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FOCUS ON
CHINA'S ISLAMIC HERITAGEIn this issue we focus on the Islamic heritage in China and its relevance to understanding both the evolution of Chinese history and culture, and to appreciating the complex, multi-ethnic influences on modern China. The Mongol conquest of the greater part of Eurasia in the 13th century brought the extensive cultural traditions of China and Persia into a single empire, albeit one of separate khanates, for the first time in history. The intimate interaction that resulted is evident in the legacy of both traditions. In China, Islam influenced technology, sciences, philosophy and the arts. In terms of material culture, one finds decorative motives from central Asian Islamic architecture and calligraphy, the marked halal impact on northern Chinese cuisine and the varied influences of Islamic medical science on Chinese medicine. Taking the Mongol Eurasian empire as a point of departure, the ethnogenesis of the Hui, or Sinophone Muslims, can also be charted through the emergence of distinctly Chinese Muslim traditions in architecture, food, epigraphy and Islamic written culture. This multifaceted cultural heritage continues to the present day. The theme of this first anniversary issue of China Heritage Newsletter was suggested to us by Anthony Garnaut, a graduate scholar at the ANU who is pursuing research on a Sufi shaykh active in late-Qing and early-Republican China. Presently in Beijing, Anthony has worked closely with Bruce Doar to share his research on Islam in China with our readers. Anthony's contributions are marked [AHG], and he can be contacted at anthony.garnaut@anu.edu.au. We are grateful to Alice Kelly for her painstaking editorial work, and, as ever, we are deeply indebted to Jude Shanahan for her outstanding work as the online developer and designer of our newsletter. |
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