TheGreatMosqueatHuajueLane
TheMosqueisamajorspotforreligiousactivitiesofover60.000MoslemsinXi’an,likewise,animportantculturalrelicprotectedbytheProvincialPeople’ketheArabicmosques,withsplendiddomes,theminaretsreachingintotheclouds,thecoulourfulengravedsketcheswithdazzlingpatterns,theMosquehereinXi’anpossessesmuchChinesetraditionaltouchinbothitsdesignandartisticoutlook;besidesthestylepeculiartoIslamicmosques,thisMosquealsoholdscharacteristicsofChinesepavilionswithpaintedbeamsandengravedridgepoles.
However,anyfurtherdiscussionabouttheMosquewillbefutileunlessanythingoftheintroductionofIslamintoChinaisbroughtup.
attime,ArabianmerchantsandtravelerscametothenorthwestofChinabywayofPersiaandAfghanistanandthusestablisheddiplomatic,trade,emeantime,anotherroutesawabatchofseavoyagersthroughBangladeshBayandtheMalaccaStraittoChina’sGuangzhou,Quanzhou,Huangzhou,YangzhouandothercitieswheremanyofthemsettleddownandmarriedthelocalwomenwholatergavebirthtobabieswhothenbecameMoslems.
However,massiveimmigrationoftheMoslemstoChinadidnottakeplaceuntilaslateastheearlyperiodofthe13thcentury,whenGenghisKhan,asaresultofhisexpeditionagainstthewest,hadconqueredvastexpansesoflandstretchingfromCentralAsiatoEasternEurope,oftheMoslemsintheconqueredareaswerethusforcedtoenlistandlatersettledinChina.
Amongtheenlistedmanyweresoldiers,uipeoplelaterfollowedKublaiKhandowntothesouth,ewakeoftheconquest,eYuandynasty,lotoftheMoslemstookpartinZhuYuanzhang’efore,alltheemperorsoftheDynastyissuedmandatestoprotectIslam,eearly16thcentury,IslampredominatedQinghaiontheminoritynationalitiesincludingtheHuis,theUygurs,theKazaks,theKirgizes,theTajiks,theTartars,theOzbeks,theDongXiangs,oslemsinXi’anaremainlytheHuis,beingasmallportionoutofthetenmillioninChina.
TheMosqueatHuaJueLaneisthelargestinXi’an,andatthesametime,itisalsooneoftheearliestbuiltonacomparativelylargescale,andwellpreservedmosquesinChina.
Accordingto“theSteleontheBuildingoftheMosque”,ver,ourcourtyardsofthemosquecoveranareaofmorethan12,000squaremeters,outofwhichabout4,tillintactwoodenfrontmemorialgatewayofthefrontyard,builtattheturnofthe17thcentury,withglazedtilesonthetop,spectacularcornersandupturnedeaves,isabout9metreshigh,tonememorialgatewayinthecenterofthesecondcourtyardisflankedwithatailsteleoneithersidewithdragonscarvedoneach,ebackofoneofthestelesareengravedcharactersbythemastercalligrapherMiFu,“MayBuddhismFilltheUniverse”,ontheother,“Royal-Bestowed”byDongQichang,eentranceofthethirdcourtyardisanimperialbuilthall,wherea“monthtablet”,showingthecalculationoftheHuiCalendarsinArabic,ee–storeyedoctagonalwoodenstructurecalled“RetrospectionTower”alsostandsinthecenterofthecourtyard,whichhasthesamefunctionastheminaretinIslamictemplesinArabiccountries,ectively,onthesouthandnorthwingsofthetower,areareceptionchamberandaScriptureChamber,ivewoodenhouses,whicharecalled“WaterHouses”nsidethefourthcourtyardthereisastructurecalled“thePavilionofPhoenix”,avilion,infact,ix-gabledstructureofthecentralpart,adjoiningthetwothree-gabledbuildingsoneachsidelooksverymuchlikeaflyingphoenix,atthebackofthePavilion,thereisafishpond,ssbothendsoftheplatformstandsthe1,300squaremeteredservicehall,eareoversixhundredsunkpanelswellasthesunkpanels,mamleadshisgroupofworshipers,whilefacinginthedirectionofMecca,tochantinKoranandtopaytheirreligioushomage.
worshipfivetimesaday:atdawn,atnoon,intheafternoon,atdusk,leworshipersattendtheirservicesinaseparatedplacefromtheirbrothers,areteetotalersnotonlyofwine,butalsoofporkandanimalbloodforinKoranpigshavebeenmentionedfourtimesasbeing“unclean”rdingtoKoran,ver,exceptafewplacesinXinjiang,hisdeath,aMoslemhastobe“thoroughlycleaned”(thoroughlybathed),hastobeputon“KeFan”(tobeshroudedwithapieceofwhitecloth)andhastobeburiedcoffinlessintheground,withanimamrecitingScripturesatthefuneral.
fcourse,theMoslemsinChinaenjoyequalrightswithpeoplesofothernationalitiesandtheirreligiousbeliefsandcustomsarerespectedeverywhereinthecountr
