Chinese Islamic architecture,Sino-Islamic architecture, orIslamic architecture of China are terms used to indicate the architectural tradition and cultural heritage of theMuslim populations in China, both of mainland and outer China, which has existed since the 8th century CE to the present.[1] With theacculturation of the Islamic religion within the predominantHan-Chinese culture, a unique architectural style emerged among Chinese Muslims.[1] It became standard for them to incorporatetraditional Chinese andIslamic architectural elements together formosques,prayer halls,mausoleums, and other buildings.[1][2]
Islam has been practiced in Chinese society for 1,300 years.[1][3] Currently,Chinese Muslims are a minority group in China, representing between 0.45% to 1.8% of the total population according to the latest estimates.[4] AlthoughHui Muslims are the most numerous group,[5] the greatest concentration of Chinese Muslims are located inNorthwestern China, mostly in theautonomous region ofXinjiang, which holds a significantUyghur population.[1] Lesser but significant Chinese Muslim populations reside in the regions ofNingxia,Gansu, andQinghai.[6] Of China's 55 officially recognizedminority peoples, ten groups are predominantlySunnī Muslim.[6]
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Thehistory of Islam in China goes back to theearliest years of Islam.[1] According to Chinese Muslims' traditional legendary accounts, Muslim missionaries reached China through an embassy sent byʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (644–656), the thirdrāshidūncaliph, in 651 CE, less than twenty years after thedeath of Muhammad (632 CE).Saʿd ibn Abī Waḳḳāṣ, the maternal uncle and second cousin of Muhammad, was sent with a delegation to meet the ChineseGaozong Emperor. The construction ofHuaisheng Mosque inGuangzhou, the first mosque in the country, is attributed to him.[9]
According to traditional Chinese Muslim legendary accounts, Islam was first introduced to China in 616–618 CE by some ofMuhammad's closest companions (ṣaḥāba): Saʿd ibn Abī Waḳḳāṣ, Sayid, Wahb Abu Kabcha, and another one.[10] Wahb Abu Kabcha may have been be a son of al-Ḥārth ibn ʿAbdul al-ʿUzzā (also known as Abu Kabsha).[10] It is reported in other accounts that Wahb Abu Kabcha reached Guangzhou by sea in 629 CE.[10]
While modern historians state that there is no evidence for Waḳḳāṣ himself ever coming to China,[9] they do believe that Muslim diplomats and merchants arrived toTang China within a few decades from the beginning of theMuslim era.[9] The Tang dynasty'scosmopolitan culture, with its intensive contacts spread acrossCentral Asia and its significant communities of (originallyNon-Muslim) Central andWest Asian merchants resident in Chinese cities, which helped the introduction of Islam.[9] The first major Muslim settlements in China consisted ofArab andPersian merchants.[11]
During and after theArab Muslim invasion of Transoxiana, theUmayyad Caliphate deposedIkhshid, king of theFergana Valley, in 715 CE, and installed a new king on the throne,Alutar. The deposed king fled toKucha (seat ofAnxi Protectorate), and sought Chinese intervention. The Chinese sent 10,000 troops under Zhang Xiaosong toFerghana. He defeated Alutar and the Arab Muslim occupation forces atNamangan, reinstalling Ikhshid on the throne.[12] Arab sources also report thatQutayba ibn Muslim briefly took Kashgar from China towards 714 CE and withdrew after an agreement,[13] but modern historians entirely dismiss this claim.[14][15][16]
The earliest extant religious structures that display features of Chinese Islamic architecture are theGreat Mosque of Xi'an, built in 742 (according to an engraving on a stone tablet preserved inside the building), and the Daxuexi Alley Mosque inXi'an. The latter was built in 705, according to one inscription attributed to theEmperor Jiajing of theMing dynasty.[17][18]
Multiple other mosques were established during the Tang, including theShengyou Mosque in Quanzhou, thePhoenix Mosque in Hangzhou, theTaiyuan Old Mosque in Shanxi, and more.[19] Around 13 mosques were recorded to exist by the late Tang period.[20]
![Huaisheng Mosque (in Guangzhou) entrance and minaret, considered to be the oldest mosque in China[21]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGuangdong_Huaisheng_Mosque_2024.jpg)
There are many examples of Chinese Islamic structures built under theSong andLiao dynasties, such as theNiujie Mosque (simplified Chinese: 牛街礼拜寺;traditional Chinese: 牛街禮拜寺;pinyin:Niújiē lǐbàisì;Wade–Giles:Niu-chieh Li-pai-ssu "Oxen Street House of Worship" orChinese: 牛街清真寺;pinyin:Niújiē Qīngzhēnsì;Wade–Giles:Niu-chieh Ch'ing-chen-ssu "Oxen Street Mosque"), who is the oldest mosque inBeijing. It was first built in 996 under theLiao dynasty, and was subsequently reconstructed as well as enlarged under theChenghua Emperor of theMing dynasty, who granted the mosque financial support in 1474,[18] and theKangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722) of theQing dynasty.[22] Another notable Chinese Islamic building is the Huaisheng Mosque inGuangzhou.[17] By the late Song dynasty, 28 mosques were recorded in China, with 15 of those being constructed during the Song period.[20]
![Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou Constructed in 1009 CE,[23]and influenced by Arabic (Islamic) architecture[24]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMosque_in_Quanzhou%2c_Fujian%2c_China.jpg)
The Yuan period has been considered a golden age for Islamic architecture in China, with many mosques being established during this period.[19][20] Mosques were centered around thenorth China plain, thenorthwest, and theYunnan region.[20] Under theYuan dynasty, Chinese Muslims began referring to their mosques asqingzhensi ("temple of purity and truth").[25] There are many examples of Chinese Islamic architecture built during the Yuan period, such as theDongsi Mosque (北京东四清真寺) in Beijing, which was enlarged under the Ming dynasty;[18] the Tongzhou Mosque (北京通州清真寺) in Beijing; theQingjing Mosque (泉州清净寺) in Quanzhou, which is the only structure that features stone entrances; and the Hangzhou Fenghuang Mosque (杭州风凰寺).[17] This period was characterized by an increased and widespread use of Islamic architectural elements, such as high entrances, domes, transition zones, and the use of bricks and stones.[26][17]
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In the early Ming period, an increasing amount of mosques and other Islamic institutions adopted strongly Chinese styles of architecture. The additions ofpagodas to mosques and their distribution between regular homes made them blend well within the Chinese environment. Tablets and other monuments on mosques written in Chinese became the norm during this period as well.[27]Later in the Ming dynasty, construction of lecture halls within mosques began inShaanxi and later spread throughout China.[2] The late Ming and early Qing period saw a rapid growth of construction of mosques.[28]
![Tongxin Great Mosque established in the 14th century (Yuan dynasty)[29] but reconsecrated as a mosque during the early Ming dynasty.[30]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTongxin_mosque.JPG)
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After 1945 and until the 1980s, Islam was tightly controlled by the state. During theCultural Revolution a large number of mosques and religious structures were destroyed or damaged. Serious strife occurred such as theShadian incident in 1975. The opening instituted under Deng Xiaoping relaxed the controls. Traditional Islamic architectural influences started coming in stronger, with many rebuilt and renovated mosques having Islamic-style domes and minarets.[32]Shadian's Great Mosque (大清真寺Da qingzhensi) was constructed with a design inspired from the Middle East.[33]
Starting in 2018 the government instituted asinicization policy "to guide Islam to be compatible with socialism and implement measures to sinicise the religion".[34] The campaign is also called the threesanhua (三化), or "the three -izations", to implement "de-Arabization", "de-Saudization" and "de-halalization".[35][36][37][38] This included removing domes and minarets.[39][40] This policy has led to public unrest such as in August 2018 at the Weizhou Grand Mosque in Ningxia and in June 2023 in Najiaying, Yunnan.[41][42] Shadian's Great Mosque's architecture is also slated for renovation to remove the dome and remodel the minaret with Chinese traditional architecture.[43]
Islamic architecture in China most likely dates from the eighth century and flourished from the time of the Song dynasty (r. 960–1279). It is characterised by its adaptability to the Chinese building system. The oldest Muslim buildings in China today (cenotaphs, mausoleums, and prayer halls, an entry gate, and a minaret) survive in locations across the country and date to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Shrines of holy men (Ar.qubba) date primarily from the Qing dynasty (r. 1644–1911) and are located in western China.
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