陜西西安大清真寺英文導游詞7500字TheGreatMosqueatHuajueLane

TheMosqueisamajorspotforreligiousactivitiesofover60.000MoslemsinXi’an,likewise,animportantculturalrelicprotectedbytheProvincialPeople’sGovernment.UnliketheArabicmosques,withsplendiddomes,theminaretsreachingintotheclouds,thecoulourfulengravedsketcheswithdazzlingpatterns,theMosquehereinXi’anpossessesmuchChinesetraditionaltouchinbothitsdesignandartisticoutlook;besidesthestylepeculiartoIslamicmosques,thisMosquealsoholdscharacteristicsofChinesepavilionswithpaintedbeamsandengravedridgepoles.

However,anyfurtherdiscussionabouttheMosquewillbefutileunlessanythingoftheintroductionofIslamintoChinaisbroughtup.

Islamasareligiousorderwasfoundedintheearlyperiodofthe7thcenturyA.D.andwasintroducedtoChinainthemid-600s.Atthattime,ArabianmerchantsandtravelerscametothenorthwestofChinabywayofPersiaandAfghanistanandthusestablisheddiplomatic,trade,andmilitarycontactswithChina.Inthemeantime,anotherroutesawabatchofseavoyagersthroughBangladeshBayandtheMalaccaStraittoChina’sGuangzhou,Quanzhou,Huangzhou,YangzhouandothercitieswheremanyofthemsettleddownandmarriedthelocalwomenwholatergavebirthtobabieswhothenbecameMoslems.

However,massiveimmigrationoftheMoslemstoChinadidnottakeplaceuntilaslateastheearlyperiodofthe13thcentury,whenGenghisKhan,asaresultofhisexpeditionagainstthewest,hadconqueredvastexpansesoflandstretchingfromCentralAsiatoEasternEurope,includingthenorthofIran.ManyoftheMoslemsintheconqueredareaswerethusforcedtoenlistandlatersettledinChina.

Amongtheenlistedmanyweresoldiers,andsomeweresmithsandofficialswhowerecalledtheHuipeopleinthehistorybooksontheYuandynasty.TheHuipeoplelaterfollowedKublaiKhandowntothesouth,helpinghimunifyingChinaandthenestablishtheYuandynasty.Inthewakeoftheconquest,IslamspreadalloverChinaandmosquesbegantoappeareverywhere.IntheYuandynasty,manyMoslemsheldpositionsbothinthemilitaryandcivilianorgansofthecountry.AndalotoftheMoslemstookpartinZhuYuanzhang’suprisingintheearly14thcenturyandmadegreatcontributionstothefoundingoftheMingDynasty.Therefore,alltheemperorsoftheDynastyissuedmandatestoprotectIslam,andtosetupmosquesinpraiseoftheMoslemsfortheirfeats.Intheearly16thcentury,IslampredominatedQinghaiontheminoritynationalitiesincludingtheHuis,theUygurs,theKazaks,theKirgizes,theTajiks,theTartars,theOzbeks,theDongXiangs,theSalarsandtheBonans.TheMoslemsinXi’anaremainlytheHuis,beingasmallportionoutofthetenmillioninChina.

TheMosqueatHuaJueLaneisthelargestinXi’an,andatthesametime,itisalsooneoftheearliestbuiltonacomparativelylargescale,andwellpreservedmosquesinChina.

Accordingto“theSteleontheBuildingoftheMosque〞,themosqueissaidtobebuiltintheTangDynasty.However,thearchitecturalstyleofthemosquesuggestsapossiblebuildingdatingbacktotheMingDynasty.Thefourcourtyardsofthemosquecoveranareaofmorethan12,000squaremeters,outofwhichabout4,000areoccupiedbyvariousstructures.Thestillintactwoodenfrontmemorialgatewayofthefrontyard,builtattheturnofthe17thcentury,withglazedtilesonthetop,spectacularcornersandupturnedeaves,isabout9metreshigh,andhasahistoryofabout360years.Thestonememorialgatewayinthecenterofthesecondcourtyardisflankedwithatailsteleoneithersidewithdragonscarvedoneach,recordingtherepairworkeversincethebuildingoftheMosque.OnthebackofoneofthestelesareengravedcharactersbythemastercalligrapherMiFu,“MayBuddhismFilltheUniverse〞,ontheother,“Royal-Bestowed〞byDongQichang,anothermasterofthesameartoftheMingdynasty.TheyaretreasuresinChinesecalligraphy.Attheentranceofthethirdcourtyardisanimperialbuilthall,wherea“monthtablet〞,showingthecalculationoftheHuiCalendarsinArabic,isstored.ItwascompiledbyamaninchargeofthemosquecalledXiaoMiningintheearlyperiodoftheQingdynasty.Athree–storeyedoctagonalwoodenstructurecalled“RetrospectionTower〞alsostandsinthecenterofthecourtyard,whichhasthesamefunctionastheminaretinIslamictemplesinArabiccountries,andwhichisaplacefromwhereordersweresenttocalltheMoslemstocometoworship.Respectively,onthesouthandnorthwingsofthetower,areareceptionchamberandaScriptureChamber,bothelegantlylaidout.Thefivewoodenhouses,whicharecalled“WaterHouses〞inthesouthwestsectionoftheMosquearetheplacewherethebelieversbathethemselvesbeforetheyattendtheirservices.Andinsidethefourthcourtyardthereisastructurecalled“thePavilionofPhoenix〞,aplacewheretheworshipersusedtowaitfortheservices.ThePavilion,infact,isacompoundstructureofthreesmallbuildings.Thesix-gabledstructureofthecentralpart,adjoiningthetwothree-gabledbuildingsoneachsidelooksverymuchlikeaflyingphoenix,andhenceitsname.JustatthebackofthePavilion,thereisafishpond,beyondwhichisaplatformoccupyinganareaaslargeas700m2.Acrossbothendsoftheplatformstandsthe1,300squaremeteredservicehall,holdingoverathousandworshipersatonce.Thereareoversixhundredsunkpanelswellasthesunkpanels,aredecoratedwithpatternsofpaintedtrailingplantsandArabicletterings.Theimamleadshisgroupofworshipers,whilefacinginthedirectionofMecca,tochantinKoranandtopaytheirreligioushomage.

TheMoslemsinChinashareverymuchthesamecustomswiththeirbrothersandsisterselsewhereintheworld.Theyworshipfivetimesaday:atdawn,atnoon,intheafternoon,atdusk,andatnight.Femaleworshipersattendtheirservicesinaseparatedplacefromtheirbrothers,usuallyathome.Moslemspayspecialattentiontotheirhealthandseethattheyalwayswearcleanclothes.Theyareteetotalersnotonlyofwine,butalsoofporkandanimalbloodforinKoranpigshavebeenmentionedfourtimesasbeing“unclean〞.AccordingtoKoran,amancanhavefourwivesandwomenshouldwea