Chinese Islamic Arts and Style

was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the readings from this week revolved around Chinese Islamic Calligraphy - as if my fascination with it wasn't evident enough already.

It's actually the idea of how some degree of artistic flair makes its way into religion that really strikes me as pretty amazing.  Not just with writing in the calligraphic form, but also architecture - most notably with the design and beautification of Chinese mosques.  Like calligraphy, the architecture style lying behind the mosques is a perfect example of the melding together of two different cultures, incorporated into one being.  Chinese mosques and 'traditional' Arabian-styled mosques are very distinct from each other and easy to tell apart.  The background cultural influence of the area's culture is evident from the style that it is built upon

The mosque, upon first glance looks very 'Chinese' - that is, it is able to easily blend itself with the surrounding environment among the distinctly Chinese-styled buildings.  And yet it's a brilliant example of the coming together of different cultural influences to create a a meeting point between two very different worlds.

Compare the above mosque with the more 'common' Arabian-styled mosques and the overt influence of Chinese culture can be easily seen.  I think it's great to see the acculturation of different cultures blending in together to create something new.  Additionally, it'd make it much easier for Muslim societies in China to blend in with the rest of society - especially since they would be considered a minority group against the majority Han-Chinese people.

The same thing can be said about calligraphy.  This may not be completely correct, but I like to think that there is some degree of 'commonality' between Arabic scripts and Chinese scripts, mainly in the manner by which it is written.  Both Arabic and Chinese characters appear to me as more artistic words, rather than plain written texts.  The English alphabet on its own looks rather simple and straight forward, whereas I like to see Chinese and Arabic written texts as something far more appealing to the eyes.

Going back to the idea of mosques and the architecture, Chinese mosques are, like traditional Arabian-styled mosques, have their interior and exteriors decorated with calligraphic pieces of work.

Again, the influences of both cultures can be seen coming together to create a single, united piece of writing.  Clearly Chinese by the manner and materials used to write it, yet with that noticeable blend of Arabian calligraphy worked into it.

A diverse culture of the Hui kind

Michael Dillon's sections are focused in particular on the Hui community within China - their history, particularly significant events dating back to early dynasty of which the results are still being played out even today, culture and overall development of the identity that the members of this society carry on so dearly.

Of particular interest, to me, was the idea of how the Hui are managing themselves and their culture within the greater Han Chinese society that they co-exist with - whether it's in a peaceful manner or in an ethically tense manner. Regardless of the the manner of these two communities' co-existence with each other, I think it's the idea of assimilation that comes off as important here.

No matter how much resistance that is given, I would say that it is inevitable for religions, cultures, and ethnic identities to find itself assimilating, to some degree, with the surrounding, usually majority-based, cultural society around it. For the Hui Chinese, that would inevitably be the Han Chinese - generally regarded as the 'typical' example of what Chinese culture is seen as. 

I wouldn't say that I see this assimilation or acculturation on a one-sided basis. That is, it isn't just the Hui culture that is being assimilated with the Han Chinese culture - the reverse is also applicable and true, to whatever degree it may be. Culture and religions are always developing because of this; their encounters and exposures to something new inevitably leads to the birth of a somewhat 'new' form of the former. In other words, Hui Chinese culture finds itself taking in aspects of Han Chinese culture and incorporating it into whatever was already in existence. Generally the change is most likely not that great, but still - there is a new 'form' that is birthed. This combination of different cultures and identities, at some points aiding in the formation of new ones, is an interesting phenomeno.

Spread off completely around the country

While it does not seem like it at first, it turns out that the Muslim community (communities) in China are actually fairly widespread, if this map of mosques around the country is to be taken into account

 

It's  fairly interesting to see so many mosques spread out around the country, but apparently mainly concentrated on the eastern side. One would think that the majority of the mosques would be more spread out around the northwestern borderlands areas, where groups like the Uighur population are concentrated.

In either case, it's a useful visual aid to see the widespread diversity of the faith all along China - it gives more of an indication that the religious tradition is more spread out along the country than I had initially thought.

Related to the idea of mosques in China, below is a video of the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou - apparently one of the oldest mosques in the world.

Crossroads at Calligraphic Art...

The combination of Chinese ideograms and Arabic-styled calligraphic works makes for beautifully artistic pieces. I don't think it would be too unfair to argue that for a lot of countries and cultures, the Islamic one - especially in our post 9/11 world - might be regarded under a very suspicious light, more so than other foreign cultures.

With that in mind, I'd say it's quite remarkable to see a combination of Arabian-styled calligraphy (which looks distinctively 'Muslim' in appearance) with Chinese artistic finesse.

Video: Taiwan city to screen Kadeer film

It's interesting to see the different forms of resistance that you could say the Uighur undertake in their struggle against the Chinese government.

The whiplash coming from the tensions that arose from the riots during the summer are still going on even now, in its various different forms - be they violent or passive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8265259.stm

A calculated attempt at uniformity?

China’s Muslim Uyghurs Forbidden to Fast During Ramadan

"Chinese authorities in Xinjiang Province have issued a notice that any Uyghur cadres or workers found not eating lunch during Ramadan could lose their jobs.
 

It is part of the campaign of local authorities in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uyghur ethnic group, to force the Uyghur people to give up their religious rituals during the fasting month of Ramadan ".

Given that China contains a large number of differing ethnic minority groups, about 55 in total at last count, it is quite hard for them to really develop a definition of what it means to be 'Chinese', in a way that would allow it to be applied to all of these ethnic groups. Many of these groups share nothing at all with the majority Han-Chinese - who represent what it means to be 'Chinese'. As such, it would seem like these ethnic minority groups can only be referred to as being 'Chinese' solely because they happen to be living within the borders of the country.

With that in mind, it wouldn't be surprising if the government and powers-to-be made attempts to suppress the most vocally opposing groups and have them conform, in some way, to the Chinese values that the Han-Chinese represent - that is, 'real' Chinese values and customs. While the veracity of the above linked story may need to be checked out, if it is true it truly is an interesting example of the government trying to suppress these non-Chinese minorities and influence them toward a more 'Chinese'-based identity. That is, giving up their traditional customs and culture and adopting that of the Han-Chinese - therefore, becoming a proper part of China.

Maps explain it all

It's true that language is a great way to examine the movement and spread of varying ethnic groups around a particular area - trends in immigration and emigration can be seen just from mapping out where particular dialects have been spread. Definitely a great way to trace the movement of the varying Muslim minority groups throughout China

It'll also be interesting to see how much of an impact, if any, the Silk Road had in bringing and spreading Islam into China. Although it's been said that Islam came to China during the Prophet's time, I would assume that during the peak point of the Silk Road's use is when a greater degree of influence came into China via merchants