Culture
Hui culture is greatly influenced by their Muslim heritage. In each Hui community, there is typically a mosque. They live a pure and simple life. Smoking, drinking and gambling are frowned upon and young people are not allowed to sit with the elder members of the group. They are a very ritualistic people. For example, crying excessively at funerals is not allowed because it is viewed as disrespectful to the dead. If ever you encountered a Hui civilization, you would be served a wide variety of distinctive food. Hui prefer food with flour. They also favor wheat, corn, barley, and potatoes, but a lot of it varies from location to location. During the entire ninth month of to the Hui calendar, men older than 12 and women older than 9 will fast, which means they cannot eat anything from sunrise to sunset.
In the north they are primarily growers of wheat and dry rice; in the south they raise wet rice. City-dwelling Hui are most often laborers or factory workers. Nevertheless, the Hui are famous as traders, and it was their interest in profitable business ventures that led them to be dispersed all over China and even beyond its borders. Today, 29 percent of the Hui work in service industries, the highest proportion of any ethnic group in China.
In the north they are primarily growers of wheat and dry rice; in the south they raise wet rice. City-dwelling Hui are most often laborers or factory workers. Nevertheless, the Hui are famous as traders, and it was their interest in profitable business ventures that led them to be dispersed all over China and even beyond its borders. Today, 29 percent of the Hui work in service industries, the highest proportion of any ethnic group in China.
Yusuf Ma Dexin
Perhaps the most infamous of Hui people is Yusuf Ma Dexin (1794-1874). In 1841 he performed the hajj, and remained in the Middle East for 8 years. He then returned to China and produced the first Chinese translation of the Koran, as well as wrote numerous books in Arabic and Persian about Islam. His most famous writings compared Islamic culture and the Confucian philosophy in an effort to find a theoretical and theological basis for their coexistence. At the same time, he criticized the absorption of Buddhist and Daoist elements into the practice of Islam in China. Through his writings and teachings he is responsible for the conversion of thousands of Chinese to the Islamic faith.
References:
Digital image. Resources on Chinese Muslims. Pray for the Hui, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
The Splendid Hui Chinese Muslim Culture of Ningxia 1/3. Youtube, 16 July 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Wong, Andy. Digital image. World in Focus. SFGate, 1 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Yang, Yang, and Feng Zhiwei. Digital image. Hui Community Thrives in Hunan. China Daily, 30 June 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Digital image. Resources on Chinese Muslims. Pray for the Hui, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
The Splendid Hui Chinese Muslim Culture of Ningxia 1/3. Youtube, 16 July 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Wong, Andy. Digital image. World in Focus. SFGate, 1 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Yang, Yang, and Feng Zhiwei. Digital image. Hui Community Thrives in Hunan. China Daily, 30 June 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.