Oded Abt
NATION, ETHNICITY AND LINEAGE
HISTORICAL MEMORIES OF ZHENG HE IN FUJIAN
ABSTRACT
This paper demonstrates the dynamic character of identity formation that shifts continuously according to prevalent conditions. It examines the interrelation of historical memory and contemporary identity, as manifested in the family narratives extant among Muslims' descendants in Southeast China, from the Ming period down to the present. Members of these lineages are not practicing Muslims but rather descendants of Song-Yuan era Muslim merchants who settled in China. Since the early Ming, many Muslims assimilated into the local population. Today, their descendants resemble their Han neighbours almost completely, though many preserve family traditions aimed at commemorating their forefathers' foreign origin. The paper focuses on traditions regarding the early ancestors of the Fujian Guo $~ lineage of Muslim descent over six centuries. Their narrative is one of forced assimilation in which their early ancestors falsely adopted a Han-Chinese national hero as their ancestor. Although its authenticity has recently been largely refuted, the tradition remains an important component of their identity, symbolizing their ancestors' persecution. However, current resurgence of their Muslim heritage has encouraged the emergence of traditions portraying close relations between their ancestors and the Muslim admiral Zheng He (~;f!J 1371-1433). This paper sheds new light on mechanisms of assimilation and dissimilation, on the role of historical narratives in identity construction, and on the interplay between history, memory, and identity formation.
MING QING YANJIU XVIII (2013-14) ISSN 1724-8574 © Universiti degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale"
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Introduction This paper examines family traditions of descendants of Muslims in South East China and their changing roles in identity formation. It analyses how communities of Muslim descent in Fujian Province create and change family-history narratives, responding to changing conditions and varying historical circumstances. The analysis offers a different perspective on the ethnic discourse currently prevalent in local Chinese scholarship and politics, examining the historical memory of Ming era events and its current interpretations. Members of the communities discussed in this work are not practicing Muslims, but are rather descendants of Muslim sojourners who settled in the city of Quanzhou, on China's South-Eastern coast, between the eleventh and the fourteenth centuries. Since the fourteenth century, they have gradually assimilated into the local population. Today, they resemble their Han neighbours almost completely, though many of them still commemorate their foreign origins and the circumstances that led to their ancestors' assimilation. These narratives have been disseminated since the late fourteenth century through oral legends, genealogical texts, references in ancestral worship, and symbolic imageries in family shrines. The paper focuses on traditions of the Guo ~~ Lineage of Baiqi Township B ~ ~, Fujian. It examines how their traditions have continuously transformed over time, beginning with the early Ming founders of their home village and then focusing on their descendants in present-day Baiqi Hui Ethnic Township. Their narrative is one of forced assimilation in which their early ancestors falsely adopted Guo Ziyi (~~-=f1~ 697-781), a Han-Chinese national hero, as their ancestor. Although its authenticity has recently been largely refuted, the tradition remains an important component of their identity, symbolizing their ancestors' persecution. However, current resurgence of their Muslim heritage has encouraged the emergence of traditions portraying close relations between their ancestors and the Muslim admiral Zheng He (~~*D 1371-1433). Current government policies regarding ethnic identification and privileges granted to minority groups generated significant changes in the status of Fujian Muslims' descendants, many of whom were
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memones ifZheng He in Fujian granted by the government Hui @] minority status during the 1980's and 1990'S.1 Beginning in the late 1970's, the Chinese government granted Hui and other ethnic minorities, economic, and political privileges intended to encourage their integration into Chinese society, and to avoid ethnic strife and minorities' separatist aspirations. The main policy tenets were determined as early as the 1950's, but were vigorously implemented during Deng Xiaoping's reforms. 2 Since the early 1950's, observance of Islam was the primary official criterion for Hui classification. Recently, however, tens of thousands of Muslims' descendants in Fujian who do not observe any Muslim rules or religious customs were also recognized as Hui, based on evidence they presented for maintaining family traditions, genealogical records, and unique customs of ancestral worship that reflected their Muslim origins. At present many other lineages of Muslim descent in Southeast China are still seeking official recognition from the government.3
1 In the Quanzhou area there was a small number of communities of descendants of Muslims that throughout the years continued to perform partial Muslim worship. Therefore, as early as the mid-1950's, those groups were officially recognized as Hui. Alongside those who adhered to Muslim belief, were some exceptional cases such as that of the Guo Family of Baiqi. Although members of some sub-branches practiced Islam until the 1940's (Fan 2003: 74,77; 2004: 10-11), their great majority did not maintain a Muslim lifestyle. Nevertheless, based on evidence they presented regarding their descent from Muslim immigrants, they were recognized as Hui by the new Communist government. In the 1980's they were joined by other lineages of Muslim descent from the Quanzhou vicinity. On descendants of Muslims in Fujian see: Quanzhou Foreign Maritime Museum 1983; Chen Guoqiang 1990; Chen and Chen 1993; Gladney 1987; 1995; 1996; Fan 2001a; 2001b; 2003; 2004; 2006; Abt 2012. 2 Gladney 1995: 242-245. 3 Gladney 1996: 261- 265; 1995: 249-254. However, it is important to note that there are other groups, such as the Su jjR family from Quanzhou and the Pu ¥i family from Dongshi, that are interested in proving their descent from foreign Muslim immigrants even if it does not lead to the attainment of Hui status. (Abt 2012: 41-42, 113-114,264-269,333-335).
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt Many of the Muslims' descendants recognized as Hui are very pleased with their new official status. Their satisfaction lies not only in the state's recognition of their unique ancestral heritage, but also, and some claim that chiefly, in the privileges granted to minorities in China. 4 As part of the Chinese government's affirmative action policies towards minorities, members of the Hui are entitled to allowances and benefits such as government investments in infrastructure, subsidies, and varied economic benefits for businesses, increased education budgets, higher priority for college admission, a larger representation in local government than their actual proportion in the population and, most desirable of all: the right to have two children and sometimes more, while the rest of China's urban population is limited to one child only. In examining their current efforts to emphasize their unique Muslim heritage, one cannot ignore the weight of the economic and political factors linked to belonging to a minority in China. The benefits that the minorities receive obviously constitute an important incentive for accentuating the unique elements of their identity.5 Since the 1980's, a growing number of studies have examined these communities from an ethnic point of view, attempting to highlight distinctive cultural and ethnic characteristics and analysing the social, political and economic roles of current ethnic policies. 6 Recent decades have seen many publications by local scholars and members of families that were granted recognition as Hui; they deal extensively with the role of the Muslim heritage in identity politics among families of Muslim descent in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Hainan Island.7 This issue is dealt with also by researchers such as
4 Gladney 1995: 254-266; 1996: 284-285; Abt 2012: 326-327. 5 Gladney 1996: 275-276. (, Gladney 1996: 261-291; 1987; 1995; Fan Ke 2001b; 2003; 2004; 2006; Quanzhou Foreign Maritime Museum 1983; Chen Guoqiang and Chen Qingfa 1993; Chen Guoqiang 1990; Sai Yukari 2001, 2003. 7 The following is a sample list of sources dealing with Muslim-related traits among Muslims' descendants: Huang Qiurun 1983: 177-199; Guo Zhichao 1990: 298-314; ZhuangJinghui. 1993: 93-107; Zhongguo renmin Zhengzhi xieshanghuiyi,
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories o/Zheng He in Po/ian Dru C. Gladney, Fan Ke, and Sai Yukari whose studies discuss at length the political and social aspects of the promotion of the Muslim heritage and the objectives it fulftls for Fujian Muslims' descendants in modem times. Gladney carried out a pioneering work in which he emphasized the extent of influence that government policies have had in recent decades on the issue of Muslims' descendants' ethnic identity. For that purpose, he reviewed different cases of lineages that were granted Hui status, and the means by which they convinced the government of the authenticity of their Muslim origin.8 This paper focuses more specifically on the adoption of or affiliation with national historical figures revered by the general public, and their role in identity formation. It demonstrates how the newly re• constructed ethnic identity finds its place within the Chinese national narrative and does not necessarily indicate a move towards separation from the general society. The Guo Lineage of Baiqi is perhaps the best-known family of Muslim descent in Fujian, and its affinity to Muslim origins is the strongest. Their earliest ancestor was Guo Deguang ~B t~!if (born between 1308 and 1311), a Muslim trader, most likely of Persian origin, who moved to Quanzhou from Hangzhou, in the early fourteenth century. In 1376, shordy after the Ming takeover, his grandson Guo Zhongyuan ~B{~it (1348-1422) emigrated from Quanzhou and built his new home in Baiqi village, east of the city. At present, all Guos in the vicinity are his descendants.9 Genealogical sources show that at the beginning of the seventeenth century, "by the time of the Eighth and Ninth generations [of the Guos in Baiqi] they completely abandoned the [Muslim] faith, apparendy in the mid Wanli reign period (1573-1620)".10 Today, like their neighbours, the Guo meticulously perform rituals for their ancestors' souls. However, they maintain traditions of observing a
Zhqiang sheng Cangnan xian wefyuanhui, wenshi iJliao we!Juanhui 2002; Thoraval 1991: 9- 76). 8 Gladney 1996; 1987; 1995; Fan Ke 2001b; 2003; 2004; 2006; Sai Yukari 2001; 2003. 9 Baiqi Guoshi Huizu Zongpu 2000,1: 61-62; Chen Dasheng 1984: 102-107. 10 Baiqi Guoshi Huizu Zongpu 2000, 1: 15.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt pork taboo during ancestral rites, and make offerings of ancient Quran manuscripts, reflecting recognition of their ancestors' Muslim belief. It was demonstrated elsewhere that these special customs do not reflect Muslim observance but rather the widely prevalent Chinese creed of satisfying the needs and desires of deceased ancestors who, in this case, would not have relished pork.11
Guo Ziyi and the Baiqi Guos Much of the research into Fujian Muslims' descendants focuses on their origins and their affinity with Islam. However, the Guos simultaneously perform symbolic ritual acts of worshiping a mythical ancestor named Guo Ziyi $~-=f1i (697-781), a renowned Tang-period Chinese general and national hero who lived several centuries before their foreign ancestors migrated to Fujian. Guo Ziyi was not Muslim, and claims of descent from him stand in contrast to the Guo traditions of Muslim origin. Examining early ethnographic evidence and genealogical entries from 1436 down to the twentieth century reveals that the Guo Ziyi traditions often played a more dominant role in the Guos' identity than the customs commemorating their Muslim origin. A typical example is the foreword to the Liandai Village Baiqi Guos' fourth-branch genealogy: Master Wenxian, the seventh generation descendant of the emperor's son in law, Master Ai (Guo Ai), the sixth son of the ruler of Fenyang (Guo Ziyi), was on an official tour in Hangzhou whereupon he decided to settle in Fuyang County. Wenxian's elder son, master Zhang came to Quanzhou as a Pacification Commissioner. Due to the intense fighting and violent clashes occurring there at that time, he was not able to return to the capital, thus making Quanzhou his permanent home. Master Zhang had two sons. The elder was Master Deguang. [ ... ] Master Deguang's [family] moved on to Shitou (nowadays in the village of Fashi on the outskirts of Quanzhou) and to Baiqi .12 Tracing the line of descent from famous historical figures, and from Guo Ziyi particularly, is by no means unique to the Baiqi Guos: it is a
11 Abt 2012: 69-139. 12 Fujian sheng Quanzhou haiwai jiaotong shi bowuguan tiaochazu 1983: 214.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories ojZheng He in Fl!Jian widely accepted Han custom. Most Guo lineages, in China and overseas, claim descent from Guo Ziyi. Until the 1980's, the Baiqi Guos shared with the rest of the Guos this marker of Guo identity, and saw no contradiction between being Guo Ziyi's descendants and practlcmg.. I sam.' I 13 During the political reforms of the 1980's the Guos were granted special privileges as members of the Hui minority, and their township of Baiqi consisting of thirteen villages was designated as an administrative unit of Hui ethnic township (Ef ~ @] 1ffiC ~ Baiqi HuizuxianiJ. However, the process sparked a public debate among academic circles, local cadres, and Guo lineage members over the incompatibility of descent from both Guo Ziyi and the Muslim ancestors. This led to significant changes in the Guos' family narrative. According to the current accepted narrative, due to the early Ming rulers' hostile policies towards foreigners associated with the Yuan regime, the Guo's ancestors falsely claimed descent from Guo Ziyi, hoping to disguise their real origin and associate themselves with a larger Han Chinese surname-group.14 Nonetheless, the Baiqi Guos do not dismiss the Guo Ziyi traditions altogether, but utilize it to enhance a recently promoted narrative depicting themselves as a unique minority group that managed to maintain its separate identity amidst harsh persecution during the early Ming. 15 Customs relating to the veneration of Guo Ziyi are still widely practiced today in Baiqi. Family members often inscribe his name and honorary titles on ritual paraphernalia and preserve ancient inscriptions and couplets alluding to him as their lineage founder. The
13 Guo Zhichao 1993: 183-184; Fan 2001 b: 130, 139; Chen Zhipin 1996: 298-299; Abt 2014. 14 A similar phenomenon, of two conflicting notions of Han and Non-Han affiliation, existed among the Dings of Chendai Township in Fujian, who at present largely subscribe to the belief that they are descendants of the Muslim foreign general Sayyid Ajall Shams aI-Din (1210-1279), but for a brief time in the mid-Ming claimed descent from a Han Chinese scholar named Ding Du (TIi 990-1053). See: Fan Ke 2001 b: 97, 100, 103, 112-116, 252-254. 15 Abt 2014; Fan 2001b: 127-128.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt recendy restored ancestral hall of the Baiqi village carries inscriptions that open with the words: "our ancestor is of Fenyang, our branch from Fuyang ...." (zu Fe'!)'ang, pai Fl9'ang ... fli 1Jt ~, 1* I' ~ ... ), commemorating the clan's descent from Guo Ziyi, whose official tide was Prefect of Fenyang.16 Among Guo offshoots overseas, under different political and social circumstances the Guo Ziyi traditions remain thriving and an important marker of the Guo lineage identity. Beginning in the early Qing Dynasty, several branches of the Baiqi Guo crossed the Taiwan Strait and setded in one neighbourhood of Lugang Jim, on Taiwan's western coast. Since, on the mainland, some of these groups were recendy classified officially as Hui, it is revealing to examine how the members of the Taiwanese sub-branches, living under a different government policy that does not grant them any separate ethnic status or special privileges, perceive and define their identity.17 In the Guo neighbourhood as in other Lugang neighbourhoods, it is the local temple that serves as the venue of the highest level form of kinship practice and the main symbol of lineage cohesion. In the absence of an ancestral hall, the temple is also the focus of veneration for the Guos' most revered ancestor, Guo Ziyi. In Lugang, Guo Ziyi is venerated as both a legendary ancestor and a god. IS With no special incentive to prove a unique foreign ancestry, the Guo Ziyi tradition in Lugang and the Guo clan sentiments attached to it remain a salient feature of the groups' cohesion and still plays a dominant role in genealogical compilations and ritual activities. Furthermore, the social, religious, and ritual organization prevailing in Lugang award the veneration of Guo Ziyi a more prominent role among them than the one reserved for him in Baiqi. While in Baiqi the Guos are celebrating their newly acquired Hui identity, in Lugang, the
16 Fieldwork in Huian County, Baigi Township, August 2002. For a discussion of primary sources dealing with the early ancestors' origin and history of the Baigi Guos, see: Shi 1993: 57-91; Fan Ke 2001b. 17 Abt 2014; Gladney 1996: 279-283; Pillsbury 1973: 144-149; Cai Maotang 1980: 101-105. 18 Abt 2014.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories o/Zheng He in F'!Jian cultivating of ritual and eulogy to Guo Ziyi reflects the Guos' desire to nurture their affiliation with a larger Chinese surname-group of the World Guos, and to assume a pan-Guo identity.19
Zheng He and the Baiqi Guos Just as the Guo Ziyi tradition in Baiqi is undergoing deep changes and assuming a different character, and its veracity is being strongly contested, a body of traditions of a different sort is becoming popular. In the following pages, my examination returns to Baiqi, where I explored local traditions and legends related to the Guos early ancestors' contacts with the Imperial envoy and Muslim admiral, Zheng He J~fO (1371-1433) during his visits to Quanzhou in the early fifteenth-century. Although these are commonly claimed to be a few centuries old, they have only recently began to draw official attention and to be documented by scholars and family members. In present• day Baiqi, the Guo Ziyi tradition is making room for traditions of the ancestors' special relations to a celebrated Muslim historical figure, reflecting the shifts in their current self-identity and the significant effect of current P.R.e. ethnic policies on shaping it. However, I suggest that the very fact of assuming Hui identity is but another, contemporary, variety of adopting Chinese categories of identity or utilizing a Chinese mechanism for asserting their distinctiveness. With the end of the Yuan-Mongol rule in China and the ascendance to power of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a tremendous change occurred in the government's attitude towards involvement in maritime trade. The new regime forbade individual trade operations, and international commerce activities were largely limited to government-sponsored trade mISSIons. The limitations and prohibitions sanctioned by the Ming rulers on China's international trade activities were among the main causes of the steep decrease in the scope of economic activities by Muslim merchants in Fujian. Nevertheless, the final chapter, and perhaps the grandest of all in the history of imperial China's trans-cultural relations along the maritime
19 Abt 2014.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt trade routes, occurred at that period and the Muslim population of China also played a part in it. To aggrandize the reputation of the Ming Dynasty among neighbouring nations, and to widen the circle of subordinate countries paying tribute to the Chinese throne, Emperor Zhu Di (ruled 1402-1424) initiated a huge-scale project of building a fleet of an unprecedented size. As commander of the whole fleet, he appointed one of his closest assistants, a Muslim eunuch named Zheng He. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He commanded seven maritime expeditions. His fleet consisted of hundreds of ships manned by over 20,000 sailors. In his voyages he visited, among other places, the Arabian Peninsula and several harbours along the North-East African coast.20 Zheng He was indeed of Muslim origin, but his high status in government and the social circles he was affiliated with, indicated his complete acculturation into the Han-Chinese environment.21 In these respects he was different from many previous Muslim officials who held military or administrative positions during the Yuan dynasty. However, to this day Zheng He has an important role in shaping the identity and nurturing the heritage of descendants of Muslims in Fupan.·· 22
'The Pavilion of Welcoming the Official' In 1417, just before leaving Chinese shores for his fifth voyage towards Hormuz, Zheng He and his fleet anchored in Houzhu harbour J§mm outside Quanzhou. They stayed in the city for a few months to stock up supplies and make final preparations for the
20 Zheng He's official biography appears in Ming shi, 26.304: 7766-9. Translated in Dreyer 2007: 187-191. For a general description of the voyages of the Chinese fleet during the early Ming see: Mote & Twitchett 1988: 232-236. For a comprehensive research wholly dedicated to this topic see: Dreyer 2007; Levathes 1996. A large collection of articles dedicated to Fujian and Zheng He's voyages was published in 2005 in China marking the 600th anniversary of his voyages. See Quanzhou hangkou xiehui bian, Quanzhou hangwuju 2005. 21 Levathes 1996: 146-148. 22 Kauz 2005: 75-89.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories oIZheng He in F1!fian voyage. As befitting his respected status, he was shown warm hospitality by local high officials. Zheng He also displayed a great deal of personal interest in the Muslim heritage of Quanzhou and in the affairs of the Muslim community residing there, and even established friendly relations with some of them. During that time, he participated in services in Quanzhou's central mosque.23 He also made a pilgrimage to the holy graves in Lingshan (:I: ill, 'Miracle Hill') on the city's outskirts. This site ranks third in importance among all Muslim sites in China and the two main graves located there are attributed, according to tradition, to two Muslim emissaries who were sent by Mohammed himself to spread Islam in China during the Tang Wude reign period (618-626).24 Zheng He visited the saints' graves to light incense and seek their blessings and protection for his journey. Quanzhou's Muslim descendants proudly display the Ming stone inscription that was erected on the site to mark Zheng He's visit. The inscription reads as follows:
The imperial envoy, general and eunuch Zheng He went to Hormuz and other countries in the Western Seas on an official mission. He offered incense here on the sixteenth of the fifth month of the fifteenth year of Y ongle (May 30, 1417). May the saints bless him. This was recorded and erected by the garrison commander Pu Heri.25
23 Levathes 1996: 146-148; Wan Shi 2005: 610-616; Chen Dasheng 1984: 11-13; Dreyer 2007: 83-84. Some even go as far as to claim that he was personally involved in placing a tablet of an imperial edict ordering the protection of the town's Muslims, in the mosque. 24 Gladney 1996: 266-268; 1987: 498; Chen Dasheng 1984: 95-102. Researchers argue about the authenticity of the dating of these graves. However, according to tradition these graves are of Imam Sayid and Imam Waggas of Medina in Arabia. The site is considered ever since as auspicious by local and overseas Muslims. The many steles on the site attest to the importance attached to it by Muslim pilgrims and notables in the past and present. Two other saints of the same period are buried in Guangzhou and in Yangzhou. 25 Chen Dasheng 1984: 96-97. See in Abt 2012: 278-288 the discussion regarding Pu Heri, the garrison commander who erected the tablet, and the Fujian Pu lineage, another local group of Muslim descent.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt Local tradition maintains that during his VISIts to the mosque he became acquainted with Guo Zhongyuan $~1~ jG (1348-1422), and through him came to know the small community of Muslims in the village of Baiqi north-east of the city, just across the bay, where descendants of the Guo lineage had very recently established their home. According to these stories, since they shared common ethnic features and racial origin, Zheng He not only chose to recruit sailors to his fleet from among the Guos, but also paid no heed to differences in status and rank and established close relations with the heads of their family. Nowadays, the local villagers proudly show visitors the 'The Pavilion of Welcoming the Official' (jieguan Ting M<1r -or) erected beside the small wharf close to the entrance of the village, where it is believed that the admiral rested and even played chess with his hosts. As the tradition goes, Guo Zhongyuan's family members were utterly surprised and extremely delighted by the immense honour bestowed upon them by the admiral's visit, but on the other hand, felt embarrassed for not having an adequate place to host him. Therefore they quickly refurnished the small pavilion next to the fishing dock with an incense burner table and gathered all the family members there to await respectfully the arrival of the imperial envoy's large entourage. From then on, in memory of Zheng He's visit, it was named the 'Pavilion of Welcoming the Official'. 26 The beams supporting the roof are said to be arranged intentionally in the shape of a small square encircled by a bigger one, thus forming the shape of the Hui character (@l). Like all traditions related to Zheng He's visit to Baiqi, there is no evidence or any mention of this special feature of the pavilion in any sources I found prior to the 1990's. The @l shape structure of public buildings belonging to Hui is a theme I encountered in a few instances in Fujian. The Ding T of Chendai claim their ancestral hall that was built in the early sixteenth century,
26 Wan Shi 2005: 611-612; Li & Luckett 1994: 254-258. Some versions claim the pavilion was built in a single night especially for the purpose of the visit. A short version of the story appears also in the 2000 edition of the genealogy: Jian Ming and Wan Shi 2000. 'Jieguan Ting" t~'§~ in Baiqi Guoshi Huizu Zongpu 2000,1: 41-42.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories if Zheng He in Frgian secretly served as a mosque and was intentionally constructed in that shape to symbolically indicate their ancestors' identity. A similar story was related to me by the Quanzhou Jin ~ lineage members who described their former ancestral hall. 27 The pavilion is also known by another name: 'The Marrying-off Pavilion' (Songjia Ting i5~ T ). This name is also related to a tradition involving the Guos' intimate contacts with Zheng He. It is said that during his first visit the newly built pavilion was frequently used by Zheng He and Guo Zhongyuan in long games of chess. In 1422, on his return from his sixth voyage, Zheng He made another short stop at Quanzhou. Having fond memories of the friendly welcome he received on his previous visit, and the long hours of entertaining chess games with Guo Zhongyuan, he decided to cross the bay once more to visit old friends. Unlike his previously well-proven profound chess skills, Guo Zhongyuan lost repeatedly and seemed very troubled. Zheng He inquired after the reason and learnt that a pressing family matter was preoccupying his friend's thoughts: Guo Zhongyuan's fifth son, Guo Shizhao $B1±Wr3 had been taken to serve in the military and was stationed in Xuanzhong in Southern Fujian 28 to serve under Commander Zheng (Zheng Zhihuishi ~B;f~ l' 1f:). Later on he was retained as Commander Zheng's own bodyguard. This allowed him freely to enter all parts of the Zheng's family mansion where he frequently met with Commander Zheng's third daughter, Zheng Fu ~B Wi. Soon after, the two fell in love and were determined to get married. When Commander Zheng learnt of Guo Shizhao's secret relations with his daughter, he immediately ordered him put on trial according to military law. Guo Shizhao and Zheng Fu managed to escape. The infuriated Commander Zheng ordered one of his officers to pursue the young couple, capture them and bring them to trial. Guo Zhongyuan knew that if the whereabouts of his son were not revealed, the whole Guo family would be certainly held responsible and
27 Fieldwork in Chendai and Quanzhou, 2001-2002, 2007. See also Gladney 1996: 272; Zhuang Jinghui 1993: 93-94. 28 ~if!, in modern day Chang Tai ~~ Prefecture, near the city of Zhangzhou.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt thereupon suffer harsh consequences. Upon hearing that, Zheng He assured his friend that he need not worry and that moreover, he had a plan that would not only save the Guos from Commander Zheng's wrath, but would also make the young Lady Zheng become a member of the Guo Household. The next day, as they were sitting in the pavilion for another chess match, they saw in the distance a couple of official warships racing through the waves across Houzhu bay. These were the ships carrying the punitive expedition towards Baiqi. Zheng He began to execute his plan. He hung the imperial edict, issued on his behalf, ordering him to travel to the western seas, on the pavilion's top lintel and calmly returned to continue the game. Within a short while the fierce military force landed. The officer in charge was surprised to discover the yellow silk banner upon which were embroidered dragons and the two letters of 'Imperial Edict' (~§t), hung above the two men. Moreover, in the pavilion he was astonished to find the renowned admiral playing chess with the local Guo Zhongyuan. Zheng He demanded an explanation for the sudden arrival of this military official force. The bewildered officer found no words to explain the purpose of his mission and only managed to utter the words: 'to marry [a girl] off (songjia). So then, "what are all the soldiers for? And where is the dowry?" inquired Zheng He. The force retreated immediately and returned to report to Commander Zheng. When Commander Zheng heard of the unexpected turn of events he had no choice but to comply with what was already promised to the imperial eunuch. He immediately dispatched people in all directions until Guo Shizhao and Zheng Fu were finally found. Then, Guo Zhongyuan selected a bright Friday (the Muslim holy day) for the grand wedding ceremony that took place in the pavilion, with Zheng He himself presiding over the ceremony. By then Commander Zheng had prepared a generous dowry which he unloaded from the official vessels straight onto the wharf of Baiqi and from there to the pavilion. From that day on, the pavilion was also called 'The Marrying-off Pavilion'.29
29 Wan Shi 2005: 614-615; Baiqi Glloshi Huizu ZO!J!'Pu 2000, 1: 41-42. Slightly
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories ojZheng He in F1!fian A short version of the story appears in the Biography of Guo Shizhao in the 2000 edition of the genealogy30: Wan Shi jt~:p, Shizhao Gong Zhuanlie 1±ag01$~. There, the modern compiler, a member of the Guo's nineteenth generation, cites older versions of the genealogy that mention only Shizhao joining the military at a young age and serving in Xuanzhong, and his marriage to Commander Zheng's daughter. The account of the marriage is different from the one orally transmitted down to the current generation. The first interaction between the two families is described as the visit of Guo Zhongyuan to the Zheng family:
... He married the youngest daughter of commander Zheng. Our ancestor Yi Xuan [the style of Guo Zhongyuan] prepared a large amount of funds which he delivered in a guarded convoy to Xuanzhong. He then constructed a large dwelling with several studies, a garden and a fish pond. Afterwards, Guo Shizhao dutifully returned together with his father for paying respects to the family's ancestors performing a big and beautiful ceremony.3l An inscription carved inside the pavilion, from 1772, commemorating its restoration during the Qianlong period of Qing dynasty doesn't supply any hint of the special role of Zheng He in the pavilion's history. The inscription only mentions the big undertaking of the
different versions appear in: Cai & Guo 1993: 283-286; Ii & Luckert 1994: 254-258. 30 The compilation of the Baiqi Cuoshi Huizu Zongpll B ~!}~ ~ @] 11k * ~t was initiated in 1994 and completed in 2000 by an editing committee headed by Wan Shi j~:n. The funds for the project were raised among family members living overseas and in Baiqi. This three-volume compilation is based on ten older genealogies. The oldest was compiled in 1436. It was updated during the Jiajing ~Jl1'j era (1522-1566) and again during the Kangxi ~ W~ era (1662-1722). In addition it incorporates material from other lineage segments' genealogies. It incorporates old essays and introductions from the earliest genealogies as well as modern day colorful photos. As indicated also by the title of the genealogy, it charts the entire Baiqi Guo Lineage but highlights their Muslim characteristics and Hui affiliation. An example for it can be seen in the incorporation of the Zheng He oral legends in the book, by the general editor. 31 Baiqi Clloshi Hllizu Zongpu 2000, 1: 68.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt restoration in order to preserve the pavilion which "was built by people of the previous dynasty who raised funds to build it ... ". The only fact that can be ascertained is that it was constructed during the Ming era. 32 There is no mention in the old sources available to me of the role played by Zheng He in that affair. Only in the 1990's, a new tablet was added by the Baiqi Township government, where they inscribed the following text: Jieguan Ting, formerly called Qiaowei Ting mffi 'i!. In 1417 the Ming imperial envoy, expedition commander, eunuch Zheng He embarked on his fifth voyage to the western seas and his fleet anchored in Houzhu Harbor. In response to the invitation by Baiqi's founding ancestor Guo Zhongyuan he came here on a visit. Baiqi's early ancestors welcomed him at this pavilion hence the Welcoming Official Pavilion obtained its name. Although this story has no historical foundations to support its veracity, it is still indicative of the notion that contacts with a high official, thanks to a shared Muslim origin, was the very means for pushing forward an otherwise unlikely intermarriage with a high• ranking military Han official and thereby promoting the integration of the Guos into the Han society. It could on the one hand be read as a story about assimilation into Han society and gaining recognition and social legitimization. However, with the current renewed value of affiliation with Muslim ancestors, the support from Zheng He is now celebrated by the Guos as a marker of special identity. In an interview in 2005, a family member from Baiqi said that during his stay in Baiqi, "Zheng He acted as a go-between of Hui-Han intermarriages, thus promoting national unity. Praise for his tremendous help to the people was passed down from generation to generation of Baiqi Huis".33
The Zheng He Embankment The fourth branch of the Baiqi Guos accredits Zheng He with the founding of its village Liandai (Lotus Dam, Ji ±.j also called Daishang
32 Bai Kuo 1993: 289-291. Tablet commemorating the restoration of the Pavilion in 1772: ChongxiuJieguan Ting beiji ]H~~1r~~~C. 33 Han Shengbao and Lin Yongchuan, 1 June 2005.
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ijtL, meaning: 'On the Dam'). On the outskirts of that small village in the Baiqi Township remains to this day an ancient embankment that served to prevent the flooding of the adjacent fields. Members of the Guo lineage attribute its creation to Zheng He, and even call it the 'Zheng He Embankment' (Zheng He Di~~fQ:I:n:).34 At the foot of the mountain there used to be a big rock on which one could identify the shape of a boot-print, commonly referred to as the 'Immortal's Foot Print'. The rock was demolished during works to develop a saltern. Just like the welcoming pavilion, both the Immortal's Foot Print and Zheng He's Embankment are revered by Baiqi residents, who see them as evidence of the close relations they had with Zheng He. According to the tradition, Zheng He had heard that his fellow Muslims in Baiqi were suffering immensely from the growing havoc caused by frequent pirate raids along the coastal region of Fujian. Therefore, while anchoring in the area he dispatched a force to Baiqi to eradicate the invaders. Only when Zheng He's troops arrived at Baiqi did they receive the news that the marauders, who had temporarily captured the village of Ke Pu :s11i1, had already been wiped out by "a mixed local force of Hui and Han villagers" led by Guo Zhongyuan's fourth son, Guo Shimin $~1±fID[.35 Nevertheless,
34 Originally there were two stretches: one stretch of about sixty meters links the village of Doumen Tou 4rr!:1jj with the western corner of Daishang village. The longer stretch of more than seven hundred meters links Daishang to the foot of Santai Mountain (-=:. E1 W). 35 Some sources erroneously attribute these events to Guo Shimin's well-known son, Guo Ganping ($~~f, also known as Guo Jianping $~~f 1419-1487). Guo Ganping is revered by his descendants for courageously leading a counter-assault on pirates who attacked his village of Daishang, and even managed to capture the bandits' leader alive. His meritorious deeds were acknowledged by the officials in charge. This was recorded in Jiqjing Huian Xianzhi ,m 3( t¥- ;it ~ ft~ 13:23a and Quanzhou Fuzhi *HIM ;it, 56: 55a. According to local family sources, he was rewarded by imperial honorary titles. The stele on the path leading to his grave even states that he was bestowed by the Ming rulers, the title of 'Bandit Capturing Official'. As with the case of his father, Ganping's present descendants also highlight both his merits as a local Chinese hero as well as his Muslim heritage: "From a
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt the troops remained in Baiqi and were ordered by Zheng He to continue assisting the Guos. In those days the members of Guo Zhongyuan's family who settled in Daishang were also suffering from constantly rising tides that flooded their homes. When Zheng He's soldiers camped in Daishang, the admiral made an inspection tour and witnessed the flooded stretch of land. He suggested building two embankments to stop the seawater flooding the village and at the same time to reclaim land for agricultural cultivation and settlement, and offered his troops' aid in the construction. Family traditions stress the combined effort of the local Guos and the imperial troops who, in close to two months, erected embankments with a total length of about one and a half kilometres. Upon completion of the construction, the joyous soldiers and locals were dismayed when an exceptionally forceful tide violently surged toward the newly built embankment, breaching it at several points. The combined efforts of the soldiers and locals to repair the damages were to no avail. All along, Zheng He and Guo Zhongyuan were standing on top of Santai Shan, anxiously inspecting the ascending water level. Were it to go up two or three more inches, it would destroy all the hard work of the past few months. Worried and annoyed as he was, Zheng He faced the gushing waves and furiously stamped his foot down as he shouted towards the surging sea "How long will this water keep on rising?!". As the legend goes, following his dramatic gesture, the footprint of his stamping boot was imprinted deep into the huge rock he was standing
young age he appeared very solemn and bright. He received strict education, never acting lazy or dissolute. During his lifetime he was a follower of Islam. He observed the rules scrupulously with no errors". See Qinci Budaoguan Guo Jianping ixJmj1ffi.lJ§.'§ "~~~f and photo in opening pages: Sanshizu Jianpinf!j!,ong Mudao Bei = tttfll~~f0 ~m~ in Baiqi Guoshi Huizu Zongpu 2000, 1: 69-70; Huang Tianzhu 1993:141; Cai & Guo 1993: 287-288. However, the account mentioned above, which occurred during Zheng He's visit to the region, cannot be attributed to Guo Ganping, because he was born in 1419, two years after Zheng He's fifth voyage during which the above• mentioned events were believed to have happened. See Wan Shi 2005: 612-613.
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on, and at that same instant the water miraculously retreated by about half a meter, sparing the embankment.36 This tale brings to mind a strikingly similar tradition, also related to the early Ming, of the 'Golden Foot Mosque' which Zvi Ben-Dor describes in his work about the claims of Muslim Chinese for the existence of an intimate bond between their ancestors and Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming founder. According to this tradition, the emperor, while on tour in Nanjing with several of his Hui generals, visited a mosque. Mistakenly he stepped into the mosque without taking his shoes off. Regretting this mistake he ordered the footprint he had just made to be dug out and had it inlaid with gold. In a similar fashion to the Immortal's Footprint, the emperor's gold-inlaid footprint became "the commemorative marker of his visit to the mosque and a reminder of his respect for Islam". 37 The tales about Zheng He's assistance in constructing the embankment are also based only on oral traditions. Unlike the Baiqi traditions, the visit to Quanzhou and Zheng He's communications with the city's local Muslims are well established through several sources. Prominent among them is the inscription quoted above describing Zheng He's visit to Lingshan to burn incense and seek the saints' protection before his fifth voyage. However, in the written sources available to us there is no evidence for his connections with the Baiqi Guos. Several local Guo and non-Guo Fujianese scholars and researchers point out the strong probability of these accounts: Zheng He visited Quanzhou in 1417, when Guo Zhongyuan was still alive, and a meeting between the two was therefore possible. The two practiced the same religion. Guo Zhongyuan frequented Quanzhou's main mosque where Zheng He was said to have visited as well. Moreover, the Baiqi dock -the site of the welcoming pavilion
36 Wan Shi 2005: 613. Other sources contain additional stories related to the Guo's relations with Zheng He. Some sources claim that Zheng He's assistance to the Guos was granted also in appreciation of the assistance that a few of them gave him when one of his ships was stuck in shallow water (Levathes 1996: 148; Interviews with members of the Senior Citizens Association of Baigi in August 2002). 37 Ben-Dar Benite 2008: 4, 275-276.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt dedicated to Zheng He- is right opposite Quanzhou's main harbour. Its location perfectly matches the details of the story. Zheng He's fleet anchored in the harbour and might have moved across the bay to Baiqi; in that case, the troops themselves might have embarked on the shore of Baiqi. However, this is sheer guesswork.38 Guo Zhichao, a senior researcher of the history and anthropology of the Baiqi Guo lineage dismisses the stories of Zheng He in Baiqi as lacking any historical foundation. However, he conducted a detailed analysis of the available historical evidence of the links between Zheng He and the local Muslim lineages of Quanzhou, and possible byproducts that his visits might have had on communities of Muslims' descendants in the area. Guo Zhichao states that by personally going to the holy tombs in Lingshan and burning incense there, Zheng He conveyed a message of the imperial government's renewed esteem toward Islam. This expression of respect served as a great source of encouragement for the oppressed Quanzhou Muslim community following several decades marked by the bloody turmoil and reign of terror of the late Yuan Quanzhou, 39 the suspicious treatment of former semu ren practiced by the authorities in the early Ming, and the discriminating imperial orders regarding Islam during the early Y ongle reign period (1402-1424). Zheng He's visit may have helped in creating a more tolerant and relaxed social environment for the practice of Islam. This in turn might explain the ambition of the Guos to disseminate traditions which connect them to a notable with such a potential positive effect on their status. Guo Zhichao names two important developments which may suggest the possible impact of Zheng He's visit to the region on the local communities of Muslim descent: the increase and flourishing of the use of Muslim style tombstones, and the initiation of five consecutive restorations of the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou over a period of two hundred years following his visit. In the period following 1422, the Baiqi Guos made no attempts to conceal their
38 Bai Kuo 1993: 290-291; Cai & Guo 1993: 285-286. 39 Maejima 1973: 27-51; Chen Dasheng 1983: 59-60; So 2000: 122-125.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories of Zheng He in F,!/ian special ethnic and religious character when constructing their family's members' tombs. According to Guo Zhichao this phenomenon reflected the flourishing of Islam and the corresponding social and political environment of the time. The construction of that kind of tomb had already begun in the founding generation of Guos in Baiqi, Guo Zhongyuan and his wife. They were buried in 1422 and 1433, respectively. It was followed by similarly styled tombs of members of later generations, mainly in the fifteenth century, in several different locations in and around Baiqi. The tombs bear typical Muslim characteristics including motifs such as layered structures with inscriptions in Arabic of Quran verses, lotus petals, clouds and flowers. Some of these tombs are even situated facing South-West, toward Mecca. Although during the centuries following the establishment of the Guo setdement in Baiqi, the Muslim style of the tombs was gready simplified, it still remained in a certain form until the late Qing era. 40 Shordy after Zheng He's visit and pilgrimage to Lingshan, towards the end of the Y ongle reign period (1403-1424), the Quanzhou Qingjing Mosque was renovated. Guo Zhichao accredits the initiation of such a project and the official backing it received to Zheng He's visit. He concludes that the mosque renovations and the flourishing custom of erecting tombs in the Muslim style reflect the implementation of the imperial government's friendly policy towards the Muslims and the active support extended to them, from the Y ongle reign period onward. The pilgrimage of an imperial emissary
40 During the 1970's large-scale projects caused damage and destruction to dozens of these Muslim-style graves in Baiqi. See Guo Zhichao 2005: 37. A very similar phenomenon can be identified within the Ding Lineage settlement of Chendai. Although they experienced much faster acculturation after the ascendance of the Qing, during the first years of their settlement of Chendai their ancestors practiced similar burial characteristics. The most vivid examples are those of the graves of Ding Shan T~ (died in 1420) and Ding Fubao T~llH*. Ding Shan's fourth son. Died in 1432) and their wives on the southern slopes of Lingshan in Quanzhou (Guo Zhichao 2005: 38). On the Arabic inscriptions on the above-mentioned graves, see Chen Dasheng 1984.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt of such high status as Zheng He to the saints' tombs in Lingshan, made a tremendous contribution to elevating and providing authoritative validity for the government's backing.41 The lack of additional sources does not allow us to determine unequivocally the extent to which Zheng He's visit actually affected the status of the Muslims in and around Quanzhou during the early Ming period. Nevertheless, in present-day Baiqi, the Guos are showing a growing interest in disseminating traditions which blend official historical events with their own family traditions linking them to Zheng He and highlighting his personal interest and care for their affairs. I suggest this, in itself, bears a profound meaning. Zvi Ben• Dor describes the writings of Ma Zhu (1630-1711), a renowned Muslim Beijing scholar who documented a family tradition involving the Ming founder, Zhu Yuanzhang and his own ancestor, a Muslim dignitary named Sai Hazhi. According to the story, in 1391 Zhu Yuanzhang granted Sai Hazhi an imperial decree to renovate and establish mosques in several locations in China. According to Ma Zhu's description, Ming Taizu appears as a patron of Islam, charged with special concern for the maintenance of Islamic knowledge and institutions. As in the case of the present-day Baiqi Guos, Ma brings together Chinese Muslim tradition with documented official history. While an actual imperial decree to build mosques was indeed granted to Sai Hazhi, historical sources do not portray it as an act of 'Islam• friendly benevolence' but rather a practical act of efficient governing. Ben-Dor demonstrates how Ma Zhu enlists an alleged historical precedent and the Ming founder's unique affection for Islam for the purpose of his appeal to the Kangxi emperor to secure his own position. The two cases portray a common "strategy of dressing up
39 Four other renovations were carried out during the sixteenth and the early seventeenth centuries in: 1507, 1541-1549, 1567, 1608-1609. Guo Zhichao (2005: 38) concludes his essay by stating that the imperial government, local administrative officials and other people of high social stand actively participated in the renovation projects of the Mosque. Nevertheless, I End rather far-fetched his claim relating the four other Ming era renovations to Zheng He's visit.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories 0/ Zheng He in Ff!iian documented historical events so as to give them specifically Islamic relevance".42 Raphael Israeli has noted that such traditions evince the transformation of the Muslim communities after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty. Such legends celebrate universal Chinese heroes, rather than sectarian Muslim role-models. Zheng He's deeds contributed to Chinese society at large. 43 The cultivation of his legend implies that the Baiqi Guos seek to highlight their foreign heritage as integrated into the cultural fabric of Chinese society at large. Ralph Kauz has analysed the image of Zheng He as portrayed in biographical dictionaries of renowned Fujian personalities and in local Muslim sources, demonstrating that while the Fujian Hui highlight his Muslim background and regard him as one of their most revered dignitaries, his religious activities, including those performed during his visits to Fujian, demonstrated far greater affinity with Chinese religious and cuI tura I 1·d entIty. . 44 Recently there has been a marked tendency among local official authorities to legitimize and sometimes to adopt these oral traditions. The Huian County government recently classified the 'Welcoming Pavilion' and the 'Zheng He Embankment' as protected historical relics. In the spring of 2004, a team of seven local historians and experts visited Baiqi as part of a survey of Historical Sites 0/ Zheng He in Quanzhou to investigate the history and traditions related to those sites. I have not encountered any mention of these family traditions in Lugang, or in any of the genealogical writings of other Baiqi Guo branches outside China. In all the genealogical essays written in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Singapore, the Guo members remain faithful to their affiliation with Guo Ziyi while Zheng He remains unmentioned.45 Thus one may assume that the recent proliferation of
42 Ben-Dar Benite 2008: 285-289. 43 Israeli 2002: 90. 44 Kauz 2005: 75-89. 45 Liu Dan 1964: A3; Huanqiu Guo Shi zongpu bianji weiyuanhui 1981: 15, 133; Abt 2012: 213-235.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access OdedAbt the Zheng He tales and the official attention they receive coincides with the new political developments in the P.R.e. that facilitated the scientific findings ruling out descent from Guo Ziyi, and the decline of his veneration as an ancient ancestor.
Conclusion This essay has demonstrated how historical memory and communal identities are being restructured in response to changing historical and political conditions. Examining how the decline of the Guo Ziyi tradition in Baiqi coincides with the increasing embrace of the Zheng He tales reveals the dynamic nature of the past; Steven Harrell (1996) and later on also Melissa J. Brown, have applied the term 'narratives if unfolding to the dynamics of narrative construction and identity formation. Brown has noted that "the relation of the past to the present is crucial to narratives of unfolding. Although ostensibly about the past, they are really about the present. They are attempts to justify, to naturalize, to immortalize the present-day claims of a nation or an ethnic group".46 Along these lines I have analysed family narratives of Muslims' descendants demonstrating how -as the present unfolds- the past changes in response to contemporary conditions and identity perceptions. Ethnographic and historical research into the changing Guo traditions and their significance, have shown that they do not simply reflect a linear process of shift from assimilation to differentiation, or from concealment to recovering of particular identities. In this essay I proposed examining these traditions as continuous -sometimes contradictory- responses to the dynamics of local culture, politics, and the social environment. The changing approaches towards the early ancestors reflect how each community narrates its own ancestral origin in response to the prevailing political and social conditions. The present analysis suggests further that they reflect their different views regarding the very process of incorporation into the larger Chinese social and cultural
46 Brown 2004: 6.
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Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 08:21:30PM via free access Historical Memories qfZheng He in Ft!Jian sphere. While profound socio-political changes have occurred in China in recent decades, totally different conditions existed across the Strait. They are also reflected in the way the Guos perceive their ancient origin, and their differing perspective on the larger collective with whom they seek affiliation. In Taiwan Guo Ziyi remains a symbol of identification with a large universal Chinese surname-group. Descent from Guo Ziyi is what enables the Lugang Guos to ascend above the more immediate foreign ancestry and form a link to the core of mainstream Chinese national and cultural heritage. Over the past few decades, a new process has unfolded in Fujian, in which attempts to meet the modern criteria of ethnic Hui identity are forcing out those of the pan-Guo identity. In the process of assuming Hui status the Baiqi Guos are being re-separated from the larger Guo clan that has 'hosted' them for six centuries. Nevertheless, in present-day China, being classified as one of the 56 officially recognized nationalities signifies absorption into the larger collective of the Chinese nation. Among mainland Baiqi community members, the false tradition of Guo Ziyi has become a symbol of forced assimilation, an important marker of their contemporary Sino-Hui identity while assumed 'historical' contacts with Zheng He are celebrated as authentic family heritage. The current resurgence of Muslim heritage in Southeast China has been largely interpreted in ethnic and political terms, and presented as an outcome of current government policies. This work focuses on traditions that associate the foreign origins with historical figures revered by the Chinese population at large. The analysis of these family traditions suggests further that the use of state-defined categories might have reinforced their separate identity, but more significantly, the petition to receive official Hui status according to criteria specified by the Chinese government in fact reinforces the very belonging to the Chinese social and cultural sphere. Referring mainly to the well-recognized Hui of North-West China, Jonathan Lipman states that: Sino Muslims [... 1 have outwardly accepted their minZ!f category and adapted their individual thinking to the state-created fact of their Hui-
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ness. [... ] it does not matter whether Hui-ness corresponds to any observable phenomena of the past, that it runs roughshod over vast diversity within the worlds of the Sino-Muslims or changes their communities' sense of themselves. Its validation by the state creates opportunities for solidarity, both intellectual [... ] and institutional... 47 Thus, I maintain that the current transformation of family historical narratives should not be interpreted solely as an outcome of contemporary policies and an indication for 'separatist' tendencies, but rather as a continuous process of adaptation to prevalent conditions attempting to enhance their belonging to - rather than their separation from - local society.
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