Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari (Persian: سید اجل شمسالدین عمر بخاری; Chinese:赛典赤·赡思丁; pinyin:Sàidiǎnchì Shànsīdīng; 1211–21 August 1279[2]) was Yunnan's first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China.
Quick Facts Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar, Governor of Yunnan (Karadjang) ...
Tomb of Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ibn Sayyid Kamal ad-Din bin Sayyid Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari, Yunnan, Yuan, China
Shams al-Din was of Central Asian Iranic origin,[5][6][7] being a MuslimKhwarezmian from Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan). When Genghis Khan attacked the city during the war between the Khwarizmi Shah and the Mongols, Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar's family surrendered to him. He was allegedly descended from Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad, Sayyid Ajall's father was Kamāl al-Dīn and his grandfather was Shams al-Dīn 'Umar al-Bukhārī.[8] According to Marshall Broomhall, Shams al-Din, "who was a native of Bokhara, is said to have been a descendant of Mohammed (twenty-seventh generation)."[9] Sayyid participated in Mongke Khan's conquest of Sichuan and was in charge of logistics.[10] He served the court of the Yuan dynasty at Yanjing (modern day Beijing).[11] Later, he was in charge of Imperial finances in 1259,[12] sent to Yunnan by Kublai Khan after conquering the Kingdom of Dali in 1274. After his death, Sayyid was given the posthumous name Zhongyi (忠懿). Later, the imperial court conferred the title "Prince of Xianyang" (咸陽王) and the posthumous name Zhonghui (忠惠) on him.[10]
The Yuanshi gives many biographies of distinguished Muslims in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. In chap, cxxv, we find the biography of 赛典赤·赡思丁 Sai-dien-ch'i shan-sse-ding, called also 烏馬兒 Wu-ma-r. He was a Hui-hui and a descendant of the 别菴伯爾 Bie-an-bo-r. In his country Sai-dien-ch'i has the same meaning as 貴族 (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch'i.[13][14][15]
Sayyid Ajall founded a "Chinese style" city where modern Kunming is today, called Zhongjing Cheng. He ordered that a Buddhist temple, a Confucian temple, and two mosques be built in the city.[16] Advocating Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism was part of the Mongolian religious policy.[17] The Confucian temple that Sayyid Ajall built in 1274, which also doubled as a school, was the first Confucian temple ever to be built in Yunnan.[18]
Both Confucianism and Islam were promoted by Sayyid Ajall in his "civilizing mission" during his time in Yunnan.[19] Sayyid Ajall viewed Yunnan as "backward and barbarian" and utilized Confucianism, Islam, and Buddhism for "civilizing" the area.[20]
In Yunnan, the presence of Islam is credited to Sayyid Ajall's work.[21]
Sayyid Ajall was first to bring Islam to Yunnan. He promoted Confucianism and Islam by ordering construction of mosques and temples of Confucianism.[22] Sayyid Ajall also introduced Confucian education into Yunnan.[23][24] He was described as making "the orangutans and butcherbirds became unicorns and phonixes [sic] and their felts and furs were exchanged for gowns and caps", and praised by the Regional Superintendent of Confucian studies, He Hongzuo.[25]
Shams al-Din constructed numerous Confucian temples in Yunnan, and promoted Confucian education. He is best known among the Chinese for helping sinicize Yunnan province.[26] He also built multiple mosques in Yunnan as well.
Confucian rituals and traditions were introduced to Yunnan by Sayyid Ajall.[27] Several Confucian temples and schools were founded by him. Chinese social structures, and Chinese style funeral and marriage customs were spread to the natives by Sayyid Ajall.[28][20]
The aim of Sayyid Ajall's policy of promoting Confucianism and education in Yunnan was to "civilize" the native "barbarians". Confucian rituals were taught to students in newly founded schools by Sichuanese scholars, and Confucian temples were built.[29][30] The natives of Yunnan were instructed in Confucian ceremonies like weddings, matchmaking, funerals, ancestor worship, and kowtow by Sayyid Ajall. The native leaders has their "barbarian" clothing replaced by clothing given to them by Sayyid Ajall.[31][30]
Both Marco Polo and Rashid al-Din recorded that Yunnan was heavily populated by Muslims during the Yuan Dynasty, with Rashid naming a city with all Muslim inhabitants as the 'great city of Yachi'.[32] It has been suggested that Yachi was Dali City (Ta-li). Dali had many Hui people.[33]
His son Nasir al-Din became Governor of Yunnan in 1279 after Sayyid Ajall died.[34][35]
The historian Jacqueline Armijo-Hussein has written on Sayyid Ajall's Confucianization and Sinicization policies, in her dissertation Sayyid 'Ajall Shams al-Din: A Muslim from Central Asia, serving the Mongols in China, and bringing 'civilization' to Yunnan,[36] the paper The Origins of Confucian and Islamic Education in Southwest China: Yunnan in the Yuan Period,[37] and The Sinicization and Confucianization in Chinese and Western Historiography of a Muslim from Bukhara Serving Under the Mongols in China.[38] He repaired and built many mosques, such as the Daxuexi Mosque and great Mosque in Xi'an.[39] The Daxuexi Alley Mosque in Xi'an has a stele erected in 1523, indicates to the reforms and construction of the mosque by him.[39]
This Nasruddin was apparently an officer of whom Rashiduddin speaks, and whom he calls governor (or perhaps commander) in Karajang. He describes him as having succeeded in that command to his father the Sayad Ajil of Bokhara, one of the best of Kiiblai's chief Ministers. Nasr-uddin retained his position in Yun-nan till his death, which Rashid, writing about 1300, says occurred five or six years before. His son Bayan, who also bore the grandfather's title of Sayad Ajil, was Minister of Finance under Kiiblai's successor; and another son, Hala, is also mentioned as one of the governors of the province of Fu-chau. (See Cathay, pp. 265, 268, and D'OAsson, II. 507-508.)
Nasr-uddin (Nasulaiing) is also frequently mentioned as employed on this frontier by the Chinese authorities whom Pauthier cites.
[Na-su-la-ding [Nasr-uddin] was the eldest of the five sons of the Mohammedan Sai-dien-ch'i shan-sze-ding, Sayad Ajil, a native of Bokhara, who died in Yun-nan, where he had been, governor when Kublai, in the reign of Mangu, entered the country. Nasr-uddin "has a separate biography in ch. cxxv of the Yuenshi. He was governor of the province of Yunnan, and distinguished himself in the war against the southern tribes of Kiao-chi (Cochin-China) and Mien (Burma). He died in 1292, the father of twelve sons, the names of five of which are given in the biography, viz. Bo-yen-ch'a-rh [Bayan], who held a high office, Omar, Djafar, Hussein, and Saadi." (Brelschneider, Med. A'es. I. 270-271). Mr. E. H. Parker writes in the China Review, February–March, 1901, pp. 196-197, that the Mongol history states that amongst thereformsof Nasr-uddin's father in Yun-nan, was the introduction of coffins for the dead, instead of burning them.—H. C]
The Book of Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, Volume 2, Henri Cordier, p. 104[40]
He submitted to Chinghiz when the latter waged war in western Asia, and entered his life-guard. Under Ogotai and Mangu khans he was governor, and held other offices. Kublai khan appointed him minister (see also the list of the ministers, in the Yuan shi, chap. cxii). He died in Yunnan, where he had been governor. Five sons of Sai-dien-ch'i are mentioned, viz. 納速剌丁 Na-su-la-ding (Nasr-uddin), 哈散 Hasan (Hassan), 忽辛 Hu-sin (Hussein), 苫速丁 兀默里 Shan-su-ding wu-mo-li(Shamsddin Omar) and 馬速忽 Ma-su-hu(Mas'ud). All these held high offices.
Na-su-la-ding has a separate biography in the same chapter. He was governor in Yunnan, and distinguished himself in the war with the southern tribes of 交趾 Kiao-chi (Cochin-china) and 緬 Mien (Burma). He died in 1292, the father of twelve sons the names of five of which are given in the biography, viz. 伯顏察兒 Bo-yen ch'a-r, who had a high office, 烏馬兒 Wu-ma-r, 答法兒 Dje-fa-r (Djafar), 忽先 Hu-sien (Hussein) and 沙的 Sha-di (Saadi).
The Sai-dien-ch'i of the Chinese authors is without doubt the same personage spoken of by Rashid (D'Ohsson, torn, ii, p.467) under the name of Sayid Edjell. According to the Persian historian, he was a native of Bokhara, and governor of Karadjang (Yunnan) when Kubilai entered the country, under the reign of Mangu. Subsequently he was appointed vizier, and in the beginning of Kubilai's reign he had charge of the finances. His son Nasruddin was appointed governor in Karadjang, and retained his position in Yunnan till his death, which Rashid, writing about AD 1300, says occurred five or six years before (according to the Yüan shi, Na-su-la ding died in 1292). Nasr-uddin's son Abubeker, who had the surname Bayan Fenchan (evidently the Boyen ch'a-r of the Yüan shi), was governor in Zaitun at the time Rashid wrote. He bore also his grandfather's title of Sayid Edjell, and was minister of Finance under Kubilai's successor (D'Ohsson, torn, ii, pp.476, 507, 508). Nasr-uddin is mentioned by M. Polo, who styles him Nescradin (vol. ii, p.66).
Notices of the Mediæval Geography and History of Central and Western Asia, E. Bretschneider, p. 48[41][42][43]
Sayyid Ajall's oldest son was Nasir al-Din.[44] Sayyid Ajall's seventh generation descendant was Sai Hazhi.[45]
Sayyid Ajall was a 26th generation descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and fifth generation descendant of Su fei-erh. In total, had had five sons. He had two tombs, one in Wo-erh-to in Yunnan and another memorial which contained his clothes in Xi'an in Shaanxi province. The author of "The Magnetic Needle of Islam", Ma Chu (1630–1710), was a descendant of Sayyid Ajall. The d'Ollone expedition during the Qing dynasty recorded that Imam Na Wa-Ch'ing was the leader of the family of descendants of Sayyid Ajall.[46][47][48] Ma repaired Sayyid Ajall's tomb. Another romanization of Ma Chu is "Ma Zhu".[49] Sayyed Ajall's descendants included 15th generation- Ma Zhu and 25th generation- Ma Dexin.[50]
Sayyid Ajall is the ancestor of many Muslims in areas all across China. Yunnan contained the greatest number of his descendants.[51]
In the thirteenth century the influence of individual Muslims was immense, especially that of the Seyyid Edjell Shams ed-Din Omar, who served the Mongol Khans till his death in Yunnan AD 1279. His family still exists in Yunnan, and has taken a prominent part in Muslim affairs in China.[54]
He is identified as the ancestor of many Chinese Hui lineages in Yunnan's PanthayHui population as well as in Ningxia and Fujian provinces.
A Hui legend in Ningxia links four surnames common in the region - Na, Su, La, and Ding - with the descendants of Shams al-Din's son named Nasruddin, who "divided" their ancestor's name (Nasulading, in Chinese) among themselves.[55][56][57][58] The Ding family of Chendai, Fujian claims descent from him.[59] The Ding family has branches in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia among the diaspora Chinese communities there, no longer practicing Islam but still maintaining a Hui identity.
It was the Ming loyalist Confucian Hui Muslim scholar Ma Zhu (1640-1710) from Yunnan who traced many Hui lineage's ancestry back to Sayyid Ajall, constructing genealogies for them, specifically claiming that Hui who were not surnamed Ma were descended from Sayyid Ajjall, like Hui surnamed Na, Su, La, and Ding, while tracing his own ancestry and other Hui in Yunnan who were surnamed Ma to the Ming Muslim official Sai Haizhi.[60]
The deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Muslim Association on Taiwan, Ishag Ma (馬孝棋), has claimed "Sayyid is an honorable title given to descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, hence Sayyid Shamsuddin must be connected to Mohammed". The Ding (Ting) family in Taisi Township in Yunlin County of Taiwan, traces descent from him through the Ding of Quanzhou in Fujian.[61]
Su fei-erh is alleged by the Fa-hsiang to be the ancestor of Sayyid Ajall, however, some were skeptical of this claim and think it was a forgery to mask Sayyid Ajall's arrival to China with the Mongols.[62][63] Chuan-Chao Wang of Fudan University studied the Y chromosomes of Sayyid Ajall's present descendants, and found they all have haplogroup L1a-M76, proving a southern Persian origin.[64]
This article incorporates text from The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith, by Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, a publication from 1896, now in the public domain in the United States.
This article incorporates text from The Chinese people: a handbook on China ..., by Arthur Evans Moule, a publication from 1914, now in the public domain in the United States.
This article incorporates text from Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10, by Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North-China Branch, a publication from 1876, now in the public domain in the United States.
This article incorporates text from Notices of the mediaeval geography and history of central and western Asia, by E. Bretschneider, a publication from 1876, now in the public domain in the United States.
This article incorporates text from Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10, by Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North China Branch, Shanghai, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. China Branch, Shanghai Literary and Scientific Society, a publication from 1876, now in the public domain in the United States.
Greville Stewart Parker Freeman-Grenville; Stuart C. Munro-Hay (2006). Islam: an illustrated history (illustrated, reviseded.). Continuum International Publishing Group. p.226. ISBN978-0-8264-1837-1. Retrieved 17 July 2011. Yunnan - centuries later destined to achieve a brief autonomy as a rebellious Muslim state ~is said, after the Mongol conquest, to have been given to Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din 'Umar as governor, who introduced Islam there. His son Nasr al-Din's victory over the king of Mien (Burma, now Myanmar) was recorded by Marco Polo (1277)
Wang, Chuan-Chao; Wang, Ling-Xiang; Zhang, Manfei; Yao, Dali; Jin, Li; Li, Hui (2013). "Present y chromosomes support the Persian ancestry of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar and Eminent Navigator Zheng He". arXiv:1310.5466 [q-bio.PE].
Lane, George (2011). "The Dali Stele". In Kilic-Schubel, Nurten; Binbash, Evrim (eds.). The Horizons of the World. Festschrift for İsenbike Togan: Hududü'l-Alem. İsenbike Togan Armağanı. Istanbul: Ithaki Press. p.8. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
Thomas Walker Arnold (1896). The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith. WESTMINSTER: A. Constable and co. p.248. Retrieved 2011-05-29. several Muhammadans also occupying high posts under the Mongol Khaqaans: such were 'Abdu-r Rahman, wh9o in 1244 was appointed head of the Imperial finances and allowed to farm the taxes imposed upon China 1; and Sayyid Ajall, a native of Bukhara, to whom Khubilay Khan, on his accession in 1259, entrusted the management of the Imperial finances; he died in 1270, leaving a high reputation for honesty, and was succeeded by another Muhammadan named Ahmad, who on the other hand left behind him a reputation the very reverse of that of his predecessor.(Original from the University of California)
(Original from Harvard University)Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North-China Branch (1876). Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10. NEW SERIES No. X. SHANGHAI: Printed At The "CELESTIAL EMPIBE" Office 10-HANKOW BOAD—10.: The Branch. p.121. Retrieved December 20, 2011. The conquests of Chinghiz and his successors had opened a highway of communication between the east and the west of Asia; and western people began to frequent the far east, and even to fettle there. The Mongol emperors patronized the colonization of China by foreigners; and with respect to the Mohammedans, it seems, that since Hulagu khan the brother of Mangu khan, ruled over western Asia, emigration from Persia to China had considerably increased. I think it not unlikely, that the Mohammedans now scattered over the whole of China proper, and forming large communities especially in the provinces of Kansu, Shansi and Chili, are for the greater part descendants of those Saracens mentioned by M. Polo in the same provinces. Kashid-eddin states, in his description of China (Yule's Cathay, p. 269), that in his time all the inhabitants of Karadjang (or Yunnan) were Mohammendans; and I feel tolerably certain also, that the Mohammedan power, which suddenly rose in the Chinese province of Yunnan, about ten years ago, may be traced back to the time of the Mongol emperors. 43. The Yuan-thi gives many biographies of distinguished Mohammedans in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. I may quote the names of the Hui-ho met with in the history of the Mongols, and notice occasionally some particulars from their biographies. In chap, cxxv, we find the biography of £ J ^ JJJ J§L "J* Sai-dien-ch'i shansse-ding, called also ,B ^ Wu-ma-r. He was a Hui-hui and a descendant of the jjjlj ^jSf ffj jgf Bie-an-bo-r.1» In his country Sai-dien-ch'i has the same meaning as jgf J£ (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch'i, "The Mohammedan authors also mention Chinghiz' encamping there, but they speak of a river Baldjuna (D'Ohsson, torn, i, p. 72). The Baldjuna lake or river seems to have been somewhere near the Kerulun rirer. D'Ohsson locates it too far northward. T1 Alacush tikin euri of Rashid, chief of the tribe of the Onguts (D'Ohsson, torn, i, p. 84). See also above, 3. '■ The river Argun, a tributary of the Amur. It comes out from the northern corner of the lake Kulon nor, into which the Kerulun empties itself from the south. '• Pcighambcr in Tersian means "prophet."{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
(Original from Harvard University )E. Bretschneider (1876). Notices of the mediaeval geography and history of central and western Asia. LONDON: TRÜBNER & CO., 57 AND 59, LUDGATE HILL: Trübner & co. p.47. The conquests of Chinghiz and his successors had opened a highway of communication between the east and the west of Asia; and western people began to frequent the far east, and even to settle there.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
The Mongol emperors patronized the colonization of China by foreigners; and with respect to the Mohammedans, it seems, that since Hulagu khan the brother of Mangu khan, ruled over western Asia, emigration from Persia to China had considerably increased. I think it not unlikely, that the Mohammedans now scattered over the whole of China proper, and forming large communities especially in the provinces of Kansu, Shansi and Chili,' are for the greater part descendants of those Saracens mentioned by M. Polo in the same provinces. Rashid-eddin states, in his description of China (Yule's Cathay, p. 269), that in his time all the inhabitants of Karadjang (or Yunnan) were Mohammendans; and I feel tolerably certain also, that the Mohammedan power, which suddenly rose in the Chinese province of Yunnan, about ten years ago, may be traced back to the time of the Mongol emperors.
43. The Yuan-shi gives many biographies of distinguished Mohammedans in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. I may quote the names of the Hui-ho met with in the history of the Mongols, and notice occasionally some particulars from their biographies.
In chap. cxxv, we find the biography of g J ^ Jjf "J* Sai-dien-ch'i shan-sse-ding, called also J} Jg IjJ Wvrma-r. He was a Hui-hui and a descendant of the JjlJ ^jj* fa fJ Bie-an-bo-r.73 In his country Sai-dien-ch'i has the same meaning as ^ (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch'i,
7 0 The Mohammedan authors also mention Chinghiz' encamping tb-eTe' but they speak of a river Baldjuna (D'Ohsson, tom, i, p. 72), The Baldjuna lake or river seems to have been somewhere near the Kerulun river. D'Ohsson locates it too far northw ard.
71 Alacush tikin curi of Rashid, chief of the tribe of the Onguts (D'Ohsson, tom, i, p. 84). See also above, 3.
"The river Argun, a tributary of the Amv/r. It comes out from the northern corner of the lake Kulon nor, into which the Kpruhm empties itself from the south.
Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. New Series No. X. Vol.10. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh. 1876. p.121. The conquests of Chinghiz and his successors had opened a highway of communication between the east and the vest of Asia; and western people began to frequent the far east, and even to settle there. The Mongol emperors patronized the colonization of China by foreigners; and with respect to the Mohammedans, it seems, that since Hulagu khan the brother of Mangu khan, ruled over western Asia, emigration from Persia to China had considerably increased. I think it not unlikely, that the Mohammedans now scattered over the whole of China proper, and forming large communities especially in the provinces of Kansu, Shansi and Chili, are for the greater part descendants of those Saracens mentioned by M. Polo in the same provinces. Rashid-eddin 6tates, in his description of China (Yule's Cathay, p. 269), that in his time all the inhabitants of Karadjang (or Yunnan) were Mohammendans; and I feel tolerably certain also, that the Mohammedan power, which suddenly rose in the Chinese province of Yunnan, about ten years ago, may be traced back to the time of the Mongol emperors.
43. The Yiian-thi gives many biographies of distinguished Mohammedans in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. I may quote the names of the Hui-ho met with in the history of the Mongols, and notice occasionally some particulars from their biographies.
In chap, exxv, we find the biography of *£§ j8l jfe Jj Jg "J* Sai-dien-cKi shan-sse-ding, called also Jj ffi EJ Wu-ma-r. He was a Hui-hui and a descendant of the j}] ^ fj=j j$ Bie-an-bo-r.7 J In his country Sai-dien-ch'i has the same meaning as jlf jfe (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch'i,
»• The Mohammedan authors also mention Cliinghiz' encamping there, but they speak of a river Baldjuna (D'Ohsson, torn, i, p. 72), The Baldjuna lake or river seems to have been somewhere near the Keruluu river. D'Ohsson locates it too far northward.
»> Alacush tikin curi of Rashid, chief of the tribe of tho Onguts (D'Ohsson, torn, i, p. 84). See also above, 3.
'• The river Argun, a tributary of the Amur. It comes out from the northern corner of the lake Kulon nor, into which the Kerulun empties itself from the south.
"Peiijhaviber in Persian means "prophet."|access-date=December 20, 2011
Peter Jackson, 2004. "Validation by Holiness or Sovereignty: Religious Toleration as Political Theology in the Mongol World Empire,". The International History Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 237-256
M. Th Houtsma (1993). First encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913–1936. BRILL. p.847. ISBN978-90-04-09796-4. Retrieved December 20, 2011. Although Saiyid-i Adjall certainly did much for the propagation of Islam in Yunnan, it is his son Nasir al-Din to whom is ascribed the main credit for its dissemination. He was a minister and at first governed the province of Shansi: he later became governor of Yunnan where he died in 1292 and was succeeded by his brother Husain. It cannot be too strongly emphasised that the direction of this movement was from the interior, from the north. The Muhammadan colonies on the coast were hardly affected by it. On the other hand it may safely be assumed that the Muslims of Yunnan remained in constant communication with those of the northern provinces of Shensi and Kansu.
(Original from the University of Virginia)Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Jāmiʻat al-Malik ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz. Maʻhad Shuʻūn al Aqallīyat al-Muslimah (1986). Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Volumes 7-8. The Institute. p.385. Retrieved December 20, 2011. certain that Muslims of Central Asian originally played a major role in the Yuan (Mongol) conquest and subsequent rule of south-west China, as a result of which a distinct Muslim community was established in Yunnan by the late 13th century AD. Foremost amongst these soldier-administrators was Sayyid al-Ajall Shams al-Din Umar al-Bukhari (Ch. Sai-tien-ch'ih shan-ssu-ting). a court official and general of Turkic origin who participated in the Mongol invasion of Szechwan... And Yunnan in c. 1252, and who became Yuan Governor of the latter province in 1274–79. Shams al-Din - who is widely believed by the Muslims of Yunnan to have introduced Islam to the region - is represented as a wise and benevolent ruler, who successfully "pacified and comforted" the people of Yunnan, and who is credited with building Confucian temples, as well as mosques and schools
( )Thant Myint-U (2011). Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia. Macmillan. ISBN978-1-4668-0127-1. Retrieved December 20, 2011. claimed descent from the emir of Bokhara... and was appointed as the top administrator in Yunnan in the 1270s. Today the Muslims of Yunnan regard him as the founder of their community, a wise and benevolent ruler who 'pacified and comforted' the peoples of Yunnan. Sayyid Ajall was officially the Director of Political Affairs of the Regional Secretariat of Yunnan... According to Chinese records, he introduced new agricultural technologies, constructed irrigation systems, and tried to raise living standards. Though a Muslim, he built or rebuilt Confucian temples and created a Confucian education system. His contemporary, He Hongzuo, the Regional Superintendent of Confucian studies, wrote that through his efforts 'the orangutans and butcherbirds became unicorns and phonixes and their felts and furs were exchanged for gowns and caps'...
(Original from the University of Virginia)Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Jāmiʻat al-Malik ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz. Maʻhad Shuʻūn al Aqallīyat al-Muslimah (1986). Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Volumes 7-8. The Institute. p.174. Retrieved December 20, 2011. from the Yuan Dynasty, and indicated further Muslim settlement in northeastern and especially southwestern Yunnan. Marco Polo, who travelled through Yunnan "Carajan" at the beginning of the Yuan period, noted the presence of "Saracens" amongst the population. Similarly, the Persian historian Rashid al-Din (died 1318 AD) recorded in his Jami' ut-Tawarikh that the 'great city of Yachi' in Yunnan was exclusively inhabited by Muslims.
(Original from the University of Virginia)Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Jāmiʻat al-Malik ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz. Maʻhad Shuʻūn al Aqallīyat al-Muslimah (1986). Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Volumes 7-8. The Institute. p.387. Retrieved December 20, 2011. when Maroco Polo visited Yunnan in the early Yuan period he noted the presence of "Saracens" amongst the population whilst the Persian historian Rashid al-Din (died 1318 AD) recorded in his Jami' ut-Tawarikh that 'the great city of Yachi' in Yunnan was exclusively inhabited by Muslims. Rashid al-Din may have been referring to the region around Ta-li in western Yunnan, which was to emerge as the earliest centre of Hui Muslim settlement in the province.
( )Thant Myint-U (2011). Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia. Macmillan. ISBN978-1-4668-0127-1. Retrieved December 20, 2011. In this way, Yunnan became known to the Islamic world. When Sayyid Ajall died in 1279 he was succeeded by his son Nasir al-Din who governed for five years and led the invasion of Burma. His younger brother became the Transport Commissioner and the entire family entrenched their influence.
(Original from the University of Virginia)Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Jāmiʻat al-Malik ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz. Maʻhad Shuʻūn al Aqallīyat al-Muslimah (1986). Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Volumes 7-8. The Institute. p.385. Retrieved December 20, 2011. On his death he was succeeded by his eldest son, Nasir al-Din (Ch. Na-su-la-ting, the "Nescradin" of Marco Polo), who governed Yunnan between 1279 and I284. Whilst Arab and South Asian Muslims, pioneers of the maritime expansion of Islam in the Bay of Bengal, must have visited the
Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North China Branch, Shanghai (1876). Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10. Contributor Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North-China Branch. Kelly & Walsh. p.122. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
( )Stephen G. Haw (2006). Marco Polo's China: a Venetian in the realm of Khubilai Khan. Vol.3 of Routledge studies in the early history of Asia (illustrateded.). Psychology Press. p.164. ISBN978-0-415-34850-8. Retrieved December 20, 2011. Nasir al-Din (Nasulading) was the eldest son of Sa'id Ajall Shams al-Din (see Chapter 7) and followed his father in holding high office in the government of Yunnan. He led campaigns to subjugate various peoples of the province, including the Gold Teeth, and also commanded the invasion of Mien and took part in fighting in Annam. He was rewarded with titles and gifts of money for his prowess. In 1291, he was moved to the government of Shaanxi province, but died of illness the following year (YS: liezhuan 12, 1936). He did not, in fact, command the Mongol army that defeated the invasion by the King of Mien in 1277, as Marco state (MP/Lathan: 185; MP/Hambis: 310). He did, however, lead the attack on Mien immediately afterwards that followed up the defeat of the King's army (see Chapter 7).
M. Th Houtsma (1993). First encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913–1936. BRILL. p.847. ISBN978-90-04-09796-4. Retrieved December 20, 2011. Cingiz Khan took as one of his officers a man who was said to come from Bukhara and claimed to be a descendant of the Prophet, namely Shams al-Din 'Omar, known as Saiyid-i Adjall... with notices of his sons Nasir al-Din, the Nescradin of Marco Polo, and Husain... According to Fa-Hsiang, Saiyid-i Adjall was the fifth descendant of a certain Su fei-erh (Sufair?) and 26th in line from the Prophet... appointed him governor of Yunnan to restore order there. He was afterwards also given the honorary title "Prince of Hsien Yang". He left five sons and nineteen grandsons. Lepage rightly doubts the authenticity of the genealogical table in Fa-Hsiang... According to the usual statements Saiyid-i Adjall came originally from Bukhara and governed Yunnan from 1273 till his death in 1279; he was buried in Wo-erh-to near his capital. His tomb here with its inscriptions was first discovered by the d'Ollone expedition and aroused great interest particularly as there was a second tomb, also with inscription, in Singan-fu. It has now been ascertained that the second grave in Shensi is a cenotaph which only contained the court-dress of the dead governor... Among the further descendants may be mentioned Ma Chu (c. 1630–1710) (in the fourteenth generation) who was a learned scholar and published his famous work "The Magnetic Needle of Islam" in 1685; he supervised the renovation of the tomb and temple of his ancestor Saiyid-i Adjall; one of the inscriptions on the tomb is by him. The present head of the family is Na Wa-Ch'ing, Imam of a mosque in the province (d'Ollone, p. 182)
( )E. J. van Donzel (1994). E. J. van Donzel (ed.). Islamic desk reference (illustrateded.). BRILL. p.67. ISBN978-90-04-09738-4. Retrieved December 20, 2011. Genghis Khan took as one of his officers Shams al-Din 'Umar, known as Sayyid-i Ajall, who was said to come from Bukhara and claimed to be a descendant of the Prophet. According to the usual statements, Sayyid-i Ajall governed Yunnan from 1273 till his death in 1279. The main credit for the dissemination of Islam in Yunnan is ascribed to Sayyid-i Ajall's son, Nasir al-Din (the Nescradin of Marco Polo; d. 1292). A further descendant was Ma Chu (c. 1630–1710) who published a famous work, called "The Magnetic Needle of Islam".
( )Raphael Israeli (2002). Islam in China: religion, ethnicity, culture, and politics. Lexington Books. p.284. ISBN978-0-7391-0375-3. Retrieved December 20, 2011. At least two of the commanders in chief... were Arabs: Amid Sayyid Bayan (Po-yen, Boyan) (1235–94) and Amid Sayyid Adjall (Edjell) Shams al-Din 'Umar (1211–70). the Khan decreed them to be second-class citizens of the Mongol Empire... One of Kubilay's Muslim commanders was the Bukharan, who claimed to be a sayyid, i.e. descendant of the Prophet, Shams al-Din 'Umar, called Sayyid Adjall, given by the Great Khan the transliterated Chinese title Sai-tien-ek'e (Saidanche). He was Kubilay's governor of the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan for the period 1273 till his death in 1279. He was buried there, and his tomb, with its inscriptions, was subsequently discovered at the opening of the twentieth century by the French Mission d'Ollone; a second grave also exists at Hsi-an (Xian), also with an inscription, this being a cenotaph which only contained the dead governor's ceremonial court dress
( )Raphael Israeli (2002). Islam in China: religion, ethnicity, culture, and politics. Lexington Books. p.284. ISBN978-0-7391-0375-3. Retrieved December 20, 2011. Sayyid Adjall probably did much for the spread of Islam in Yunnan, but it is his son Nasir al-Din who is given the main credit for its spread there. The latter had been governor of Shenxi, and when he died in Yunnan as governor there in 1292, he was succeeded by his brother Husayn. Other sons of Sayyid Adjall and their sons in turn hold high office under the Yuan emperors, and the family remained famous in Chinese life. Thus the famous scholar Ma Zhu (Mazhu) (ca. 1630–1710) supervised the renovation
Meaghan Morris; Brett De Bary (2001). Meaghan Morris; Brett De Bary (eds.). "Race" panic and the memory of migration. Vol.2. Ithaca, NY: Hong Kong University Press. p.297. ISBN978-962-209-561-8. Retrieved December 20, 2011. In addition to the Muslim soldiers and officials who had arrived with the Mongol forces in Yunnan in 1253, many other Muslims settled here as well, and within 50 years the Muslim population of the region was sufficiently large to be noted by both Rashid al-Din (the Persian historian) and Marco Polo in their writings... Among Sayyid 'Ajall's twelve sons and numerous grandsons, many served throughout China and there are Muslim communities scattered across the country who can trace their genealogies back to him. The largest number, however, remained in Yunnan. His eldest son, Nasir al-Din (Ch. Na-su-la-ding), also held a high office in Yunnan, and is commonly credited with providing the source for traditional Han Chinese surnames that all Muslims were required by the state to adopt during the Ming period (1368–1644). In Yunnan, after Ma (the surname which derives from the transliteration of the name of Muhammad) the most common surnames for Muslims are Na, Su, La, and Ding.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Jiang, Xinghua; Deng, Zhongkai (2005-07-13). "Zheng He's pedigree". PLA Daily (in Chinese). China Military Online English Edition. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
Arthur Evans Moule (1914). The Chinese people: a handbook on China …. LONDON: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Northumberland Avenue W.C.: 43 Queen Victoria Street. E.C.: Society for promoting Christian knowledge. p.317. Retrieved 17 July 2011. their Mosques at Ganfu (Canton) during the T'ang dynasty (a.d. 618—907) is certain, and later they spread to Ch'iian-chou and to Kan-p'u, Hangchow, and perhaps to Ningpo and Shanghai. These were not preaching or proselytising inroads, but commercial enterprises, and in the latter half of the eighth century there were Moslem troops in Shensi, 3,000 men, under Abu Giafar, coming to support the dethroned Emperor in A.d. 756. In the thirteenth century the influence of individual Moslems was immense, especially that of the Seyyid Edjell Shams ed-Din Omar, who served the Mongol Khans till his death in Yunnan A.d. 1279. His family still exists in Yunnan, and has taken a prominent part in Moslem affairs in China. The present Moslem element in China is most numerous in Yunnan and Kansu; and the most learned Moslems reside chiefly in Ssuch'uan, the majority of their books being printed in the capital city, Ch'eng-tu. Kansu is perhaps the most dominantly Mohammedan province in China, and here many different sects are found, and mosques with minarets used by the orthodox muezzin calling to prayer, and in one place veiled women are met with. These, however, are not Turks or Saracens, but for the most part pure Chinese. The total Moslem population is probably under 4,000,000, though other statistical estimates, always uncertain in China, vary from thirty to ten millions; but the figures given here are the most reliable at present obtainable, and when it is remembered that Islam in China has not been to any great extent a preaching or propagandist power by{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)(Original from Harvard University)
Wang, Chuan-Chao; Wang, Ling-Xiang; Zhang, Manfei; Yao, Dali; Jin, Li; Li, Hui (2013). "Present y chromosomes support the Persian ancestry of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar and Eminent Navigator Zheng He". arXiv:1310.5466 [q-bio.PE].
This article incorporates text from The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith, by Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, a publication from 1896, now in the public domain in the United States.
