TheGreatMosqueatHuajueLane
TheMosqueisamajorspotforreligiousactivitiesofover60.000MoslemsinXi’an,likewise,animportantculturalrelicprotectedbytheProvincialPeople’sGovernment.UnliketheArabicmosques,withsplendiddomes,theminaretsreachingintotheclouds,thecoulourfulengravedsketcheswithdazzlingpatterns,theMosquehereinXi’anpossessesmuchChinesetraditionaltouchinbothitsdesignandartisticoutlook;besidesthestylepeculiartoIslamicmosques,thisMosquealsoholdscharacteristicsofChinesepavilionswithpaintedbeamsandengravedridgepoles.
However,anyfurtherdiscussionabouttheMosquewillbefutileunlessanythingoftheintroductionofIslamintoChinaisbroughtup.
Islamasareligiousorderwasfoundedintheearlyperiodofthe7thcenturyA.D.andwasintroducedtoChinainthemid-600s.Atthattime,ArabianmerchantsandtravelerscametothenorthwestofChinabywayofPersiaandAfghanistanandthusestablisheddiplomatic,trade,andmilitarycontactswithChina.Inthemeantime,anotherroutesawabatchofseavoyagersthroughBangladeshBayandtheMalaccaStraittoChina’sGuangzhou,Quanzhou,Huangzhou,YangzhouandothercitieswheremanyofthemsettleddownandmarriedthelocalwomenwholatergavebirthtobabieswhothenbecameMoslems.
However,massiveimmigrationoftheMoslemstoChinadidnottakeplaceuntilaslateastheearlyperiodofthe13thcentury,whenGenghisKhan,asaresultofhisexpeditionagainstthewest,hadconqueredvastexpansesoflandstretchingfromCentralAsiatoEasternEurope,includingthenorthofIran.ManyoftheMoslemsintheconqueredareaswerethusforcedtoenlistandlatersettledinChina.
Amongtheenlistedmanyweresoldiers,andsomeweresmithsandofficialswhowerecalledtheHuipeopleinthehistorybooksontheYuandynasty.TheHuipeoplelaterfollowedKublaiKhandowntothesouth,helpinghimunifyingChinaandthenestablishtheYuandynasty.Inthewakeoftheconquest,IslamspreadalloverChinaandmosquesbegantoappeareverywhere.IntheYuandynasty,manyMoslemsheldpositionsbothinthemilitaryandcivilianorgansofthecountry.AndalotoftheMoslemstookpartinZhuYuanzhang’suprisingintheearly14thcenturyandmadegreatcontributionstothefoundingoftheMingDynasty.Therefore,alltheemperorsoftheDynastyissuedmandatestoprotectIslam,andtosetupmosquesinpraiseoftheMoslemsfortheirfeats.Intheearly16thcentury,IslampredominatedQinghaiontheminoritynationalitiesincludingtheHuis,theUygurs,theKazaks,theKirgizes,theTajiks,theTartars,theOzbeks,theDongXiangs,theSalarsandtheBonans.TheMoslemsinXi’anaremainlytheHuis,beingasmallportionoutofthetenmillioninChina.
TheMosqueatHuaJueLaneisthelargestinXi’an,andatthesametime,itisalsooneoftheearliestbuiltonacomparativelylargescale,andwellpreservedmosquesinChina.
Accordingto“theSteleontheBuildingoftheMosque”,themosqueissaidtobebuiltintheTangDynasty.However,thearchitecturalstyleofthemosquesuggestsapossiblebuildingdatingbacktotheMingDynasty.Thefourcourtyardsofthemosquecoveranareaofmorethan12,000squaremeters,outofwhichabout4,000areoccupiedbyvariousstructures.Thestillintactwoodenfrontmemorialgatewayofthefrontyard,builtattheturnofthe17thcentury,withglazedtilesonthetop,spectacularcornersandupturnedeaves,isabout9metreshigh,andhasahistoryofabout360years.Thestonememorialgatewayinthecenterofthesecondcourtyardisflankedwithatailsteleoneithersidewithdragonscarvedoneach,recordingtherepairworkeversincethebuildingoftheMosque.OnthebackofoneofthestelesareengravedcharactersbythemastercalligrapherMiFu,“MayBuddhismFilltheUniverse”,ontheother,“Royal-Bestowed”byDongQichang,anothermasterofthesameartoftheMingdynasty.TheyaretreasuresinChinesecalligraphy.Attheentranceofthethirdcourtyardisanimperialbuilthall,wherea“monthtablet”,showingthecalculationoftheHuiCalendarsinArabic,isstored.ItwascompiledbyamaninchargeofthemosquecalledXiaoMiningintheearlyperiodoftheQingdynasty.Athree–storeyedoctagonalwoodenstructurecalled“RetrospectionTower”alsostandsinthecenterofthecourtyard,whichhasthesamefunctionastheminaretinIslamictemplesinArabiccountries,andwhichisaplacefromwhereordersweresenttocalltheMoslemstocometoworship.Respectively,onthesouthandnorthwingsofthetower,areareceptionchamberandaScriptureChamber,bothelegantlylaidout.Thefivewoodenhouses,whicharecalled“WaterHouses”inthesouthwestsectionoftheMosquearetheplacewherethebelieversbathethemselvesbeforetheyattendtheirservices.Andinsidethefourthcourtyardthereisastructurecalled“thePavilionofPhoenix”,aplacewheretheworshipersusedtowaitfortheservices.ThePavilion,infact,isacompoundstructureofthreesmallbuildings.Thesix-gabledstructureofthecentralpart,adjoiningthetwothree-gabledbuildingsoneachsidelooksverymuchlikeaflyingphoenix,andhenceitsname.JustatthebackofthePavilion,thereisafishpond,beyondwhichisaplatformoccupyinganareaaslargeas700m2.Acrossbothendsoftheplatformstandsthe1,300squaremeteredservicehall,holdingoverathousandworshipersatonce.Thereareoversixhundredsunkpanelswellasthesunkpanels,aredecoratedwithpatternsofpaintedtrailingplantsandArabicletterings.Theimamleadshisgroupofworshipers,whilefacinginthedirectionofMecca,tochantinKoranandtopaytheirreligioushomage.
TheMoslemsinChinashareverymuchthesamecustomswiththeirbrothersandsisterselsewhereintheworld.Theyworshipfivetimesaday:atdawn,atnoon,intheafternoon,atdusk,andatnight.Femaleworshipersattendtheirservicesinaseparatedplacefromtheirbrothers,usuallyathome.Moslemspayspecialattentiontotheirhealthandseethattheyalwayswearcleanclothes.Theyareteetotalersnotonlyofwine,butalsoofporkandanimalbloodforinKoranpigshavebeenmentionedfourtimesasbeing“unclean”.AccordingtoKoran,amancanhavefourwivesandwomenshouldwearveilswhentheygoout.However,exceptafewplacesinXinjiang,theChinesepractisemonogamyandwomenareveilesswhentheygoout.Uponhisdeath,aMoslemhastobe“thoroughlycleaned”(thoroughlybathed),hastobeputon“KeFan”(tobeshroudedwithapieceofwhitecloth)andhastobeburiedcoffinlessintheground,withanimamrecitingScripturesatthefuneral.
TheChineseconstitutionpromulgatesthatfreedomofreligionofeachcitizenandfreedomofpreservingorreforminglocalcustomsforeverynationalityarepermitted.Andofcourse,theMoslemsinChinaenjoyequalrightswithpeoplesofothernationalitiesandtheirreligiousbeliefsandcustomsarerespectedeverywhereinthecountr
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