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Summary: This travel note introduces Mosque Stele at Beijing Wuta Temple: Ma Linyi, Ma Xiyuan and Muslim Heritage. Outside the northwest gate of the Beijing Zoo, there is the Wuta Si (Five Pagoda Mosque) built during the Ming Dynasty, which became the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum after 1987. It is useful for readers interested in Wuta Temple, Mosque Stele, Beijing Muslims.

Outside the northwest gate of the Beijing Zoo, there is the Wuta Si (Five Pagoda Mosque) built during the Ming Dynasty, which became the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum after 1987. June 11th happened to be the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, and Zaynab and I went to visit the museum. In a corner of the stele forest, we discovered a precious stele from the Republic of China era belonging to a mosque. It records how in 1934, the famous educator of the Republic of China, Ma Linyi, and Ma Xiyuan, the father of the famous Peking opera master Ma Lianliang, funded the students and teachers of Islamic studies at the Sanlihe Mosque outside Fuchengmen in Beijing.





After returning home and looking up some information, I found that most articles introducing the Sanlihe Mosque do not seem to mention this stele. I also do not know why this stele was not kept in the mosque but was moved to the museum instead. I will transcribe the inscription here to share with everyone. There are a few characters I cannot see clearly, so I ask for everyone's help in identifying them:

Because our mosque has always lacked funds to support the teachers and students of Islamic studies, we have constantly felt the difficulty. Now, thanks to Minister Ma Zhenwu from Hunan and Mr. Ma Xiyuan, a board member of this mosque, we have jointly purchased a property at the southwest corner of our mosque, totaling twelve rooms of various sizes, as detailed in the contract. The price was five hundred silver yuan, with each party paying half. All expenses for tax deeds, erecting the stele, repairs, etc., totaling over two hundred yuan, were shared by the board members of this community. From now on, this property shall forever belong to this mosque and may not be sold or mortgaged. The monthly rental income shall be used to provide subsidies for the teachers and students of Islamic studies at this mosque and may not be used for other purposes. The contract documents and finances shall be managed by the current Imam and the board members. Every year during the major festival of Eid al-Fitr, the Imam or board members of this mosque shall lead the students to recite the Quran at the two families' cemeteries, a tradition to be kept forever. Furthermore, the board members have collectively agreed to hand over the contract documents and finances when appointing a new Imam; at that time, the manager will hand over the contract documents and finances to the current Imam to manage.

Minister Zhenwu's cemetery is at Fenghuang [location] in [location] village, about two li west of Sanlihe Mosque; Mr. Xiyuan's cemetery is on the north side of the road at the west end of this street, recorded as [location].

Inside the mosque, the original [donations] were 70 yuan... Hengji mietie (charitable donation) 5 yuan... Zhang Songshan mietie 5 yuan... Ma Peilin mietie 5 yuan... Wan Yuwang mietie 2 yuan, Xi Yuxing mietie 2 yuan, Ma Dewang mietie 2 yuan, Li Yongxiang mietie 2 yuan, Feng Shengshan mietie 1 yuan, Liu Zhong mietie 1 yuan, Cang Yuan[X] mietie 1 yuan, Yang Denghua mietie 1 yuan, Yang Tangrui mietie 1 yuan, Wan Qirui mietie 3 yuan, and over 10 yuan from individual households. Signed by the board members.

Erected in May of the 23rd year of the Republic of China.





The 'Minister Ma Zhenwu from Hunan' mentioned in the stele is the famous educator Ma Linyi. Ma Linyi was born in Shaoyang, Hunan, in 1864, and his father was the great Islamic scholar Imam Ma Yanxi. He passed the imperial examination in 1902, was sent to Japan for study in 1904, and later returned to Hunan to actively run schools. In 1906, he founded the Qingzhen Xiejin Primary School in Shaoyang, and later added the Xiejin Middle School, which were the earliest modern schools for Hui Muslims in Hunan.

In 1908, Ma Linyi was transferred to the Qing Dynasty Ministry of Education as a secretary, and thus came to Beijing. In 1908, Wang Kuan founded the Jingshi Qingzhen First Primary School inside the Niujie Mosque, and Ma Linyi actively planned it and served as the supervisor. He applied for subsidies from the Beijing Education Bureau in the name of the school and was finally approved to receive 40 taels per month as operating funds for the school. In 1909, Ma Linyi again assisted Wang Kuan in reporting to the Beijing Education Supervision Bureau to establish the Islamic Education Association.

In 1912, while serving as Vice Minister of Education, Ma Linyi founded the China Islamic Progressive Association with the support of Sun Yat-sen and served as its president. He changed his courtesy name from 'Zhenwu' to 'Zhenwu' (using a different character for 'wu'), meaning 'revitalizing the five ethnic groups'. Between 1912 and 1919, Ma Linyi spent 7 years running schools in Gansu, founding over one hundred schools for Hui Muslims and cultivating a large number of talents. In 1919, he was transferred to be the Director of the Zhili Education Department, where he secured 300,000 yuan for the Hui Muslim education fund, making a huge contribution.

In the 1920s, Ma Linyi held various positions in the Nationalist Government, including Minister of Education. After the success of the Northern Expedition in 1928, Hui Muslim intellectuals in Beijing were determined to establish their own middle school so that Hui Muslim youth could continue their studies after graduating from primary school. In the same year, Ma Linyi participated in the founding of the Qingzhen Middle School on the site of the old Niujie garrison office and served as vice chairman, receiving support from various Nationalist Party figures in Beijing. In 1929, Ma Linyi served as a school board member of the Beiping Chengda Normal School, actively updating the curriculum and improving teaching methods, which allowed Chengda Normal School to develop into a modern school. In his later years, Ma Linyi devoted himself to the faith and served as an advisor to Wang Jingzhai for his translation of the Quran.

In 1938, Ma Linyi passed away in Beiping and was buried in the Sanlihe Hui Muslim cemetery.

The 'Mr. Ma Xiyuan, a board member of this mosque' mentioned in the stele is the father of the Peking opera master Ma Lianliang. Ma Xiyuan was born in 1868, with ancestral roots in Shandong. His father, Ma Yongxiang, settled in Beijing during the Xianfeng period and opened a teahouse opposite the Fuchengmen Arrow Tower, known as the 'Menma Teahouse'. The Menma Teahouse had a stage for music, and Peking opera enthusiasts and famous performers often came to sing there. It was very lively and a famous venue for Peking opera. Influenced by Peking opera, Ma Xiyuan sent his son Ma Lianliang to the Xiliancheng opera troupe to learn acting, which eventually made Ma Lianliang a master of his generation, the founder of the Ma school of old male roles, and the head of the 'Four Great Male Role Actors'.

Ma Xiyuan himself was very pious, never missing his five daily prayers, and he sent his son Ma Lianliang to the Sanlihe Mosque to study the Quran when he was 5 years old. In 1930, Ma Lianliang bought the entire courtyard at No. 7 Dongdoufu Lane outside Chongwenmen and renovated the west room of the front courtyard into a prayer hall for Ma Xiyuan to perform his five daily prayers, which was very rare in Hui Muslim families at that time.

Ma Xiyuan was enthusiastic about public welfare for the faith and was known as 'Ma the Philanthropist'. In 1908, he participated in the founding of the Qingzhen Public Fifth Primary School inside the Huashi Mosque outside Chongwenmen. It was renamed the Qingzhen Culture Primary School in 1912 and the Beiping Qingzhen Second Primary School in 1929. Ma Xiyuan actively donated funds and served as chairman of the board. In 1928, Hui Muslim youth in the Niujie area founded the private Zhongcai Primary School in Madao Hutong. It received the praise and support of Ma Xiyuan, who served as a school board member and lent the school an organ he had treasured for many years for music teaching. Every Jumu'ah (Friday), Ma Xiyuan would cook porridge at his doorstep to give as charity to poor Hui Muslims, and he would also give out warm clothes in the winter. In 1935, Ma Xiyuan passed away due to illness and was buried in the Sanlihe Hui Muslim cemetery.

I will also share a postcard of a watercolor painting of the Sanlihe Mosque issued in 1956 from my collection. On the back, there is a New Year's greeting written by a student to their teacher 66 years ago. The artist of this painting is Guan Guangzhi, a first-generation master of watercolor painting in China, who painted many landscapes of the ancient capital, Beijing.





I took photos of the Sanlihe Mosque before, but unfortunately, it was in the afternoon and there was some backlight. I will go back to take photos again when the mosque reopens. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This travel note introduces Imperially Granted Faming Mosque: The Last Surviving Stone Stele in Beijing. In front of the main hall of the Dongsi Mosque in Beijing, there is a stone tablet erected in 1579 (the seventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) titled 'The Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True. It is useful for readers interested in Faming Mosque, Stone Stele, Beijing Muslims.

In front of the main hall of the Dongsi Mosque in Beijing, there is a stone tablet erected in 1579 (the seventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) titled 'The Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True Dharma-Illuminating' (Qingzhen Faming Baizi Shengzan). The content of the inscription is largely similar to the 'Imperial Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Most Holy' (Yuzhi Zhisheng Baizi Zan) from the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty. The signature reads 'Written by the teacher of the ancient Yan faith, who bathed and purified himself to describe it, and donated his salary for the carving,' and the side of the tablet is inscribed with 'Donated by You Kai, Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission.' This stone tablet, which does not look particularly conspicuous, is the only remaining relic of the Faming Mosque, which was bestowed by imperial decree during the Ming Dynasty. It is said that after a fire at Faming Mosque in the early Qing Dynasty, the stone tablet was moved to the Dongsi Mosque.

Faming Mosque was located at No. 43, Beiertiao, Jiaodaokou, inside Andingmen; its old address was No. 22, Datiertiao, Andingmen, which is why it was also called the Datiertiao Mosque. It is said that Faming Mosque was first built in 1348 (the eighth year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan Dynasty) and was initially called a mosque. After being rebuilt in 1448 (the thirteenth year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty), it was bestowed the name Faming Mosque by imperial decree. Together with the Dongsi Mosque, the Niujie Mosque, and the Pushou Mosque inside Fuchengmen, it was known as one of the 'Four Great Official Mosques of Ming Dynasty Beijing'. Official mosques refer to those where the Department of Sacrificial Rites under the Ministry of Rites issued 'Zhafu' (official certificates of appointment) to the imams of the mosques. According to Wang Daiyu's 'Zhengjiao Zhenquan: Qunshu Jikao' (True Interpretation of the Orthodox Faith: Collected Examinations of Various Books), after receiving the Zhafu, the imam would 'wear official robes and headwear to honor his body, and was also permitted to be exempt from corvée labor.' "





Faming Mosque was rebuilt many times during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, but it still maintained its Ming Dynasty layout, which was quite similar to the Dongsi Mosque. On the 'Complete Map of the Capital during the Qianlong Reign' (Qianlong Jingcheng Quantu), completed in 1750 (the fifteenth year of the Qianlong reign), one can see that the main body of Faming Mosque consisted of a main hall, northern and southern lecture halls, and a minaret (bangkelou). Like the Dongsi Mosque, the main hall of Faming Mosque consisted of a front porch, a middle hall with a hip roof, and a rear kiln-style hall, but its scale was slightly smaller.





In addition, the National Library of China holds a rubbing of the 'Stele Record of the Reconstruction of the Imperial Faming Mosque' from 1580 (the eighth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), which can be viewed on the National Library's official website. The person who wrote the tablet header was You Kai, the same as for the 'Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True Dharma-Illuminating' in the Dongsi Mosque, but within a year he had been promoted to 'Imperial Envoy and Vice Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission.' In fact, the imperial construction of official mosques in Ming Dynasty Beijing was related to the Hui Muslim military personnel in the regional military commission and garrison system.

The person who wrote the tablet, Lin Qicai, was a cousin of the great Ming Dynasty thinker Li Zhi. Lin Qicai's ancestral home was Jinjiang, Fujian, and he became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the thirty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1559). According to the 'Fengchi Lin-Li Genealogy,' Lin Qicai's second-generation ancestor, Lin Nu, 'married a Semu woman... and subsequently followed her faith, receiving the precepts of the Qingjing Mosque sect.' When Lin Qicai wrote the tablet, he signed it as 'Lin Qicai, a Jinshi by imperial favor, Fengyi Grand Master, former Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and Assistant Director of the Seal Office (Shangbaosi Sicheng).' 'Shangbaosi Sicheng' (Assistant Director of the Seal Office), according to the 'History of Ming,' was a 'rank 6b official... in charge of imperial seals, tallies, and stamps, and distinguishing their usage.' "

In addition, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage also holds two rubbings of the 'Stele Record of the Reconstruction of Faming Mosque' from 1880 and 1921. The 1880 stele record notes that it was built by the Heshun Timber Factory at the time, with funds donated by Ma Deming from Beixinqiao East, and that two plaques were hung in the mosque: 'Built in the Ming, Repaired in the Qing' and 'Founded in the Previous Dynasty.' The 1921 stele record was written by Xia Deqing from Daxing, an army colonel and commander of the southern route of the Jingzhao Garrison, with the calligraphy by Xu Yili from Hangxian, the Jingzhao Yin (Mayor of Beijing), and the header written by Chen Zhenjia from Daxing, a first-class clerk at the Shanxi Hedong Circuit Administrative Office.







In 1966, Faming Mosque was occupied by a factory and later converted into a school. In 1984, the 600-year-old mosque was demolished by the Jiaodaokou Middle School to make way for a teaching building and playground. Now, this site has become the Andingmen campus of the No. 22 Middle School and a dormitory for the Sixth Hospital.





Behind it is Jiaodaokou Beitiao, where the school playground can be seen.





The only old house next to the playground; it is unknown if it was an old building of Faming Mosque. view all

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Summary: This travel note introduces From the Ilkhanate to Yuan Dadu: A Sufi Traveler and Beijing Muslim Heritage. Regarding the Muslims who came to Beijing from Central and Western Asia during the Yuan Dynasty, the most famous are the tombs of the Shaykhs in the small courtyard on the south side of the Niujie Mosque, where Ahmad. It is useful for readers interested in Yuan Dadu, Sufi Heritage, Beijing Muslims.

Regarding the Muslims who came to Beijing from Central and Western Asia during the Yuan Dynasty, the most famous are the tombs of the Shaykhs in the small courtyard on the south side of the Niujie Mosque, where Ahmad Burtani, who passed away in 1280, and Ali Imad al-Din, who passed away in 1283, are buried. In fact, the Qingzhen Pushou Mosque inside Fuchengmen also preserves a Yuan Dynasty tombstone of a Muslim who came to Yuan Dadu from the Ilkhanate, and the inscription contains precious records about Sufis of the Yuan Dynasty.



The tombs of the sages from the Western Regions of the Yuan Dynasty at the Niujie Mosque.

According to the interpretation by Ma Baoquan in 'An Overlooked Yuan Dynasty Arabic and Persian Tombstone of Hui Muslims in Beijing—The Tombstone of an Ilkhanate Person Formerly Collected by Beijing Qingzhen Pushou Mosque', the inscription first uses Arabic to engrave the prayer for protection, the Basmala, verses from the Quran, and Hadith, and then uses Persian to briefly introduce the life of the tombstone's owner. The owner of the tombstone was a young man from a place called Qanul in the Ilkhanate (1256-1335). He came to Yuan Dadu (Dughdugh) together with his brothers Darvish, Jan Ali, and X. Darvish. A series of names are listed afterwards: Darvish Yulad, Javahir Ahmad, Man Darvish, Fangh Darvish, Shaykh Muhammad, Aghalaqsan Ahmad, Imam Mula Ahmad, Haj Darvish, and others.

According to the memorial 'Petition Regarding Hui Muslim Households in the Capital Not Paying Taxes' from the Yuan Dynasty, by 1263, the number of Hui Muslims in Beijing had reached 2,953 households, and most of them were wealthy merchants. In 1285, the Yuan Dynasty completed the construction of Yuan Dadu and issued an imperial decree to move residents from the old city of Zhongdu of the Jin Dynasty to Yuan Dadu, leading a large number of Hui Muslim officials, merchants, and craftsmen to settle in Yuan Dadu.



The inscription very preciously mentions several 'Darvish', which means Sufi practitioners, referred to as 'Diliweishi' in the 'Yuan Dianzhang' (Statutes of the Yuan Dynasty). Yang Zhijiu introduced in 'Draft History of the Hui Muslims in the Yuan Dynasty' that when Chen Cheng arrived in Herat, Afghanistan, in 1414 (the 12th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty), he met local Sufi ascetics. He recorded in 'Xiyu Fanguo Zhi' (Record of the Barbarian Countries in the Western Regions) that 'there are those who abandon their family businesses and livelihoods, with disheveled hair and bare feet, wearing tattered clothes or sheepskins, holding strange staffs, with bones hanging from their bodies, looking very strange, not avoiding cold or heat, begging on the road, muttering to themselves when meeting people, appearing pitiful, as if it is very difficult for them to survive.' 'Some gather at people's graves, or live in caves, calling it spiritual practice.' 'They are called Dilimishi.' "

In addition, according to the 'Travels of Ibn Battuta' from the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Ibn Battuta met local Sufi practitioners in both Guangzhou and Hangzhou. He visited an old man in Guangzhou who was practicing in a cave, who was very strong despite not eating or drinking. When he was in Hangzhou, he stayed in the home of an Egyptian merchant, and this family had built a magnificent Daotang (Sufi lodge) for Sufi practitioners to live in.



Qingzhen Pushou Mosque is located on Jinshifang Street in the Xicheng District of Beijing, which was called Jinchengfang Street during the Yuan Dynasty. Although it preserves a precious Yuan Dynasty tombstone, no records have been found so far indicating that the Pushou Mosque was built during the Yuan Dynasty. Because a plaque with the seal 'Built in the Fourth Year of Xuande of the Great Ming' once hung above the Chuihuamen (hanging flower gate) of the mosque, it is generally believed that the Pushou Mosque was founded in 1429 (the fourth year of the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty), and it was renovated many times during the Zhengton, Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen reigns of the Ming Dynasty.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Pushou Mosque, along with the Niujie Mosque, the Dongsi Mosque, and the Faming Mosque inside Andingmen, were known as the four great official mosques of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, and held a very high status. According to the inscription on the 'Record of the Reconstruction of the Mosque' from 1521 (the 16th year of the Zhengde reign) at the Dingzhou Mosque, during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, Wuping Bo (Count of Wuping) Chen Xun sought help from the congregation at the Pushou Mosque to renovate the Dingzhou Mosque and received great support, as the mosque was filled with 'gentry and scholars' at that time.

After the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Pushou Mosque gradually fell into disrepair, and it was renovated between 1931 and 1934 with funds donated by Jiang Baiwan from Nanjing. After 1966, the mosque was closed again and converted into a workshop for the Jinlong Watchband Factory, and it was restored after 1982. After the demolition of Jinshifang Street in 2008, the mosque was torn down, and it was rebuilt into its current form between 2010 and 2014, but it has remained closed ever since.

There are two stone tablets in front of the main hall of the Pushou Mosque; the one on the south side is in Chinese, mainly praising the merits of those who donated funds to renovate the mosque, signed by 'Jincheng Shushi Ma Zhiji', and the back has the words 'Renovated in the Sixth Year of Tianqi'. The one on the north side is an Arabic tablet, and the writing has already eroded and become illegible.



















The Pushou Mosque I photographed in 2006 when I was in middle school; two years later, in 2008, it was demolished and rebuilt. view all