Islam was born in the 7th century Arabian Peninsula . It was formerly known as Islam in China, and it was mainly popular in Asia and Africa, especially in West Asia, North Africa, South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It was introduced to China around the beginning of the Tang Dynasty .
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Tang Empire and the Arab Empire had a long-term communication with each other. In the second year of Yonghui in the Tang Dynasty (651), the Great Food Kingdom sent envoys to China for the first time and went to Chang'an to meet with Gaozong of Tang . In the following 148 years, the Dashi sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty as many as 37 times.
During this period, many Muslim businessmen came to China. All the way from land to Silk Road , through the north and south of Tianshan Mountains, Hexi Corridor , and to Chang'an; all the way from sea to sea, from Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea , through Bay of Bengal , through Malacca Strait to the South China Sea and East China Sea , and to Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Yangzhou .
At that time, there was a western market in Chang'an, with "Persian residence" and "Hudian". Tang also set up " mutual market supervision " for management, which shows the grand trade situation at that time. Guangzhou is a major business port with merchants gathered; Quanzhou also flourished unprecedentedly, and the grand occasion of "the people of ten states in the city" appeared; Yangzhou had already had many big foods and Persians engaged in business and cultural exchange activities during the mid-Tang Dynasty. Tang set up "maritime envoys" in these cities for management.
After the rise of Abbas in the mid-8th century, Arabs were very active in maritime trade in the East and West, and the number of "foreign tourists" came to China increased year by year, and many Muslims stayed in the Tang Dynasty. Because their religious beliefs and living customs are different from those of the Tang people, they live in one place in the city, which is called "Fanfang". They elected prestigious people as "ban chiefs" to be responsible for presiding over religious activities and mediating civil litigation among Muslims. Later, a temple of worship and a public tomb were built. When the Anshi Rebellion occurred, Emperor Suzong of Tang borrowed more than 200,000 troops from the Western Regions to quell the rebellion and recovered the two capitals. These soldiers once "entered Chang'an" and passed through Yashui and went east to camp. Afterwards, some of them were allowed to live in China for generations. Most of these foreign soldiers who lived in China came single and gradually intermarried with local women after settling down. Some "hu guests stayed in Chang'an for more than 40 years, and all have wives. They buy land and houses, earn money, and live in peace but do not want to return. They have the orders to investigate the land and houses, and they will get 4,000 people."
In Guangzhou, "First, the natives lived in a mixed relationship with the barbarians, and their marriages were connected." The barbarians refer to merchants from Dashi Persian . This group of Muslims live in China for generations, and their descendants have reproduced, and their descendants have changed from "family tourists" who live in overseas Chinese to Muslims born in China. At the same time, the Dashi and Persians settled and did business for many years. They carried out business activities in China, interacted with the Chinese, and even hired Chinese to help each other. Over time, religious ideas will inevitably penetrate each other. In short, this kind of marriage relationship and other social relationships have become a bridge for spreading religion. By the Song Dynasty, Islam was further developed with the power of maritime trade. Overseas trade in the Song Dynasty far exceeded in terms of trading scope and trade quantity. At that time, Dashi ranked first among more than ten countries that traded with China. At the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, the trade with China had reached more than fifty countries. Among the merchants of various countries, Arab merchants occupy an important position, and most of them were Islamic believers. At that time, Muslim businessmen in China were no longer limited to living in "Fanfang". Some had settled in the city and gradually lived with the Chinese. There were more people who intermarried with Chinese and studied and took the exam than in the Tang Dynasty. They not only have economic strength, but also have a high social status and expand their influence, providing favorable conditions for the spread of Islam.
5th dynasty At the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, Islam was introduced to the Uighur Hara Khan Dynasty on the northwestern border of China. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it had spread throughout Xinjiang and became a religion believed by the Uyghur people. In addition, Islam was introduced to Kazakh as early as the middle of the Tang Dynasty, and it became a religion believed in by the whole nation at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.From the Song and Yuan dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Shila people, the Dongxiang people and the Baoan people in northwest China successively accepted Islam. At
yuan, Muslims from Arab, Persia and Central Asia once again entered China in large numbers and spread across China. When Mongolia conquered and unified China, there was a "Western Regions Persians" among its main forces, most of which were Arabs, Persians and Central Asians who believed in Islam, who played a great role in the military. Most of them were sergeants, craftsmen and bachelors. They came east with the Mongolian army and were stationed in central China. Most of them did not bring their families and intermarried with local women after settling down. During the Yuan Dynasty, the sea and land trade was unimpeded. Muslims engaged in various professions came to China from Arabia, Persia and Central Asia, and stayed in coastal and mainland metropolis. The Muslim population has increased sharply, spreading across the country, so there is a saying that "the Yuan Dynasty returns to the world." The social status of the Muqilin in the Yuan Dynasty was second only to that of the Mongols and higher than that of the Han and Southerners. Most of them are good at business and have considerable economic strength. Some people hold high positions, and dozens of people including Yuan Shi are just seen in " Yuan Shi ".
Yuan Dynasty was tolerant of Islam and generally repaired and built Islamic worship temples in various places. In addition, Hui Hui Ninth School was also set up to educate Muslims, so that there were quite a few famous people in the imperial examination and academic field. For example, Shansi was a famous scholar of a generation, Sadusai and Ding Henian were famous poets, Gao Kegong was a painter as famous as Zhao Mengfu . Ye Hedierding once designed and supervised the construction of Beijing Guanque. Somarudin made great contributions to the calendar, Alao Vasiding and Yi Sima were good at making artillery, and there were some Hui Hui medicalists.
