Niujie Mosque

Niujie Mosque

Niujie mosque in Beijing is located in Niujie in Guang'anmen. It was founded in the 13th year of emperor Shengzong of Liao Dynasty (966), rebuilt in the first year of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty (995) and the seventh year of Zhengtong of Ming Dynasty (1442). In the 35th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1696), large-scale repairs were carried out as they were. The main buildings are worship hall, Bangke tower, Wangyue tower and stele Pavilion. The main existing buildings in the temple were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a typical example of the mosque built in the form of traditional Chinese architecture. It is the largest mosque with the longest history in Beijing.

Historical evolution

Initial construction

According to the records of niujiegang shangbaisi in Beijing, Niujie mosque was founded in 966 (the 13th year of liaoshengzong and the 2nd year of Zhidao in the Northern Song Dynasty),

It was founded by Nasrudin, an Arab scholar who became an official in Liao Dynasty.

Renovation and reconstruction

It was expanded in 1427 (the second year of Xuande in Ming Dynasty) and renovated in 1442 (the seventh year of Zhengtong in Ming Dynasty). A.D. 1474 (the 10th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty), all of them commanded Zhan Sheng to ask for a name, and was granted the name of "worship Temple" by imperial edict, so it was called "Ming Temple". In 1696 (the 35th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty), large-scale repairs were carried out according to the original condition, and a total of eight repairs and extensions were carried out.

After the founding of the people's Republic of China, funds were allocated for comprehensive renovation in 1955 and 1979 respectively. Chinese and foreign Muslims often come here for religious activities and visits. Both the Xuanwu District Islamic Association of Beijing and the Beijing Muslim construction Niujie foundation are located in the temple. In 1988, it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Scale system

Niujie mosque faces west and East, with an area of more than 6000 square meters and a construction area of more than 3000 square meters.

Architectural features

Style features

The architecture of Niujie mosque is concentrated and symmetrical, and its pattern mainly adopts the wooden structure of Han palace style. Its details have a strong decorative style of Islamic Arab architecture.

The exquisite carved beams and painted buildings, the unique style of the palace roof, and the details of the Koran and praise of Muhammad everywhere show the perfect combination of the Han classical palace architecture and the Arabian mosque.

The temple is a Han style palace style building with Arabic style interior decoration. The total construction area is 1500 square meters. On the opposite side of the temple is a 40 meter long white marble base with grey brick screen wall. There are five gates in the temple, the middle gate is large and the side is small. The main gate is at the bottom of Wangyue building, which is 10 meters high. It is a hexagonal double-layer Pavilion. From the gate into the two-story courtyard, the west is the main hall of worship, five Ying three into seven floors, a total of 42, can accommodate thousands of people worship. In the hall, the bright pillars form a sharp arch imitating Arabic style. There are the scriptures of Zan Zhu Zan Sheng in Jin Jin. The ceiling is half meter square, and it is also decorated with patterns and Arabic eulogy. The kiln hall is a six corner Pavilion style building with hollowed out wooden windows decorated with avenku FA style on both sides. To the east of the main hall is the bunker building. There are sundials and two stele pavilions on the platform in front of the building. The inscriptions record the construction process of the chapel. There are two Shaihai tombs in the southeast courtyard of the temple. According to the stele, they are Muhammad Ben Ahmed of Medina ERU and Ali of Bukhara who came to China to give lectures in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty. They died in 1280 and 1283 respectively. There are a number of important cultural relics and inscriptions in the temple, including two tombstones in Arabic in 1280 and 1280, and the one in 1496.

Main buildings

It is composed of worship hall, Wangyue tower, Yili tower, lecture hall, stele Pavilion, counter hall, bathroom, etc. A large screen wall, 40 meters long and 5 meters high, has a white marble base and a large gray brick facing. The main building of the temple is the hall of worship, with an area of 600 square meters. It faces east from the West. Different from other mosques, it enters the east gate of the temple, goes around the left and right sides of the main hall, and then detours into the hall, so it is called "Pearl inverted rolling curtain".

The structure of the main hall is composed of three connected roofs and a hexagonal pavilion with a sharp top, with a tower on the left and right.

The hall is composed of five couplets from the north to the south, three from the east to the west, a total of 42 rooms, more than 30 meters in depth, and 21 arches composed of 18 columns. The hall can serve more than 1000 people. The beams and columns are arched, the ceiling beams and columns are painted in Arabic patterns with powder and gold, and the lintels are decorated with Koran texts in various fonts. The dome and caisson at the back of the hall is a Song Dynasty building, with carved doors and windows in Arabic on both sides. The writing style is vigorous and belongs to "Kufa style". There are two stele pavilions on the left and right sides in front of the hall. The right pavilion was built in 1487 (the first year of Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty), which is the stele of chici worship temple. Zuoting was built in 1496 (the ninth year of Hongzhi of Ming Dynasty). There are two kinds of inscriptions in Chinese and Arabic, but most of the inscriptions are illegible.

From 1068 to 1077 (in the reign of song Xining), mahamu, the son of kammartin, built the minaret. It was a square pavilion with double eaves on Xieshan mountain. It was formerly the Zunjing pavilion built in the Song Dynasty and the first year of the Song Dynasty. It stood against two stele pavilions. Wangyue tower is about 10 meters high. It is a hexagonal pavilion like attic with double eaves on the top of the hill. The top cover of the pavilion is covered with yellow and green glazed tiles. There are window sashes around the pavilion. Outside the window, there is a corridor. On the east side of the temple, there are seven opposite halls in the same shape as the main hall and Yili tower. Built in 1442 (the seventh year of Ming Zhengtong), it is a meeting place. At the south end of the main hall, there are separate bathing rooms for men and women, known as "Di Si Chu", which are used by Muslims to clean their body and mind. There are two "Shaihai tombs" in the southeast of the temple. There are two tombstones in the temple. According to the inscriptions, they are Persian Muhammad bin Ahmed and Bukharan Ali who came to China to give lectures in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty. They died in 1280 (the 17th year of Yuan Zhi yuan) and 1283 (the 20th year of Yuan Zhi Yuan).

Temple relics

In addition to the buildings in the temple, there are also important cultural relics: a 2.70-meter-high iron incense burner in Arabic and "built on the auspicious day of the third year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty"; a 0.50-meter-high copper incense burner with a weight of more than 1800 Jin, a large copper pot built in 1039 (the fourth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty), and a record of 1573-1620 (Wanli in the Ming Dynasty) It contains the stone steles passed by the temple rebuilt in 1435-1436 (Xuande and Zhengtong years of Ming Dynasty). There are also precious cultural relics in the temple, such as the abrogated manuscripts of the Koran, woodcuts and incense burners of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Stories and legends

Niujie is called Liuhe village in Liao Dynasty. It is a large pomegranate garden. It is said that Niujie is the homonym of "Liuhe Street". However, there were many orchards and vegetable gardens near Niujie at that time. The names of Zaolin street, cherry orchard and Nancai garden were used from that time. There are different opinions about the founding date of Niujie mosque in historical materials. Some say that around 960 ad, an Arab "Shahai" named gwamedin came to Beijing to preach. His son has good conduct and special functions. He is not interested in gold and silver treasures and titles. He told the emperor that Yanjing would be a prosperous place in the future and hopes to be here Build a mosque. The emperor greatly appreciated this and allowed him to build a mosque in the southern suburb of the capital, namely Niujie mosque.

As early as the Tang Dynasty before the construction of Niujie mosque, businessmen from Central Asia came to China to do business through the Silk Road one after another. Some of them lived in China for a long time and were the earliest "Huihui" in China. However, the development and growth of Hui people in China should be attributed to Genghis Khan and his Mongolian cavalry. At the end of the 12th century, Genghis Khan invaded the West twice and occupied many Islamic countries. In addition to the burning and killing policy, they also captured a large number of Muslims. Genghis Khan understood that his empire war needed to expand the army continuously, so he incorporated hundreds of thousands of Muslims into the Mongolian army and drove them to realize their "empire dream". But these devout Muslims have not forgotten their roots. More than half a century later, Kublai Khan built the metropolis and ordered all the troops to settle down on the spot. As a result, these Muslims entered the metropolis with the Mongolian army and began to settle down in Beijing. As Muslims, mosques are an indispensable part of their lives, and the mosques on the bull Street are getting lively.

Niujie mosque covers an area of more than 6000 square meters. Its architecture and layout is a typical combination of ancient palace style and Arabic style of Han nationality. The architectural frame of the mosque is made of Han wood, but the details of the main buildings are decorated with strong Islamic style, forming a unique form of Chinese Islamic architecture. After the continuous expansion and renovation of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the mosque formed today's scale. In the ninth year of Hongzhi (1496) of the Ming Dynasty, a main hall was connected to the east of the main worship hall. In the Kangxi period, three holding halls were connected to the worship hall, which made the architectural layout of the temple more compact and the collocation more reasonable, forming a relatively complete architectural complex. After the restoration of the mosque, Emperor Kangxi gave a plaque of "imperial edict to worship Temple", which is still preserved in the temple.

Cultural details

The famous building of Niujie mosque should be the "four no pictures" jade relief in front of the gate. This work comes from the early Ming Dynasty. It is 80 cm high and 35 cm wide

Chinese PinYin : Niu Jie Qing Zhen Si