Interesting Question of How and When Islamism Entered China eminent writer on Chinese subjects, Lair, Tatas Mason, mes. th aeeek res oe Coles ote and is shortly publishing a book on Ghinese' Mohmmedanisg, of which he has made an exhaustive study, recently lectured at the London School of Oriental: Studies in' Finsbury Circus on When and, How Mohammedanism entered China." The occasion was a meeting of the China Society, with Dr. W. Chen in the chair, and amongst hose present "were, Sir "dames Stewart-Lockhart, Dr. Frederick Brown. of. Peking, Mr. Soames Jenkyns (Hongkong) and Dr. Violet Grubb, a I Doctor of Sefence who hows China well Mr. Mason sid he would not talk" of Mobammedanigm, ax religion, but rather on the interes Inge of how and' when Iefemism entered. China, 'THis views of its origin and Sntroduetion into China were based ona Sarious' books on the Tedependent investigation of the sources of formation, "Estimates fof the present number of Soham: medans it hina wave' from, for 0.80" millions; the larger. Ngure was probably excessive and "the ler one. feo. Tow. In. the absence ofa Telable "census, "ie might be fustined that the nut over the whole of the country, but was" about eight million, scattered mmninly "ta. "be found. in "western Foptons. When "and "how the Moslems frst entered China were matters of tmcertainty. The. Mosery Etaditions, were "interesting, bat tnostly" raised upon" very slender Foundations There were two lines of Chinw's Mohammedan traditions "One. wes based on the introduction of Islam from overland by people "of the western group; others said fe came by way of the sea to Canton.
ere Was at Canton a famous mosque, called the Remembrance Mosqu there also existed certain 'Moslem monuments dated A, D. 'The most famous Moslem writer' in' China completed a life. of "Mahomet 1724, In that work, by a chrono-Jogical error Mahomet's birth wa: put at 546, which was earlier than the correct year, A. 'D. 570, Tradition said that in 686 there was seen in the a strange star, and Ching'
chief "historian was. "com fo define its: meaning, and fo'sald, that an extraordinary' per: fon'had appeared in the west. "An Sry ea ent to Sessa" 9) per Sunde" this personage-—Mahom himself—to vis!
China, but he Tes fused, and sent an elissa instead in the person of - his uncle, TElsewhere, the writer. said hig envoy' was sent with a Fesponse to which the Prophet, sent Fis minister with "80 volumes of the Koran. They entered China by the Southern Seas to Canton, built the mo save throughout' the Empire. But there was no proof of the truth of this tion of the problem. Astronomers later rectified the Chinese calendar} land correlated the Moslem calendar with it A particular "monument at Canton, regarded as belonging to the Moslem tradition, was probably Jengraved subsequently to. 1369, but [the Mosque itself was probably built much earlier, og records 3 that it was repaired in 1127, and again on subsequent occasions. It was extremely probable that the monument was erected on the last joceasion of repair.
Leaving tradition and coming to history, it was very likely that when Mosiemism spread throughout Arabia some of the traders of the East became converts and practised their religion at the places they visited or resided at in China, Mohammedan Arabs came to China, and in A. D. 651 visitors from Medino came by the sea route, as an to "Another envoy was sent envoy bringing tribute from Persis
at a later date with presents. This envoy stood at his audience with the King, and said that his people only made obeisance to their God. Other embassies were mentioned in history but nothing was said about the introduction of Islam as a religion, 'The help of mercenaries was secured in quelling a Chinese rebellion, Over 4,000 were recrulted for this purpose, amongst them being Moslems of Persian or Arajbian' origin, and it was said that they did' not return, but. remained in China, and formed the beginnings of the Chinese Moslems of to-day. Tt was, probable that this occurred more than once, and accounted for the large Moslem population Western China.
There was also the important witness of the first Western travelers to China, who had left records of what they saw. Two travel of 1,000 years ago left records in Arabic which were still available. 'One wrote: "I know not that there fare any who have embraced Mohat medanism, or that, speaks Arabi There may have been converts. at various places, but the traveller implies that he did not meet any iMos-Tem' Chinese, but only Moslems of foreign extraction, Summing up the result of investigations, Mr, Mason said that the earliest authentic accounts showed that Mohammedanism was first known, officially in China. in AD. 660, when the embassy from Arabia. was received. Tt vas prob-some of the merchants become Moslems took their religion with them to Canton and other coast cities at about the same period, but were not concern ed" with propagating their faith amongst the Chinese. In. much manner iers of China About the] soldiers arrived in numbers probably settled down and raised in China. In. the course infiltration re-
Another version of the Moslem tradition said' that the 'Emperor, in Moslems' becoming settled in. all consequence of a dreaming G28 parts of the country" sent depatalon Yo Mest to me Loday." The predomi 10 prophet. to. Col hho refused and in thi sent probed sd by immi Probably' caused by. fin ome of This. version soldiers.
Srostem traditions were so confused Claimed the entry to have' been and uncertain that they could. not nade by' land. There was. also a relied upon as to the dates "Record of the History of the Barly the frst period Sage," which alto. mentioned the rection of th moray building of-the "Prophet" Rememe Travellers in the middle of the bbrance Mosque," and described. the century had found places of worship arrival in China "of the Moslem emissary" of the Prophet and. the There was much uncertainty and Feluen Visite to Arabia "which he conjecture, and one of the burp made, These records were" not of his study of the subject Strictly "historical and. "must. "be show that it was not wise for Fogurded as apocryphal by light of one to accept tradition as fact con-Investigation." Somewhore between cerning when and how Mohamme-1662-72 a work of Moslem pro danism entered China. coinning "for. teaching purposes appeared: this was and of very little value as history.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.