{"id":9059,"date":"2022-02-01T12:45:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T03:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/?p=9059"},"modified":"2022-02-01T12:53:11","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T03:53:11","slug":"%e9%87%8f%e7%9a%84%e3%83%86%e3%82%ad%e3%82%b9%e3%83%88%e5%88%86%e6%9e%90%e3%81%ab%e3%82%88%e3%82%8b%e5%9b%bd%e9%9a%9b%e6%94%bf%e6%b2%bb%e7%a0%94%e7%a9%b6%e3%80%80%e6%b8%a1%e8%be%ba%e8%80%95-12-2-2-3-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/news-en\/2022\/02\/01\/9059\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Muslim Mediation in the Modernization of the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty<\/br>UNNO Noriko, Assistant Professor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nUNNO Noriko,\u00a0Assistant Professor<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

My i<\/span>nterest in Chinese Muslims<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am researching the modern history o<\/span><\/span>f <\/span>the Hui people, <\/span>s<\/span>inophone<\/span><\/span> Muslims living in China<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> The Hui are the descendants of Muslims from West Asia (<\/span>e.g., <\/span>present-day Saudi Arabia, Iran<\/span> and<\/span> Iraq) and Central Asia (<\/span>including <\/span>present-day Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan<\/span> and<\/span><\/span> Kyrgyzstan<\/span>) who migrated to China between the <\/span>seventh<\/span> and 14th centuries. <\/span>The Hui,<\/span> an ethnic group <\/span>resulting from<\/span><\/span> interaction between<\/span> the Han Chinese and Mongolians, speak the Han language (Chinese language) and are almost identical in appearance to the Han Chinese. <\/span>Living<\/span> mainly in the northwest region of China, <\/span>they number<\/span> about 12 million, <\/span>accounting for<\/span> about half of all Muslims living in China. <\/span>They are recognized as an ethnic minority i<\/span>n China, where the<\/span>ir<\/span> population is large.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I<\/span><\/span> studied abroad<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> in Finland<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> when I was in high school<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> I stayed with a family in a village where there were almost no Asians, so I <\/span>often <\/span>felt alienated. In <\/span>that<\/span> situation, I was treated very well by Muslim immigrants who were also minorities. <\/span>As a result of<\/span> that experience, I became interested in Muslims living outside the Middle East. Later, I learned that there were Muslims in China as well, and since I had always been interested in Chinese culture, I thought that if I <\/span>chose<\/span> “Muslims living in China,” <\/span>as <\/span>the theme of<\/span> my research, <\/span>I would be able to study both China and Muslims living outside the Middle East, <\/span>so<\/span> I decided to pursue <\/span>that<\/span> path.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It all started with <\/span>one<\/span> p<\/span>hotograph<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I have bee<\/span><\/span>n reading<\/span> about<\/span><\/span> and analyzing <\/span>the modernization, globalization, and political changes in East Asia from the perspective of Chinese Muslims (<\/span>here,<\/span> the Hui people). <\/span>In m<\/span>y current research <\/span>I <\/span>am examining<\/span> the role of Chinese Muslims in international relations and global history. In the midst of all <\/span>my exploration<\/span>, one photo<\/span>graph<\/span><\/span> caught my attention<\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span> a <\/span>1908 <\/span>photo <\/span>c<\/span>ommemorati<\/span>ng<\/span><\/span> the establishment of <\/span>a modern school for Chinese Muslims in Beijing<\/span><\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>a project supported financially by<\/span> the Ottoman emperor (Fig. 1). I wondered why the emperor of the Ottoman Empire took the trouble to provide financial support for<\/span> the Chinese Muslim minori<\/span>ty in the Qing Dynasty, <\/span>a <\/span>country <\/span>with <\/span>which<\/span><\/span> he had no diplomatic relations at the time. <\/span>Subsequently<\/span>, I decided to investigate <\/span>the involvement of the<\/span> Chinese Muslims in the two major empire<\/span>s of the East and West, the Ottoman Empire (later the Republic of Turkey) and the Qing Dynasty (later the Republic of China), in the early <\/span>20th century<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> when modernization was rapidly progressing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 1: Commemorative photo at a Chinese Muslim school supported by the Ottoman emperor.
Highlighted in the image: Ottoman flags and a teacher from the Ottoman Empire. (1908: Beijing)<\/p><\/div>\n

Were the<\/span> Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty similar<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> with <\/span>shared<\/span> interests<\/span><\/span>?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

During the<\/span> second<\/span><\/span> half of the 19th century <\/span>and<\/span> the beginning of the 20th century<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> both the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty were in gradual decline after losing wars against the Western powers. As they struggled for survival and sought to modernize their industrial, military, political, and educational systems, they gradually became interested in e<\/span><\/span>ach <\/span>other<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Ottoman Empire was interested in the <\/span>Xinhai<\/span> Revolution, which led to the abdication of the Qing emperor, as well as the major military and economic reforms that were accomplished <\/span>there <\/span>in a short period of time<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> They<\/span><\/span> attempted<\/span> to send envoys to the Qing on several occasions, but encountered difficulties. They asked Chinese Muslim<\/span>s with whom they had <\/span>some<\/span> relationship to ac<\/span>t as intermediaries <\/span>in negotiations <\/span>with the Qing<\/span>. Through Chinese Muslim intervention they also<\/span> sent spies to the Qing <\/span>posing<\/span> as teachers<\/span>; one is<\/span> shown in the photo in Figure 1. On the other hand, some <\/span>Qing Dynasty <\/span>politicians and bureaucrats were interested in the Young Turk Revolution <\/span>that overthrew the tyranny of the Ottoman Emperor <\/span>Abd\u00fclhamit<\/span> II <\/span>and <\/span>prompted <\/span>the movement toward constitutional democracy<\/span>; it appears that <\/span>they <\/span>asked Chinese Muslims to mediate their visits to the Ottoman Empire (Fig. 2).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At that time, <\/span>there was strong prejudice and discrimination against <\/span>Chinese Muslims because of the Muslim rebellions that <\/span>had occurred<\/span> in various <\/span>locations<\/span> in the late 19th century<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> Qing Dynasty<\/span> suppression was heavy<\/span>. In order to break away from <\/span>that<\/span> situation, <\/span>Muslim <\/span>religious leaders took the lead in educational reform, aiming to <\/span>raise<\/span> the status of Muslims in the Qing Dynasty. Some Chinese Muslims<\/span><\/span> paused<\/span><\/span> at<\/span> Istanbul<\/span><\/span> (<\/span><\/span>the capital of the Ottoman Empire<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span> during their pilgrimage to Mecca to negotiate directly with the emperor for financial and human<\/span>itaria<\/span>n<\/span> support for educational reform<\/span>; some <\/span>traveled<\/span> to Japan to study <\/span>and<\/span> to learn from Japan’s rapid modernization after the Meiji Restoration. <\/span>The<\/span> network of Chinese Muslims expanded greatly<\/span> from east to west<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 2: The Ottoman emperor Abd\u00fclhamit II was interested in the Xinhai Revolution and the economic and military reforms in China. On the other hand, Qing dynasty politicians such as Kang Youwei were interested in the Young Turk Revolution and Ottoman movement toward a constitutional monarchy. It is thought that the mediation by Chinese Muslims was a driver of the progress of exchanges between the two sides.<\/p><\/div>\n

T<\/span>entative conclusions<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The modernization of the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty tends to be regarded as Westernization unilaterally impos<\/span><\/span>ed by the West. However, I <\/span>hypothesize<\/span> that Chinese Muslims, who mediated the interaction between the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty, may have had an indirect influence on the modernization of both countries (Fig. 3). At that time, <\/span>countries <\/span>including<\/span><\/span> Japan, Germany, and France were also trying to <\/span>make strategic use of<\/span> Chinese Muslim<\/span> connections<\/span> to expand their influence in <\/span>Chinese <\/span>territory<\/span>. In other words, the network established by Chinese Mu<\/span>slims in the East and West contributed to the modernization of the Ottoman Empire and the Qing dynasty<\/span><\/span>;<\/span> <\/span>it <\/span>could<\/span> be said that <\/span>at the same time <\/span>it was<\/span> being used <\/span>for political reasons<\/span> by Japan, Germany, and France. <\/span>A close inspection reveals that<\/span> intentions of various countries to skillfully exploit the underlying identity issues and survival strategies of Chinese Muslims living as minorities.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I plan to continue reading primary historical document<\/span><\/span>s,<\/span><\/span> with an eye to<\/span><\/span> intelligence activities and international relations in countries around the world, <\/span>in my<\/span> re-exami<\/span>nation of<\/span> the history of Chinese Muslims from a <\/span>broader<\/span> perspective<\/span> than that of earlier studies<\/span>. At the same time, I would like to consider the role <\/span>played by<\/span> informal human networks in the modernization of Asia.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Fig. 3. Tentative conclusion: that Chinese Muslims may have had an indirect influence on the modernization of the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty.<\/p><\/div>\n

Interview and composition: AIMONO Keiko
\nIn cooperation with: Waseda University Graduate School of Political Science J-School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNNO Noriko,\u00a0Assistant Professor My interest in Chinese Muslims I am researching the modern history of the Hui […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[73,107],"class_list":["post-9059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-research-en","tag-spotlight-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9059"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9068,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9059\/revisions\/9068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}