My wife and I are going to Guangzhou , then Foshan, the place where my wife will attend the international seminar and presenting a paper. After that we also plan to go Hong Kong.
I plan to go to masjid Huasheng, also known masjid Sa'ad bin Waqqas.
Some history for you all on how the Muslim preacher came to China long time ago.
Re: the Tomb of Sa'ad bin Waqqas
The Rise and temporary Fall of Islâm in China
During the Tang dynasty (ended 295; A.D. 907) and the Song dynasty (349-678; A.D. 960-1279) foreign trade grew steadily as Arabs, Turks and Iranians took silk, art objects, Chinese porcelain, and other commodities to the Middle East and to Europe, returning with herbs, spices, pearls, and other products of those areas. They became middlemen in a most profitable trade which attracted ever greater numbers for commerce and the propagation of their faith, and as the new traders came to China more Muslim communities were established in the southeast and northwest parts of the country.
These Muslim communities became a strong force in Chinese society. Because these Arab, Turk and Iranian Muslim were law-abiding and self-disciplined citizens of high economic status they were received with respect and friendship by the Han (Chinese) people and were given the confidence and protection of the government. During the Tang and Song dynasties there was no anti-foreign feeling on the part of the government, and the Muslim population was able to increase steadily and move inland. Thus the Chinese and Islâm lived together in harmony and tolerance.
The Yuan dynasty was considered a foreign dynasty because it started under Genghis Khan, whose Mongol forces occupied China, Central Asia, Iran, Arabia, and parts of Eastern Europe. When these areas were divided into various kingdoms, Kublai Khan became the ruler of China and Mongolia, and the founder of the Yuan dynasty. Of the other areas which were for a time under Mongol control, the kingdoms of Central Asia were converted to Islâm.
Throughout the whole area the freedom of travel maintained by the Mongols encouraged great crosscurrents of peoples and cultures -- the Chinese into Central Asia and the Arabs, Turks, and the Iranians into China -- which brought an influx into China of Muslim merchants and also Muslim doctors, scholars, astronomers, astrologers, and high-ranking warriors who were attached to the Mongol army as advisors, military aides, and staff officers. Although the Yuan dynasty was Mongolian, Muslims enhanced their standing by holding positions of military and civil power, and the propagation of the faith was greatly facilitated. According to the eminent Chinese historian Professor Ding Xuewu Ting, over thirty Muslims were high officials at the royal court in Peking, and the governors of nine provinces were Muslims.
Of the many important Muslims at the royal court of the Mongols, Sayid Ajal was the most prominent. Rising through a series of high offices, he became Commander-in-Chief of the Mongolian Expeditionary Forces in Sichuan and was appointed the governor of the province in 671 (A.D. 1272).
Two years later he was transferred to the governorship of Yunnan where his enlightened and glorious rule hastened the spread of Chinese culture into the remote southwest, bringing the Thai and Malay indigenous people of Yunnan, Chinese law, education, and improved agriculture. He did this without prejudice as to race or religion and without forced conversion of the people to Islâm -- on the contrary, there were Buddhist and Daoist temples in Yunnan. Many of the cultural patterns of the present day are due to this great governor whose name is still revered by all the people of Yunnan, Han and non-Han alike. Were it not for his religion, he would long since have been worshiped! in the temples.
The Iranian historian, Rashidu'd-Din Fadlu'llah, in his remarkable history Iami'u't-Tawarikh -- the first volume of which deals with the history of the Mongols -- tells us that
"China during the Mongolian dynasty of Kublai Khan was administered in twelve districts, with a governor and vice-governor in each. Of these twelve governors, eight were Muslims. In the remaining districts, Muslims were vice-governors."
Thus we can imagine the status and importance of Muslims in China during the Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty lasted for roughly ninety years (678-770; A.D. I 279-1368) until it was overthrown and the Ming dynasty was established. During the Ming dynasty -- which ruled almost three centuries, from 770 to 1054 (A.D. 1368-644) -- the Muslims made many great contributions to the life of China, and Islâm continued to occupy its rightful place as a popular religion.
By the beginning of the Ming dynasty Islâm had been in China for seven centuries. The considerable number of Muslims who had settled in China and the conversions that ensued among the Chinese had laid a secure foundation for Islâm, but during those seven hundred years in spite of the overall assimilation of foreign settlers into the Han Chinese mainstream, some Arab, Turkic, Iranian and Afghan Muslims had retained their alien status as a special class which preserved its own language, customs, and manners and was not yet fully integrated with the Han people. Under the Ming dynasty, however, they slowly lost their alien status and became Chinese citizens, and their manner of living was gradually Sinicized.
The most striking example of this process of integration was the adoption of Chinese surnames. Many foreign Muslims who married Chinese wives adopted the name of the wife. In most cases they picked Chinese names which sounded closest to their original names. For example, the surname Ma originally belonged to a prominent Han Chinese family and many historical figures were named Ma. Many Muslim men from the Middle East and Central Asia whose names started with the letter M took the name Ma, partly because of the similarity in sound, and partly because the Muslims love horses and the character Ma stands for horses. Thus so many Muslims of northwest China bear the surname Ma that there is a common saying,
"Nine Ma in ten Muslims."
The Chinese surnames Mo, Mai, and Mu have been adopted by Muslim immigrants whose names were Mohammed, Mustafa, Murad, Masoud. Many of them who found no existing common Chinese surname sounding like their names simply used the Chinese character sounding closest to their name -- Da for Daoud and Tahir; Ha for Hassan; He for Hussein; Ding for Jelaluddin, Shamsuddin, Ghamaruddin; Sai for Said and Sâd; Na for Nasser and Naguib; Sha for Salem, Salih, Sabih; Ai for Issa and Amin.
The Ming dynasty may be called the golden age of Muslims in China, for long years of peace and prosperity brought a flowering of art and culture in which the Muslims participated. Prominent Muslims had taken part in the establishment of the Ming dynasty, and later, in the reign of Yongle from 808 to 836 (A.D. 1405-32), the eminent Muslim statesman Zheng. He was sent by the monarch to establish friendly relations with the countries of the southeast Asia and with India, Arabia, and East Africa. During the Ming dynasty Muslims continued in positions of power, it is even said that the Ming was a dynasty of Muslims. There is even evidence for the claim that Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu), the founder of the dynasty, is a Muslim.
It is pointed out that his wife, Empress Ma, was a Muslim Turkic princess from Central Asia, that many of his responsible officials are Muslims, that he never worshiped in a temple after his accession, that he forbade public drunkenness, that he composed the hymn of praise of one hundred words to the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.uh.) which may still be found inscribed in the main mosque in Nanjing, and that historians mention his "strange" facial features, which may have been due to foreign blood as a descendant of a Persian or Arab. At any rate, Muslims were well treated during the Ming dynasty and there was perfect harmony between the Muslim and the non-Muslim Chinese.
The Qing dynasty ruled from 1054 to 1329 (A.D. 1644-1911). This last imperial dynasty of China was not a dynasty of the Han people, but of another smaller Chinese ethnic group that managed to secede from China, the Manchus. The Manchus established by force the Qing imperialism which ruled over the majority of Han, Turkic, Mongolian, and Tibetan people. Their ruthless policy of divide and rule, setting off one group of people against another, meant the beginning of trouble for the Muslims of China. The Qing dynasty, jealous of the influence of the Muslims and fearful of a counterrevolutionary attempt to restore the Ming dynasty, created many incidents to foment anti-Islâmic feeling.
The Chinese Muslims reacted with violence several times and the Qing dynasty retaliated with their army. Since their armies were led and manned by Han soldiers from southeast China, these incidents have led to enmity between northern and southern Han Chinese that until today continues. There were four major so-called Muslim rebellions between 1236 and 1293 (A.D. 1820-76) even though many non-Muslims participated in the revolutionary struggle to free China from the Machu yoke.
The loss of life and property as a consequence of these events was severe.
However with the downfall of the Manchu dynasty the status of the Muslims in China entered a new era in some ways because the founder of the new Republic, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, in his wisdom and foresight, proclaimed that all the components of the Chinese mosaic have equal status in that they are all of a big family.
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The Prophet said; A believer, in all his affairs, is envied whether in times of adversity or in luxury, and this is a special feature for believers only. Whenever a believer wallows in luxury, he thanks Allah, and whenever he faces hardship, he commits himself to patience. In all cases, it is good for him. (Muslim)
