Huis Research Articles

Systematic exploration of genetic traits in Qinghai Salar ethnic group through a validated InDel panel for individual identification

BackgroundInsertion/deletion polymorphism (InDel) markers, mainly characterized by diallelic length polymorphisms, have been extensively investigated in forensic applications. The Salar ethnic group is one of the ten officially recognized Muslim minorities in China, with a large population mainly residing in Qinghai Province, China, yet there have been few population genetics studies on the Salar ethnic group, let alone those using InDel markers. AimThe present study aims to explore the genetic traits and enrich the genetic resources of the Qinghai Salar ethnic group through a validated InDel panel developed in-house. Subjects and methodsForensic performance of the novel self-constructed 43-InDel panel, designed for individual identification, was evaluated in the Qinghai Salar ethnic group from China. In addition, based on these 43 InDels, the genetic characteristics of the Qinghai Salar ethnic group were systematically explored by incorporating 27 reference populations from five continents. ResultsThe results indicated that most loci in the 43-InDel panel were genetically polymorphic in the Qinghai Salar ethnic group, and the novel panel could serve as an efficient tool for individual identification of the studied group, with a combined discrimination power of more than 0.9999. Population genetics analyses demonstrated that the Qinghai Salar ethnic group was genetically closer to East Asian populations than to other continental populations, especially the Hui ethnic group in Northwest China and Han Chinese in Beijing. ConclusionIn summary, the in-house developed 43-InDel panel could be an effective tool for individual identification and provide additional genetic information for the Qinghai Salar ethnic group.

A Study on Factors for Religious Faith of Muslim Youth in China

This study investigates the factors influencing the religious faith of Hui Muslim youth in China, focusing on internal and external elements. The study used a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews done in multiple mosques in Shanghai. Examined include external elements such as social integration, governmental policies, and educational environments, as well as internal factors such as personal beliefs, family influence, and community support. The results show that among young Hui Muslims, self-interest and family support are strongly associated with stronger religious faith. Moreover, the employment of digital media and virtual communities has emerged as a crucial component in fostering religious engagement, offering new avenues for religious education and community building. This study provides insights for policymakers, educators, and religious leaders to better support the religious and cultural needs of Hui Muslim youth in China.

Navigating ethnic capital and ethnic penalty: Chinese Muslim internal migrants in an international trade hub

ABSTRACT This article investigates how Chinese Hui Muslim internal migrants navigate the complexities of ethnic capital and ethnic penalty in their engagement with China-Arab international trade. On one hand, Hui Muslims leverage Arabic language learning opportunities within their community and benefit from religious affinity with foreign Muslims, enhancing their employment and entrepreneurial prospects. On the other hand, they face discrimination from the Han majority, Arab Muslims, and non-Muslim foreigners. Women, seen as “submissive” and “trustworthy”, find more expanded employment opportunities as interpreters for Arab merchants but face overt discrimination due to their Muslim attire. Notably, the Hui’s ethnic capital in the international trade market has diminished in recent years due to Arab merchants’ globalization efforts, such as adopting English for communication. This study contributes to the understanding of Chinese Muslims’ experiences in upward mobility amidst regional disparities and economic globalization.

The complexity of religious land use: Mosques, titling and informality in China (1949–2023)

In considering complex human-land systems, the land use and planning for places of worship is perhaps not an issue that may first come to mind. Simultaneously, however, it has become an increasingly critical and researched topic due to rising ethnic and cultural tensions in the West. Contrarily, the topic is virtually terra incognita for the Chinese context. This article aims to make up for that shortfall, and examines the way how the space for religious sites in China is acquired, planned and governed. It focuses on one of the more prominent places of worships often contested in the West: the mosque, and particularly those belonging to the Hui minority. The study relies on surveys, in-depth interviews, participant observation and rare documents hitherto unavailable in English, such as (informal) contracts, ownership titles, and historical court rulings. A dual finding is reported: 1) over time, the Chinese state’s envisioned ownership for religious property in general, and Islamic property in particular, has evolved into common property slightly comparable to condominium; 2) despite stated intentions to formalize religious planning, mosques’ land use has remained largely informal. Markedly, local planning authorities continue upholding a grey zone in which Hui Muslim sites of worship are tacitly condoned. Although there are caveats, this “tolerance of informality” offers leeway for religious praxis while providing space to a revolutionary past of complex, contested and convoluted property rights.

Urban Transformation in Muslim Neighborhoods: From Shanghai’s Women’s Mosque into a Retirement Home

Since the mid-19th century, the migration of Hui Muslims to Shanghai has fostered the development of stable residential neighborhoods around the Small Peach Garden Mosque, turning the area into a hub for religious gatherings and a bustling economic center, especially for the beef, mutton, and catering sectors. However, the dawn of the 21st century brought with it swift economic expansion and urban redevelopment, gradually replacing the neighborhoods surrounding the mosque with high-end residential zones. Soaring land prices slashed the profits of Muslim food businesses in the area to the point of unsustainability, disrupting the traditional pattern of life around the mosque. This study offers insights from interviews with older Muslim women who stayed at the Small Peach Garden Women’s Mosque after its demolition, slowly transforming it into a retirement home. Their stories underline that architectural conservation alone is not sufficient to preserve the character of historic and cultural sites. The study calls for a deeper understanding of urban transformations in historic urban landscapes for religious minorities.

Negotiating Between Belief and Custom: The Encounters of Han Muslim Converts in China

ABSTRACT The conversion of Han Chinese in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to Islam is a complex and dynamic process that goes beyond the mere adoption of a new faith. Potential converts undergo a multifaceted journey involving learning about Islam, reflecting on Hui and Han ethnic cultures and customs, and understanding the historical relationship between Islam as a religion and ethnic Hui Chinese people. Through this process, Han converts gradually develop a pluralistic and multilayered identity that encompasses their Han ethnicity and Muslim faith. The article emphasizes the importance of daily inter-group interactions and the use of various strategies to resolve conflicts while adhering to Islamic beliefs. It introduces a theoretical framework consisting of discursive, local, and configurable values to analyze the nuances of everyday experiences among Han converts. This framework provides a structured approach to understanding the complexities of identity formation and enrich ongoing discussions within the Islamic anthropological research community.

The Formation of Hui Ethnic Group in China in Yuang Dynasty: Diversity and Integration

The Formation of Hui Ethnic Group in China in Yuang Dynasty: Diversity and Integration

The Hui Muslims in China

The Hui Muslims in China

The Prophet’s Day in China: A Study of the Inculturation of Islam in China, Based on Fieldwork in Xi’an, Najiaying, and Hezhou

Islam is widely spread throughout every corner of China, with the Hui people, the largest Muslim ethnic group in China, numbering over 10 million people, serving as its main carrier. Their culture types and local features exhibit great diversity across different provinces. The ceremony of Prophet’s Day or Mawlid al-Nabi in China, as one of the three fundamental festivals of the Hui people alongside Eid al-Fitur and Eid al-Qurban, appears to be more comprehensive, open, and localized. Drawing from fieldwork in three Hui communities—Xi’an in Shaanxi province, Najiaying in Yunnan province, and Hezhou in Gansu province—this paper approaches the topic from the perspective of inculturation and cultural innovation. It aims to describe the ritual processes observed in these three different Hui communities and discuss how the Hui people integrate Islam with traditional Chinese culture in their local contexts, with the intention of forming and preserving their own cultural characteristics.

Overcoming Fractures of Cross-Cultural Understanding: Modern Chinese Knowledge Production on the Arab World

Despite the long history of Chinese-Arab interactions since the seventh century, modern Chinese scholarship on the Arab world has a much shorter story. The global historical context that led to such a situation is the Western dominance in knowledge production. Most Chinese scholars research on issues related to the West and/or China-Western interactions. Only a small proportion of researchers cast their eyes on the “other East”—the Arab world. Consequently, Arab/Arabic studies occupies a marginal space in Chinese academies. In addition, although Edward Said had fiercely argued more than forty years ago in Orientalism that subtle but persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arab-Islamic peoples and their culture perpetrates Western misunderstanding about the region, such biased representations were sometimes uncritically transferred by Chinese scholars when they were acquiring knowledge about the region via translations of Orientalist accounts written in English. Another major obstacle is the inherent linguistic and orthographic difficulties involved. Although some researchers have made great endeavors to overcome such challenges, most publish only in Chinese. As a result, their findings are not widely known. This article, therefore, scrutinizes and contextualizes modern Chinese scholarship on the Arab world in order to introduce it to a wider international audience, especially for those who are keenly observing the increasing Chinese-Arab engagements in the twenty-first century. In addition to providing synoptic overviews of major institutions, scholars, and their representative works, the article also critically analyzes the historical contexts that led to the initial formation, subsequent divergent developments in Chinese-language academies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the present challenges of the respective state of the fields. I argue that due to bigger population, larger geographical size, and more government funding, Arab/Arabic studies in mainland China is more developed than that in Taiwan, though scholars based on the mainland are facing more pressure on censorship and self-censorship. Both fields, however, were pioneered by the same group of Chinese Hui Muslim scholars who went to study at al-Azhar University in Egypt in the 1930s and the 1940s, not unlike cosmopolitan Muslims around the world at the time who traveled to Cairo for multiple and complex reasons. When they returned, institutionalizing Arab/Arabic-Islamic studies in Chinese academies became one of their most visible and long-lasting legacies. Contingencies in their lives, mainly job opportunities upon graduation, played an important role in their later bifurcated career trajectories. The process during which these Hui Azharites ceased to be “cosmopolitan Muslims” and instead became “Chinese Arabists” reflects an important transformation in Chinese-Arab interactions during the Cold War politics. Later generations of scholars developed systematic pedagogies on teaching Arabic to native Chinese speakers by publishing Arabic-Chinese dictionaries as well as textbooks and grammar books. Their role as cross-cultural intermediaries is significant and widely impactful. These little-known scholars deserve to be recognized for their intellectual pursuits.

Analysis of the Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Traditional Mosque Architecture in the Hehuang Area (China)

Clarifying the spatiotemporal distribution and influencing factors of mosque architecture in China’s Hehuang region has significant positive implications for the overall protection and development of the region’s architectural cultural heritage. This study utilizes field surveys and acquires POI data of traditional mosques built before 1993 in the region to analyze the distribution characteristics of mosques, aiming to explore future development trends of these religious structures. It also investigates the influencing factors, with the goal of emphasizing the primary and secondary factors affecting mosque distribution. The study finds the following: (1) Mosques are generally centered around the Huangshui Valley, displaying a “central clustering, peripheral dispersal” distribution pattern, forming a spatial structure of “two cores, one belt, multiple points”, with distinct differentiation and overall uneven distribution. (2) Mosques are primarily situated at elevations between 2147 and 2764 m; on slopes less than 15°, in sunny and gentle slopes; within 20 km from rivers; within 14 km from roads; in areas receiving 400–500 mm annual rainfall; and within temperature ranges of 5.54–10.22 °C. (3) The study also finds that the spatial distribution of mosques is profoundly influenced by both natural geographical factors and human environmental factors. The better the natural location, the larger and denser the population, the richer the cultural resources, the higher the level of economic development, and the greater the concentration of Hui people, the more numerous and concentrated the mosques. (4) Population factors are the dominant factors for the clustered distribution of traditional mosques in the Hehuang area. Since the construction of mosques in the region is closely related to the number of Hui people and the proportion of Muslim adherents, areas with a high concentration of mosques also have relatively larger populations of Hui people. Temperature, precipitation, altitude, rivers, and roads are foundational factors for traditional mosques in the Hehuang area, influencing mosque distribution as external factors.

A flexible choice of comrades: the dynamic identity of the Muslim Huis of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

Abstract This paper investigates how Hui scholars imagined the membership of their community during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as sharing communal religious duties, such as Islamic education and funeral rites, which were correctively imposed by an Islamic doctrine on all Muslims. The analysis is mainly based on two texts. One is an inscriptive text drafted in Arabic and Persian by Ma Minglong in A.H. 1079 (1668–1669) and inscribed by his son in 1673 in Wuchang, Hubei province. The other is Tianfang dianli (Commentary on Rites of Islam), written in Chinese by Liu Zhi (d. after 1724) based on Arabic and Persian Islamic books. The analysis shows that these Hui scholars have flexibly demarcated their communities from those whom they regarded as “other” Muslims, depending on various situations. Additionally, this paper illuminates how Hui scholars’ various and flexible delineations of “us” facilitated their negotiations for advantageous positions toward Muslim rivals, as well as non-Muslims who suspected their orthodoxy. This relativizes the argument that Hui scholars understood themselves as being simultaneously Chinese and Muslim when they situated themselves vis-à-vis Chinese literati—an argument that has been often repeated in the study of Hui Muslims.

Diversity and Integration: Exploring the Role of Religion in End-of-Life Care in Rural Gansu Province, China

In the face of death, different ethnic groups have unique coping ways. The physical care and spiritual care for the dying can demonstrate the diversity and particularity of ethnic cultural thought. Taking two villages in the interlaced residential areas inhabited by Han, Tibetan, and Hui ethnic groups in Linxia and Wuwei of Gansu Province as examples, this paper focuses on the presentation and significance of multi-ethnic cultural integration in the process of end-of-life care, with a focus on spiritual care. One main point of this paper is that, although hospice care in the modern medical sense is not really implemented in the vast rural areas of China, local end-of-life care, based on the village medical system and religious rituals, equally plays an important role. This is mainly manifested through the implementation of the Narcotics Card System and the widespread spiritual care. The second main point of this paper is that the form of end-of-life care, which embodies the integration of ethnic cultures, contains a certain degree of nursing functions, while taking into account the spiritual care needed by the dying and the grief consolation needed by the bereaved family. Considering the lack of spiritual care and bereavement management in China’s medical space, the religious approaches to end-of-life care, as delineated in this study, could serve as a source of inspiration for the country’s efforts to integrate hospice services into its healthcare system. In short, compared with Western forms of hospice care, in which modern medicine constitutes the main body, China’s local end-of-life care is more reflected in the diversity and integration of spiritual care for the dying.

The association between parents' ethnic socialization and positive and negative interethnic contact among majority and minority groups in China and the moderating role of essentialism

AbstractIn a multiethnic country like China, ethnic membership is an important dimension of social construction, and interethnic contact is a necessary component of social interactions. Family is the context where ethnic socialization takes place and where parents play a relevant role. The present study focused on the Hui‐Han interethnic context. Measures of perceived parent's ethnic socialization, interethnic contact, and essentialism were administrated to Hui minority (N = 560) and Han majority (N = 954) secondary students. Results indicated that parents' positive ethnic socialization (cultural socialization/pluralism, promotion of harmony) was associated with greater positive and lower negative contact, while negative ethnic socialization (preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust) had opposite effects. Essentialist views of ethnicity moderated the associations of perceived parents' positive ethnic socialization with positive contact: the association between positive ethnic socialization and positive contact was stronger among individuals with lower (vs. higher) essentialist views. Results did not differ across the majority and the minority group. Implications for prompting positive interethnic interactions and preventing negative contact are discussed.

Paternal genetic structure analysis of the modern Han populations based on Y-SNP and Y-STR.

The Han populations represent the largest ethnic group in China. Previous studies have primarily focused on investigating their genetic origins, migration and integration, as well as paternal genetic relationships within specific regional Han populations. However, a comprehensive analysis of the global paternal genetic structure of Han populations is lacking. In this study, we performed Y-chromosome sequencing on 362 unrelated male samples from Chinese Han individuals collected from Qinghai, Sichuan and Liaoning provinces. We then integrated relevant data from reported studies. Our final dataset comprised 1830 samples from 16 Han populations across 15 provinces in China, encompassing information on 89 Y-SNPs and 16 Y-STRs. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess Y-STR haplotype diversity (HD) and Y-SNP haplogroup frequencies. Additionally, we employed principal component analysis (PCA), phylogenetic tree and haplotype network to explore genetic differentiation within Han populations and the genetic relationships between Han populations and ethnic minorities surrounding them. Our results demonstrated that the O-M175 haplogroup represents the predominant paternal lineage in Han populations, with frequencies ranging from 60.53% (Qinghai Han) to 92.7% (Guangdong Han). Moreover, the subclades downstream of O-M175 showed distinct regional variations in their distribution patterns. The O2-M122 haplogroup was prevalent in all Han populations and demonstrated a gradual decline in frequency from north to south. Conversely, the distribution frequency of the O1b-M268 haplogroup decreased from south to north, particularly showed significant presence among Han populations in the Lingnan region. Haplogroup O1a-M119 distributed more frequently in the central Han populations. Our findings revealed that Chinese Han populations can be categorized into three subgroups: northern, central, and southern. Notably, there were significant differences among Han in Qinghai and other regions. Regarding the genetic relationships between Han populations and surrounding ethnic minorities, we observed a closer genetic affinity between different Han populations, but northern Han demonstrated a stronger relationship with the Hui ethnic group, while southern Han exhibited a closer connection with the Gelao and Li ethnic groups. In summary, this study presented a systematic analysis of haplogroup distribution, genetic substructure of Han populations and genetic relationships between Han populations and surrounding ethnic minorities based on 89 Y-SNPs and 16 Y-STRs systematically. Our research supplemented valuable insights into population genetics and forensic genetics, and provided data support for the forensic application of Y chromosome. The integration of Y-SNP haplogroups with Y-STR haplotypes offers enhanced understanding of the genetic substructure within Han populations, which holds significance for both population genetics research and forensic science applications.

Rooted in turbulence: arguing ethnicity in folk narratives about violence

Abstract This article begins with a folk idea, or stereotype, attached to the Hui Muslim minority in China: that of being violent. The analysis focuses on how ideas of ethnicity are contextualized in folk or popular narratives about violence. Specifically, cases presented in this article are narratives where different aspects of violence feature either positively or negatively: as a collective ethnic mark of being unreasonable, as martial spirit, as fighting prowess and so forth. This article argues that differently contextualized ideas of being violent or narratives about violent events enable Hui and non-Hui to not only establish ethnic turfs, but also to co-exist and merge ethnic boundaries, rendering ethnic borders open to redrawing and straddling.

Exploring the Cross-cultural Journey of Tibetan Medicine in Modern China: A Case Study in Rebgong

Tibetan medicine, also known as Sowa Rigpa (the science of healing) is the traditional medicine indigenous to Tibetan peoples across the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau. Historically, its aetiology, nosology, treatments, and training have been closely connected to Tibetan Buddhism, language, and environments. The last three or four decades of standardisation and commercialisation in China and beyond have brought Tibetan medicine, ideas, experts, and institutions to new patient groups and new markets. This study investigates the ways in which Tibetan medicine has moved out of Tibetan communities to transcend cultural and ethnic boundaries in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) today. Focusing on users of Tibetan medicine in Rebgong, a multiethnic border area known to Tibetans as Amdo and located in the PRC’s Qinghai Province, the study explores and analyses how Tibetan medicine is perceived and used by diverse groups. Based on ethnographic fieldwork that combines formal and informal interviews with Tibetan doctors and both Tibetan and non-Tibetan patients (including Hui Muslims and Han Chinese), it investigates the motivations and experiences of users, their perceptions and assessments of its efficacy, and the nature of clinical encounters.

Language endangerment in Amdo. The case of the Gansu Bonan

This article provides a sociolinguistic assessment of Gansu Bonan, a Mongolic language in the Amdo sprachbund spoken by a small Muslim minority located in Jishishan County, Linxia Prefecture. The results show that, although vitality varies considerably between villages, the language overall is threatened by the encroachment of Northwest Mandarin. If current trends continue, the Bonan population is likely to eventually assimilate into the regionally dominant Hui minority, resulting in a loss of diversity among the Muslim communities of Amdo.

Empowerment and Faith: Unraveling The HUI Women's Mosques in China

The Hui Muslims constitute the largest Muslim minority group in China. The Hui women’s mosques in China are a very unique phenomenon within the broader Muslim world. Emerging within a specific historical context, the Hui women’s mosques stand as a testament to the remarkable resilience of the Hui Muslims in preserving their Islamic faith and Muslim identity in a predominantly non-Muslim society heavily influenced by Confucian culture. The previous studies on Hui women’s mosques left two crucial questions unanswered: Why did Hui women’s mosques emerge exclusively in the eastern and central regions of China, and not in northwestern regions where the concentration of Hui Muslims’ population is higher? Why was this phenomenon limited to the Hui Muslim community and not observed among other Muslim ethnic groups in China? This study employs historical, analytical and context analysis approaches to accomplish three research objectives. Firstly, it aims to re-examine the historical background of the Hui Muslims and the emergence of Hui women's mosques during the Ming and Qing dynasties within this particular ethnic group. Secondly, the study seeks to address the aforementioned questions and reidentify the possible causes for the emergence of the Hui women’s mosques in specific regions in China. Thirdly, the study intends to provide an Islamic perspective to illuminate the unique phenomenon of Hui women's mosques in China.

Editorial

Editorial