Concord and Conflict: the Hui Communities of Yunnan Society in a Historical Perspective

Abstract: This dissertation studies the historical relation between the Muslim minority and the non-Muslim majority in Yunnan with a combined method: historical criticism supplemented by ethnological interpretation. This relation manifests in history dynamic and dialectical characteristics: concord and conflict. Concord can be found in the stable and balanced periods in the relevant socio-cultural aspects of the two groups; also, concord exists in the form of Islamic institutions and in the loose network between the widely dispersed Hui communities. Conflict can be seen in unstable and unbalanced situations in different ethno-religious aspects of the two societies; also, conflict goes through the framework of the diverse Hui communities and mosaic Islamic features, even among different fractions within the same community. On the other hand, concord may exist in an unstable and unbalanced situation, and conflict in a time of stability and balance. Under these complicated conditions, Islam in Yunnan shows clear features of syncretism: a Hui form of Islam. Elements have merged, and aspects been amplified when they were similar or shared between Islam and Chinese religions. The Hui have preserved and defended the kernel of their Central Asian Islamic heritage, which differed strongly from the Chinese religious traditions. But some elements that were incompatible with Islam did infiltrate into Hui communities. On the other hand, by a contrary force, these elements could also be excluded by the power of Islam, reinforced by the communication of the Hui society internally and externally, in a long seesaw transcultural contact process.