Religion and Ethnicity - (Issue 4)

Author: Mou Zhongjian, Liu Baoming / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The way of life of any nation is inevitably linked to its historical formation process, and the formation of a nation is often closely related to a certain religious belief. The Islamic faith communities living in the Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai regions are primarily the Hui, Dongxiang, Bonan, and Salar ethnic groups. The Hui population in this region accounts for about 40% of the total Hui population in China, while the Dongxiang and Bonan ethnic groups are mainly concentrated in Gansu, and the Salar ethnic group is primarily concentrated in Qinghai. The residential areas of these three ethnic groups are actually contiguous. Historically, the Dongxiang, Bonan, and Salar ethnic groups were often collectively referred to as the Hui. Due to their homogeneity in terms of geography, culture, history, and economy, these four Islamic faith communities exhibit characteristics different from other Islamic cultural communities, thus possessing the basic features of a similar cultural community. In terms of economic connotation, they are neither entirely traditional agricultural communities nor urban communities formed by industrial economies. Although they have a certain degree of commercial nature, they also differ qualitatively from modern commercial economies, roughly belonging to a small-scale farming and commerce hybrid community. Therefore, this paper primarily takes the Hui ethnic group as an example to conduct a preliminary examination of the ethnic issues within the Islamic faith of Northwest Muslims. Any inaccuracies are sincerely appreciated for correction.
I. The Formation of Islamic Cultural Communities in Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai
Mr. Guo Dalié, in his article "National Cultural Types and Their Adaptation to Modernization," categorized the cultural types of over 50 ethnic groups in China into six major types: traditional culture dominance, open and inclusive, absorption and transformation, lagging, religious cohesion, and multi-dimensional complexity. The fifth category, "religious cohesion," includes the Hui, Dongxiang, Bonan, and Salar ethnic groups. "The formation, customs, and festivals of these ethnic groups are closely related to Islam. Islam imposes strong constraints on its followers, gradually fostering a shared way of life and psychological state among them, promoting intermarriage and integration. The formation and culture of the Hui, Dongxiang, Bonan, and Salar ethnic groups are all related to Islam." Indeed, in the formation process of these four ethnic groups, we can easily observe their similarities or similarities. The formation of Islamic communities in Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai is naturally closely linked to Islamic culture. These communities are formed based on Muslim residential areas, varying in size. Due to historical and cultural reasons, these communities have formed a distribution pattern of "scattered widely but densely clustered." Generally speaking, the formation of these communities has two significant characteristics: first, their ancestors entered the Northwest ethnic regions as foreign ethnic groups; second, their communities first formed in cities and towns before spreading to rural areas, and after the modern era, their urban communities developed rapidly. Unlike the Muslim communities in inland areas, which are surrounded by Han culture, these communities are located at the intersection of Han culture and other ethnic cultures, such as Tibetan Buddhism, thus forming characteristics different from those of inland Muslim cultural communities. The four Islamic faith communities in Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai have a long history. Among the four Islamic faith communities in Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai, although all formed during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the footsteps of Hui ancestors appeared as early as the Tang Dynasty. At that time, a large number of Arabs, Persians, and Muslim merchants from various parts of the Western Regions came to the Chinese mainland for business along the land and sea Silk Roads. Those who came via land routes engaged in commercial activities in cities along the Silk Road in the Northwest. Some cities flourished with the development of Muslim trade, leaving early traces of Hui ancestors along the Silk Road in Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia. By the Yuan Dynasty, the Muslim population in Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai grew rapidly. A large number of Muslims from the Western Regions followed the Yuan army eastward and settled in various parts of the Northwest through farming, military garrisons, and pastoralism. Due to the large number of Muslims and their scattered distribution across the Northwest, they laid the foundation for rural Muslim communities in the Northwest. Many Hui villages in the Northwest are called "gong," "ying," or "tun," all related to the military garrisons and farming settlements of the Yuan Dynasty. P80-81