The historical inheritance of the Hui nationality costumes and customs

The costumes of the Hui nationality are not only inherited from history, but also influenced by Islamic culture and the costume culture of the Han nationality in China.

Du Huan of my country's Tang Dynasty was defeated and captured in a battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Da Shi Dynasty. He recorded what he saw and heard in his place. Among them, he talked about the costumes of the Da Shi Dynasty: "The name of the Da Shi Dynasty is Ajura, and the king of the Da Shi Dynasty is called Mumen, all here. His scholars and daughters grew up with handsome clothes and clean clothes, and their appearance was elegant. When a woman goes out, she must cover her face... Wear a silver belt and wear a silver knife." Many of these Arabs later went to China to do business, and naturally brought this custom of clothing to China.

The New Tang Book records for the first time the images, costumes and religious activities of the Islamic followers. It is said: "The food is originally a place in Persia. Men have high noses, black faces and beards, and women are fair. They hinder their faces when going out. They worship the gods five days a day, wear silver belts, and wear silver knives..." It can be seen from these records that the costumes of Muslims coming to China from Arabia, Persia and other places, especially Muslim women, are still very distinctive.

Zhu Yu of the Song Dynasty wrote in "Pingzhou Ketan":"In Fanfang, Guangzhou, the clothes of the barbarians are different from those of China..." During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were a large number of Muslim merchants from Arabia and Persia, who were generally called "barbarians". These were the ancestors of the Hui people. This shows that the costumes of the Hui ancestors at that time were different from those of the Han people and had their own characteristics. Gu Yanwu's "Book of Profits and Diseases of the World Counties" records more clearly: "During the Song Dynasty, the foreign merchants were extremely rich, and their costumes were all pearls and Qi, and their utensils were all gold and silver utensils." It can be seen that they were wearing patterned silk fabrics, wearing rings, and using gold and silver instruments.

The custom of Hui men wrapping "Disdar" on their heads and wearing white hats has also existed long ago. Zhou Hui's "Qingbo Biezhi" in the Song Dynasty said: "Tiantan is a country near the South China Sea. A noble person wraps his head with good cloth. People's words are like Arabic." In the Yuan Dynasty, the Hui people had a relatively high political, economic and cultural status. The Hui people's clothing customs, like other customs, were free without any restrictions. Some wore Han costumes, some wore Arabian, Persian and other styles, and some made self-made white hats, robes and shoes, and began to develop into national costumes. However, in the Ming Dynasty, the dress customs of the Hui people began to be restricted.

The Hui people did not wear whatever they wanted or how they wanted based on beliefs, customs and ancestral clothing styles, combined with the reality of living and development in China. Instead, they were subject to forced orders and restrictions from the ruling class. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, adopted a policy of prohibiting "Hu costumes" and forced the Hui people to wear Han costumes. In this way, the dress customs that the Hui people had begun to form could not be developed quickly or respected.

By the Qing Dynasty, the ruling class became more biased against the Hui people. In the early years of Yongzheng, Shandong Governor Chen Shigong and Anhui Justice Lu Guohua and other local officials wrote a memorial to the Qing court, accusing and interfering in the clothes and beliefs of the Hui people, and falsely accusing them of "wearing white hats and setting up worship ceremonies in the morning and evening..." Therefore, he suggested: "Please order the Hui people to abide by the new moon, obey the rules, and worship temples every time they worship, and impose bans and reforms... Those wearing white hats will decide on violations of the law."

In this way, the costumes of the Hui people were influenced by Islam and forcibly restricted by the ruling class. However, the Hui costumes did not completely surrender and all changed to Han costumes because of the ruling class's ban. Instead, some costumes with strong Islamic and national characteristics were adhered to and preserved. For example, Yuan Dahua's "Xinjiang Tuzhi" of the Qing Dynasty records: "The hat of an imam is sharp and high, and the eaves are made of white cloth, two to three inches thick. Take off the hat as a respect. You must understand when you enter. Women must face obstacles. They are all ancient." He also said,"Only when praying in the temple, wear a ridge crown. The top is sharp and the bottom is round, all five colors are prepared, and the white ones are more." To this day, the Hui people still wear white hats, some with "Disdar" on their heads, and women with hijab, etc. These are all important features of the development and change of Hui costumes and customs.