Semu

Ma Hajji, a Yuan Dynasty official in Yunnan (a descendant of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar), and his young son Ma He, future admiral Zheng He, as imagined by a modern Kunyang sculptor.

Semu (Chinese: 色目; pinyin: sèmù) is the name of a caste established by the Yuan dynasty. The 31 Semu categories referred to people who came from Central and West Asia. They had come to serve the Yuan dynasty by enfranchising under the dominant Mongol caste. The Semu were not a self-defined and homogeneous ethnic group per se, but one of the four castes of the Yuan dynasty: the Mongols, Semu (or Semuren), the "Han" (Hanren in Chinese, or all subjects of the former Jin dynasty, Dali Kingdom and Koreans) and the Southerners (Nanren in Chinese, or all subjects of the former Southern Song dynasty; sometimes called Manzi).

Name

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Contrary to popular belief among both non-Chinese and Chinese, the term "Semu" (interpreted literally as "color-eye") did not imply that caste members had "colored eyes" and it was not a physical description of the people it labelled. It in fact meant "assorted categories" (各色名目, gè sè míng mù), emphasizing the ethnic diversity of Semu people.[1]

Classification

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The 31 Semu categories referred to people who came from Central and West Asia. They had come to serve the Yuan dynasty by enfranchising under the dominant Mongol caste. The Semu were not a self-defined and homogeneous ethnic group per se, but one of the four castes of the Yuan dynasty: the Mongols, Semu (or Semuren), the "Han" (Hanren in Chinese, or all subjects of the former Jin dynasty, Dali Kingdom and Koreans[2][3]) and the Southerners (Nanren in Chinese, or all subjects of the former Southern Song dynasty; sometimes called Manzi). Among the Semu were Buddhist Turpan Uyghurs of Qocho, Tanguts and Tibetans; Nestorian Christian tribes like the Ongud; Alans; Muslim Central Asian Persian and Turkic peoples including the Khwarazmians and Karakhanids; West Asian Jewish and other minor groups who are from even further Europe.

Islam was not the religion of the Uyghurs during the Mongol Empire.[4] The Uyghur land itself was not Muslim inhabited while the Muslim lands were towards its west.[4] They were members of the Church of the East, Manichaeism, and Buddhism, and by Mongol times the Buddhists and Christians absorbed the Manichaeans and Buddhist clerics dominated the Mongol-employed educated sector of their own population.[4] The '"Compendium of the Turkic Dialects" by Mahmud al-Kashgari, included among the infidels, the Uyghurs.[5] It was written, "just as the thorn should be cut at its root, so the Uighur should be struck on the eye" by Kashgari, who viewed them as untrustworthy and noted that Muslim Turks used the derogatory name "Tat" against the Buddhist Uighurs whom Kashgari described as "infidels".[5] The identities of "Buddhist" and "Uyghur" were intertwined with each other.[6]

The historian Frederick W. Mote wrote that the usage of the term "social classes" for this system was misleading and that the position of people within the four-class system was not an indication of their actual social power and wealth, but just entailed "degrees of privilege" to which they were entitled institutionally and legally. Thus a person's "class" was not a guarantee of their social standing, since there were rich Chinese of good social standing, while there were fewer rich Mongols and Semu than there were ill-treated Mongols and Semu living in poverty.[2]

The reason for the order of the classes and the reason why people were placed in a certain class was the date they surrendered to the Mongols, and had nothing to do with their ethnicity. The earlier they surrendered to the Mongols, the higher they were placed, the more the held out, the lower they were ranked. The Northern Chinese were ranked higher and Southern Chinese were ranked lower because southern China withstood and fought to the last before caving in.[7][8] Major commerce during this era gave rise to favorable conditions for private southern Chinese manufacturers and merchants.[9]

When the Mongols placed the Uighurs of Qocho over the Koreans at the court the Korean King objected, then the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan rebuked the Korean King, saying that the King of Qocho was ranked higher than the Karluk Karakhanid khan, who in turn was ranked higher than the Korean king, who was ranked last, because the Uighurs surrendered to the Mongols first, the Karluks surrendered after the Uighurs, and the Koreans surrendered last, and that the Uighurs surrendered peacefully without violently resisting.[3] Koreans were ranked as Han people along with northern Chinese.

Japanese historians like Uematsu, Sugiyama and Morita criticized the perception that a four class system existed under Mongol rule and Funada Yoshiyuki questioned the very existence of the Semu as a class.[10]

The Yuan dynasty "Han people" classification included Koreans, Bohais, Jurchens and Khitans, and they are included in statistics of intermarriage between Semu and "Han people".[11] Semu and Han intermarried with Mongols. The Haluhu (哈剌鲁) Semu married Koreans, Uighurs Tangwu, Mongols and Han during Yuan rule.[12] Tibetan, Qincha, Uighur, Hui Hui, and Han intermarried with Korean women during the Yuan dynasty.[13]

Korean women married Indian, Uyghur, and Turkic Semu men.[14] This intermarriage of Korean women and Semu men was extensive in China during the Yuan dynasty.[15]

A rich merchant from the Madurai Sultanate, Abu Ali (Paehali) 孛哈里 (or 布哈爾 Buhaer), was associated closely with the Madurai royal family. After falling out with them, he moved to Yuan dynasty China and received a Korean woman as his wife and a job from the Mongol Emperor, the woman was formerly 桑哥 Sangha's wife and her father was 蔡仁揆 채송년 Chae In'gyu during the reign of 忠烈 Chungnyeol of Goryeo, recorded in the Dongguk Tonggam, Goryeosa and 留夢炎 Liu Mengyan's 中俺集 Zhong'anji.[16] 桑哥 Sangha was a Tibetan. Tamil Hindu Indian merchants traded in Quanzhou during the Yuan dynasty. Indian Hindu statues were found in Quanzhou dating to this period.[17]

Gypsies were called 羅里回回 "Luoli Huihui".[18] The term Lûrî which was of Persian origin was where Luoli derived from.[19]

Zhuhu Huihui was a name for the Jews.[20][21]

Similar practices in other areas of the Mongol Empire

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Bukhara and Samarqand were visited by Qiu Chuji. At the same time the Mongols imported Central Asian Muslims to serve as administrators in China, the Mongols also sent ethnic Han and Khitans from China to serve as administrators over the Muslim population in Bukhara and Samarqand in Central Asia, using foreigners to curtail the power of the local peoples of both lands. The surname of Li was held by one of Yelu Ahai's staff of Han descent. There were various Han craftsmen. Tangut, Khitan and Han peoples took control over gardens and fields from the Muslims.[22] Han people were moved to Central Asian areas like Besh Baliq, Almaliq, and Samarqand by the Mongols where they worked as artisans and farmers.[23]

After the Mongol conquest by Genghis Khan, foreigners were chosen as administrators and co-managers alongside Han and Khitans in the gardens and fields of Samarqand. Muslims were not allowed to manage without them.[citation needed]

The Mongol-appointed Governor of Samarqand, Ahai, was a Qara-Khitay (Khitan) who held the title Taishi. He was familiar with Han culture.[citation needed]

Muslims viewed Chagatai Khan with negativity and hostility because Chagatai Khan strictly enforced Mongol Yasa law against Islamic Shariah law banning Halal animal slaughter and Islamic prayer ritual ablution as well as the Islamic legal system. The Uyghur steward Vajir was accused of poisoning Chagatai Khan to death in 1242 by his wife Yisulun.[24][25]

Ethnic Han officials and colonists were sent by the Yuan dynasty to areas of Lingbei Province (和宁路 益蘭州 謙州).

Discrimination

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Yuan dynasty

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Genghis Khan and the following Yuan emperors forbade Islamic practices like Halal butchering, forcing Mongol methods of butchering animals on Muslims, and other restrictive degrees continued. Muslims had to slaughter sheep in secret.[26] Genghis Khan directly called Muslims and Jews "slaves", and demanded that they follow the Mongol method of eating rather than the halal method. Circumcision was also forbidden. Jews were also affected, and forbidden by the Mongols to eat Kosher.[27] Toward the end, corruption and the persecution became so severe that Muslim Generals joined Han Chinese in rebelling against the Mongols. The Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang had Muslim Generals like Lan Yu who rebelled against the Mongols and defeated them in combat. Some Muslim communities had the name in Chinese which meant "barracks" and also mean "thanks"; many Hui Muslims claim it is because that they played an important role in overthrowing the Mongols and it was named in thanks by the Han Chinese for assisting them.[28]

The Muslims in the semu class also revolted against the Yuan dynasty in the Ispah Rebellion but the rebellion was crushed and the Muslims were massacred by the Yuan loyalist commander Chen Youding. After the massacre, the remaining Jews and Muslims escaped. Some were back to their own country, but some like Jews escaped to Guangdong.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lipman, Jonathan Neaman (1998). Familiar strangers: a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Hong Kong University Press. p. 33. ISBN 962-209-468-6.
  2. ^ a b Frederick W. Mote (2003). Imperial China 900-1800. Harvard University Press. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-674-01212-7.
  3. ^ a b Morris Rossabi (1983). China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries. University of California Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-520-04562-0.
  4. ^ a b c E.J.W. Gibb memorial series. 1928. p. 54.
  5. ^ a b Edmund Herzig (2014). The Age of the Seljuqs. I.B.Tauris. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-78076-947-9.
  6. ^ Devin DeWeese (2010). Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde: Baba TŸkles and Conversion to Islam in Historical and Epic Tradition. Penn State Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-271-04445-3.
  7. ^ ed. Zhao 2007, p. 265.
  8. ^ Bakhit 2000, p. 426.
  9. ^ Ford 1991, p. 29.
  10. ^ Yoshiyuki, Funada (2010). "The Image of the Semu People: Mongols, Chinese, and Various Other Peoples under the Mongol Empire". Paper presented at the international roundtable entitled “The nature of the Mongol Empire and its Legacy”, Centre for Studies in Asian Cultures and Social anthropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna.
  11. ^ 蕭啟慶 (2012). 九州四海風雅同：元代多族士人圈的形成與發展. 聯經出版事業公司. p. 68. ISBN 978-986-03-2794-6.
  12. ^ "元代内迁哈剌鲁人的文化变迁". 中国论文网. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ 蔡, 春娟 (2004-04-07). "2002年国内蒙元史研究综述". 欧亚学研究 《中国史研究动态》.
  14. ^ David M. Robinson (2009). Empire's Twilight: Northeast Asia Under the Mongols. Harvard University Press. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-674-03608-6.
  15. ^ 马, 娟 (2002). "元代色目高丽通婚举例". 宁夏社会科学. 南京大学历史系. 马, 娟 (2002). "元代色目高丽通婚举例". 宁夏社会科学 (5). 南京大学历史系，江苏南京210093: 94–97.
  16. ^ Angela Schottenhammer (2008). The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture, Commerce and Human Migration. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 138. ISBN 978-3-447-05809-4.
  17. ^ "What to do in Quanzhou: China's forgotten historic port | CNN Travel".
  18. ^ Ralph Kauz (2010). Aspects of the Maritime Silk Road: From the Persian Gulf to the East China Sea. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 88. ISBN 978-3-447-06103-2.Angela Schottenhammer (2008). The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture, Commerce and Human Migration. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 136. ISBN 978-3-447-05809-4.Morris Rossabi (2013). Eurasian Influences on Yuan China. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 71. ISBN 978-981-4459-72-3.
  19. ^ Markus Ritter; Ralph Kauz; Birgitt Hoffmann (2008). Iran und iranisch geprägte Kulturen: Studien zum 65. Geburtstag von Bert G. Fragner. Reichert. p. 310. ISBN 978-3-89500-607-4.
  20. ^ Peter Kupfer (2008). Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China. Peter Lang. p. 190. ISBN 978-3-631-57533-8.
  21. ^ Paul Pelliot (1959). Notes on Marco Polo. Adrien-Maisonneuve. p. 23.
  22. ^ Buell, Paul D. (1979). "Sino-Khitan administration in Mongol Bukhara". Journal of Asian History. 13 (2): 135–8. JSTOR 41930343.
  23. ^ Michal Biran (15 September 2005). The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History: Between China and the Islamic World. Cambridge University Press. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-0-521-84226-6.
  24. ^ May, Timothy (2016). "Individuals Chagatai Khan (d. 1242)". In May, Timothy (ed.). The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia. Empires of the World (illustrated, annotated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 139. ISBN 978-1610693400.
  25. ^ "CHAGHATAYID DYNASTY". Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation, Inc. V (4): 343–346. December 15, 1991.
  26. ^ Michael Dillon (1999). China's Muslim Hui community: migration, settlement and sects. Richmond: Curzon Press. p. 24. ISBN 0-7007-1026-4. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  27. ^ Johan Elverskog (2010). Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road (illustrated ed.). University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-8122-4237-9. Retrieved 2010-06-28. halal chinggis khan you are our slaves .
  28. ^ Dru C. Gladney (1991). Muslim Chinese: ethnic nationalism in the People's Republic (2, illustrated, reprint ed.). Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University. p. 234. ISBN 0-674-59495-9. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
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