XI’AN Showcases Chinese Culture Interwined with Islamic Traditions

Greetings to everyone: A Muslim lady on a bike takes her time for afternoon chit-chat. In Xi'an, Muslims have been part of society for 1,300 years.

Walking through the Muslim quarter of Xi’an is a fascinating adventure into an exciting mixture of Muslim and Chinese cultures.

The sound of a Chinese lady in a hijab selling fried squid and the smell of lamb skewers offered by a Chinese man with a white peci cap permeates the air. Visit the mosque where there are Islamic calligraphies under a traditional Chinese roof.

In China, the Muslims are a part of the “five great peoples of China,” along with Mongols, Tibetans, Manchus and the Han.

There are 10 Islamic Minzu (ethnic minorities) in China, including the Turko-Mongol speaking communities living in China’s northwest provinces, which include a group of Farsi speakers, the Uighur in Xinjiang, and the Hui who scattered all over China.

Located in central northwest China, Xi’an is home to Hui Muslims. The city is also famous for its tourist sites, such as Emperor Qinshuang’s mausoleum, the fortificatios of Xi’an and the Musuem of Terracotta Armies.

According to the 2012 census, Xi’an is home to more than 8 million people of which 60.000 are Muslims. Islam reached Xi’an in the second year of the Yonghui period of the Tang Dynasty (653 AD), 43 years after Islam was founded in 610 AD at that time, the Silk Road played an important roe in spreading its message across China.

The interesting part of the Hui Muslims in the Xi’an Muslim quarter is the degree of acculturation, without necessarily being assimilated into the ethnic majority, the Han.

The Hui people in Xi’an are proud of their identity boasting 1,300 years of Islamic history. At the same time, Chinese culture flows organically in their veins, making the hijab and peci the only means of Islamic identification.

One of the reason for the unique acculturation is the Hui’s dual ancestry.

“We (Hui Muslims) are the descendants of Arab men and Chinese women. If you see my pointed nose, I inherited it from my Persian ancestors,” said Hasan, the Great Mosque of Xi’an’s keeper.

Hasan also mentioned that Hui religious activities are inseparable from their Chinese heritage.

“I think around 90% of Hui Muslims find it difficult to read the Qur’an because of the dialect. Many of us memorize the compulsory verses to salat and use the Xi’an dialect to pray,” he explained.

Hasan then recited Quran verses, Al Fatiha (1), An-Nas (114) and Al-Ikhlas (112). The combination of the Xi’an dialect and Arabic fashions a deep rhytm that seeps into the subconscious in Indonesia. It might be similar to Langgam jawa, reciting Qur’an verses with a Javanese rhytm.

At the Great Mosque of Xi’an, acculturation appears robust in the form of architecture.

According to Nancy Shatzman, who wrote a research article on China’s earliest mosques, it was constructed under Emperor Hongwu during the Ming Dynasty. It consists of five courtyards and a long axial building oriented to the west or Mecca.

The establishment of the mosque is frequently attributed to China’s famous Muslim admiral Cheng Ho.

No bacon, no problem: Halal food, or Qingzhen, is easily spotted across Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter. In line with Islamic lawa, pork is forbidden. Thus, Muslims in Xi’an tend to substitute pork with lamb.

Cheng, who also built a mosque in Nanjing, is known for spreading Islam in south and West Asia, Africa and Indonesia.

Hassan mentioned that the city government supported the mosque’s development, including its restoration if needed.

“We have a good relationship with the government because they support the development of the building. Even during the Ming dynasty the emperor supported the effort to build the complex,” Hasan said.

Calligraphic inscriptions are found nearly everywhere around the mosque’s courtyard, such as Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, the bismillah (the opening), the shadah (Islamic faith statements), the six beliefs of Islam, the divine attribute of Allah and the angels.

The Chinese architectural style of the mosque is represented by a temple-like compound around the courtyard. Inside, it is ornamented with pillars and beams decorated wit hhorizontal Chinese-inscribed boards.

Hence, the Great Mosque of Xi’an represents a unique combination of Arabic culture and china architecture.

Another part of acculturation can be seen in the food.

The quarter serves unlimited halal food. In Chinese, halal food is called qingzhen, translated as pure food. Hui Muslims prepare food according to Islamic  laws of permission and prohibition ,meaning that pork and liquor are forbidden.

Abstaining from pork and alcohol is a sign of value internalization in their daily activities.

As a substitute, Xi’an Muslims eat lamb and seafood. Lamb is nearly everywhere in the quarter, ranging from skewers to noodle soup.

The Han culture is also present in the way food is prepared. In halal restaurants, it is common to divide food into hot and cold categories. The eating habits resemble Han culture, which maintains the balance between food components and a healthy lifestyle.

Like many Muslims, rituals are an essential tool in maintaining religiosity.

Hui Muslims in Xi’an celebrate Eid ul fitr and Eid ul Adha with big feasts and other cultural events.

“We celebrate Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha every year. I also took a pilgrimage to Mecca. I went there in 2013,” Hasan said.

Visiting the Muslim quarter in Xi’an is indeed an experience, especially when learning more about Islam and china. For most people, including Indonesians, it would seem far-fetched that Islam and Chinese culture can coexist, especially under a communist regime.

However, successful acculturation does not necessarily marginalize the minority because the Hui have shown that they can maintain and retain their ethnic social ties (Chinese culture) as well as their ethnic religiosity.

Devotion: A man prays inside the Great Mosque of Xi’an

Entrance fee: It costs 25 yuan to enter the Great Mosque of Xi’an. Legend says the Great Mosque was founded by the naval admiral Cheng Ho, who had big influence spreading Islam in Indonesia.