83rd WIAPS Seminar

In the early twentieth century, the Ottoman Empire attempted to establish trade relations with the Qing Empire, while the Empire of Japan planned its expansion into the Asian continent. Leaders of both empires came to recognize the strategic importance of Chinese-speaking Muslims (roughly equivalent to the Huizu, one of the ethnic minority groups in the People’s Republic of China, historically known as “Huimin”). The Ottoman and Japanese empires respectively carried out intelligence operations and conciliatory measures targeting the Hui people. Some Hui leaders who sought to elevate the social status of Muslims in China received political and economic support from the two empires for religious and educational reforms. This study elucidates how the Hui’s responses to the two empires influenced world affairs, academic trends, Japan’s so-called Islamic campaigns, and ethnic policies in modern and contemporary China. By doing so, it reconstructs the history of international relations in modern Asia from the perspective of a minority group.