Halal Travel Guide: Jiangyou, Sichuan — Zhongba Mosque and Hui Muslim History
Reposted from the web
Summary: Zhongba Mosque in Jiangyou, Sichuan, is tied to local Hui Muslim history, architecture, and community life. This visit keeps the original mosque details, photos, place names, and historical context from the Chinese source.
On January 25, I took a high-speed train from Deyang, Sichuan, in the morning. It took just over half an hour to reach Jiangyou Station. Then, I took a three-wheeled taxi (sanbengzi) to Zhongba Mosque. There is a beef restaurant in the alley next to the mosque where you can eat authentic Jiangyou-style Sichuan stir-fry. I ordered steamed beef with rice flour (fenzheng niurou) and mapo tofu. The rice had corn mixed in. I prefer ordering dishes in small restaurants over eating hot pot. Everything I order here goes perfectly with rice. The restaurant also sells fruit-flavored beef jerky and spicy beef jerky, which are specialties of the Hui Muslims in Sichuan.
The area outside the mosque is full of beef and braised meat shops. With the Spring Festival approaching, it is the time to buy various cured meats, pressed duck (banya), pressed goose (bane), and beef sausages. Sichuan people love eating these in winter.
Zhongba Mosque is located outside the North Gate of Zhongba in Jiangyou, Sichuan. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, this was a distribution center for medicinal herbs and mountain goods in the Sichuan-Shaanxi-Gansu region. It was also an important passage connecting the Songmao area to the Chengdu Plain, once serving as a busy market with many pharmacies and inns. Zhongba Mosque was reportedly built in 1861 (the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign). In 1884 (the 10th year of the Guangxu reign), Ma Dingyuan, the owner of the Dingliyuan Tea House, and others donated funds to expand it into its current appearance.
In 1935, the mosque's imam, Xiao Fuzhen, joined the Red Army. He worked among Hui Muslims in places like Maoxian, Dajin, and Jinchuan in Sichuan. He led the formation of a Red Army Hui independent company made up of Sichuan Hui Muslims. In 1936, he went north with the Red Army and died heroically while fighting the enemy in Ma'erkang.
In 1944, Imam Hui Tianxiang from Lueyang, Shaanxi, became the head of Zhongba Mosque. He promoted the Yihewani movement of "respecting the scriptures and reforming customs," making Zhongba Mosque one of only two Yihewani mosques in Sichuan province (the other is on Shanghe Street in Guangyuan).
Qing Dynasty plaques inside Zhongba Mosque:
The Essence of the Two and Five
Respectfully presented by the religious community of Pingyi
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the second lunar month, the 11th year of the Guangxu reign
Pingyi here likely refers to Pingwu County in Mianyang, Sichuan.
Vast, Subtle, and Refined
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the sixth lunar month, the 10th year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty
Ma Wenmeng, a Jinshi degree holder from the Jiwei year, appointed member of the Hanlin Academy, and former magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture, Anhui
Xu Cheng'ao, a hereditary second-class earl, commander of the provincial ten-battalion elite troops, and director of the Changsheng Army camp
Ma Zhonglong, an official with the third-rank title and peacock feather, former magistrate of Zhenfeng Prefecture, Guizhou, and current magistrate of Tongren Prefecture
Pure, Truthful, Elegant, and Correct
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the sixth lunar month, the 10th year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty
Respectfully inscribed by the scholar Lianquan Jushi Rouchizi after ritual cleansing
Vast and boundless.
Presented by the religious leaders (jiaomu) of Huajie Town in Anyi.
Erected in the second month of the eleventh year of the Guangxu reign.
Anyi here likely refers to the present-day Anzhou District of Mianyang, Sichuan.
True spirit is lively.
Imperial-appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Songpan Garrison, Liyong Baturu...
Acting Prefect of the Songpan Independent Prefecture in Sichuan, responsible for civil administration and pacifying the border tribes...
The second month of spring in the eleventh year of the Guangxu reign.
It is estimated that the Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Songpan Garrison, Liyong Baturu, was Xia Yuxiu from Kunming, Yunnan. He became the Songpan Brigade General in the seventh year of the Guangxu reign, guarded Songpan for ten years, and was later promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Sichuan.
Summary: Zhongba Mosque in Jiangyou, Sichuan, is tied to local Hui Muslim history, architecture, and community life. This visit keeps the original mosque details, photos, place names, and historical context from the Chinese source.
On January 25, I took a high-speed train from Deyang, Sichuan, in the morning. It took just over half an hour to reach Jiangyou Station. Then, I took a three-wheeled taxi (sanbengzi) to Zhongba Mosque. There is a beef restaurant in the alley next to the mosque where you can eat authentic Jiangyou-style Sichuan stir-fry. I ordered steamed beef with rice flour (fenzheng niurou) and mapo tofu. The rice had corn mixed in. I prefer ordering dishes in small restaurants over eating hot pot. Everything I order here goes perfectly with rice. The restaurant also sells fruit-flavored beef jerky and spicy beef jerky, which are specialties of the Hui Muslims in Sichuan.
The area outside the mosque is full of beef and braised meat shops. With the Spring Festival approaching, it is the time to buy various cured meats, pressed duck (banya), pressed goose (bane), and beef sausages. Sichuan people love eating these in winter.
Zhongba Mosque is located outside the North Gate of Zhongba in Jiangyou, Sichuan. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, this was a distribution center for medicinal herbs and mountain goods in the Sichuan-Shaanxi-Gansu region. It was also an important passage connecting the Songmao area to the Chengdu Plain, once serving as a busy market with many pharmacies and inns. Zhongba Mosque was reportedly built in 1861 (the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign). In 1884 (the 10th year of the Guangxu reign), Ma Dingyuan, the owner of the Dingliyuan Tea House, and others donated funds to expand it into its current appearance.
In 1935, the mosque's imam, Xiao Fuzhen, joined the Red Army. He worked among Hui Muslims in places like Maoxian, Dajin, and Jinchuan in Sichuan. He led the formation of a Red Army Hui independent company made up of Sichuan Hui Muslims. In 1936, he went north with the Red Army and died heroically while fighting the enemy in Ma'erkang.
In 1944, Imam Hui Tianxiang from Lueyang, Shaanxi, became the head of Zhongba Mosque. He promoted the Yihewani movement of "respecting the scriptures and reforming customs," making Zhongba Mosque one of only two Yihewani mosques in Sichuan province (the other is on Shanghe Street in Guangyuan).
Qing Dynasty plaques inside Zhongba Mosque:
The Essence of the Two and Five
Respectfully presented by the religious community of Pingyi
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the second lunar month, the 11th year of the Guangxu reign
Pingyi here likely refers to Pingwu County in Mianyang, Sichuan.
Vast, Subtle, and Refined
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the sixth lunar month, the 10th year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty
Ma Wenmeng, a Jinshi degree holder from the Jiwei year, appointed member of the Hanlin Academy, and former magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture, Anhui
Xu Cheng'ao, a hereditary second-class earl, commander of the provincial ten-battalion elite troops, and director of the Changsheng Army camp
Ma Zhonglong, an official with the third-rank title and peacock feather, former magistrate of Zhenfeng Prefecture, Guizhou, and current magistrate of Tongren Prefecture
Pure, Truthful, Elegant, and Correct
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the sixth lunar month, the 10th year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty
Respectfully inscribed by the scholar Lianquan Jushi Rouchizi after ritual cleansing
Vast and boundless.
Presented by the religious leaders (jiaomu) of Huajie Town in Anyi.
Erected in the second month of the eleventh year of the Guangxu reign.
Anyi here likely refers to the present-day Anzhou District of Mianyang, Sichuan.
True spirit is lively.
Imperial-appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Songpan Garrison, Liyong Baturu...
Acting Prefect of the Songpan Independent Prefecture in Sichuan, responsible for civil administration and pacifying the border tribes...
The second month of spring in the eleventh year of the Guangxu reign.
It is estimated that the Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Songpan Garrison, Liyong Baturu, was Xia Yuxiu from Kunming, Yunnan. He became the Songpan Brigade General in the seventh year of the Guangxu reign, guarded Songpan for ten years, and was later promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Sichuan.
