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The History of the Muslims under Manchu Rule in China
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By Lian Slayford
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The History of the Muslims under Manchu Rule in China
China is home to some of the most diverse religions in the world – shamanism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism – but it boasts a high amount of Muslim believers as well. Indeed, the Uygur, Hui and Ozbek ethnic groups are Muslim believers and the Islamic faith has a long history in China.
During the 1850s and 1860s, there were a series of Muslim rebellions that occurred. "If politeness and ceremony be observed toward the Mahommedans, they imagine they are feared and become arrogant; but in showing severity and rudeness, they are impressed with fear and respect and they are supple and manageable" – this well known passage sums up the Chinese view of the Muslims during this time.
It should be noted that, before the Manchus founded the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912 CE) there were no major Muslim rebellions that took place, despite the long history of Muslim settlement which dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE).
There have been debates as to the reasons behind the Muslim rebellions and the attacks on the Muslim ethnic groups during the Qing Dynasty. Firstly, the Manchus were a non-Chinese people who were seen by the Chinese as a barbaric people, an alien presence in China, "that is, if Muslims revolted they could always rationalize (as indeed they did) that their revolt was not directed against their hosts (whom they were eager to please) but against another non-Chinese group who happened to have mustered enough power to rule both them and the Chinese".
The second reason was due to the growing self-awareness of Chinese Islam which had been imported from India during the 18th and 19th centuries via India. This coincided with the increasing Manchu pressure for them to forgo their cultural identity.
The third reason was that the Muslim rebellions were, and took advantage of, "the malaise of the Ch'ing dynastic decadence and all its manifestations: population growth, economic difficulties, rebellions, devolution of the central power, the breakdown of administration, etc".
Chinese Muslim writers claim that it all the troubles that emerged can be attributed to the Manchu reign. Indeed, they claim tha
t the ‘golden age' of Islam was during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). However, scholars know that this was not as ‘black and white' as the Chinese Muslim writers claim.
However, the Manchu emperor, Yung-cheng, claimed that "For years, people have submitted memorials claiming that the Hui follow one religion, speak a strange language and wear strange clothes; they are savage and outlaws. These people requested that the Hui be severely punished and restrained..." and "Local officials must not discriminate against Muslims, but treat them as the rest of the population...".
From reliable literary sources, we know that there were local officials who claimed that all Muslims should be killed; a view that was not always shared universally across China and in the Manchu administration. Indeed, the emperor was benevolent towards the Muslim believers but also emphasised that they should not follow Islamic laws but "that Islam should be narrowly defined as an ancestral custom and a matter of creed, nothing more".
However, as the Qing Dynasty approached the end of its rule, the decline of the dynasty was apparent. As more and more Muslim rebellions broke out, the Manchu government had no choice but to suppress them. One scholar states that one reason that the Muslims were seen in a negative light was due to ‘displaced aggression'.
The Chinese, because they had to submit to the humiliation occasioned by the Manchu rule, and unable to avenge them-selves of their oppressors, directed their frustration away from its primary source and towards the Hui, whom they thought they could mistreat without incurring the danger of reprisal.
The light in which the Chinese Muslims were seen under Manchu rule was not always so clear. It is true that there were, at the height of the Muslim Rebellions, many who saw the Hui (and the other Muslim ethnic groups) in a negative way, whether in government or in ordinary life. However, there were other groups who saw them as just another group living their lives the way according to their beliefs. Nevertheless, it is clear from the sources that are available that the Chinese Muslims had an uncomfortable period under Manchu rule.
Bibliography:
Israeli, Raphael (1979) The Muslims under the Manchu Reign in China, Studia Islamica, Maisonneuve & Larose.
During the 1850s and 1860s, there were a series of Muslim rebellions that occurred. "If politeness and ceremony be observed toward the Mahommedans, they imagine they are feared and become arrogant; but in showing severity and rudeness, they are impressed with fear and respect and they are supple and manageable" – this well known passage sums up the Chinese view of the Muslims during this time.
It should be noted that, before the Manchus founded the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912 CE) there were no major Muslim rebellions that took place, despite the long history of Muslim settlement which dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE).
There have been debates as to the reasons behind the Muslim rebellions and the attacks on the Muslim ethnic groups during the Qing Dynasty. Firstly, the Manchus were a non-Chinese people who were seen by the Chinese as a barbaric people, an alien presence in China, "that is, if Muslims revolted they could always rationalize (as indeed they did) that their revolt was not directed against their hosts (whom they were eager to please) but against another non-Chinese group who happened to have mustered enough power to rule both them and the Chinese".
The second reason was due to the growing self-awareness of Chinese Islam which had been imported from India during the 18th and 19th centuries via India. This coincided with the increasing Manchu pressure for them to forgo their cultural identity.
The third reason was that the Muslim rebellions were, and took advantage of, "the malaise of the Ch'ing dynastic decadence and all its manifestations: population growth, economic difficulties, rebellions, devolution of the central power, the breakdown of administration, etc".
Chinese Muslim writers claim that it all the troubles that emerged can be attributed to the Manchu reign. Indeed, they claim tha
However, the Manchu emperor, Yung-cheng, claimed that "For years, people have submitted memorials claiming that the Hui follow one religion, speak a strange language and wear strange clothes; they are savage and outlaws. These people requested that the Hui be severely punished and restrained..." and "Local officials must not discriminate against Muslims, but treat them as the rest of the population...".
From reliable literary sources, we know that there were local officials who claimed that all Muslims should be killed; a view that was not always shared universally across China and in the Manchu administration. Indeed, the emperor was benevolent towards the Muslim believers but also emphasised that they should not follow Islamic laws but "that Islam should be narrowly defined as an ancestral custom and a matter of creed, nothing more".
However, as the Qing Dynasty approached the end of its rule, the decline of the dynasty was apparent. As more and more Muslim rebellions broke out, the Manchu government had no choice but to suppress them. One scholar states that one reason that the Muslims were seen in a negative light was due to ‘displaced aggression'.
The Chinese, because they had to submit to the humiliation occasioned by the Manchu rule, and unable to avenge them-selves of their oppressors, directed their frustration away from its primary source and towards the Hui, whom they thought they could mistreat without incurring the danger of reprisal.
The light in which the Chinese Muslims were seen under Manchu rule was not always so clear. It is true that there were, at the height of the Muslim Rebellions, many who saw the Hui (and the other Muslim ethnic groups) in a negative way, whether in government or in ordinary life. However, there were other groups who saw them as just another group living their lives the way according to their beliefs. Nevertheless, it is clear from the sources that are available that the Chinese Muslims had an uncomfortable period under Manchu rule.
Bibliography:
Israeli, Raphael (1979) The Muslims under the Manchu Reign in China, Studia Islamica, Maisonneuve & Larose.
Tags & Keywords : Qing Dynasty, China, Ming Dynasty, Islam, Manchu, Tang Dynasty, India, Studia Islamica