China's Early Mosques

Explains how the worship requirements of the mosque and the Chinese architectural system convergedReceived an honorable mention at the 2016 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book PrizeWhat happens when a monotheistic, foreign religion needs a space in which to worship in China, a civilisation with a building tradition that has been largely unchanged for several millennia? The story of this extraordinary convergence begins in the 7th century and continues under the Chinese rule of Song and Ming, and the non-Chinese rule of the Mongols and Manchus, each with a different political and religious agenda. The author shows that mosques, and ultimately Islam, have survived in China because the Chinese architectural system, though often unchanging, is adaptable: it can accommodate the religious requirements of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Islam.Key FeaturesIncludes case studies of China's most important surviving mosques, including approximately 70 premodern mosques, the tourist mosques in Xi'an and Beijing, and the Uyghur mosques in KashgarAims to build an understanding of the mosque at the most fundamental level, asking what is really necessary for Muslim worship spacePresents Chinese architecture as uniquely uniform in appearance and uniquely adaptable to something as foreign as IslamExplores the social and political aspects of China's architectural system, and the challenges faced by religious construction in premodern and contemporary Asia.