Bo’ai Qingzhen Dongda Mosque

Bo’ai Qingzhen Dongda Mosque

Bo’ai Qingzhen Dongda Mosque is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

The Bo’ai County Dashengzhuang Qingzhen Dongda Mosque is located in Dashengzhuang Village, Xuliang Town, Bo’ai County, Jiaozuo City. Dongda Mosque is currently the largest and best-preserved ancient Islamic mosque in northern Henan, featuring a typical Chinese palatial architectural style and often referred to as the “Foremost Mosque of Northern Henan.”

Dashengzhuang is a large village with a concentrated Hui ethnic population. According to relevant data, the village has a total population of about 7,000, with nearly 6,000 being Hui people. The main surnames include Shan, Bai, Mai, Dan, Ding, Ma, Chen, Wang, Sun, Li, and Wu, among which Shan, Bai, Mai, Dan, and Ding are the most common. These surnames are unique to the Hui people. They live in the central part of the village, while Han Chinese residents live at both ends, and the two ethnic groups coexist harmoniously. In the 1950s, the village once established the Dashengzhuang Ethnic Township, but it was later incorporated into Xuliang Town during a township merger. Bo’ai County was newly established in 1927 by General Feng Yuxiang, who divided the former Henan County into Qinyang (now Qinyang City) and Bo’ai. Both counties were part of Huai Prefecture during the Yuan Dynasty. During Genghis Khan’s Western Expedition, He Simaili from Guzuo’erdou (now Kyrgyzstan), who was then serving as an official in Kesan City, surrendered in 1216 and became the vanguard of the Mongol Western Expedition army under the command of Subutai. After the first Mongol Western Expedition, He Simaili led his vanguard back to Central China and joined Genghis Khan’s campaign against the Western Xia. In 1231, he followed Emperor Ogedei Khan in the war against the Jin Dynasty, stationed in Huai and Meng (now Mengzhou), and was appointed as the Darughachi (garrison commander) of Huai and Meng. Later, he was promoted for his achievements to serve as the Darughachi of 28 regions including Huai, Meng, and Henan. He Simaili died in 1251. His eldest son Nie Zhibi had also passed away earlier, and his second son Mi Liji succeeded him as the Darughachi of Huai and Meng. In 1262, he joined Kublai Khan in the war against the Southern Song Dynasty and died in battle in HuaiXi. His son An Che and grandson Mangwudai successively inherited the position of Darughachi of Huai and Meng. For four generations, the He Simaili family was stationed in Huai and Meng, and although historical records do not specify where the descendants of Mangwudai settled, it can be inferred that they likely remained in the region. The members of the army led by He Simaili consisted of his former subordinates and defectors he recruited during the Western Expedition at Yibali City, all of whom were Hui people. Their descendants also settled in Huai and Meng. The prominent Hui surnames in today’s Qinyang and Bo’ai, such as Shan, Bai, Mai, Dan, and Ding, are believed to be descendants of He Simaili’s troops. There is no doubt that they were Hui people who migrated from the east during the Yuan Dynasty. The Hui people of Dashengzhuang were also migrants from the east during the Yuan Dynasty, though the origins of their surnames are unknown.

The Hui people follow Islam, and performing the five daily prayers is a fundamental religious obligation. Building a place of worship has always been a priority. Wherever Hui people reside, there are mosques of varying sizes. Over time, with economic development, more grand and magnificent mosques have been gradually constructed. The North Mosque in Zizhi Street, Qinyang City, has a stele from 1583 (the 11th year of the Ming Wanli era) inscribed with: “Our Huai region has had a mosque for a long time, some say it was built between 1341–1368 (during the Yuan Zhizheng years).” By this time, the term “mosque” was already comparable to the temples of Taoism and Buddhism. There must have been many modest mosques in the early Yuan Dynasty. Dashengzhuang had Hui residents in the early Yuan Dynasty, and it is likely that a mosque was also established there. The main structure of today’s Dongda Qingzhen Mosque dates back to the Ming Dynasty and has undergone continuous renovations through the ages. Wars and social upheavals have destroyed the stone steles inside the mosque and those on the tombs, leaving only a few small Qing Dynasty steles embedded in the walls. A stele from 1724 (during the Yongzheng era) reads: “In Dashengzhuang Village, about thirty li north of Huai Prefecture, there is a mosque, though its founding date is unknown.” Another stele from 1732 (the 10th year of Yongzheng) states: “Thirty li from Huai Prefecture lies a village called Xin Village (Dashengzhuang), where over half the residents are Hui people, and there has long been a mosque here.” These records are sufficient to demonstrate the mosque’s long history. Dongda Mosque is located on the south side of the main east-west street in the village. Its entrance faces south, and directly opposite the gate is a screen wall inscribed with religious teachings.<五更歌》。大门西边是二人合抱的千年古槐，树心已空，但枝权茁壮挺拔，象征着古寺仍焕发青春。大门是宫殿式仿孔庙大门，流璃构件覆盖房顶，层层斗拱上有精美浮雕，左右两个精致的扇面书卷形上刻有明太祖朱元璋的御制百字赞：“乾坤初始，天籍注名，传教大圣，降生西域，受授天经，三十部册，普化众生。忆兆君师，万圣领袖，协助天运，保庇国民。五时祈佑，默祝太平。存心真主，加志穷民，拯救患难，洞彻幽冥。超拔灵魂，脱离罪业，仁覆天下，道贯古今。降邪归一。教名清真。穆罕默德，至贵圣人。”大门是下面建有城墙垛的大门，在河南独一无二，大门脊檩的牵杆上写有：“告大明天启五年岁次乙丑盂夏月宏拓至元清净寺晋门叁间谨志”。“告”为时的异体字。“天启”为明熹宗朱由校的年号。“五年”为公历1625年。“至元”为元世祖忽必烈的年号（1264一1294年）。“清净寺”是北宋真宗（赵恒）1009年（大中祥符二年）阿拉伯人在福建泉州涂门街建造一座规模宏大的古阿拉伯式伊斯兰教清净寺（今译为艾苏哈卜清真大寺）即圣友寺。“晋”即进。这别致的大门反映出它是明代建筑，又是仿效古清净寺建的，所以是很有价值的古典建筑。前院有“武学”，是具有数百年历史的武术学校，从这里走出过武进士，总兵等大批武术人才，周口地区的查拳是大新庄村丁吉林传去的。焦作市的武术精英，大部分仍出自大新庄村。二门也是座南面北，进二门是宽敞寺院。东部为十几问房的沐浴室和一排清真小学教室，西部有南北讲堂各十几间，部分墙砖印有“大明”字样。高大宽广的月台上座落卷棚、大殿、窑殿，共三进三跨，大殿面阔五间，进深六问，总面积约有近千平方米，原有许多匾联，皆已毁坏。巍峨高耸的窑殿保留阿拉伯式园形拱顶，整个棚、殿雕梁画栋、房顶上的绿、黄琉璃瓦阳光照射下熠熠生辉。成为国内少有的中阿合璧的建筑物。院中有假山、喷水池，栽种有奇花异草、各种树木，在八月，郁郁葱葱的桂花树桂蕾怒放，香飘十里，沁人心膊。宏伟的建筑和参天大树相互映衬，院中显得深邃幽静。整个寺院占地十几亩，是博爱县文物保护单位。

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Henan Province