The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 12, click here.

April 26, 2016 - Beijing

Though physically here at my home in Beijing, a part of my spirit is still in Ashgabat Turkmenistan where I had to temporarily stop my most recent segment of the Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour. My ultimate goal this coming summer is Istanbul, specifically the 5th Century Harbor of Eleutherios, later known as the Harbor of Theodosius and known as the “Portus Theodosiacus” in Latin. Eleutherios was one of the ports of ancient Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, located beneath the modern Yenikapi neighborhood in Istanbul. Now however, I’m on a one-week vacation from my life as a teacher for the May 1st holiday here in China, and thus continuing my Silk Road explorations, except here in my adopted home city of Beijing. My original intention on this short pilgrimage downtown was to visit an ancient mosque and something called the China Islamic Association. What I found was a whole lot more including an amazing Kung Fu story/history.

Introduction

With more than 3,000 years of history, Beijing has seen the rise and fall of many nations and empires. “Beijing” meaning “North Capital” was one of the four ancient capitals of China, along with Nanjing (South Capital), Xian (known as Chang’an in ancient times), and Luoyang.

Beijing, just before the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 CE) was known as “Zhongdu,” thanks to the Jurchen Jin Dynasty in the 1100s and was subsequently reduced to rubble by Genghis Khan in 1215. Cities that did not submit to Genghis Khan were totally obliterated. Beijing, as it is now known, was then rebuilt by Kublai Khan and renamed as “Daidu,” a new capital for the Yuan Dynasty. Prior to the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing was the northern frontier of a tributary to the Silk Road; that same fabled road reached its zenith during the Yuan Dynasty and was naturally the major highway for “Daidu” to the enormous and enormously wealthy Western world.

Almost all of the nations that lie west of China, all the way to Turkey are Muslim countries, so Muslims that traveled and traded all the way to Beijing sought Muslim quarters in this ancient city for rest, companionship and prayers, weddings, funerals and other necessities of civilized life. The heart of the Muslim quarters in Beijing, both then and now, may be found along “Niujie” or Oxen Street. For most of the time since the Liao Dynasty in the year 996, one may find the Niujie Libai. It was obliterated along with everything else in 1215 by Genghis Khan, however, it was rebuilt in 1443 during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE). The “Oxen Street Mosque” is very much the spiritual heart of the Islamic quarters in Beijing, at home in a Muslim community of around 10,000 mostly Hui and Uyghur Chinese Muslims, in addition to some Kazakh, Dongxian, Kirgiz, Salar, Tajik, Bonan, Uzbek and Tartar Muslims, hardly surprising really given that this is the Muslim center of the northeast terminus of the major tributary to the famed Silk Road in China. Though the name “Oxen Street” may sound a bit strange to non-Chinese, most of the streets in this ancient city of Beijing were named for the commodities bought and sold there, e.g. Lamb Street, Horse Street, Donkey Street, Hat Street, Oil Street, Curtain Street, Glass Street, Stone Street, Red String Street, and so on. Other streets were often named after illustrious families.

Tashkent Anar and The Old Market

 

 

My visit to Niujie Masjid

With this background in mind, this National Day holiday here in Beijing I ventured forward to the subway from my northern district of Changping for the two-hour journey to Niujie Mosque, just a little southwest of the Forbidden City. I had the name “China Islamic Association” and it’s cross-street location hastily scrawled in my little notebook.

Getting off the Line 4 subway at Caishikou Station, I had only the faintest inkling of what to expect. It was about a three-block walk to the Mosque. Standing around outside were a few elderly Muslims pleasantly passing the beautiful spring early afternoon. While talking to them, I found out Zuhr (noon prayer) was scheduled for 1:30 so I had about half an hour to do Wudu, ritual washing before participating in my first prayer at this famed Mosque.

Inside the Prayer Hall, it was serenely beautiful, gleaming with the quiet spiritual power only ancient places of worship can radiate. Just before the prayer started, six or seven pairs of Ulama in a line walked solemnly up the central aisle, spreading across the front row of prayer in front of the 20 – 30 other mostly older faithful preparing for this noonday prayer. This was clearly a Masjid of learned Muslims!

After prayer, I reemerged into the gorgeous spring day outdoors from the ancient Prayer Hall. Radiant peace emanated in all directions, connected through nature, the community, and history under the clear spring blue sky. Like other Chinese-style Mosques, Niujie Libai is built around a large courtyard with many trees, ancient stone steles, and small garden-like areas with doorways, meeting halls and pathways here and there. This is in contrast to most Central Asian mosques that are domed, generally taller, made of stone and more box shaped, probably because this shape is easier to defend in those rugged lands.

After a circuit of one part of the Masjid grounds, I was back in front of the Prayer Hall when I heard some young men speaking Bahasa Malay language. Having lived in Malaysia for several years I wandered by them, greeting them with Assalamu Alaikum and “Apa-ka-bar!” We chatted for a while and I found out they were on a six-day holiday here in Beijing, had kind hearts like most Malays, and were eager to discover this ancient magnificent city. After taking some pictures, we scanned each other’s We Chat ID codes and I was off to explore the rest of this ancient Silk Road Muslim Prayer Center.

I also stopped at a small shop and bought some souvenirs e.g. a small prayer bracelet, Halal soap, and a distinguished professional looking shirt with some beautiful Arabic writing. After photographing some of the more picturesque venues within the Masjid grounds, I had to go, if for no other reason than because I was hungry and wanted to see if I could find the China Islamic Association before it closed. Finding a great Halal restaurant was easy as there are several across the street and I had a most delicious beef noodles dish, with some specialty chicken on the side. Wow! Heavenly!

 

China Islamic Institute

 

 

China Islamic Association

Then, off to find the China Islamic Association, which according to my notes was at the intersection of Nanhung Xi Lu and Jiaozi Hutong. Just a note for the non-Chinese speakers, Jiaozi sounds a lot like the steamed dumpling so loved in China on New Year’s, but these characters were different and means “teach son,” or “teach children,” (as “zi” here has a neutral gender). In any case, it sounded good to me!

Only about three blocks away huge ornate buildings appeared with three green domes on top. We introduced ourselves to the guard at the gate and asked if someone was available who might be able to tell us about the Association and what they do. A few moments later we were inside looking for the office number we were given. Upon finding it, we met a Mr. Musa Chen Yulong, Director of the international Department, and another friendly man named Hakim. Luckily Miao was with me because my Mandarin isn’t too good, and Mr. Chen’s English is a bit limited as well. Hakim however speaks English well. All good! After introductions and giving them my name card we were seated and I got to interview Mr. Chen about the Association’s activities.

First he told us a little of their history. The China Islamic Association started teaching about Islam in 1953 and was officially founded in 1955 (only six years after the founding of the modern China in 1949). Though their operations ceased during the Cultural Revolution, they started again in 1982. He then explained there are two main parts to their mission and building. First, in one building they are a teaching institution, teaching about Islam to people from all over China, specifically preparing exceptionally learned individuals to become Ulama, or Islamic scholars. Secondly in another building they plan for and network with a variety of national and international Islamic and other inter-religious peace organizations.

A teaching Association

He said that at the Beijing headquarters they only accept 30 students per year for a five-year study program. Since their inception they’ve established regional Islamic Associations in eight other provinces, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Liaoning, Gansu, Qinghai, Henan, Yunnan, and Hebei. Mr. Chen said there are also other large religious schools in many provinces, in most cases operated by large Mosques. The China Islamic Association however is the largest such organization and also publishes a bimonthly magazine in Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese), and a quarterly magazine in Uyghur language (spoken primarily in Xinjiang). The other half of the mission of the China Islamic Association is to network with national and international Islamic and inter-religious peace organizations, including an annual international meeting in Qatar, the Chinese Committee for Religious Peace (CCRP), the Asian Committee for Religious Peace (ACRP), and another series of international inter-religious peace meetings held regularly in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Muslim Martial Art Story

After this, Mr. Chen told me a very brief story about an extraordinary Muslim martial artist that lived and worked in Beijing for some years, and was a hero of the revolution against the corrupted Qing Dynasty (1644–1912 CE) in the years leading up to the turn of the 20th Century. The following is his story supplemented with some of my own research.

Wang Zhengyi (1844-1900) was known as Great Broadsword Wang, (Dadao Wang), and Wangwu, or Wang the Fifth, as he was the fifth of his master’s great students. He was an amazing hero of China. Liang Qichao, another hero of the revolution, referred to him as the “Hero of Yanzhao.” Yanzhao is the traditional name for Hebei, which prior to the 1970s was a huge province in northeast China that included Beijing, Tianjin, and Zhang Jia Kou, one venue for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics. Great Broadsword Wang’s the broadsword by the way weighed a hefty 100 Jin (110 pounds).

Of Muslim Hui ethnicity, Wang Zhengyi was originally from a poor family in Cangzhou, Hebei, then and now home to a sizable population of the Muslim Hui ethnic group. His father died when he was three years old and he grew up strong having to do many chores. He was the fifth student of “Two Swords” Li Fenggang a famous martial art master who taught Liu He Xin Yi Quan and “Big Sword Style” in Cangzhou. Liu He Xin Yi Quan known as the Muslim branch of Xing Yi because it follows a patrilineal line down through the Muslim community in Luoyang, descending from Master Ma Xue Li with the Liu He name distinguishing it from other Xing Yi branches. “Liu He” refers to the six harmonies of the body: three external, wrists-ankles, elbows-knees, and shoulders-hips and three internal harmonies of Xin-Yi, Yi-Qi, and Qi-Li. “Xin” here refers to heart, spirit and emotional mind; “Yi” means intentional harmonies, “Qi” breath and momentum which is to be harmonized with “Li,” or physical strength and power. The Henan branch uses a 10 animal system and in some lineages may or may not use five elements.

As a young man, Wang Zhengyi joined a body guard/courier company, commonly known as a “protection agency” (Biaoju/Biaohang) and worked several years in Tianjin and Beijing. Eventually he founded his own protection agency in Beijing called Shunyuan Protection Agency in 1879, across from Zhengyangmen city gate, the old main gate of Beijing. This still stands just south of Tiananmen Square though the last of the Biaoju closed its doors for the last time in 1921. Nonetheless the auspicious location of Wang Zhengyi’s Shunyuan Protection Agency strongly suggests he was very successful at that time. In the beginning, his protection agency taught martial arts only to Muslims, but later on expanded to teach all patriots in the revolution against the decaying Qing Dynasty.

During the revolution Wang Zhengyi joined a revolutionary group. He was a good friend and martial art teacher of Tang Sitong, one of the very famous six heroes – Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, Yang Rui, Lin Xu, Yang Shenxiu, and Kang Guangren - of the revolution. Tan Sitong (1865 - 1898) was from Liuyang, Hunan. He wrote a book titled On Benevolence in which he called for the breaking off of all feudal vestiges, denounced all emperors as “despots and traitors to the people,” and characterized aristocratic monarchy as rule by bandits (page 430, Bai Shouyi, An Outline History of China). Tang Sitong with others also launched a revolution in poetry advocating that poetry mirror current political and social reality without violating the traditional poetic style. (ibid)

Though the nominal Guangxu Emperor, Zaitian, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, supported the six heroes and the reforms they proposed. His mother, the Dowager Ci Xi didn’t, imprisoned the emperor and plotted to have the six heroes all executed in September 1898 after they tried to rescue the young emperor. Though Tang Sitong had the opportunity to escape, he refused, saying: “No country in the world as yet has had a successful reform without blood being shed… If this will happen let it begin with me.” When Wang Zhengyi heard that the emperor’s mother had decided to kill the six heroes he tried to save them but was unsuccessful.

Also, in 1898 Wang Zhengyi joined the Yi He Tuan, known in the West as the Boxer Rebellion.

There are conflicting histories in regards to how Wang Zhengyi was killed. According to Baike, an online Chinese encyclopedia, he traded himself for hundreds of the foreign occupiers’ (revolutionary) prisoners on October 25, 1900 and was then killed by German soldiers. Other sources say he died that same year from bullet wounds while fighting against foreign troops. All the histories agree that his head was cut off and displayed above the Drum Tower door. His family was not allowed to take the head, which remained there for some time until Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910) co-founder of Jing Wu School in Tianjin (at that time, later moved to Shanghai) heard of this, and subsequently came by himself at night to recover the head by stealth. He then gave the head of his friend Wang Zhengyi to his family to be properly buried with honor.

Which brings us back to Beijing’s Niujie Masjid. As Beijing’s oldest and largest Masjid, it is highly likely that Master Wang Dadao the Fifth prayed here also. Little did I know, that morning of April 26th, 2016 when I entered the beautiful ancient Masjid that I was probably walking in the footsteps of a Muslim martial art hero and martyr that helped bring down the terrible old monarchy and protect China from ill-conceived colonial efforts.

Also interesting is that if I hadn’t stopped at the China Islamic Association, I never would have heard of this great hero Wang Zhengyi, also known as Broadsword Wang the Fifth, or Tang Sitong (or the other five great heroes of the anti-Qing revolution), or that a full half of that great educational institution’s efforts are geared towards working with national and international Islamic and inter-religious peace making organizations. Even though I didn’t have a prior appointment, Director of the international Department Mr. Chen and his assistant Hakim were wonderful hosts answering my endless flow of questions for around two hours. Many deep and sincere thanks to them, and the wonderful new friends I made at Niujie Mosque here in the ancient and modern city of Beijing, northeast terminal of the ancient and modern Silk Road.

 

【大刀王五】1985年 中国经典怀旧电影 Chinese classical movie

For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 14, click here.