The Year of Rice and Salt

'To simplify slightly, ever since Ma Laichi came back from Yemen, bearing texts of religious renewal and rectification, there has been conflict within the Muslims of this part of the world. Understand that Muslims have lived here for centuries, almost since the beginning of Islam, and at this distance from Mecca and the other centres of Islamic learning, various beterodoxies and error were introduced. Ma Laichi wanted to reform these, but the old umma here brought suit against him in the Qing civil court, accusing him of huozhong.'

Kang looked severe, no doubt remembering the effects of such delusion back in the inte rior.

Deluding the people, a serious offence anywhere in China.

'Eventually the governor general out here, Paohang Guangsi, dismissed the suit. But that did not end matters. Ma Laichi proceeded to convert the Salars to Islam they are a people out here who speak a Turkic language, and live on the roads. They are the ones you see in the white caps, who do not look Chinese.'

'Who look like you.'

Ibrahim frowned. 'A little, perhaps. Anyway, this made people nervous, as the Salars are considered dangerous people.'

'I can see why – they look like it.'

'These people who look like me. But no matter. Anyway, there are many other forces in Islam, sometimes in conflict. A new sect called the Naqshabandis are trying to purify Islam by a return to more orthodox older ways, and in China they are led by Aziz Ma Mingxin, who, like Ma Laichi, spent many years in Yemen and Mecca, studying with Ibrahim ibn Hasa al Kurani, a very great shaikh whose teachings are spread now all over the Islamic world.

'Now, these two great shaikhs came back here from Arabia with reforms in mind, after studying with the same people, but alas, they are different reforms. Ma Laichi believed in the silent recital of prayer, called dhikri, while Ma Mingxin, being younger, studied with teachers who believed prayers could be chanted aloud as well.'

'This seems a minor difference to me.'

'Yes.' When Ibrahim looked Chinese it meant he was amused by his wife.

'In Buddhism we allow both.'

'True. But they mark deeper divisions, as often happens. Anyway, Ma Mingxin practises jahr prayer, meaning spoken aloud. This Ma Laichi and his followers dislike, as it represents a new and even purer reli gious revival coming to this area. But they can't stop them coming. Ma Mingxin has the support of the Black Mountain sufis who control both sides of the Pamirs, so more of them are coming in here all the time, escaping the battles between Iran and the Ottomans, and between the Ottomans and the Fulanis.'

'It sounds like such a trouble.'

'Yes, well, Islam is not so well organized as Buddhism,' which made Kang laugh. Ibrahim continued: 'But it is a trouble, you are right. The split between Ma Laichi and Ma Mingxin could be fatal to any hope of unity in our time. Ma Laichi's Khafiya cooperate with the Qing, you see, and they call the jahriya practices superstitious, and even immoral.'

'Immoral?'

'Dancing and suchlike. Rhythmic motion during prayers – even the praying aloud.'

'It sounds fairly ordinary to me. Celebrations are celebrations, after all.'

'Yes. So the jahriya counter by accusing the Khafiya of being a cult of personality around Ma Laichi. And they accuse him of excessive tithing, implying his whole movement is simply a ploy for power and wealth. And in collaboration with the Emperor against other Muslims as well.'

'Trouble.'

'Yes. And everyone out here has weapons, you see, usually guns, because as you noted on our journey out, hunting is still an important source of food here. So each little mosque has its militia ready to join a scrape, and the Qing have bolstered their garrisons to try to deal with all this. The Qing so far have backed the Khafiya, which they translate as Old Teaching, and the jahriya they call the New Teaching, which makes them bad by definition, of course. But what is bad for the Qing dynasty is precisely what appeals to the young Muslim men. There is a lot that is new out there. West of the Black Mountains things are changing fast.'

'As always.'

'Yes, but faster.'

Kang said slowly, 'China is a country of slow change.'

'Or, depending on the temperament of the Emperor, no change at all. In any case, neither Khafiya or jahriya can challenge the strength of the Emperor.'

'Of course.'

'As a result, they fight each other a lot. And because the Qing armies now control the land all the way to the Pamirs, land that once was composed of independent Muslim emirates, the jahriya are convinced that Islam must be returned to its roots, in order to retake what was once a part of Dar al Islam.'

'Unlikely, if the Emperor wants it.'

'Yes. But most of those who say these things have never even visited the interior, much less lived there like you and me. So they cannot know the power of China. They only see these little garrisons, the soldiers spread out by the tens and scores over this immense land.'

Kang said, 'That would make a difference. Well. You seem to have brought me out to a land filled with qi.'

'I hope it will not be too bad. What is needed, if you ask me, is a comprehensive history and analysis that will show the basic underlying identity of the teachings of Islam and Confucius.'

qi: in this case 'malign energy'. Sometimes translated as 'vital essence' or 'psych ophysical stuff', or 'bad vibrations'.

Kang's eyebrows shot up. 'You think so?'

'I am sure of it. It is my task. It has been for twenty years now.'

Kang composed her face. 'You will have to show me this labour.'

'I would like that very much. And perhaps you can help me with the Chinese version of it. I intend to publish it in Chinese, Persian, Turkic, Arabic, Hindi, and other languages, if I can find translators.'

Kang nodded. 'I will help it happily, if my ignorance does not prevent it.'

The household became settled, with everyone's routine established much as it had been before. The same celebrations and festivals were held by the small crowd of Han Chinese exiled to this remote region, who worked on festival days to build temples on the bluffs overlooking the river. To these festivals were added the Muslim holy days, major events for most of the town's occupants.

Every month more Muslims came in from the west. Muslims; Confucians; a few Buddhists, these usually Tibetan or Mongolian; almost no Daoists. Mainly Lanzhou was a town of Muslims and Han Chinese, co existing uneasily, though they had been doing it for centuries, only mixing in the occasional cross marriage.

This twofold nature of the region was an immediate problem for Kang's arrangements concerning Shih. If he was going to continue his studies for the government examinations, it was time to start him with a tutor. He did not want to do this. One alternative was to study in one of the local madressas, thus in effect converting to Islam. This of course was unthinkable – to Widow Kang. Shih and Ibrahim seemed to consider it within the realm of possibility. Shih tried to extend the time given him to make up his mind. I'm only seven, he said. Turn east or west, Ibrahim said. Both said to the boy, You can't just do nothing.

Kang insisted he continue his studies for the imperial service examinations. 'This is what his father would have wanted.' Ibrahim agreed with the plan, as he considered it likely they would return to the interior some day, where passing the exams was crucial to one's hopes of advancement.

Shih, however, did not want to study anything. He claimed an interest in Islam, which Ibrahim could not help but approve, if warily. But Shih's childish interest was in the Jahriya mosques, filled with chanting, song, dancing, sometimes drinking and self flagellation. These direct expressions of faith trumped any possible intellectualism, and not only that, they often led to exciting fights with Khafiya youth.

'The truth is he likes whatever course allows him the least work,' Kang said darkly. 'He must study for the examination, no matter if he turns Muslim or not.'