The Western Sect of Islam

　　In 1903, Ma Qixi founded it in Lintan, Gansu, after breaking away from the Beizhuang Menhuan. Initially named Jinxing Hall, it was officially named the Western Sect in 1909. Because it uses the Chinese writings and translations of Liu Zhi and others as the basis for preaching, it is also known as the Han School. Doctrinally, it is based on the teachings of Liu Zhi, adheres to orthodox beliefs, performs the Five Pillars, simplifies religious rituals, and emphasizes cultural education. Its religious authority structure follows a centralized system under the leader (教主). The words and actions of the leader are binding on followers, the position is lifelong but not hereditary. After death, a shrine (拱北) is built for worship, and the death anniversary is observed as a major religious festival. Internally, there are 400 collective households living communally within the hall, collectively managing businesses in commerce, agriculture, animal husbandry, and side occupations, with all property owned by the hall. A general manager oversees operations, with various department managers and specialized personnel under them, ensuring unified management and distribution. Additionally, there are over ten thousand scattered households spread across Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan, and other regions. Later, due to suppression by local warlord forces, its economic organization nearly collapsed, and the sect also declined.

　　The Western Sect successfully implemented a "large family organization" and communal living for as long as half a century. Starting in 1901, when the founder of the Western Sect, Ma Qixi, encouraged his followers to engage in joint business ventures and farming, developing the uncultivated grasslands upstream of the Tao River, some followers were the first to contribute all or half of their property to the hall and began communal living, working together. This centered around the county town of Lintan and included 13 surrounding villages, forming a comprehensive "Western Sect large family" engaging in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, commerce, and side occupations. This continued until the final dissolution of the large family in 1958, making the "large family organization" of the Western Sect exist for a full 57 years. Later commentators wrote with emotion: “(The Western Sect) practiced the Confucian-Mencian ideal of Great Unity and the early Islamic ideal of the Muslim commune… and actually succeeded in creating and maintaining a utopia in the desolate mountains of China. This is of great significance to philosophy and human progress. As long as there are people in the future who pursue the idea of communes, the history of the Western Sect will continue to offer them inspiration.” (Zhang Chengzhi, “Scientific Loess and Scientific Gold,” Reading, Issue 4, 1988) Therefore, research on the Western Sect, whether from the perspective of studying Chinese Islamic culture or the evolution of human social life, is of significant importance.