Taierzhuang Mosque

Taierzhuang Mosque

Taierzhuang Mosque is a cultural tourism attraction.

After the Taierzhuang Canal was completed in the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, Taierzhuang became a crucial hub for north-south water transport, attracting "merchants from all over," including many Hui Muslim migrants from other regions. To have a place for worship, they built a small mosque within the east gate of Taierzhuang City. In the early Qing Dynasty, the prosperity of water transport led to the thriving of Taierzhuang, becoming "a bustling hub where merchants gathered, residents prospered, and the town grew larger than any other in the region, widely known as the 'Number One Town Under Heaven.'" More and more Hui Muslim merchants settled in Taierzhuang, and the original mosque could no longer accommodate their worship needs. By the time of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty, Imam Li Zhonghe initiated the reconstruction of the mosque to promote and uphold Islam. According to the stone tablet in front of the mosque: "Li Zhonghe abandoned vanity and focused purely on faith. He traveled south to Sichuan and Fujian, and north to Henan and Yan, saving money for years before achieving success in a single day." The reconstructed Taierzhuang Mosque was located on the former site of the Yuji Garden inside the northern gate of Taierzhuang City, covering an area of 38 mu. The main gate of the mosque faced east, featuring a five-room hallway, five rooms each for northern and southern lecture halls, three small lecture rooms on the east and west, three rooms for the west washroom, and a main prayer hall consisting of 25 rooms. The rear gate faced west, flanked by a pair of magnificent marble and purple flower-patterned stone drums. The courtyard was filled with lush pines, cypresses, flowers, and plants, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere. In the late Qing Dynasty, the southern lecture hall was converted into a main gate building, and the gate was turned to face south. The plaque that read “Ancient Mosque of Islam” was replaced with “Hui Mosque.” It is noted that most mosques have gates facing east, toward Jerusalem, the holy city of Islam, but Taierzhuang Mosque uniquely faces south. In the early years of the Republic of China, Imams Chen Xingzhen and local elder Ma Zhentang raised funds twice for renovations. The ancient mosque became splendid, renowned across southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. Worshipers flocked here, making it bustling with activity.

However, it was completely destroyed in the flames of war. In the spring of 1938, the Battle of Taierzhuang broke out between China and Japan. The Taierzhuang Mosque, with its tall and sturdy structure and location in the northern part of the city closest to the front lines, was chosen as the command post by the defending Chinese 186th Regiment, making it a focal point contested by both sides. After seven days and nights of fierce back-and-forth fighting, the mosque was reduced to ashes. The blood-soaked, corpse-littered ruins formed a tragic and solemn scene. Of the four ancient cypress trees, two were burned to ashes. The surviving two were also half-burnt, with the western one suffering major branch damage, drying and cracking. It endured for over 60 years before dying, leaving only its withered trunk standing proudly in front of the hall. The other tree, though riddled with bullet marks, survived tenaciously and remains lush. The western small lecture room was heavily damaged by bullets, and an 80-square-centimeter section of its bullet-riddled brick wall was removed in October 1988 by the Museum of the Chinese Revolution for exhibition.

After the Battle of Taierzhuang, elder Ma Zhentang raised donations from over ten grain businesses in Taierzhuang and oversaw the mosque’s reconstruction in 1942. In addition to restoring the original buildings, a new 28-meter-high Moon-Watching Tower was built. With green-tiled walls, upturned eaves, corridors, and ornate carvings and paintings, the tower was an impressive sight and the tallest building in Taierzhuang at the time. However, these structures suffered severe damage during the ten-year Cultural Revolution, falling once again into disrepair.

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Party’s ethnic and religious policies brought new life to the ancient mosque like a spring breeze. In 1983, the district government allocated 50,000 yuan, and the Hui community donated 35,000 yuan to restore the main prayer hall of the Taierzhuang Mosque to its original design. The hall covered a construction area of 120 square meters, with glazed tiles and red walls, shining gloriously and featuring distinct ethnic characteristics. Later, the district government also funded the construction of surrounding walls, the washroom, the gatehouse, and the outdoor plaza. The former “Hui Mosque” sign was replaced once again with “Ancient Mosque of Islam.” The Moon-Watching Tower was renovated at a cost of 500,000 yuan.

The project was completed in 2006. The rebuilt Moon-Watching Tower is a seven-story structure reaching 28 meters in height, with majestic upturned eaves adding a sense of tranquility and grandeur to the classic-style Taierzhuang Mosque. At the same time, the ancient South Mosque in the southern part of the city was also restored, facilitating the religious life of the Muslim community.

Throughout the series of reconstruction, renovation, and remodeling projects at the Taierzhuang Mosque, the Taierzhuang District has consistently emphasized preserving the historical evidence of the Battle of Taierzhuang. The battle-scarred walls and dense bullet holes, the half-dead ancient cypress trees with embedded bullet fragments in their trunks, silently recount the tragic heroism of those times, bearing witness to the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation and the inevitable defeat of the invaders.