China | Beijing | Ms. R’s Dumplings

On my first free evening in town Ms. R invited me to her apartment to sample her legendary dumplings.

Ms. R demonstrating her formidable cleaver skills

Ms. R preparing her fabled dumplings

Ms. R presiding over her dinner table. Dumplings on the left.

We were joined for dinner by Ms. W, a friend of Ms. R’s from Urumqi, in Xinjiang, the westernmost province of China and home of the Uighur people. Like many educated Uighurs Ms. W speaks almost perfect, unaccented English, even though she had never been to an English speaking country. Ms. R herself speaks Uighur, Uzbek, Chinese, English, and Spanish.

Ms R’s friend Ms. W

Ms. R and Ms W displaying sisterly affection

Over dinner we had a scintillating conversation, to say the least. After exhausting the subject of perfumes—Deep Six is now the scent of choice for Ms. R and her friends, I am told—we moved on to a discussion of Chagatai Turk, the language which was once spoken in the Chagatai Khanate. Chagatai was of course the second son of Chingis Khan and upon Chingis’s death he was awarded as his inheritance much of what is now Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, and Kyrgzstan, including the fabled cities of Bukhara and Samarkhand. The Chagatai Turk language developed about 1400 AD but is now considered extinct. One of the more notable literary productions in Chagatai Turk was Babur’s autobiography, the Baburnama.

Babur, who as you know founded the Moghul Empire in India, was the great-great-great grandson of Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World. Although not of royal blood himself, Tamurlane married Mulk-khanum, the daughter of Qaram, who was descended from Chagatai and thus from Chingis himself. Babur was apparently the fruit of this coupling, and thus a Chingisid-Chagataid himself, although given the fact that Tamurlane had dozens of wives the exact bloodlines must remain obscure. In addition to founding the Moghul Empire, Babur was a legendary party animal, as he fully recounts in his memoirs. When he wasn’t sacking cities he was getting high on wine and hashish and amusing himself with his considerable harem, with the occasional handsome young man thrown in for added titillation. Babur’s son Humayun became emperor of India in 1530. He died on January 19, 1556, after a fall on the steps of his library. Humayun’s Tomb can now be seen in New Delhi.

China | Shaanxi | Xian | Great Mosque

After touring the City Wall in Xian I wandered by the Qing Zhen Si, or Great Mosque of Xian. The original mosque was founded here in 742 AD, during the reign of the Tang Dynasty emperor Xuanzong, Like Nestorian Christianity, Islam quickly migrated eastward on the Silk Road, resulting in the founding of this mosque a mere 120 years after the Hijah. The mosque was updated during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties and is still active today, serving the 30,000 or so Huis—Chinese Moslems—in Xian.

Wooden Gateway to the Mosque
First Courtyard of the Mosque
Ming Dynasty Stone Gate

Inscription on Ming Dynasty Stone Gate: “The Courtyard of Heaven.” (All you Sinophiles out there—feel free to correct this.)

I think this structure houses one of the stelae recording the history of the mosque. I am not sure, since there are some other stelae on the grounds. Very little is available in English about the mosque, and it is hard to tell what is what. Anyone with any information is free to weigh in. The so-called Introspection Tower, which also serves as the Mosque’s minaret. This is the highest structure in the mosque compound.

Ceiling of the Introspection Tower
Another view of the Introspection Tower. This stele may be the one which records the mosque’s history. Gate to one of the courtyards
Gate to another one of the courtyards
Calligraphy on one of the walls of the compound
There is supposed to be a stone in the mosque which portrays the Moslem world with Mecca in the middle. This might be it, with the dark circle in the middle representing Mecca.
But on the walkway to the Phoenix Pavilion there is another stone which might also represent the Moslem world.
This stone also has a circle in the middle which might represent Mecca. If anyone has any information about this please come forward now.
The Phoenix Pavilion, or Main Hall of the Mosque.
Entrance to the Phoenix Pavilion. The inscription over the door reportedly reads “One God”.

China | Shaanxi | Xian City Wall

While in town to see the Nestorian Stele, I thought I might as well check out the rest of Xian, which as you no doubt know was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and during the Tang Dynasty probably the largest and most developed city in the world. It is still now probably the last large walled city in the world. The wall surrounding the inner city is a total of 7.3 miles long, forty-nine feet high, and fifty-nine feet wide at the top.

The immense Southern Gate to the city

Just inside the Southern Gate

Stairs lead up to the top of the City Wall

The southern side of the City Wall

The top of the City Wall

The 7.3 mile-long top of the wall provides a nice walking and biking path. Notice the bicycle-built-for-two.

Biker on top of the Wall

Belly button of Biker on top of the Wall

Inside of the east side of the City Wall

Outside of the east side of the City Wall

A green strip and hiking path extends all around the outside of the wall

Path along the outside of the wallOuter rampart of the City Wall

Green strip and park along the outside of the City WallRestored Qing Dynasty houses just inside the City Wall

China | Shaanxi | Xian | Nestorian Stele

I have a big stack of books I have been dipping into, but when my mind wearies and I need a little light reading I turn to The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia--and How It Died (also Kindle Edition). Although not a Christian myself, I do find the advance of Nestorian Christianity into Asia via the Silk Road fascinating from an historical point of view. A few years ago I wandered down to Xian, the Eastern Terminous of the Silk Road, specifically to see the famous Nestorian Stele on display in the city’s Belian Museum.

Grounds of the Belian Museum

Erected in 781 AD, the stele gives a brief description of the introduction of Nestorian Christianity into China in the 8th Century.

At the top of stele is a Nestorian Cross; beneath the cross is the heading “Memorial of the Propagation in China of the Luminous Religion from Daqin”. Beneath the heading—not really visible in the photo—is The History Itself in 1,756 Chinese characters plus a few lines in the Syriac language.

Christianity, along with Islam, was one of the many imports that trodded eastward on the Silk Road. For more on this see the wonderfully informative Religions of the Silk Road. Also see The Great Mosque in Xian.

Of course there is much else in the Belian Museum, including many swoon-inducing Buddhist art works. Here are just two samples:

A Tang Dynasty Buddha

A Tang Dynasty rendering of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, unearthed in Xian in 1952.

China | Xinjiang | Urumqi

Update: Death Toll Rises to 156 in Ethnic Clashes in Western China. The riots have now spread to Khotan. Update #2: Internet service has now been cut to Xinjiang: China Locks Down Restive Region After Deadly Clashes.

My favorite city in China, Urumqi, is experiencing serious problems. See Riots Erupt in Western China Amid Ethnic Tension. Haven’t heard from any of my friends there yet. They are usually very hesitant to communicate by email, which they are convinced is monitored by the government. Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang, which I used to visit quite frequently. Given the difficulty of acquiring Chinese visas here in the Big Buuz I doubt if I will be going back any time soon.

Downtown Urumqi

Uighur Market District in Urumqi

Uighur Carpet dealer in downtown Urumqi

Pomegranates in the Uighur Market

China | Xinjiang | Dragon Fighter

Rebiya Kadeer

There is a new book out about Rebiya Kadeer, from Urumqi, in Xinjiang Province, who was once reputed to be the richest women in China and was later arrested and thrown into prison on what was widely considered to be trumped-up charges. (Among other suspicious activities, she once met with evil Microsoft potentate Bill “666” Gates.) See Dragon Fighter: One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China.

Despite being persona non grata in China her name is still displayed on the front of one of the department stores she owned in Urumqi (in Uighur Arabic Script). Interestingly, the Uighurs originated in Mongolia—the ruins of their Old Capital City can still be seen in Arkhangai Aimag, north of Kharkhorin. And of course, the Mongolian Vertical Script is based on the old Uighur Vertical Script . . .

China | Beijing | Confucius Temple and Amarsanaa

After my visit to the Silk Street Market I scampered on out to the huge Tibeto-Mongolian Yonghegong Monastery. First I wanted to get my prayer beads restrung—the string on mine had become dangerously frazzled—at the Tibetan Thangka shop just down the street from the entrance of Yonghegong, but I soon discovered that since my last visit the Tibetan Thangka shop had been turned into a Tibetan restaurant and bar. They tried to lure me in for a plate of Momos and a pot of butter tea, but I resisted, since I had more pressing business. I moved on down the street to one of the many shops selling religious paraphernalia and bought a supply of Nanmu incense, made from the wood of the Nanmu Tree. Supposedly Nanmu incense was introduced into China by Lobsang Palden Yeshe, the 6th Panchen Lama of Tibet, who gave some as a gift to the Qing Emperor Qianlong on the occasion of the latter’s seventieth birthday in 1778. (The 6th Panchen Lama, it might be parenthetically noted, also wrote a famous Guidebook to Shambhala.) Unfortunately, while in Beijing being feted by Qianlong the Panchen Lama contracted smallpox and transmigrated. Rumors that he was purposely exposed to smallpox in order to elimimate him have never been confirmed. (Qianlong’s father, Yongzheng, was likewise accused of offing Zanabazar, the First Bogd Gegeen of Mongolia, at the Yellow Temple in Beijing.) In any case, Nanmu quickly became the Emperor’s favorite incense. It has the unusual quality of smelling much stronger on rainy days, and is said to clear the nose and sharpen one’s thoughts. It also drives away mosquitoes.

I had intended to pop into Yonghegong Monastery to see if the Shambhala Thangka which is supposedly in storage here had been put out on display since the last time I visited, when it was no where to be seen, but the sight of the dozen or more big tourist buses out front and the hundreds if not thousands of people milling around the entrance quickly discouraged me. It was a balmy 58º F and a lot of Chinese in addition to the usual hordes of Western and Japanese tourists were out on excursions. I had already visited the place a half dozen times or more and saw no need for braving the crowds yet again.

Instead I mosied down a side street to the Confucius Temple. Visiting here was my real reason for coming to Beijing, Tea and carpets aside. Compared with the hubbubish atmosphere prevailing at Yonghegong the Confucius Temple grounds were an oasis of calm and tranquility. Only a handful of elderly Chinese were tottering around the temple grounds, which cover 22,000 square meters or almost 5.5 acres.

Confucius (circa 551-479 BC).

Tranquil grounds of the Confucius Temple

Tranquil grounds of the Confucius Temple

Tranquil grounds of the Confucius Temple

Cypress trees at the Confucius Temple

The Confucian Temple was built during the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China by order of the Yuan Emperor Chengzong, grandson of Khubilai Khan.

Mongol Emperor Chengzong (1265-1307, r. 1294–1307)

Construction began in 1302 and was finished in 1306. It was intended as place where the emperors could go to make offerings to Confucius. The Mongols were of course not Confucianists, but they no doubt felt they had to ingratiate themselves with the Confucian-dominated Chinese bureaucracy if they wanted to successfully rule China.

Confucius was perhaps most famous for his many aphorisms. Some examples:

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.

He who will not economize will have to agonize.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.

Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.

Girl who flies airplane upside down has crack up.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.

Respect yourself and others will respect you.

Study the past if you would define the future.

Entrance to the main part of the temple complex

Chu Jian Cypress

Most of the cypress trees in the temple compound were planted during the Yuan Dynasty, in the fourteenth century. Many of them are named and have elaborate histories. During the Ming Dynasty, which replaced the Yuan, a wicked minister by the name of Yan Song came here to offer sacrifices. When he passed this cypress tree a high wind sprang up and a branch, driven by the wind, lifted up his black gauze hat (worn by Ming officials as a sign of rank) and exposed his face. Later the tree was said to have the ability to distinguish wicked courtiers from loyal ones. It eventually became known as the Chu Jian Cypress.

Another cypress dating back to the Yuan Dynasty

An Incense Burner. I would love to have one of these for my hovel.

The main reason I came to Beijing and to the Confucius Temple, however, was to see the monument erected by Qing Emperor Qianlong to commemorate the defeat of the Zungarians in 1755. This last great uprising of the Western or Zungarian Mongols was led by Amarsanaa. One hundred and thirty-three years after the the death of Amarsanaa, the notorious Avenger Lama Dambijantsan would claim be his descendant and/or reincarnation and embark on a campaign to overthrow Manchu rule of Mongolia.

Plaque marking the stele erected by Qianlong

Pavilion housing Qianlong’s stele commemorating the defeat of Amarsanaa and the Zungars

Qianlong’s stele commemorating the defeat of Amarsanaa and the Zungars

Turtle on which Qianlong’s stele is mounted

Although the Zungarians were defeated in 1755 the Hui, or Chinese Moslems, of Xinjiang fought against the Qing until they were finally subdued—for the time being—in 1759. From this time on Xinjiang, Now the Westernmost Province of China, was part of the Qing empire.

Pavilion housing a stele commemorating the subjugation of the Huis in 1759.