Great Mosque of Xi'an

The Great Mosque of Xi'an (; ), also known as the Huajue Xiang Mosque () due to its location on 30 Huajue Lane, and is sometimes called the Great Eastern Mosque (), is a mosque located in the eastern segments of the Xi'an Muslim Quarter (), Xi'an, in the Shaanxi province of China.

It is one of the largest premodern mosques in China. The mosque was built in 742 CE during the Tang dynasty, at the time when Xi'an (Chang'an) was the world's largest city, its current form was largely constructed in 1384 CE during Emperor Hongwu's reign of the Ming dynasty, as recorded by the Records of Xi'an Municipality (). The mosque's plan is distinguished by its symmetrically east-west axis plan with five sahns that include several buildings with the prayer hall being at the west end of the mosque, this plan follows the native Chinese architectural traditions and it is different from mosques outside of China.

An active place of worship within the Xi'an Muslim Quarter, this sahn complex is also a popular tourist site. It now houses more than twenty buildings in its five sahns, and covers .

History

Tang and Song dynasties

Chang'an, as the cosmopolitan capital of China's Tang dynasty, had sizable non-Han merchant and artisan communities that resided there. Many of them migrated to China from today's West Asia. Emperor Xuanzong decreed around the year 742 CE (as Tangmingsi,

Reconstruction during the Ming dynasty

The city of Xi'an, after being destroyed during the collapse of the Tang dynasty, was reconstructed during the Ming dynasty by 1378 CE. The reconstruction of the original mosque into its contemporary form was patronized by the imperial government during Emperor Hongwu's reign. The mosque witnessed further additions during the Qing dynasty, Another plaque called Declaration to Fix the Mosque () was placed there by the Qing government in 1768. Following Mao Zedong's death in 1976, religious activities resumed, and the mosque was listed as a Chinese major cultural heritage site in 1988. In 1997, it was selected as one of the top ten tourist attractions in Xi'an.

Modern usage

The mosque is used as a place of worship by Chinese Muslims, primarily the Hui people. The Great Mosque of Xi'an represents the Gedimu (, ) tradition of Sunni Islam with the Hanafi jurisdiction, which is the majority jurisprudence that the Hui population follow. Visitors and tourists can pay a small fee to enter and complex and see the gardens and steles but non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the prayer hall.

The mosque is a religious site to the Muslims in the city, and a cultural heritage site to all citizens of Xi'an. It is used to represent the ethnic and religious diversity that the city had in the past.

Architecture

The Great Mosque of Xi'an is an example of the adaptability of mosque architecture in the context of Chinese culture. The mosque has features that mosque around the world typically have, such as the qibla and mihrab, and it also contains Chinese architectural features and cultural symbols throughout.

Chinese style

thumb|East to west axis plan of the mosque, with the prayer hall at the west end, [[minaret building in the middle and the entrance from the east. ]]

Overall, the mosque, like the majority of Chinese mosques built between the Ming and Qing periods, combines a traditional Chinese architectural form with Islamic functionality. Though the mosque was constructed using traditional Chinese forms, unlike most buildings that follow a north–south axis in accordance with feng shui (most Chinese religious buildings has its gates open in the north direction), the mosque is oriented toward west, the direction of Mecca, with its entrance from the east. The mosque's complex Chinese axis plan with the prayer hall located at the west-end is distinguished from the traditional square or rectangular complex plans with the prayer hall located at the center.

Calligraphy in both Chinese and Perso-Arabic script appears throughout the complex. The Arabic texts, such as the Shahada, can be seen written in the Sini calligraphic style, which is the style of Arabic calligraphy using Chinese-influenced medium, such as the usage of the Chinese ink brush for writing.

thumb|Taḥmīd ("Praise be to God") in Arabic Ṣīnī-style calligraphy at the Great Mosque of Xi'an

Sahns

The mosque is a walled complex of four sahns, with the prayer hall located in the fourth and also the westmost sahn. The first and second sahns are mostly traditional Chinese gardens, while the third and fourth sahns are where the main structures of the mosques are located. This sahn is for visitors to attend prayer services. Today, the third courtyard is where many of the mosque community's daily activities take place. For instance, the mosque's central kitchen, the residential Imam's office, and other governmental administrative departments are located here.

Prayer hall

It is believed that the prayer hall was constructed during the Ming dynasty, although significant reconstructions occurred during the Qing era. This argument has been supported by the numerous wooden columns in the prayer hall as the use of wooden columns predates that of brick columns which were typical of Qing dynasty buildings. The prayer hall is a monumental timber building with a turquoise hip roof, painted dougong (wooden brackets), a six-pillared portico, and five doors. Contrary to most mosques in many Muslim-majority states, the prayer hall does not feature a dome-shaped ceiling but has a traditional Chinese, pointy ceiling covered with ceramic decorative tiles. Meanwhile, the prayer hall is decorated with images of plants and flowers, suggesting the decorative program still followed the Islamic tradition that forbids anthropomorphic imageries. The ceiling is raised upon a large stone platform lined with wooden balustrades. The expansive prayer hall consists of three conjoined buildings, set one behind the other. In the furthest part of the prayer hall stands the rear qibla wall, which has wooden carvings of floral and calligraphic designs.

Gallery

Xian Mosque3.jpg|Second sahn of the great mosque

Chinese-style minaret of the Great Mosque.jpg|"Examining the Heart Tower" (minaret) in the third sahn

1 great mosque xian 2011.JPG|Phoenix Pavilion in the fourth sahn

Xian Mosque6.jpg|Facing the prayer hall of the mosque, in the fourth sahn

Xi'anGreatMosque.jpg|Entrance to the prayer hall

Prayer room - Great Mosque of Xi'an.jpg|Prayer hall

Xian-Grosse Moschee-22-2012-gje.jpg|Main prayer hall with the mihrab

Arabic Plaque, Great Mosque, Xian.jpg|Calligraphy on a plaque in the mosque

WAH Xian.gif|Wahbi Al-Hariri's graphite drawing of the minaret of the mosque

Great Mosque of Xi'an - wall of the prayer room - engraved wooden walls.jpg|The Quran is engraved in Arabic and Chinese on the wall of the prayer hall

Great Mosque of Xi'an - wall of the prayer room.jpg|Arabic engraved Quran

Great Mosque of Xi'an - wall of the prayer room - Arabic engraved Quran.jpg|Arabic engraved Quran

Great Mosque of Xi'an - wall of the prayer room - Chinese engraved Quran.jpg|Chinese engraved Quran translation

Great Mosque of Xi'an - wall of the prayer room - engraved Quran.jpg|Chinese engraved Quran translation

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