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TheGreatMosqueatHuajueLane
TheMosqueisamajorspotforreligiousactivitiesofover60.000MoslemsinXi＇an,likewise,animportantculturalrelicprotectedbytheProvincialPeople＇sGovernment.UnliketheArabicmosques,withsplendiddomes,theminaretsreachingintotheclouds,thecolorfulengravedsketcheswithdazzlingpatterns,theMosquehereinXi＇anpossessesmuchChinesetraditionaltouchinbothitsdesignandartisticoutlook;besidesthestylepeculiartoIslamicmosques,thisMosquealsoholdscharacteristicsofChinesepavilionswithpaintedbeamsandengravedridgepoles.
However,anyfurtherdiscussionabouttheMosquewillbefutileunlessanythingoftheintroductionofIslamintoChinaisbroughtup.
Islamasareligiousorderwasfoundedintheearlyperiodofthe7thcenturyA.D.andwasintroducedtoChinainthemid-600s.Atthattime,ArabianmerchantsandtravelerscametothenorthwestofChinabywayofPersiaandAfghanistanandthusestablisheddiplomatic,trade,andmilitarycontactswithChina.Inthemeantime,anotherroutesawabatchofseavoyagersthroughBangladeshBayandtheMalaccaStraittoChina＇sGuangzhou,Quanzhou,Huangzhou,YangzhouandothercitieswheremanyofthemsettleddownandmarriedthelocalwomenwholatergavebirthtobabieswhothenbecameMoslems.
However,massiveimmigrationoftheMoslemstoChinadidnottakeplaceuntilaslateastheearlyperiodofthe13thcentury,whenGenghisKhan,asaresultofhisexpeditionagainstthewest,hadconqueredvastexpansesoflandstretchingfromCentralAsiatoEasternEurope,includingthenorthofIran.ManyoftheMoslemsintheconqueredareaswerethusforcedtoenlistandlatersettledinChina.
Amongtheenlistedmanyweresoldiers,andsomeweresmithsandofficialswhowerecalledtheHuipeopleinthehistorybooksontheYuandynasty.TheHuipeoplelaterfollowedKublaiKhandowntothesouth,helpinghimunifyingChinaandthenestablishtheYuandynasty.Inthewakeoftheconquest,IslamspreadalloverChinaandmosquesbegantoappeareverywhere.IntheYuandynasty,manyMoslemsheldpositionsbothinthemilitaryandcivilianorgansofthecountry.AndalotoftheMoslemstookpartinZhuYuanzhang＇suprisingintheearly14thcenturyandmadegreatcontributionstothefoundingoftheMingDynasty.Therefore,alltheemperorsoftheDynastyissuedmandatestoprotectIslam,andtosetupmosquesinpraiseoftheMoslemsfortheirfeats.Intheearly16thcentury,IslampredominatedQinghaiontheminoritynationalitiesincludingtheHuis,theUygurs,theKazaks,theKirgizes,theTajiks,theTartars,theOzbeks,theDongXiangs,theSalarsandtheBonans.TheMoslemsinXi＇anaremainlytheHuis,beingasmallportionoutofthetenmillioninChina.
TheMosqueatHuaJueLaneisthelargestinXi＇an,andatthesametime,itisalsooneoftheearliestbuiltonacomparativelylargescale,andwellpreservedmosquesinChina.