化觉巷清真寺英文导游词The Great Mosque

The Great Mosque

The Great Mosque is located in Huajue Lane, of the West Main Street. It is the major spot for the religious activities of over 60,000 Moslems in Xi‟an. It is also an important historical monument in Shaanxi Province. Unlike Arabian mosques with splendid domes, skyward minarets, and dazzling patterns, this mosque possesses much Chinese tradition in both design and outlook. It assumes the features of Chinese Pavilions, with painted beams and engraved ridgepoles.

Ok, it would be useless to talk about the Great Mosque without knowing how Islam was introduced into China.

Islam, as a religious order, was founded in the early period of the 7th century and was introduced to China in the mid-7th century. At that time, some Arabian merchants and travelers came to the northwestern region by way of Persia to establish diplomacy, trade, and military contacts with China. Others started their voyage, crossed the Strait, and arrived at Guangzhou, Quanzhou and other Chinese cities. Later, many of them settled down and married the local women. Their children became the first generation of Chinese Moslems. However, massive immigration of Moslems to China did not take place until, the early period of the 13th century. As a result of Western Expedition, Many of the Moslems were forced to enlist in the army. Later, they made China their permanent home. They were called the Hui people. The Hui people later followed thei Khan down to the South, helping him unify China and establish the Yuan Dynasty. In the wake of this conquest, Islam spread all over China and mosques began to appear everywhere.

A lot of Moslems took part in Zhu Yuanzhang‟s uprising and made great contributions to the founding of the Ming Dynasty. In the early 16th century, Islam dominated Xinjiang and spread its influence to Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai. There are almost 17 million Moslems in China.

The Great Mosque is the most sizable of its kind in Xi‟an city, and also one of the oldest and best-preserved mosques in China. The Stone Tablet on the Building of the Mosque (创建清真寺碑记)says that it was built in the Tang Dynasty. However, judging from its architectural style, it was probably built in the Ming Dynasty. It has four courtyards (4个院落). The still intact wooden

memorial arch (木牌坊) was built inf the 17th century. With glazed tiles(釉面瓦), spectacular corners, and upturned eaves, it stands about nine meters high, and has a history of about 360 years.

The stone memorial gateway(石牌坊) in the center of the second courtyard is flanked by two tall tablets which record the details of the repair work, with dragons carved on each. One tablet bears the characters by mi fu （米芾）: “May Islam Fill the Universe.” The other bears the characters by a Ming master calligrapher, “Royally Bestowed.” These characters are typica l examples of traditional Chinese calligraphy.

At the entrance of the third courtyard is a hall, where a “Crescent Tablet”(月碑), showing the calculation of the Calendar is stored. The calendar was compiled by Xiao xi…ning（肖西宁）, who was in charge of the mosque in the Qing Dynasty. A three-storeyed octagonal wooden structure called the Retrospection Tower (省心楼)stands in the center of the courtyard. It functions the same as the minaret in an average Arabian mosque. Orders are often sent from the tower to call the Moslems to come to worship. Respectively on the south and north wings of the tower are the Reception Chamber and the Scripture Chamber. Both of them are elegantly laid out. The five wooden houses, called “water houses”(水房) in the southwest section of the mosque, are where the believers bathe themselves before they attend their services.

Inside the fourth courtyard, there is a structure called the Phoenix Pavilion(凤凰亭), a place where worshipers wait for services. The pavilion, in fact, is a complex of three small buildings which look like a flying phoenix; hence its name. Just at the back of the pavilion there is a fish pond, and beyond it is a platform. Across the platform stands the prayer hall(礼拜殿). It holds over 1,000 worshipers at a time. The ceiling is decorated with over 600 panels. The walls of the hall, as well as the panels, are decorated with patterns of trailing plants and Arabic letters. The shrine at the western end of the hall is where the worshipers chant the Koran (古兰经)and pay homage while facing in the direction of Mecca.

The Moslems in China share much the same customs with their brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world. They worship five times a day: at dawn, at noon, in the afternoon, at dusk, and at night.