H399 Traders, Believers, Rebels: A Social History of Islam in China (650-2008)

H299 Traders, Believers, Rebels: A Social History of Islam in China (650-2008)

Course Code:: 154800272
Status:: Course Not Running 2012/2013
Unit value:: 1
Year of study:: Year 2, Year 3 of 3 or Year 4
Taught in:: Full Year

Prerequisites

Students should have attended an introductory course to the history of China or East Asia.

Objectives and learning outcomes of the course

Aims of Course:

At the end of the course, a student should be able to develop an understanding of the key issues relating to the development of Islam in China, with particular reference to historical methodology. Students should gain an awareness of the various approaches (religious and social history, study of ethnic identity) and issues developed within this course. They should develop a range of study and basic research skills relevant to an understanding of Chinese history, as well as their own professional and personal interests through participation in the course; this is particularly the case for students who have already studied aspects of Chinese civilisation and/or Islam. Students are finally invited to appreciate the variety of cultural values, in particular with respect to Islam, as well as to inter-ethnic tensions.

Expected Outcomes:

By the end of this course students are expected to have gained a thorough understanding of the subject matter in the narrow sense, i.e. the development of Chinese Islam during the late imperial period, but will also have deepened their insight into China’s modern history in more general terms. In methodological terms, students will have been familiarised with the secondary literature available (including titles which they cannot read yet, though they may have started studying the appropriate languages), as well as with relevant archival holdings. Since this is an intermediate course designed for students with a basic knowledge of the history of China and of the wider Asian region, students are not yet expected to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of primary source analysis, though any willingness towards this aim would be supported and encouraged.
The course is intended to rotate on an annual basis with another course exploring the social history of China. Finally, students should be able to critically evaluate the role of religion and the importance of ethnic minorities in China’s past and present. They should also be in the position to complement the preliminary historical knowledge attained during in the course of regional introductory lectures attended during the first year.

Workload

Three contact hours a week over a twenty-two week course.

Scope and syllabus

Islam has received much attention over the past decade, mostly for the role of Islamist militants in and beyond the Middle East. Less well known is the fact that Muslims are counted as one of China’s five major ‘nationalities’ and that it has been firmly embedded in China’s history almost since the beginning of the Muslim era. This course thus endeavours to introduce the origins and development of Islam in China. It will chart the introduction of Islam via both of Tang China’s main trade routes, by land from Central and Western Asia and by sea from the Arabian peninsula. The course will attempt to assess the degree of cultural adaptation, mainly within the majority Han population. Similarly, the establishment of Islam in China will be compared with the experience of China’s Buddhist, Christian and Jewish communities. Within the context of imperial (and Maoist) territorial ambitions, the role of the predominantly Muslim western regions of China will be examined as well. Closely connected is the reaction of China’s intellectual and political elites to Islamic influence within the empire. The course is thus also expected to be of interest to students enrolled in Study of Religions programmes.

The course is based on one lecture per week, with compulsory attendance. Students will be provided with handouts for each session - containing detailed bibliographical information and the chronological and thematic frame of the lecture - as well as with a general course syllabus and bibliography. Tutorials will allow students to present topics in class, as well as to discuss crucial documents with the entire group. A basic reading pack will be made available.

Suggested preliminary syllabus:

‘Religion’ in the Chinese context
The inception of Islam and its global spread
The Tang empire (618-907): Conveyor of cultural diversity
The conversion of Turkestan (8th – 16th centuries)
The Arab cities of southern China during the Song and Yuan (960-1368)
The Hui as an “ethnic” community
The Qur’an: Translators’ no-go territory?
Vegetarian or halal? Buddhist proselytisation and Islam
Islam in the Mongol empire, in and beyond China (1271-1368)
Portable faith: Islam as a vademecum for the travelling merchant (1368-1911)
The nature of Islam in late imperial China (1368-1911)
The Jewish community in Kaifeng and the lure of Islam
‘Confucian’ scholar officials and Islam (1600-1911)
The Muslim quarters of imperial Beijing (1644-1911)
Christian missions, Chinese Christianity and Islam (1858-1936)
The western border regions during and after the revolution of 1911
Muslim identity during troubled times: Republican Islam (1911-1949)
Maoism and Islam (1949-2008)
Reassertion of Islamic identity (1980-2008)
Islamism as distant thunder: The impact of Xinjiang separatism (1980-2008)
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Method of assessment

One three hour exam accounting for fifty per cent of total mark. Two three thousand word essays, each worth twenty-five per cent.

SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Department of History