THE CHINESE MUSSULMANS.
[To THE EDITOR 07 THE " SPECTATOR." ] SIECOMEnenting on a recent Rangoon telegram published in the.columns of the Times, you remark, in the Spectator of February 6th, that " all Chinese Mussulmans, said recently to number five millions, are converts of a tolerably recent date.' With the estimate of the Mahommedan population it would be impossible to quarrel ; in all probability it falls short of the actual number ; but with the remainder of the statement I venture to assert it would be equally impossible for any one at all acquainted with the people of China to agree. In the first place, the Chinese Mahommedan differs very considerably from his fellow-countrymen in physique. He is taller, more stalwart, brighter-looking than the pure Chinaman, and his beard and moustache are much more luxurious. The difference is not merely religious ; it is racial. About the year 629 A.D., in consequence of a remarkable dream, the T'ang Dynasty Emperor Chen Kuan despatched an embassy to the West in search of a newly arisen sage. In response, Mahommed sent some three thousand soldiers to the Celestial Empire that they might instruct the heathen in the true faith.
These soldiers remained in China, were provided with wives by the Emperor, and their descendants are the Chinese- Mussulmans of to-day. But they do not assume a conciliatory attitude toward their heathen neighbours. Far from seeking their conversion, they hold the idolaters in supreme contempt. The Chinese, in turn, both hate and dread them. On two occasions, separated by a number of years, I have crossed the track of foreign missionaries (Mahommedans) in China. The- mission of the first I can only assume from what I learned of the second. But without hesitation, I state that neither con- templated propagating monotheistic doctrines amongst the heathen. The mission of the second, whom I passed in the winter of 1888-89 on a rapid on the River Han, was to his co- religionists in the West, his object being to arouse them to greater zeal in looking for the return of the Lord Jesus- Christ, whose second advent immediately precedes that of Mahommed, according to the teaching of the Koran. I have come in contact with Mahommedans, more or less intimately, in at least five provinces, and never did I meet with or hear of, directly or indirectly, a Chinese convert to Mahom- medanism. More than once I have inquired why they did not seek to inculcate monotheistic doctrines, and invariably the reply has been a reference to their worship of Eblis, and a contemptuous, " Let them alone." Upon what authority the statement to which I draw attention was made, I do not know ; it finds no support in the history or present condition. of Mahommedanism in China.
Will you permit me further to draw your attention to an error in an article on China in your issue of December 12th,. 1891P My reason for referring to it at this late date is, that it appears to- have been generally accepted by the British Press. You locate the anti-foreign province of Hunan south-west of Pechihli. It really lies south of the River Yang-tze, and south-west of the province of Hupeh. South-west of PeChilli lies the province of Honan, which is certainly no more anti-foreign than any other province in China, as I can testify after twelve months' residence within its borders. It is of the utmost importance, in view of possible contingencies, that these two provinces should be carefully distinguished. Honan, the ancient Chung Kuei, or Middle Kingdom, is so called because it lies south (nan) of the (Yellow) River (Ho); Hunan, because it lies south (nan) of the Lake (T'ungting Hu).
The sobriquet "pig," applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, to which you refer in the same article, is easily explained. The words for " pig " and " lord " are homophonous, chu in both cases : hence the pun, for such it is, neither more nor less- Moreover, chu is never need as an appellation in Chinese as " lord " is in English ; missionaries do so use it, however, as in the phrase, Chu Yeli-su Chi-tu, the Lord Jesus Christ.—I am,.
Sir, &c., C. F. Hoax. S6 Trevelyan Terrace, Antrim Road, Belfast.
[We wrote under an impression derived from many- narratives of the savage war against the Panthays. It. certainly was stated that this war was due to alarm felt in Pekin from a sudden and extraordinary increase in the number of Mussulmans, due to conversions secured by the teaching of the hereditary Chinese or cross-breed Mussulmans. We are quite ready to accept Mr. Hogg's correction as that of a com- petent expert.—ED. Spectator.]
Previous page
