Garden Tombyard of Puhaddin - Yangzhou, China, March 11th, 2012

The last place of historical and religious significance we would visit was the Tombyard of Puhaddin. Beyond the peacefulness of the place, the thing that stood out was how well the place had been kept and the history of the relationship between China and Islam that was present.

The Tombyard is still used today for some worship services and because of it some areas are locked off from tourists...such as the prayer hall which I was able to catch a glimpse of through the small windows that covered the door of the hall.

The entrance to the Tombyard is a large gate which leads into a garden that's not feeling it's best. A lot of the grass and plants are dead and the water looks a bit malnourished, but there are still areas where it feels like a peaceful garden should...such as the hill top that leads the second gate where there are areas to sit and rest.

The second gate is like an entrance to any Temple where its a circular entrance, though the colors are not temple colors. The Tombyard itself is made up of greens and whites as the main color. One of the areas that stands out the most in the Tombyard is the Pagoda that was made where prayer is called. It is made in the style of Chinese architecture (the curved roof) though at the top is a moon, a symbol of Islam and where we were located. Right next to the Pagoda was a walkway honoring a general whom an Emperor had honored. We went up to the top of the Pagoda and were able to see the building housing some of the greater Tombs (Like Puhaddin's Tomb). The Tombyard is a mixture of Chinese and Arabic architecture which really gives it a feeling of history (beyond the ancient tombstones themselves). It is quite a lovely and peaceful and has so much information.

Beyond the second gate is where the gravestones are as well. The gravestones date all the way back to the Song Dynasty, and in the room across from the tombs are coal copies of Yuan Dynasty era tombstones with translations of what had been inscribed in Arabic. Each room has its purpose listed, as well as when it was built and its importance to the Muslim community in Yangzhou.

The area had so much history present. Both of the warriors honored in the Tomb and those the Chinese Lords had chosen to honor like Puhaddin who was a teacher in Yangzhou. Most of the people honored were warriors and merchants from the Song all the way to the Qing Dynasty.

While we were there a small tour group was being lead through all the areas of the Tombyard. Historically China has never been at odds with Islam even though Chinese and Muslim Empires had fought in the past, there isn't the same legacy of the crusades and conquest of Spain and the Ottoman conquest and because of it, there isn't the same bad blood between China and Islam as there is between Europe and Islam.

The area spoke of harmony between the two cultures and could be seen in a small way in the small tour group where the Muslim guide guided a more traditional looking Chinese family through the Tombyard telling of the rich history of this powerful place.

Taipin Heavenly Kingdom Museum - Nanjing, China - February 26th, 2012

This entry will be one of my more stranger entries in the Faith Blog. For one it's not a proper house of worship. The Museum was once the home of a Ming General before the Taiping rebellion conquered Nanjing and made it their capital. It then become the home of the leader of the rebellion.

The quarters themselves are wonderful in their layout. At the entrance as you pass by the trees you meet a bust of Hong Xiuquan that greets you as you enter. Behind him is a painting that looks like a propaganda poster with him riding in his white and yellow robes being greeted by cheers from the peasants. The man himself was born Hakka and failed the Imperial Exam three times.

Inbetween he experienced a vision which he would later interpret as his meeting of God and Jesus. He would believe that he was then told that he was Jesus's younger brother. This would inspire his movement which in turn was inspired by Protestant tracts he'd read growing up.

The Taiping rebellion believed that as an end goal the land should be redistributed the peasants and that those who have nothing should be then receive something more as part of his Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He never did this and had it as a work progress "To be initiated at a certain time." So he could tax to fund his rebellion and Kingdom. He was pretty fanatical in his religious devotion, at one point creating an edict that the men and women would be separated until he agreed they should be together again.

What is also fascinating is how much he still kept the old ways though. There were royal robes and dragons that decorated the hall, and though there was peasant art of the animals of the countryside, what represented royalty were still grand dragons.

In a way this showed the corruption of power, and also the power of inspiration and visions. He started a whole new way of being and because of his inspiration coming from the state of the peasantry is a bit of a hero to the Party in China. He was the first to propose land distribution and a highly organized resistance to Imperial and Colonial power.


He was also probably a bit nuts...which makes me think of all the others who have taken them for themselves. Whether it was John the Baptist, Elijah, Moses, Muhammad, Jesus and others...They weren't exactly what you called stable. Unlike the other people of this time period and religious heroes of China...these people rocked the boat. Not like Confucius, Laozi and Buddha who at the core saw change as being gradual and inevitable and therefore to upset harmony would be to go against virtue, since it would be failing to recognize how all people are connected and part of a greater whole.

I think I relate much more to them, even as I find inspiration in the prophets and monotheistic holy men who did a lot of good and a lot of bad in their decisiveness and shaking of the status quo.