Hu Dahai on Rules of Warfare
“My fighting men do not know writing, they only know three duties: do not kill, do not violate women and girls, and do not burn down huts or farmhouses.” – […]
Category Archives: Medieval China
Zhao Rugua’s description of Mehmood Ghaznavi
Zhao Rugua (趙汝适) was a customs inspector in the city of Quanzhou during the time of the Song dynasty who wrote a two-volume book called Zhufan Zhi (諸蕃志) or Chu-fan-chi (Description […]
On Meeting James Frankel
On my trip to NYC I had the good fortune to meet and interview James Frankel. James’ book on Liu Zhi, the famous Chinese Muslim scholar, was recently published and […]
Tha’alibi on Chinese Art
Tha’alibi or Abu Mansur ‘Abd ul-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Isma’il Neyshapuri (ابومنصور عبدالملك ابن محمد ابن اسماعيل نيشاپورى) who died in 1038 AAD, the famous Muslim Philologist describes the Chinese […]
Sino-Islamic Map of the World – Now Lost
Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, took many people from Central Asia and made them work for him. One of these people […]
Arabic Tombstones from China from 12th Century
The earliest of the Arabic tombstones with dates unearthed in Quanzhou, 1171 CE. The inscription reads, “This is the tomb of Hussayn bin Muhammad al-Khalat. May God show mercy upon […]
Transmission of the flamethrower from Greece to China
The flame thrower was invented in the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) who used it against the Arab Muslims. It was later adopted by the Muslims who transmitted it to […]
Columbia Dissertation: Confucian-Islamic harmonization of the Tianfang Dianli
Liu Zhi’s journey through ritual law to Allah’s Chinese name : conceptual antecedents and theological obstacles to the Confucian-Islamic harmonization of the Tianfang Dianli Link: http://digitalcommons.libraries.columbia.edu/dissertations/AAI3174789/ Abstract: This dissertation places […]
Map of Haji Zheng He’s Famous Voyages
Haji Zheng He is considered to be the greatest Chinese Admirals of all time. Zheng He happened to be a Muslim who even performed Hajj, hence the name Haji. Above […]
Persian helped promulgate Islam in China
One thing that usually gets lost in discussion of Islam in “far-away” lands is the contribution of non-Arab Muslims in spreading Islam. The point is not to diminish the contribution […]
