Chapter 20 Chapter Five The Nationalities of China Believe in Islam

The main carriers of Islam in China are ten ethnic minorities.They are Hui, Dongxiang, Sarah, Baoan, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kirgiz, Uzbek, Tatar, and Tajik.Historically, almost all of these ten ethnic minorities believed in Islam.People call this situation "the unity of ethnicity and religion".The unity of ethnicity and religion has formed a strong cohesive force among religious believers.However, it also lacks the passion to actively and positively radiate its own influence outward.The phenomenon of ethnic-religious integration began to change at the beginning of this century.Among the ten ethnic minorities mentioned above, there are groups of people who do not believe in Islam in each ethnic group.However, even today the number of people who believe in Islam still has an absolute advantage among these ten ethnic minorities.That's why there are such words in books and newspapers: "A certain nation believes in Islam".This formulation is not strictly scientific, but its implications are quite clear.

Hui nationality is the abbreviation of the Hui nationality.The Hui people live scattered all over the country in a situation of large dispersion and small concentration.The main settlements are in the Northwest, mostly in Ningxia and Gansu, and there are also a considerable number of Muslims living together in Henan, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Yunnan, Shandong, Hebei, Anhui, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Beijing and other provinces and cities.The Hui population has more than 8.6 million people (1990).Among the ten ethnic minorities who believe in Islam, the Hui nationality has the largest population.The majority of the Hui people believe in Gemu.The Hui people generally use Chinese and Chinese.The word Islam first appeared in the late Yuan Dynasty, and its meaning refers to Islam.In parallel with the title of Islam or Islam, there are also titles such as "Halalism" and "Tianfangjiao".In the 1950s, in the form of national decrees, titles such as "Islam (Islam)" were abolished, and only "Islam" was called.

The Dongxiang people got their name because they lived in Dongxiang, Linxia, ​​Gansu."Dongxiang Nationality Autonomous County" has been established in this area.In addition to Dongxiang County, there are also scattered Dongxiang people in Hezheng, Kangle, Guanghe, Dingxi, Lanzhou, Xinjiang, and Ningxia.Dongxiang has a population of more than 370,000 (1990).The ancestors of the Dongxiang people are believed to be the "Huihui" from Central Asia and the Mongols who have been Islamized.In the process of development, it also absorbed the aborigines (mostly Mongolians) in the Dongxiang area of ​​Hezhou (Linxia).The Dongxiang people have their own language, but no written language; they generally use Chinese and Chinese characters.

Among the Dongxiang people, the majority believe in "Men Huan".Zhehelinye, Hufeiye and Gedilinye are widely spread among the Dongxiang people.Hufeiye’s branch officials include Baizhuang, Humen, Mufti, Huasi, Fengmen, Beizhuang, etc. Zhehelinye’s branch officials include Shagou, etc. Gedilinye’s branch officials include Da Gongbei , Haimen, etc.Among them, the founders of Beizhuang Menhuan and Humen Menhuan were Dongxiang people.The founder of Beizhuang Menhuan was Ma Baozhen.He was born in the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1772) and died in the sixth year of Daoguang (AD 1826).Although Beizhuang Menhuan was founded in Dongxiang, it soon crossed the Dongxiang area and became a gate official across provinces.The founder of Hu Men Huan is Ma Fuhai.He was born in the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1715) and died in the seventeenth year of Jiaqing (AD 1812).The Hu family is second only to Beizhuang, and is the second eunuch in the Dongxiang nationality.In history, two eunuchs had bloody conflicts under the instigation of local warlords.As mentioned above, Ma Wanfu, the founder of the Yihewani sect of Islam in China, is also a member of the Dongxiang tribe.In the early stage of his dissemination of Yihewani teachings, the focus area was in the Dongxiang area.

The Salar people call themselves "Salar".Its ancestors came from the "Salauer" tribe of the Oguz tribe of Western Turkistan.During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, some members of the Salauer tribe, who had already been Islamized, moved to the Xunhua area of ​​Qinghai, China via Samarkand in Central Asia.In the later development, it merged with the local aborigines (Hui, Tibetan, Han and other ethnic groups) and gradually formed a new ethnic community - the Salar ethnic group.The historical records of the Qing Dynasty called it "Salahui".The Salar people mainly live in the Xunhua area.There are a small number of Salar people living in Hualong and Xining in Qinghai, Jishishan in Gansu, and Urumqi and Yining in Xinjiang.Salar population has more than 87,000 people (1990).The Salar people have their own language, but no written language; they generally use Chinese and Chinese.

All sects and sects of Islam in China have followers among the Salar people.Different from the "three-head teacher system" of mosques widely practiced in the mainland, the "general head teacher system" is implemented among the Salar people.In the Salar mosques, there is one chief teacher, who is called "ga [ga] the most".Under Ga Zui, there is another title of three masters. The Baoan people mainly live in Dahejia and Liuji areas in Linxia, ​​Gansu, and a few scattered in various counties in Linxia and Xunhua County, Qinghai.It is called "Baoanhui" because its ancestors once lived in the "Three Baoan Villages" (Baanancheng, Xiazhuang, and Gasar) in the Tongren area of ​​Qinghai.In the early Qing Dynasty, "Baoan Hui" moved to Linxia, ​​Gansu.The ancestors of the Baoan people were Semu people who believed in Islam and came to China from the east in the Yuan Dynasty.In the subsequent development, it merged the local Mongolian, Tibetan, Hui, Tu and other ethnic groups to form a new stable ethnic community - the Baoan ethnic group.The Baoan population has more than 12,000 people (1990).The Baoan people have their own language, but no written language; Chinese and Chinese are commonly used.

The Baoan people mainly believe in Yatou Menhuan and Gaozhaojiamen Hufei, and there are also a small number of believers in Huasi and Yihewani.The Gaozhao Family Huan is a branch of the Baoan family. Uighurs are distributed in Xinjiang, and southern Xinjiang is the main area where they live.In Taoyuan and Changde in Hunan, and Mianchi and Zhengzhou in Henan, there are also a small number of Uighurs living scattered.The Uighur population is over 7.21 million (1990).Uyghur is the self-proclaimed name of the ethnic group, which means "unity" and "unity".Uighurs have their own language.Uyghur belongs to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family.Now, Uyghur is spelled with the Arabic alphabet.

Uyghurs have believed in Shamanism, Manichaeism, Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism in history.In the middle of the 10th century, Islam began to be believed in during the reign of Sutuk Bughra Khan of the Hala Khan Dynasty.The ruling center of the Hara Khan Dynasty was in Kashgar.Around the beginning of the 11th century, Khotan converted to Islam. At the beginning of the 15th century, residents of eastern Xinjiang such as Turpan and Hami began to convert from Buddhism to Islam. At the beginning of the 16th century, the entire Xinjiang region basically realized Islamization. Kazakhs mainly live in northern Xinjiang, and there is a Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Ili.There are also a small number of Kazakhs living in some areas of Gansu and Qinghai.The Kazakh population is over 1.11 million (1990).There are three interpretations of its family name: the first "white goose"; the second "those who broke away"; the third "brave and free people".Kazakhs have their own language.Kazakh belongs to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family.Now Kazakh is written in Arabic alphabet.

In the middle of the 15th century, the Kazakh chiefs Kere Khan and Janibek led their troops eastward to the Chu River Basin and established the Kazakh Khanate, and the Kazakh nationality finally came into being. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Kazakhs were divided into three "Yuzzi": large, medium and small.Qing Dynasty literature called it the right, left and west. In the middle of the 18th century, the Qing government quelled the Mongolian Junggar rebellion in northern Xinjiang, and the Qing unified Xinjiang. Kazakhstan and Zhongyuzi belonged to the Qing court.Later, the grazing land of the Kazakhs was embezzled by the tsar, and a part of Da and Zhong Yuzi moved back to the northern region of Xinjiang.

Islam was introduced to the Kazakh grasslands in the 8th century. In the middle of the 10th century, some of the ancestors of the Kazakhs began to accept Islam.The spread of Islam among the Kazakhs has gone through a long historical process. From the 15th to the 18th century, the Kazakhs basically completed Islamization, and Islam became the belief of the whole nation. The Kirgiz people mainly live in the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture in Kizilsu, Xinjiang.In Fuyu County, Heilongjiang, there are a small number of Kirgiz people who migrated from Xinjiang.The Kyrgyz population is 140,000 (1990).The Kyrgyz have their own language.The Kirgiz language belongs to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family.Today, the Kyrgyz language is spelled with the Arabic alphabet.Most Kirgiz people in Fuyu County, Heilongjiang use Chinese.

The Kyrgyz are an ancient nation.In the Tang and Song dynasties, it was called "Xiaojia [xiajiaxiajia]si" and "Jiajiasi", in the Yuan and Ming dynasties it was called "Jilijisi" and "Qierjisi", and in the Qing Dynasty it was called "Brutt". Between the 10th and 18th centuries, the Kyrgyz completed Islamization.Historically, the Kyrgyz people believed in Shamanism.Today, some Kirgiz people living in Emin County, Xinjiang believe in Tibetan Buddhism; some Kirgiz people living in Fuyu County, Heilongjiang still believe in Shamanism.The Kirgiz people who believe in Islam have the characteristics of their own nation in their religious practice. For example, apart from reciting exercises, the requirements for other rituals are not very strict; fixed places for religious activities are relatively rare, and so on.For the Kyrgyz people abroad, it is usually translated as "Kirghiz". Uzbek is what the ethnic group calls themselves.This title is taken from the name of Sultan Mehmet Uzbek Khan, the ruler of the Golden Horde in the first half of the 14th century.This person is called "the moon is farewell" in the historical records of the Yuan Dynasty.In the month, Behan vigorously promoted the Islamization policy in the region, and the people in the region gradually converted to Islam.Later, the Uzbeks went south, occupied the agricultural area of ​​Central Asia, and established powerful Khanates (Kokand Khanate, Khiva Khanate, and Bukhara Khanate) in Samarkand and Bukhara.In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Uzbek Khanate was swallowed up by the Tsar, and the Uzbeks gradually moved into Xinjiang, my country.Uzbeks live scattered in Urumqi, Kashgar, Yining, Tacheng, Shache, Kuqa, Wushi, Hotan, Qitai and other places.The Uzbek population has more than 14,000 people (1990).Uzbeks have their own language.Uzbek belongs to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family.Now Uzbek is written in Arabic alphabet. For Uzbeks outside the country, it is usually translated as "Uzbek". Tatar is what the tribe calls themselves.In history, Tatar was called "Tatar".Tatar was later annexed by Genghis Khan and became part of the Mongols.The Tatar people in my country immigrated from Kazan and other places in Russia at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.They had already converted to Islam before moving in.The Tatar people mainly live in Yili, Tacheng, Urumqi, Qitai and other places in northern Xinjiang.The Tatars have a population of 4,800 (1990), and the Tatars have their own language.Tatar belongs to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family.Now Tatar is written in Arabic alphabet. The Tajiks in my country mainly live in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, accounting for about 60% of the total population.The remaining 40% live scattered in Shache, Zepu, Yecheng, Pishan and other places.The Tajik population is 33,000 (1990).The Tajiks belong to the Indo-European race.Tajiks have their own language.Tajik belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.Uighur is the common language used by the Tajiks in my country. In the first half of the 8th century, Tajikistan completed Islamization. In the 11th century, the Tajiks accepted the Ismaili teachings of the Shi'ite sect of Islam and became a member of the Shi'ite sect that opposed the orthodox Sunni sect.The Tajik people don't pay much attention to the pilgrimage to Mecca, and believe that people under the age of 40 can skip or do less worship and worship the religious leader - "Yichan".