Ethnic groups in China

As a large united multi-national state, China is composed of 56 ethnic groups. Among them Han Chinese account for 91.59% in of the overall Chinese population and the other 55 make up the remaining 8.41% according to the Fifth National Population Census of 2000. 2005 sampling, Han constitute about 91.9% of the total population As the combined population of these other ethnic groups is far fewer than that of the Han, they form the 55 ethnic minorities of China.

Han People
Their population is approx. 1159.4 million, The Han people can be found in almost every part of China. However, they mainly live in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, Yangtze River and the Pearl River, and also in the Northeast Plain Region (Songliao Plain). They form the largest ethnic group not only within China and also the largest in the world. The Han people have their own distinctive way of life.

http://mlcaphg.wikispaces.com/Ethnic+Groups+of+China

 Han Zhaung Manchu Hui Miao Uyghurs Yi Tujia Mongols Tibetan Buyei Dong Yao Korean

Qiang Tu Xibe Mulao Kyrgyz Daur Jingpo Salar Blang Maonan Tajik Pumi Achang Nu

Ewenki Jing Jino De'ang Uzbeks Russian Yugur Bonan Monba Oroqen Derung Tatars Hezhen Lhoba Gaoshan

Bai Hani Li Kazak Dai She Lisu Gelao Lahu Dongxian Va Sui Nakhi

The largest ethnic groups of China: Han Zhaung Manchu Hui 1.2 Billion 16.1 Million 10.6m 9.8m

Miao
Uyghurs Tujia Yi Mongols Tibetan Buyei Dong Yao Korean Bai Hani Li Kazak Dai

8.9m
8.3m 8 7.7 5.8 5.4 2.9 2.9 2.6 1.9 1.8 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.1

 After the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there was a shift in official conceptions of minorities in China: rather than defining them as "nationalities", they became "ethnic groups". the TERM "nationality" treats the minorities of China as societies with "a fully functional division of labor", history, and territory, while the term ethnicity treats minorities as a "category" and focuses on their maintenance of boundaries and their self-definition in relation to the majority group. These changes are reflected in uses of the term minzu and its translations. The official journal Minzu Tuanjie changed its English name from Nationality Unity to Ethnic Unity in 1995. Similarly, the Central University for Nationalities changed its name to Minzu University of China. Scholars began to prefer the term zuqun() over minzu.[17]

 The PRC's Constitution and laws guarantee equal rights to all ethnic groups in China and help promote ethnic minority groups' economic and cultural development. One notable preferential treatment ethnic minorities enjoy is their exemption from the population growth control of the One-Child Policy. Ethnic minorities are represented in the National People's Congress as well as governments at the provincial andprefectural levels. Some ethnic minorities in China live in ethnic autonomous areassuch as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi, Ningxia and Tibet, as well as numerous autonomous prefectures, counties, nationality townships and towns have been set up. These "regional autonomies" guarantee ethnic minorities the freedom to use and develop their ethnic languages, and to maintain their own cultural and social customs. In addition, the PRC government has provided preferential economic development and aid to areas where ethnic minorities live.[21]

Islam in China
Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society.[1] Muslims live in every region in China.[2] Various sources estimate different numbers of Muslims in China. Some sources indicate that about 12% of the total population in China are Muslims. Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society.[1] "Islam expanded gradually across the maritime and inland silk routes from the 7th to the 10th centuries through trade and diplomatic exchanges."[3]

 Muslims live in every region in China.[2] The highest concentrations are found in the northwest provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu, and Ningxia, with significant populations also found throughout Yunnan province in southwest China and Henan province in central China.[2] Of China's 55 minority groups, 10 groups are predominantly Muslim. The largest groups in descending order are Hui (9.8 million in year 2000 census, or 48% of the officially tabulated number of Muslims), Uyghur (8.4 million, 41%), Kazakh(1.25 million, 6.1%),

Muslims in China

Dongxiang (514,000, 2.5%),

Kyrgyz (161,000), Salar (105,000), Tajik (41,000),

Uzbeks, Bonan (17,000),

and Tatar (5,000).[2] However, individual members of traditionally Muslim ethnic groups may profess other religions or none at all. Additionally, Tibetan Muslims are officially classified along with the Tibetan people. Muslims live predominantly in the areas that border Central Asia, Tibet and Mongolia, i.e. Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai, which is known as the "Quran Belt".[47]

The start
According to China Muslims' traditional legendary accounts, Islam was first brought to China by an embassy led by Saad ibn abi Waqqas that was sent by Uthman, the third Caliph, (that was in 651, less than twenty years after the death of Muhammad) which are confusions with Saad ibn abi Waqqas's earlier visits. The embassy was led by Saad ibn Ab Waqqs, the maternal uncle of Muhammad himself. Emperor Gaozong, the Tang emperor who received the envoy then ordered the construction of the Memorial mosque in Canton, the first mosque in the country, in memory of Muhammad.[7][9]

 While many historians tend to say that there is no evidence for Waqqs himself ever coming to China,[9] they do believe that Muslim diplomats and merchants came to Tang China within a few decades from the beginning of the Muslim Era.[9] The first major Muslim settlements in China consisted of Arab and Persian merchants.[10] During the Tang and especially the Song eras, comparatively well-established, even if somewhat segregated, mercantile Muslim communities existed in the port cities of Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Hangzhou on China's southeastern seaboard, as well as in the interior centers such as Chang'an, Kaifeng, and Yangzhou.[11] Guangzhou is home to four mosques, including the famous Huaisheng Mosque believed to have been built by Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, the uncle of Muhammad. The city also has a grave believed to be that of ibn Abi Waqqas (father of Sa'd ibn abi Waqqas).[12]

Song Dynasty
By the time of the Song Dynasty, Muslims had come to play a major role in the import/export industry.[7][11] The office of Director General of Shipping was consistently held by a Muslim during this period.[16] In 1070, the Song emperor Shenzong invited 5,300 Muslim men from Bukhara, to settle in China in order to create a buffer zone between the Chinese and the Liao empire in the northeast. Later on these men were settled between the Sung capital of Kaifeng and Yenching (modern day Beijing).[17] They were led by Prince Amir Sayyid "So-fei-er" (his Chinese name) who was reputed of being called the "father" of the Muslim community in China. Prior to him Islam was named by the Tang and Song Chinese as Dashi fa ("law of the Arabs").[18] He renamed it to Huihui Jiao

Tombs of Imam Asim and Mazaar of Zafar Sadiq

"On the foothills of Mount Lingshan are the tombs of two of the four companions that Prophet Muhammad sent eastwards to preach Islam. Known as the "Holy Tombs," they house the companions Sa-KeZu and Wu-Ko-Shuntheir Chinese names, of course. The other two companions went to Guangzhou and Yangzhou."[20] "The Imam (Islamic Holy Man) Asim is said to have been one of the first Islamic missionaries in the region. His name is also spelled Imam Hashim (man of c.1000 CE in Hotan). The shrine site includes the reputed tomb of the Imam, a mosque, and several related tombs."[21] There is also a mazaar of Imam Zafar Sadiq.[22]

Yuan Dynasty
During the Mongol-founded Yuan Dynasty (12711368), large numbers of Muslims settled in China. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims immigrants were recruited and forcibly relocated from Western and Central Asia by the Mongols to help them administer their rapidly expanding empire.[2] The Mongols used Persian, Arab and Buddhist Uyghur administrators, generically known as semu[]("various eye color")[23] to act as officers of taxation and finance. Muslims headed many corporations in China in the early Yuan period.[24] Muslim scholars were brought to work on calendar making and astronomy. The architect Yeheidie'erding (Amir al-Din) learned from Han architecture and helped to design the construction of the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, Dadu, otherwise known as Khanbaligh, the predecessor of present-day Beijing.[25] The term Hui originated from the Mandarin "Huihui," a term first used in the Yuan Dynasty to describe Central Asian, Persian and Arab residents in China.[9]

Yuan Dynasty
Genghis Khan, and the following Yuan Emperors forbade Islamic practicies like Halal butchering, forcing Mongol methods of butchering animals on Muslims. Circumcision was also forbidden other restrictive degrees continued The persecution became so severe that Muslim Generals joined Han Chinese in rebelling against the Mongols. The Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang had Muslim Generals like Lan Yu who rebelled against the Mongols and defeated them in combat. Some Muslim communities had the name in Chinese which meant "baracks" and also mean "thanks", many Hui Muslims claim it is because that they played an important role in overthrowing the Mongols and it was named in thanks by the Han Chinese for assisting them.[28] The muslims in the many parts revolted against the Yuan dynasty but the rebellion was crushed in some parts and the muslims were massacred by the Yuan loyalist commander Chen Youding.

Ming Dynasty
During the following Ming Dynasty, Muslims were influential around government circles. Six of Ming Dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang's most trusted generals were Muslim, including Lan Yu who, in 1388, led a strong imperial Ming army out of the Great Wall and won a decisive victory over the Mongols in Mongolia, effectively ending the Mongol dream to re-conquer China. Zhu Yuanzhang also wrote a praise of Islam, the The Hundred-word Eulogy. His Majesty ordered to have mosques built in Xijing and Nanjing [the capital cities], and in southern Yunnan, Fujian and Guangdong. His Majesty also personally wrote baizizan [a eulogy] in praise of the Prophet's virtues.[30] Additionally, the Yongle Emperor hired Zheng He, perhaps the most famous Chinese Muslim and China's foremost explorer, to lead seven expeditions to the Indian Ocean, from 1405 and 1433.

Ming Dynasty
The Muslims in China who were descended from earlier immigration began to assimilate by speaking Chinese dialects and by adopting Chinese names and culture. Mosque architecture began to follow traditional Chinese architecture. This era, sometimes considered the Golden Age of Islam in China,[31] Nanjing become an important center of Islamic study in China.[32] Muslims in Ming dynasty Beijing were given relative freedom by the Chinese, with no restrictions placed on their religious practices or freedom of worship, and being normal citizens in Beijing.

Ming Dynasty
The later emporerss policy towards the Islamic religion was tolerant, while their racial policy towards ethnic minorities was of integration through forced marriage. Muslims were allowed to practice Islam, but if they were members of other ethnic groups they were required by law to intermarry, so Hui had to marry Han since they were different ethnic groups, with the Han often converting to Islam. Integration was mandated through intermarriage by Ming law, ethnic minorities had to marry people of other ethnic groups. The Chinese during the Ming dynasty also tried to force foreigners like the Hui into marrying Chinese women.[34] Marriage between upper class Han Chinese and Hui Muslims was low, since upper class Han Chinese men would both refuse to marry Muslim women, and forbid their daughters from marrying Muslim men, since they did not want to convert due to their upper class status. Only low and mean status Han Chinese men would convert if they wanted to marry a Hui woman. Ming law allowed Han Chinese men and women to not have to marry Hui, and only marry each other, while Hui men and women were required to marry a spouse not of their race.[35][36][37]

Qing Dynasty
When the Qing dynasty invaded the Ming dynasty in 1644, Muslim Ming loyalists led by muslim leaders Milayin, Ding Guodong, and Ma Shouying led a revolt in 1646 against the Qing during the Milayin rebellion in order to drive the Qing out and restore the Ming Prince of Yanchang Zhu Shichuan to the throne as the emperor. The Muslim Ming loyalists were crushed by the Qing with 100,000 of them, including Milayin and Ding Guodong killed. The Hui Muslim population of Beijing was unaffected by the Muslim rebels during the Dungan revolt.[40]

Republic of China
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Sun Yat Sen, who established the Republic of China, immediately proclaimed that the country belonged equally to the Han, Man (Manchu), Meng (Mongol), Hui (Muslim),[n 1] Tsang (Tibetan), and Miao peoples. During the rule of the Kuomintang party, the Kuomintang appointed the Muslim warlords of the family known as the Ma clique as the Military Governors of the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia. Bai Chongxi was a Muslim General and Defence Minister of China during this time.

People's Republic of China

During the Cultural Revolution, mosques along with other religious buildings were often defaced, destroyed or closed and copies of the Quran were destroyed along with temples, churches, Buddhist and Daoist monasteries, and cemeteries.[43][page needed] During that time, the government also constantly accused Muslims and other religious groups of holding "superstitious beliefs" and promoting "anti-socialist trends".[44] The government began to relax its policies towards Muslims in 1978. Today, Islam is experiencing a modest revival and there are now [45] many mosques in China. There has been an upsurge in Islamic expression and many nation-wide Islamic associations have been organized to co-ordinate inter-ethnic activities among Muslims.[46]

Number of Muslims in China

China is home to a large population of adherents of Islam. According to the CIA World Factbook, about 12% of the total population in China are Muslims.[48] The 2000 census counts imply that there may be up to 20 million Muslims in China.[49] A 2009 study done by the Pew Research Center, based on China's census, concluded there are 21,667,000 Muslims in China, accounting for 1.6% of the total population.[7][50] According to the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), there are more than 21 million Muslims in the country while unofficial estimates range as high as 50 million. According to SARA there are approximately 36,000 Islamic places of worship, more than 45,000 imams, and 10 Islamic schools in the country.[51] An early historical estimate of the Muslim population of the then Qing Empire belongs to the Christian missionary Marshall Broomhall. In his book, published in 1910, he produced estimates for each province, based on the reports of missionaries working there, who had counted mosques, talked to mullahs, etc. Broomhall admits the inadequacy of the data for Xinjiang, estimating the Muslim population of Xinjiang (i.e., virtually the entire population of the province at the time) in the range from 1,000,000 (based on the total population number of 1,200,000 in the contemporary Statesman's Yearbook) to 2,400,000 (2 million "Turki", 200,000 "Hasak", and 200,000 "Tungan", as per George Hunter). He uses the estimates of 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 for Gansu (which then also included today's Ningxia and parts of Qinghai), 500,000 to 1,000,000 for Zhili (i.e., Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei), 300,000 to 1,000,000 for Yunnan, and smaller numbers for other provinces, down to 1,000 in Fujian. For Mongolia (then, part of the Qing Empire) he takes an arbitrary range of 50,000 to 100,000.[52] Summing up, he arrives to the grand total of 4,727,000 to 9,821,000 Muslims throughout the Qing Empire of its last years, i.e. just over 1-2% of the entire country's estimated population of 426,045,305

Islamic education in China

Over the last twenty years a wide range of Islamic educational opportunities have been developed to meet the needs of China's Muslim population. In addition to mosque schools, government Islamic colleges, and independent Islamic colleges, a growing number of students have gone overseas to continue their studies at international Islamic universities in Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, and Malaysia.[2] Qngzhn () is the Chinese term for certain Islamic institutions. Its literal meaning is "pure truth

Chinese Muslims and the Hajj

It is known that Admiral Zheng He (13711435) and his Muslim crews had made the journey to Mecca and performed the Hajj during one of the former's voyages to the western ocean between 1401-1433.[58] Other Chinese Muslims may have made the Hajjpilgrimage to Mecca in the centuries followed; however, there is little information on this. The General Ma Lin (warlord), made a Hajj to Mecca.[59] General Ma Fuxiang along with Ma Linyi sponsored Imam Wang Jingzhai when he went on hajj to Mecca in 1921.[60]Yihewani Imam Hu Songshan went on Hajj in 1925.[61] Briefly during the Cultural Revolution, Chinese Muslims were not allowed to attend the Hajj, and only did so through Pakistan, but this policy was reversed in 1979. Chinese Muslims now attend the Hajj in large numbers, typically in organized groups, with a record 10,700 Chinese Muslim pilgrims from all over the country making the Hajj in 2007.[62]

China Islamic Association

In April 2001, the government set up the China Islamic Association, which was described as aiming to "help the spread of the Qur'an in China and oppose religious extremism". The association is to be run by 16 Islamic religious leaders who are charged with making "a correct and authoritative interpretation" of Islamic creed and canon. It will compile and spread inspirational speeches and help imams improve themselves, and vet sermons made by clerics around the country. This latter function is probably the key job as far as the central government is concerned. It is worried that some clerics are using their sermons to spread sedition. Some examples of the religious concessions granted to Muslims are: Muslim communities are allowed separate cemeteries Muslim couples may have their marriage consecrated by an Imam Muslim workers are permitted holidays during major religious festivals Chinese Muslims are also allowed to make the Hajj to Mecca, and more than 45,000 Chinese Muslims have done so in recent years.[68] In areas where Muslims are a majority, the breeding of pigs is not allowed, in deference to Muslim sensitivities[

Islamic architecture
In Chinese, a mosque is called qngzhn s () or "pure truth temple." The Great Mosque of Xi'an (first established during the Tang era) and the Great Southern Mosque in Jinan, whose current buildings date from the Ming Dynasty, do not replicate many of the features often associated with traditional mosques. Instead, they follow traditional Chinese architecture. Mosques in western China incorporate more of the elements seen in mosques in other parts of the world. Western Chinese mosques were more likely to incorporate minarets and domes while eastern Chinese mosques were more likely to look like pagodas.[72] An important feature in Chinese architecture is its emphasis on symmetry, which connotes a sense of grandeur; this applies to everything from palaces to mosques. One notable exception is in the design of gardens, which tends to be as asymmetrical as possible. Like Chinese scroll paintings, the principle underlying the garden's composition is to create enduring flow; to let the patron wander and enjoy the garden without prescription, as in nature herself. On the foothills of Mount Lingshan are the tombs of two of the four companions that Muhammad sent eastwards to preach Islam. Known as the "Holy Tombs," they house the companions Sa-Ke-Zu and Wu-Ko-Shuntheir Chinese names, of course. The other two companions went to Guangzhou and Yangzhou.[73] Chinese buildings may be built with bricks, but wooden structures are the most common; these are more capable of withstanding earthquakes, but are vulnerable to fire. The roof of a typical Chinese building is curved; there are strict classifications of gable types, comparable with the classical orders of European columns. As in all regions the Chinese Islamic architecture reflects the local architecture in its style. China is renowned for its beautiful mosques, which resemble temples. However, in western China the mosques resemble those of the middle east, with tall, slender minarets, curvy arches and dome shaped roofs. In northwest China where the Chinese Hui have built their mosques, there is a combination of east and west. The mosques have flared Chinese-style roofs set in walled courtyards entered through archways with miniature domes and minarets.[72] The first mosque was the Great Mosque of Xian, or the Xian Mosque, which was created in the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century.[74]

M Zhncng ()
Ma Zhancang was a Chinese Muslim general of the 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army), who served under Generals Ma Zhongying and Ma Hushan. At the Battle of Kashgar (1933), he repulsed an attack of Uighurs led by the Syrian Arab Tawfiq Bay, wounding Tawfiq.[1] He fought against Uighur and Kirghiz rebels, and destroyed the First East Turkestan Republic after defeating uighur and kirghiz fighters at Kashgar, Yarkand, and Yangi Hissar in 1934.[2][3][4] He killed the uighur leadersTimur Beg, Abdullah Bughra, and Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra.[5] .

Hu Songshan ( )
Hu Songshan (18801955), a Hui, was born in 1880, in Tongxin County, Ningxia, China. His muslim name in Arabic was Sa'd alDin( ; si r dn dng). Although he was born Sufi and turned Yihewani, and later became an important Imam, scripturalist, and leader of the Yihewani Muslim sect in China. He was influential and played an important role in Chinese Islam in this position as he propagated reformist doctrines in Ningxia in his later life. Hu also played a role in rallying Muslims against the Japanese invasion of China. When Japan invaded China in 1937 during the Second Sino Japanese War, Hu Songshan ordered that the Chinese Flag be saluted during morning prayer, along with deference to nationalism. A prayer was written by him in Arabic and Chinese which prayed for the defeat of the Japanese and support of the Chinese government. The Quran was used to justify struggling against the Japanese.[4][5]

 Zhnzh qi nn yunzh wmen de zhngf , sh wmen de guji yngcnsh wmen de kngzhn shnglxiomi wmen de drnqi nn boyu wmen minzo drn qnl h cnsh de boxngqi nn chiqin kungfngsh tmen de fij zhulujnjin zng shn dhi shbng yn zhnsh tmen de jngj bngkuqi nn jing tinzi chngf tmenZhnzh qi nn shng zhn wmen de qdoJi zhyng ba Oh God! Help our government and nation, defeate the invaders, and exterminate our enemies. Protect us from the evil deeds done by the violent Japanese. They have occupied our cities and killed our people. Send upon them a furious wind, cause their airplanes to fall in the wilderness, and their battleships to sink in the sea! Cause their army to scatter, their economy to collapse! Give them their just reward! True God, answer our prayer! So be it.