising in Yunnan in the period 1855-1874. He surrendered
himself to the Qing imperial troops as they had surrounded Dali,
the location of the headquarters of the Muslim insurgency. Tu used a
peacock gallbladder to poison himself after he had made a peace packet
deal with the government that promised an amnesty to all the Hui followers
in the insurgent forces. Even in Shadian Incident of 1975 as thousands
of PLA military troops with the modern weapons raided Shadian Hui
village, while most of the village had been damaged by gun-fire, the Hui
leaders appealed for the two thousand civilians to yield to the government
to allow them safety from the deadly confrontation.
In the 1970s during the Cultural Revolution when religion was
treated as “counter-revolutionary” or “reactionary”, the Muslims in
Najiaying Village in Tonghai County were suspected by the local revolutionary
regime as being religious practitioners, therefore, six regiments of
316 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
the People’s Liberation Army were sent to the village and the heavily
armed soldiers surrounded the Muslim community and were waiting for
the order to suppress the Muslims. On March 5, 1975 as the Hui Muslims
faced the suspending catastrophe of the military interference, they had to
use their wisdom to deal with such an adversity. The community mobilized
women and young people who all held the branches of flowers and
sang the song of “Love Kin-men Such as People Liberation Army” to go
out of the village and welcome the armed soldiers entering village as
guests. Using this friendly approach, the Hui Muslims in Najiaying Village
averted a military slaughter by the governmental army. So such a
strategy of employing non-violence to combat violence or presenting flowers
to the gun muzzle is very successful in avoiding the direct confrontation
and making peace in relationship with other political groups, particularly
with the governmental authorities.17
Practicing Humility to Avoid Conflict
In Pingyuanjie, Wenshan County if a dispute takes place between
the Hui ethnic group and non-Muslim Zhuang group, the Hui consciously
show humility, so the quarrel will not develop into inter-ethnic fighting.
Maolong Village has a mixed population, the Hui and the Han live side by
side. The people have used the same well for drinking water for several
dozen years, and there never been any conflict over different living habits.
18
In the winter of 1989, Shuijingwan Village suffered from a severe
draught, which badly diminished the water supply. The village is composed
of a mixed population, Muslims and non-Muslims used the same
well, the only source of drinking water. A Han villager once carelessly
dropped a piece of pork meat into the well as he drew the water with the
bucket. According to the customs of Islam, the well water was contaminated
by pork, so the Hui should not drink it. However, this incident did
not lead to the ethnic confrontation, rather, the Hui did not seriously
regard it as blasphemy, or a deliberate insult or a challenge, rather they
went to a remote place to fetch the water even it caused great inconvenience
to their daily life. How did they maintain such a friendly approach
Wang Jianping 317
in their co-existence with their non-Muslim neighbors? The reason is that
they they have long practiced inter-marriage between the two ethnic
groups.19 Such a strategy of compromise can also be found in the case in
Maojiawan Village in Ludian County.20
In Taoyuan Township, if pig from a Han household runs into a
Hui household, or conversely, if a sheep from a Hui household runs into a
Han household, both sides, the Muslims and non-Muslims, will make a
compromise and pay each other compensation to dissolve the dispute.21
This is also for the case in Kedu Town, either side will buy a long piece of
red cloth as compensation or light a string of fireworks to expel the evil
as a ritual for solving a dispute with the other side.22
Adapting to Han Chinese Cultural Elements without Changing the
Way of the Islamic Life
Under the political hardships faced by an ethnic-religious minority
the Hui in Southern Yunnan has to strengthen themselves by strictly
following Islamic law such as abstaining from drinking alcohol, smoking
opium, consuming prohibited food, engaging in gambling and committing
sexual relations outside of marriage.
Yet the Muslims have assimilated some Han Chinese cultural customs
in their long period of co-existence, particularly with regard to social,
economic and cultural exchanges. However, these assimilations have
not fundamentally changed their Islamic way of life. If the Han Chinese’s
living customs do not directly clash with the teaching of the Quran and
Hadith, the Muslims in Yunnan will not resist some influences from Han
culture if it maintains a peaceful life with their non-Muslim neighbors.23
On the other hand, the Muslims have attempted to make accommodations
between Shari’a law and the constitutional law. According to
Islamic law, if a husband says to his wife three times “I divorce you”
(talaqa), the mosque will regard such a marriage being spontaneously
abolished for this couple. If they co-inhabit again they are considered to
commit adultery. However, such a practice does not fit into the constitutional
law on marriage. To solve this problem or contradiction the Akhond
of the mosque in that area assisted by the administrative officials, actively
318 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
mediates this issue and decrees that if the couple is willing to make reconciliation
or re-union, the mosque is able to recognize their relation as
husband and wife if they undergo a witnessed ritual for repenting.24
The Muslims in Yunnan also bravely teach Confucianism textbooks
in their community schools. During the Republic period (1911-
1949) the Muslim community in Shadian invited the teachers from the
inland to come teaching Confucianism classic books such as The Analects,
Mean, The Great Learning and Mencius. The Muslim schools even invited
non-Muslim intellectuals from other places to teach subjects such
as French literature, German philosophy, the Chinese classic literature as
well as inviting famous Islamic scholars from outside teaching the Arabic
Quran, Hadith, Islamic law and Persian Islamic literature.25 Even the
school provides modern subjects such as English, science, geography,
history, language, philosophy, music, mathematics and physics for Muslim
students to study.26
Enhancing Compatibility for the Community’s Survival
To display this point, I cite three cases. First is that the Muslims
realize the importance of developing education. In order to strengthen
the Muslim community, particularly after the Hui population in Yunnan
has decreased drastically after the suppression of the Hui uprising, the
Muslim scholars decided to develop Islamic education, to improve their
capacity to compete with the non-Muslim majority. So Ma Lianyuan (1840-
1903), the preeminent Muslim scholar in South Yunnan at the end of the
19th century had introduced a thousand Muslim students coming from all
over China to the Arabic Quran theological theory after he came back
from Mecca on Hajji.27 The rapid development of the Islamic education
has greatly contributed to the growing vitality of the Muslim community
in the region.
Second is that Yunnanese Muslims have created a comprehensive
network, To overcome the weakness of the loosely scattered “patchwork”
community,28 the Hui tried hard to establish a communal network in its
long historical interaction with the majority non-Muslims in the surrounding
area. Through marriage ties, commercial trade, itinerary clerical mission,
Wang Jianping 319
religious students’ searching Islamic knowledge, Islamic festival celebrations,
fund collection in building mosques, Hajji journeys, traveling among
Muslim enclaves, external connections with the Islamic world, the Muslims
in Yunnan although a minority, have formulated a powerful network29
which is able to compete with their strong and majority non-Muslim neighbors
and would change the political adversity into a political advantage.
Third is that the Muslims stress their solidarity within their community.
As the minority living in the majority surroundings the Hui Muslims
in Yunnan keep good terms with their different Islamic sects such as
Qadim and Ikhwani.30 By this way the Muslim minority can often compete
well with the non-Muslim majority.
Conclusion
Through the strategy of upholding peace and justice while living
under great political adversity the Muslims and Islam in South Yunnan
have gained full development as an ethnic-religious force. Although having
experienced several massacres and persecutions, the Muslim population
in Yunnan has reached to more than 70000031 from the less than
100000 in the 1880s, and there are almost 900 mosques in the province
according to the latest statistics.32 The development of Islamic education
is one of the most impressive in China, and the province boosts more than
1400 Hajjis who have fulfilled the pilgrimage to Mecca every year.33 The
Shadian community has recently built the largest and the most modern
mosque in China. The Islamic festivals in Shadian can attract several dozens
thousand Muslims from all parts of China to come for celebration.
The graduates from madrasahs in Shadian and the Southern Yunnan have
gone to various places in China to take the position as Akhonds or Imams
to lead Islamic affairs within Muslim communities. The Muslims in this
region live a better life than before since the fast growth of the Islamic
economy, and Shadian Community particularly has gained a good reputation
as the richest and the most developed economic area in Yunnan. In
Islamic dimension, Shadian has a name of “Small Mecca” which refers to
its central position in leading other Muslim communities of South Yunnan
in Islam. I think the wisdom of the Muslims in dealing with their sur-
320 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
roundings, particularly with regard to religious, political, ethical, cultural,
educational and social pressures is important to learn. It teaches us how
to maintain harmonious relationships among different ethnic-religious
groups.
Endnotes
1I am so grateful to the invitation from Assumption University, Thailand to
participate this conference on Asian culture; I also thank Dr. Yang Xinan from Institute
of Sino Christianity Theology, Hong Kong for his recommendation for my participating
in this conference.
2Yunnan Huizu Xiangqing Diaocha (Investigation to the Situation of Hui
Villages in Yunnan), edited by Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
1992, p. 211.
3Ma Meizhong: “Historical Stories of Bai Liangcheng”, Shadian Huizu
Shiliao (Historical Materials of the Hui People in Shadian), edited by Writing Team
of A History of Shadian Hui People, Kaiyuan, unofficial publication, 1989, pp. 256-
259.
4Lin Zhongshu: “Historical Achievements by Bai Liangcheng”, Shadian
Huizu Shiliao (Historical Materials of the Hui People in Shadian), edited by Writing
Team of A History of Shadian Hui People, Kaiyuan, unofficial publication, 1989, p.
210.
5Yunnan Huizu 50 Nian (50 Years for the Hui People in Yunnan), edited by
Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2003, p. 131.
6Yunnan Huizu 50 Nian (50 Years for the Hui People in Yunnan), edited by
Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2003, p. 132.
7Shadian Huizu Shiliao (Historical Materials of the Hui People in Shadian),
edited by Writing Team of A History of Shadian Hui People, Kaiyuan, unofficial
publication, 1989, pp. 47-48.
8Yunnan Huizu 50 Nian (50 Years for the Hui People in Yunnan), edited by
Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2003, pp. 136-137.
9Na Qi: Chuantong yu Xiandai de Zhenghe (Integration of Tradition and
Modernity), Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2001, p. 128.
10For more detail information of this event, please refer to Dru Gladney’s
book Muslim Chinese, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991.
11Wang Lianfang: Huizu Gongzuo de Huigu yu Qiwang (Review and Expectation
for the Work among the Hui People), Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
1985, p. 54.
12Wang Lianfang: “Preface”, Shadian de Zuotian Jintian (History and Present
of Shadian), edited by Shadian District Party Committee and District Government,
Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press, 1996, p. 2.
Wang Jianping 321
13Zongjiao Diaocha yu Yanjiu (Investigation and Research on Religion),
edited by Institute of Religions, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming, 1986,
p. 87.
14Wang Lianfang: Huizu Gongzuo de Huigu yu Qiwang (Review and Expectation
for the Work among the Hui People), ibid, p. 69.
15Ibid, p. 46.
16Ma Hengui & Ma Shaoqing: “Ma Jiangang, the Old Loves People”, Honghe
Zhou Huizu Shiliao Xuanji (A Selection of the Historical Materials of the Hui People
in Honghe Prefecture), edited by Islamic Association of Honghe Autonomous Prefecture
of Hani Nationality and Yi Nationality, Gejiu: unofficial publication, 1993, p.
203.
17“Chronology”, Tonghai Xianzhi (Gazetteer of Tonghai County), Kunming:
Yunnan People Publication House, 1992; I got confirmed through my personal interview
with Na Jiarui, the local teacher in Najiaying Village, Tonghai of Yunnan on
Nov. 14, 1994.
18Yunnan Huizu Xiangqing Diaocha (Investigation to the Situation of Hui
Villages in Yunnan), edited by Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
1992, p. 141.
19Ibid, p. 237.
20Ibid, p. 261.
21Ibid.
22Ibid, pp. 330-331.
23Yunnan Yisilan Jiao (Islam in Yunnan), edited by Ma Kaineng and Li
Rongkun, Beijing, Religious Cultural Press, 2004, p. 79.
24Zongjao Diaocha yu Yanjiu (Investigation and Research on Religion), edited
by Institute of Religions, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming, 1986,
p. 106.
25Shadian de Zuotian Jintian (History and Present of Shadian), editor in
chief: Wang Zihua, Ma Shaomei, edited by Shadian District Party Committee and
District Government, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press, 1996, pp. 268-270.
26Yunnan Yisilan Jiao (Islam in Yunnan), edited by Ma Kaineng and Li
Rongkun, ibid, p. 101.
27Yunnan Yisilanjiao Shi (A History of Islam in Yunnan), edited by Yao Jide,
Li Rongkun and Zhang Zuo. Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2005, p. 228.
28See Jonathan Lipman: “Patchwork Society, Network Society: A Study of
Sino-Muslim Community”, Islam in Asia, edited by Raphael Israel & Anthony H.
Johns. Vol. 2, Jerusalem: the Magnes Press, the Hebrew University, pp. 246-274.
29For more detail information of the network for the Muslim community in
Yunnan, please see Jianping Wang’s book: Concord and Conflict: the Hui Communities
of Yunnan Society in a Historical Perspective. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wilsell
International, 1996, pp. 127-161.
30Yunnan Huizu Xiangqing Diaocha (Investigation to the Situation of Hui
Villages in Yunnan), edited by Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
322 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
1992, p. 259; Also see Yunnan Yisilanjiao Shi (A History of Islam in Yunnan), edited
by Yao Jide, Li Rongkun and Zhang Zuo. Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2005,
p. 217.
31Gao Fayuan: “Speech at the Celebration of Day of Break-Fast in 2011”,
Yunnan Huizu Yanjiu (Journal of Hui Studies in Yunnan), No. 3, 2011, p. 3.
32Yang Zexiong: “Speech at the Celebration of Day of Break-Fast in 2011”,
Yunnan Huizu Yanjiu (Journal of Hui Studies in Yunnan), No. 3, 2011, p. 8.
33Ibid.
Wang
COMMUNITY IN SOUTH YUNNAN TO POLITICAL
ADVERSITY1
Wang Jianping
Shanghai Normal University, China
Abstract
The Muslims who live in the Yunnan province of China strive to
follow the principles advocated in the Quran, while living as a minority in
a non-Islamic society. Yet the cultural mainstream of contemporary Chinese
life often clashes with the core beliefs of the Islamic tradition. Therefore,
the Yunnanese Muslims frequently face political pressures as they
try to maintain their distinct Islamic way of life. This paper investigates
the methods that Yunnanese Musilims employ to confront an adverse,
political environment. Particularly their use of the values of peace and
justice.
Prajna Vihara, Volume 13, Number 1-2, January-December, 2012, 309-323 309
c 2000 by Assumption University Press
The fundamental values of most religious traditions certainly contain
those of peace and justice. The same is true for Islam, especially in
the case of the minority Muslims who live in Yunnan, the most southwest
province in China. They exert a great effort, for example, to follow the
principles advocated in the Quran, while living as a minority in a non-
Islamic society. Since often idolatry, atheism, and materialism have become
the norm in contemporary Chinese life, this challenges the core
beliefs of the Islamic tradition, and as a result the Yunnanese Muslims
frequently face political pressure as they try to maintain their distinct Islamic
way of life. How do these Muslims cope in this environment as
minorities? How do they deal with the political pressures often facing
their community? In essence, they employ peace and justice, the only
weapons at the disposal of this group of Muslim minorities to confront an
often adverse, political environment.
A Historical Review: How to Survive Strong Political Adversity
To illustrate this point I would like to select two examples from
past history demonstrating how the Hui Muslims dealt with crisis situations.
The first one is The Event of the Mutual Protection which took
place in Nagu Township, Tonghai County. The year 1858 was the climax
of the Hui Uprising against the Qing Empire’s ethnic cleansing policy,
while the Hui force was once very powerful and the Muslim upheaval
army was surrounding Hexi Town of Tonghai County. The Hui in Nagu
Village accepted the proposal raised by the Han gentries to urge the
Muslims to make a peace agreement with the Han villages around the
area. Therefore, the Hui accepted the responsibility to protect the lives
and properties of their neighboring Han people based upon the principle
312 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
of the mutual protection. Later on as the imperial force got the upper
hand and wanted to destroy the Hui village of Nagu, the Han people
came out to protect the Muslims. Hence, the Hui in Nagu Village never
did interfere with the Han villagers raising pigs, nor did they interfere in
the Han people’s funeral services. The Muslims and non-Muslims respected
each other, and the mosque, the Buddhist temple and the Taoist temple
stood in the same area, and the different believers peacefully followed
their own religions in this chaotic period.2
The second example is The Event of the Severing of Kin Relations
for the sake of Justice. In the 1920s, during the warlord period in
the Republic, the Hui militant organization led by Bai Qizhou in Shadian
Village raided a French freight train on its way from Vietnam to Kunming,
the capital of Yunnan Province. The French diplomats lodged a protest
over the robbery to the provincial governor who in return ordered the
punishment of the raiders. The local authorities in Southern Yunnan declared
that if the Hui community did not hand over Bai Qizhou, the national
troops would ransack this Muslim enclave. After hearing the news,
the Hui Village Autonomous Committee held the meetings and carefully
considered the consequences if the community would shelter the criminals.
So they decided to punish Bai Qizhou. However, Bai Qicheng, the
elder brother of Bai Qizhou, was the local commander of a militant group
and he strongly resisted the pressure from the Hui Village Autonomous
Committee on the basis of family ties. Under such circumstances the
Committee had to sacrifice the two brothers in order to protect the interests
of the whole Muslim village. So they waited for the day that Commander
Bai Qicheng came to mosque for prayer, and killed him in the
mosque, and carried out the death sentence to Bai Qizhou by other means.
After that the Committee also dissolved the Hui militant organization and
yielded the weapons to the local authorities. They did that because the
community led by the moderate Hui gentleman Bai Liangcheng thought
that raiding and robbery were unjust actions according to the teaching of
the Quran, therefore, the community must penalize the wrongdoers even
if it meant violating the kin relations among the Muslims themselves.3
After the Hui Village Autonomous Committee killed the local commander
Bai Qicheng, the corpse was buried. However, a Non-Muslim
official wanted to behead Commander Bai’s corpse due to his personal
Wang Jianping 311
enmity with Bai. According to Islamic law, a buried corpse of a Muslim
could not be disgraced. However, with the support of the local authorities
the official insisted upon it. The Hui had to bite the bullet and behead
Bai’s corpse. Bai Liangcheng, the cousin of Commander Bai said. with
tears in his eyes, that “The Commander has done lot of good things for
the locality, not only in religion, but also in education. All of these successes
are tied to his support. But we have been ordered to execute him,
and we do this after considering the overall situation”.4
It can be seen from the above-mentioned two events that the
Muslims in Yunnan knew the arts of how to safeguard their lives in the
history when the tide was strongly against them.
Living in the Time of “the Great Cultural Revolution”
The Cultural Revolution is one of the darkest times in the history
of China. In such a political turmoil followed the great persecution of
many religions and the religious believers, how did the Hui Muslims suffer
from this catastrophe? It was the greatest trial for the Muslims since
Islam came to China.
During the fanatical “Cultural Revolution” led by the Gang of
Four in the period spanning 1966-1976, all religious activities were prohibited
by the revolutionary regime. Religious people were often treated
as counter-revolutionaries and faced the risk of being put into jail. All
mosques, about more than 490, in Yunnan province were closed down by
force, their buildings either being occupied for other purposes or being
destroyed.5 The copies of the Quran and other Islamic books were confiscated
or were thrown into fire. Almost all the Islamic cultural heritage
was damaged or destroyed by the Red Guards or the revolutionaries. All
1300 Akhonds in the province had been denounced and even physically
tortured, paraded in public as demons, or evil forces. One case occurred
in the early days of the Cultural Revolution, when some revolutionary
rebels incited the non-Muslim pupils from a Chinese primary school to
rush into the Shuncheng Street Mosque in Kunming and post a portrait of
Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the Chairman of Communist Party of China
onto the wall of mihrab (niche, the direction to Mecca) in the prayer-hall.
312 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
The Akhond of the mosque could not do anything in the presence of the
revolutionaries. However, after the Red Guards went home, Akhond silently
asked a few Muslim pupils to take down the portrait of Chairman
Mao, since Islam strongly opposing the idolatry worship. Later on this
action was discovered by the revolutionaries who accused this event as
“the counter-revolutionary”. However, Mr. Wang Lianfang, a Hui worked
in the Cultural Revolutionary Leading Team Office calmly explained to
the people that Islam was a monotheistic religion, appealing for understanding
from the revolutionary Red Guards. Nevertheless, Wang was
charged as a reactionary and was deprived of all political rights for ten
years, but his peaceful way in dealing with atheists at that time was respected.
6
As the Hui Muslims in Shadian faced the People Liberation Army
which had laid siege to the Islamic movement, the Muslim villagers had
to give up the arms and open the village gate to welcome the arrival of the
military troops on December 8, 1968.7
Due to the insistence of the Muslims in Shadian of Southern Yunnan
on practicing Islam, the Communist authorities in the province regarded
this Muslim community as a “Hornet’s Nest”, and sent military regiment
of a thousand soldiers to surround Shadian Village and eventually station
themselves in this Muslim community. After the troops entered the village
the soldiers arrested the Muslim leaders. The Chinese soldiers consumed
pork meat in the mosque, and threw pig bones into a well whose
water was used for ritual ablution and for drink. The army used the mosque
as their cafeteria and dormitory. The soldiers even held a party in the
prayer-hall of the mosque. They tortured anyone who practiced Islam
and insulted them with a pig-head hung around the Muslim's neck and
enforced them to lick the pig-head. The soldiers also insulted the Muslims
and requested them to imitate pigs, gnawing on toilet walls and rolling
downhill which caused one Muslim woman to have a miscarriage.
They also pulled off the beard of an old Muslim for the punishment of his
keeping Sunnat tradition of Islam. Such persecution and humiliation lasted
for one year. The Muslims in Shadian had to suffer this humiliation only
finding solace in the teaching of the Quran that Allah would bless those
who have a determination to endure the political stress during the Cultural
Revolution.8
Wang Jianping 313
In the period of the 1960s and the 1970s when the extreme leftists
and politicians were rampant, the Muslims were forced to raise pigs and
eat pork meat. Any religious activities were prohibited by the atheist authorities.
The Muslims had to endure this religious persecution. Some of
them turned to the ground to pray, fast and study the Arabic Quran. They
also had to hide their religious and ethnic identities in order to avoid such
rude persecution and physical suffering. For them, keeping the faith deep
in their heart was also to uphold peace and justice in values and in worldview.
9 Therefore, since practicing religion was prohibited, the Muslims
in Yunnan maintained such religious practices secretly or quietly underground.
Forgiveness for the Wrongdoings of “the Cultural Revolution”
During the time of the Cultural Revolution, in 1975, the Gang of
Four cracked down on the struggle of the Muslims in Southern Yunnan
for their religious freedom. Using artillery they totally destroyed several
Muslim villages and killing over 1,600 Muslims, and injuring at least 5,000
in the so-called Shadian Incident.10 However, after the Cultural Revolution,
in 1979 the Yunnan government changed their view of this “Counter-
Revolutionary Rebellion”, and compensation was made to those Muslim
families which lost lives in the violent crack-down. The Muslims in Shadian
community understood that this terrible slaughter was committed by the
Gang of Four, and that it should not blame the junior officials in the grassroots
level of the locality. Consequently, the Muslims easily forgave those
who had committed these grave mistakes during the Cultural Revolution.
They looked forward to future, and with the broad and tolerant mind the
Muslims did not take any revenge in redressing this horrible event.11
Why did the Muslims easily forgive all the wrongs done to them?
Because they understood: “Our Hui are a geographically scattered ethnic
minority, if we do not keep good relation with Han Chinese and other
non-Muslim ethnic groups, or if we fall into factional fighting among
ourselves, without a solidarity and stable social environment, it is impossible
for us to develop or to have wealth. … Once the confrontation with
others occurs, we should be good at mutually understanding and mutu-
314 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
ally tolerant with the other side, even the confrontation is intense we
should uphold the Hadith: “It is the imperative obligation to obey the
state”, rely upon the government to solve the problem according to the
state legal procedures.12
After Shadian Massacre was redressed and the mistake was corrected
by the central government in Beijing, the PLA commanders went
to Shadian to apologize to the Muslims. Shadian Muslim villagers touched
by this gesture and said: “During the ten years’ turmoil we, the Muslims
were the victims, so were the PLA soldiers, the roots were due to the
Iblis [Shaitan or evil] Lin Biao (1907-1971) and the Gang of Four”.13
Taking the Initiative for Making Compromises if a Dispute Takes
Place
The Muslims in South Yunnan always follow the principle: to obey
their country’s constitutional laws must be a duty and compulsory obligation
for every Muslim. This mentality is entirely in conformity with the
Hadith: “Submitting to the order of the state is the imperative obligation”.
14
The Hui in Guanyi Village and the Han in Xiangmu Village, Jianshui
County, were very hostile to each other because of some historical reasons.
However, to reduce the social tension, the Hui leaders initiatively
went to Han’s village to make the gesture of compromise and tried to
bury the hatred between the two ethnic groups. The Han were pleased by
such a gesture and the hostile atmosphere was gradually disappeared.
Particularly, the Hui Muslims in Shadian community excluded all former
complaints, even sent their delegation with gifts going to the front of
Sino-Vietnam border to make condolences with the military PLA, which
once cracked down on the religious movement of the Shadian Hui during
the Cultural Revolution.15
Another case of Muslims preventing violence was Ma Jiangang, a
retired official who had served in the local administrative agency for 21
years. He returned to his hometown in Luxi County. Because of his fame
and virtue and the Hui Muslims asked him to act as arbitrator to resolve
a confrontation. In 1941 there was a severe draught in the area and this
Wang Jianping 315
caused the bloodshed over the dam of the river between the Muslim villages
at the upper reach of the river and the non-Muslim villages at the
lower reach. The latter wanted to dig an outlet in the dam to allow water
for drinking and to alleviate the great draught. The confrontation escalated
and both sides lost many lives. The possibility of an ethnic massacre
between the Muslims and non-Muslims was looming, Mr. Ma Jiangang
got news of this danger and immediately came to the site of the confrontation
and used his great influence to stop his Hui people from engaging
in further violence and appealed both sides to make peace over the issue
of the water distribution. Due to his peaceful efforts the bloody massacre
was avoided, and a peace agreement was reached on the matter of dividing
the river water fairly.16
Sacrificing Oneself for the Interests of the Majority of Muslims
The Hui Muslims in Yunnan, being an ethnic minority and living in
scattered enclaves, have a tradition of sacrificing their leaders to protect
the lives of the whole community in times of crisis. This ensured their
survival among an overwhelmingly Han majority society armed with the
very powerful cultural forces of Confucianism, Buddhism and later Communism.
The most remarkable example was Tu Wenxiu (1827-1873), the
leader of the Hui Uprising in Yunnan in the period 1855-1874. He surrendered
himself to the Qing imperial troops as they had surrounded Dali,
the location of the headquarters of the Muslim insurgency. Tu used a
peacock gallbladder to poison himself after he had made a peace packet
deal with the government that promised an amnesty to all the Hui followers
in the insurgent forces. Even in Shadian Incident of 1975 as thousands
of PLA military troops with the modern weapons raided Shadian Hui
village, while most of the village had been damaged by gun-fire, the Hui
leaders appealed for the two thousand civilians to yield to the government
to allow them safety from the deadly confrontation.
In the 1970s during the Cultural Revolution when religion was
treated as “counter-revolutionary” or “reactionary”, the Muslims in
Najiaying Village in Tonghai County were suspected by the local revolutionary
regime as being religious practitioners, therefore, six regiments of
316 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
the People’s Liberation Army were sent to the village and the heavily
armed soldiers surrounded the Muslim community and were waiting for
the order to suppress the Muslims. On March 5, 1975 as the Hui Muslims
faced the suspending catastrophe of the military interference, they had to
use their wisdom to deal with such an adversity. The community mobilized
women and young people who all held the branches of flowers and
sang the song of “Love Kin-men Such as People Liberation Army” to go
out of the village and welcome the armed soldiers entering village as
guests. Using this friendly approach, the Hui Muslims in Najiaying Village
averted a military slaughter by the governmental army. So such a
strategy of employing non-violence to combat violence or presenting flowers
to the gun muzzle is very successful in avoiding the direct confrontation
and making peace in relationship with other political groups, particularly
with the governmental authorities.17
Practicing Humility to Avoid Conflict
In Pingyuanjie, Wenshan County if a dispute takes place between
the Hui ethnic group and non-Muslim Zhuang group, the Hui consciously
show humility, so the quarrel will not develop into inter-ethnic fighting.
Maolong Village has a mixed population, the Hui and the Han live side by
side. The people have used the same well for drinking water for several
dozen years, and there never been any conflict over different living habits.
18
In the winter of 1989, Shuijingwan Village suffered from a severe
draught, which badly diminished the water supply. The village is composed
of a mixed population, Muslims and non-Muslims used the same
well, the only source of drinking water. A Han villager once carelessly
dropped a piece of pork meat into the well as he drew the water with the
bucket. According to the customs of Islam, the well water was contaminated
by pork, so the Hui should not drink it. However, this incident did
not lead to the ethnic confrontation, rather, the Hui did not seriously
regard it as blasphemy, or a deliberate insult or a challenge, rather they
went to a remote place to fetch the water even it caused great inconvenience
to their daily life. How did they maintain such a friendly approach
Wang Jianping 317
in their co-existence with their non-Muslim neighbors? The reason is that
they they have long practiced inter-marriage between the two ethnic
groups.19 Such a strategy of compromise can also be found in the case in
Maojiawan Village in Ludian County.20
In Taoyuan Township, if pig from a Han household runs into a
Hui household, or conversely, if a sheep from a Hui household runs into a
Han household, both sides, the Muslims and non-Muslims, will make a
compromise and pay each other compensation to dissolve the dispute.21
This is also for the case in Kedu Town, either side will buy a long piece of
red cloth as compensation or light a string of fireworks to expel the evil
as a ritual for solving a dispute with the other side.22
Adapting to Han Chinese Cultural Elements without Changing the
Way of the Islamic Life
Under the political hardships faced by an ethnic-religious minority
the Hui in Southern Yunnan has to strengthen themselves by strictly
following Islamic law such as abstaining from drinking alcohol, smoking
opium, consuming prohibited food, engaging in gambling and committing
sexual relations outside of marriage.
Yet the Muslims have assimilated some Han Chinese cultural customs
in their long period of co-existence, particularly with regard to social,
economic and cultural exchanges. However, these assimilations have
not fundamentally changed their Islamic way of life. If the Han Chinese’s
living customs do not directly clash with the teaching of the Quran and
Hadith, the Muslims in Yunnan will not resist some influences from Han
culture if it maintains a peaceful life with their non-Muslim neighbors.23
On the other hand, the Muslims have attempted to make accommodations
between Shari’a law and the constitutional law. According to
Islamic law, if a husband says to his wife three times “I divorce you”
(talaqa), the mosque will regard such a marriage being spontaneously
abolished for this couple. If they co-inhabit again they are considered to
commit adultery. However, such a practice does not fit into the constitutional
law on marriage. To solve this problem or contradiction the Akhond
of the mosque in that area assisted by the administrative officials, actively
318 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
mediates this issue and decrees that if the couple is willing to make reconciliation
or re-union, the mosque is able to recognize their relation as
husband and wife if they undergo a witnessed ritual for repenting.24
The Muslims in Yunnan also bravely teach Confucianism textbooks
in their community schools. During the Republic period (1911-
1949) the Muslim community in Shadian invited the teachers from the
inland to come teaching Confucianism classic books such as The Analects,
Mean, The Great Learning and Mencius. The Muslim schools even invited
non-Muslim intellectuals from other places to teach subjects such
as French literature, German philosophy, the Chinese classic literature as
well as inviting famous Islamic scholars from outside teaching the Arabic
Quran, Hadith, Islamic law and Persian Islamic literature.25 Even the
school provides modern subjects such as English, science, geography,
history, language, philosophy, music, mathematics and physics for Muslim
students to study.26
Enhancing Compatibility for the Community’s Survival
To display this point, I cite three cases. First is that the Muslims
realize the importance of developing education. In order to strengthen
the Muslim community, particularly after the Hui population in Yunnan
has decreased drastically after the suppression of the Hui uprising, the
Muslim scholars decided to develop Islamic education, to improve their
capacity to compete with the non-Muslim majority. So Ma Lianyuan (1840-
1903), the preeminent Muslim scholar in South Yunnan at the end of the
19th century had introduced a thousand Muslim students coming from all
over China to the Arabic Quran theological theory after he came back
from Mecca on Hajji.27 The rapid development of the Islamic education
has greatly contributed to the growing vitality of the Muslim community
in the region.
Second is that Yunnanese Muslims have created a comprehensive
network, To overcome the weakness of the loosely scattered “patchwork”
community,28 the Hui tried hard to establish a communal network in its
long historical interaction with the majority non-Muslims in the surrounding
area. Through marriage ties, commercial trade, itinerary clerical mission,
Wang Jianping 319
religious students’ searching Islamic knowledge, Islamic festival celebrations,
fund collection in building mosques, Hajji journeys, traveling among
Muslim enclaves, external connections with the Islamic world, the Muslims
in Yunnan although a minority, have formulated a powerful network29
which is able to compete with their strong and majority non-Muslim neighbors
and would change the political adversity into a political advantage.
Third is that the Muslims stress their solidarity within their community.
As the minority living in the majority surroundings the Hui Muslims
in Yunnan keep good terms with their different Islamic sects such as
Qadim and Ikhwani.30 By this way the Muslim minority can often compete
well with the non-Muslim majority.
Conclusion
Through the strategy of upholding peace and justice while living
under great political adversity the Muslims and Islam in South Yunnan
have gained full development as an ethnic-religious force. Although having
experienced several massacres and persecutions, the Muslim population
in Yunnan has reached to more than 70000031 from the less than
100000 in the 1880s, and there are almost 900 mosques in the province
according to the latest statistics.32 The development of Islamic education
is one of the most impressive in China, and the province boosts more than
1400 Hajjis who have fulfilled the pilgrimage to Mecca every year.33 The
Shadian community has recently built the largest and the most modern
mosque in China. The Islamic festivals in Shadian can attract several dozens
thousand Muslims from all parts of China to come for celebration.
The graduates from madrasahs in Shadian and the Southern Yunnan have
gone to various places in China to take the position as Akhonds or Imams
to lead Islamic affairs within Muslim communities. The Muslims in this
region live a better life than before since the fast growth of the Islamic
economy, and Shadian Community particularly has gained a good reputation
as the richest and the most developed economic area in Yunnan. In
Islamic dimension, Shadian has a name of “Small Mecca” which refers to
its central position in leading other Muslim communities of South Yunnan
in Islam. I think the wisdom of the Muslims in dealing with their sur-
320 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
roundings, particularly with regard to religious, political, ethical, cultural,
educational and social pressures is important to learn. It teaches us how
to maintain harmonious relationships among different ethnic-religious
groups.
Endnotes
1I am so grateful to the invitation from Assumption University, Thailand to
participate this conference on Asian culture; I also thank Dr. Yang Xinan from Institute
of Sino Christianity Theology, Hong Kong for his recommendation for my participating
in this conference.
2Yunnan Huizu Xiangqing Diaocha (Investigation to the Situation of Hui
Villages in Yunnan), edited by Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
1992, p. 211.
3Ma Meizhong: “Historical Stories of Bai Liangcheng”, Shadian Huizu
Shiliao (Historical Materials of the Hui People in Shadian), edited by Writing Team
of A History of Shadian Hui People, Kaiyuan, unofficial publication, 1989, pp. 256-
259.
4Lin Zhongshu: “Historical Achievements by Bai Liangcheng”, Shadian
Huizu Shiliao (Historical Materials of the Hui People in Shadian), edited by Writing
Team of A History of Shadian Hui People, Kaiyuan, unofficial publication, 1989, p.
210.
5Yunnan Huizu 50 Nian (50 Years for the Hui People in Yunnan), edited by
Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2003, p. 131.
6Yunnan Huizu 50 Nian (50 Years for the Hui People in Yunnan), edited by
Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2003, p. 132.
7Shadian Huizu Shiliao (Historical Materials of the Hui People in Shadian),
edited by Writing Team of A History of Shadian Hui People, Kaiyuan, unofficial
publication, 1989, pp. 47-48.
8Yunnan Huizu 50 Nian (50 Years for the Hui People in Yunnan), edited by
Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2003, pp. 136-137.
9Na Qi: Chuantong yu Xiandai de Zhenghe (Integration of Tradition and
Modernity), Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2001, p. 128.
10For more detail information of this event, please refer to Dru Gladney’s
book Muslim Chinese, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991.
11Wang Lianfang: Huizu Gongzuo de Huigu yu Qiwang (Review and Expectation
for the Work among the Hui People), Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
1985, p. 54.
12Wang Lianfang: “Preface”, Shadian de Zuotian Jintian (History and Present
of Shadian), edited by Shadian District Party Committee and District Government,
Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press, 1996, p. 2.
Wang Jianping 321
13Zongjiao Diaocha yu Yanjiu (Investigation and Research on Religion),
edited by Institute of Religions, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming, 1986,
p. 87.
14Wang Lianfang: Huizu Gongzuo de Huigu yu Qiwang (Review and Expectation
for the Work among the Hui People), ibid, p. 69.
15Ibid, p. 46.
16Ma Hengui & Ma Shaoqing: “Ma Jiangang, the Old Loves People”, Honghe
Zhou Huizu Shiliao Xuanji (A Selection of the Historical Materials of the Hui People
in Honghe Prefecture), edited by Islamic Association of Honghe Autonomous Prefecture
of Hani Nationality and Yi Nationality, Gejiu: unofficial publication, 1993, p.
203.
17“Chronology”, Tonghai Xianzhi (Gazetteer of Tonghai County), Kunming:
Yunnan People Publication House, 1992; I got confirmed through my personal interview
with Na Jiarui, the local teacher in Najiaying Village, Tonghai of Yunnan on
Nov. 14, 1994.
18Yunnan Huizu Xiangqing Diaocha (Investigation to the Situation of Hui
Villages in Yunnan), edited by Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
1992, p. 141.
19Ibid, p. 237.
20Ibid, p. 261.
21Ibid.
22Ibid, pp. 330-331.
23Yunnan Yisilan Jiao (Islam in Yunnan), edited by Ma Kaineng and Li
Rongkun, Beijing, Religious Cultural Press, 2004, p. 79.
24Zongjao Diaocha yu Yanjiu (Investigation and Research on Religion), edited
by Institute of Religions, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming, 1986,
p. 106.
25Shadian de Zuotian Jintian (History and Present of Shadian), editor in
chief: Wang Zihua, Ma Shaomei, edited by Shadian District Party Committee and
District Government, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press, 1996, pp. 268-270.
26Yunnan Yisilan Jiao (Islam in Yunnan), edited by Ma Kaineng and Li
Rongkun, ibid, p. 101.
27Yunnan Yisilanjiao Shi (A History of Islam in Yunnan), edited by Yao Jide,
Li Rongkun and Zhang Zuo. Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2005, p. 228.
28See Jonathan Lipman: “Patchwork Society, Network Society: A Study of
Sino-Muslim Community”, Islam in Asia, edited by Raphael Israel & Anthony H.
Johns. Vol. 2, Jerusalem: the Magnes Press, the Hebrew University, pp. 246-274.
29For more detail information of the network for the Muslim community in
Yunnan, please see Jianping Wang’s book: Concord and Conflict: the Hui Communities
of Yunnan Society in a Historical Perspective. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wilsell
International, 1996, pp. 127-161.
30Yunnan Huizu Xiangqing Diaocha (Investigation to the Situation of Hui
Villages in Yunnan), edited by Gao Fayuan, Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Press,
322 Prajna Vihara
__ __ ~
1992, p. 259; Also see Yunnan Yisilanjiao Shi (A History of Islam in Yunnan), edited
by Yao Jide, Li Rongkun and Zhang Zuo. Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2005,
p. 217.
31Gao Fayuan: “Speech at the Celebration of Day of Break-Fast in 2011”,
Yunnan Huizu Yanjiu (Journal of Hui Studies in Yunnan), No. 3, 2011, p. 3.
32Yang Zexiong: “Speech at the Celebration of Day of Break-Fast in 2011”,
Yunnan Huizu Yanjiu (Journal of Hui Studies in Yunnan), No. 3, 2011, p. 8.
33Ibid.
Wang
Islam in Contemporary China: an overview
Islam
in Contemporary China: an overview
China is home to a large Muslim
population. According to the Islamic Association of China, the country has over
25 million Muslims, 40,000 mosques and more than 50,000 Akhond, a
Persian title for the Islamic clerics who serve the scattered communities all
over the country. Every year, more than 10,000 Muslims make their pilgrimage to
Mecca, while - over the past thirty years - nearly 12,000 Muslim students have
completed their Islamic studies abroad, and another 100,000 have studied Islam
in the Madrasa (religious school) in China. All these figures show that Islam
is not an insignificant issue for contemporary China’s political and social
landscape.
After being banned
during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Islam in China has undergone a
revival since the reform and opening-up policy of the late 1970s. In just
thirty years of time, it has transformed from an underground religion into an
Arabian-style religion that is officially recognized as one of the five
religions in China (Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism).
Whether wearing their long robes, turbans, or hajibs, Muslims can be found all
over China; from the big cities of Beijing and Shanghai to the island of
Hainan, from Inner Mongolia in the north to Yunnan in the south, from the
western border of Tibet to the eastern coastal region. However, more than half
of the Muslim population lives in Northwest China, particularly in the Uygur
Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, the vast region where 23,000 mosques serve various
ethnic communities, including Uygur, Kazak, Kirghiz, Tajik, Uzbek, Tatar,
Salar, Hui, Dongxiang, and Bao’an. Islam is also flourishing in the academic
world: there are more than sixty titles of the Islamic periodicals published in
today’s China, and many Muslim professors and scholars teach and research Islam
in various universities or research institutions, and many conferences,
workshops and forums on Islam are being held all over China, often sponsored
and organized by Muslim elites or Muslim organizations.
However, although
China has more Muslims than most Arabian countries in the Middle East, they are
in fact still a vulnerable minority in Han dominated China, this is
particularly happened in Xinjiang. While Muslims profit from governmental
policies giving preferential treatment to ethnic minorities (“affirmative
action”) and officially enjoy freedom of religious practice, they are
supervised carefully and restrictions remain in place over the activities of madrasas,
religious ceremonies, religious organizations, etc. In order to maintain their
Islamic tradition and to uphold their monotheistic identity, it is important
for the widely dispersed Muslim enclaves to build a strong network in and
outside of China. Three Islamic institutions form the backbone of this network.
Firstly, the
mosque plays a central role in the Chinese Muslim community. Besides its
religious function as a place for ritual praying, mosques in China also have
social, economic, and cultural functions, such as administrative management,
festival celebration, social mobilization, economic enterprises, cultural
education, or even daily life affairs. Hence, the mosque is a stronghold that
binds its local community, while stretching out its external relations with
communities in other areas, in order to establish the umma (Muslim
nation) in the context of an unreceptive environment.
Secondly, the maktab (grammar school, or primary level) and
Madrasa (Islamic college or high level) provides the Chinese Muslim community with education in Islamic knowledge,
faith reinforcement, and passes Islamic tradition to the next generation. Most maktabs
and Madrasas in China are attached to the mosques, however, there are also
quite a few Madrasas set up independently and open to all Muslims in society.
They are not only responsible for the maintenance of Islam and to cultivate
young Muslims, but also to strengthen and revive Islamic consciousness of
Muslims of all ages. Maktba and Madrasa often regenerate the vitality of
the community that is in perpetual competition with a non-Muslim Chinese
community over the limited economic resources, and has to survive in a context
of social and cultural tension. Islamic education is like the soul of the
community, binding all Muslims into a strong organization, regardless their
social, economic, or political background.
Thirdly, the Qubba (tomb of a Muslim scholar or elderly)
forms the nexus of the Sufi community of Islamic Mysticism. More than one third
of the Chinese Muslims are affiliated to one or another Sufi order. Many qubbas
do not merely function as the burial places for the Sufi saints or Sufi
leaders, but are place of pilgrimage for Sufi followers, turning them into a
religious complex that combines the functions of a mosque, maktba and
Madrasa, and the tomb. The qubba thus plays a comprehensive role in the
Sufi social network.
In conclusion, Chinese
Muslims have strategically formed a religious, social, and cultural network
that has made Islam in China into an institutionalized entity binding the
widely dispersed and ethnically diverse Muslim communities or enclaves into a
considerably coherent, partly unified Muslim umma. Confronted with
increasing Islamophobia in the wake of recent terrorist attacks around the
world, these networks are crucial to the Chinese Muslim minority struggling to
survive in a country dominated by atheism and materialism, such as the People’s
Republic of China.
Jianping
WANG is Retired Professor of Islamic Studies at Shanghai Normal University
(wangjpzxt@163.com)
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