The Hui People

The Hui form the third largest minority of the 55 officially recognized minorities. Although they comprise less than 1% of China's population, they are the largest Muslim group with 8,603,000 members. Their population has increased through migration, intermarriage and adoption. (Hui families often adopt Han children, raise them as Muslims and accept them as Hui.) Hui have more autonomous administrative units (12) than any other minority, and their communities are found in both rural and urban settings. Because of wanderlust along with a willingness to go wherever opportunities for trade arise, the Hui are scattered throughout China.

The Hui have a wide variety of occupations that relate to Islamic restrictions on diet and hygiene: restaurateur, innkeeper, shepherd, farmer, cavalryman, butcher, tanner, tea trader, jeweler, interpreter and clergyman. In the Northwest, Hui physical features are more Central Asian than Han Chinese. They have hazel-green eyes, long beards, high-bridged noses and light hair-some even have red hair.

The Hui enjoy many privileges that characterize China's ethnic minorities: they receive government subsidies for the more expensive beef and 1amb; they are allowed more than one child. The government has also subsidized the reconstruction of mosques and has given permission for Islamic literature to be published and sold. In 1989, China's first Muslim university opened in Xian.

Hui have called for a greater voice in their own affairs-calls that have reached the government and been heard. In 1989, in Beijing, prior to the Tiananmen Square incident, 3,000 Muslims protested the publication of the book Sexual Customs because its Chinese authors stated that Muslim culture was centered on sex. The government listened, banned the book, fired the editors and required the authors to apologize in public.

The first influx of Muslims into the area came from 618-906 A.D. when Muslim Arabs and Persian merchants settled in the seaports of Canton, Guangdong, Guangzhou and Fujian. In the middle of the 8th century, the Emperor called on the Arabs to quench a rebellion in Northwest China where they had settled. From 1260-1368 AD, the Yuan Dynasty recruited Muslims as soldiers and administrators. These later settled in Yunnan.

However, between 1368-1644, the Chinese wanted to rid China of foreigners. In order to avoid persecution Muslims adopted Chinese culture and language. Over time, their appearance became indistinguishable from that of native Chinese though they retained their Islamic roots and culture. As a result, these Muslims became known as the present day Hui minority.

From 1644-1911 bloody rebellions and retaliations characterized the Hui relationship to the Han. Between 1911-1949, the Hui and other Muslims in China renewed contact with the greater Muslim world where Islamic education and construction of mosques was increasing. In 1949, twenty thousand Hui fled to Taiwan with the Chinese nationals who fled following the Communist victory in the mainland.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Red Guards closed or destroyed mosques, forced monks and nuns to violate their vows or executed them, prohibited Arabic teaching and burned copies of the Koran.

The Hui faith is very complex with its wide variety of sects and menhuan (saintly lineage) groups/orders. However, all Hui can be roughly broken down into two Sunni groups: the non-Sufi and the Sufi orders. Almost eighty percent of the Hui are non-Sufi and about twenty percent are Sufi.

The Gedimu follow traditional Sunni Islam. These came when the first Arab, Persian, Central Asian and Mongolian Muslims came and settled in China. Today, Gedimu communities are found throughout China but have moved away from the border areas. Mosques were built Chinese-style-temples with symmetrical courts and sweeping roofs. Each village is centered around a mosque where the ahong (religious leader) taught for about three years before moving on to another mosque. The council of local senior elders and the ahong looked after the affairs of the Hui community and invited imams to come speak to the people.

The Yihewani sect began in the 20th century. The Wahhabi Islamic ideals of Scriptural orthodoxy influenced them. In this sect saints are venerated and a "pure," non-Chinese Islam is sought. Moreover, the Yihewani is a powerful group throughout China. This is due to its emphasis on nationalist concerns, education, modernization and decentralization of leadership.

The Hi Dano Tong sect is virtually extinct, though it was the only completely "native" Islamic sect in China. It promoted the study of Confucian and Islamic classics, communal living, spiritism and harmonious relations between Han and Hui as wel1 as other minorities. Thus, this sect was a mixture of Islam, Confucianism and spiritism.

The Hui involved in Sufism comprise only 20% of all Hui. Sufi orders began between the late 17th century and the early 18th century; the four main orders of today descended from that era. The four orders or menhuan ("saintly descent groups") are the Qadiriyya, the Khufiyya, the Jahriyya, and the Kubrawiyya. These orders changed the pattern of the Hui community in that the ahong remained in one jiaofang (a mosque community) for an extended period of time rather than only three years. Within these four main orders there are numerous smaller menhuan and branches.

Hui enter these orders through ritual or birth but seldom have allegiance to two orders at one time; this is unusual compared to other Sufi orders. In addition, the government has established the Chinese Islamic Association (CIA) to monitor and control the Muslim minorities. It has a more lenient view towards Islam than Christianity because Islam is seen as indigenous.

The Qadiriyya was the earliest order established. It emphasized Sufi mysticism focusing on the tombs of saints rather than on mosques and emphasizing meditation more than the "Five Pillars of Islam." It combined Daoist mysticism, Confucian morality and Buddhist folk rituals with Islamic content.

The Khufiyya and Jahriyya sects descend from the now extinct order of the Naqshbandiyya. The Naqshbandiyya emphasized active participation in worldly affairs. They believed in political activism based on Islamic principles and the veneration of saints. They visited and meditated at saints' tombs, seeking guidance and inspiration. The Khufiyya emphasize participation in society, the veneration of saints, the search for inspiration at the tombs of saints and the dhikr (silent remembrance). Most live in Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia or Xinjiang. The Jahriyya identify themselves with Arabians rather than Chinese. They advocate vocal "dhikr" (vocal remembrance) and oppose the veneration of Islamic saints. This sect has had a history of unsuccessful rebellions that have led to their dispersion throughout China and the establishment of five sub-branches: Shagou, Beishan, Xindianzi, Banqiao, and Nanchuan.

Hui men are identified by their white or black hats without bills and their beards. Many of the women are veiled or wear headscarves but their faces are not covered.

* Taken and adapted from an unpublished people profile.