Islamic Tombs

2021-07-19 16:04:38

Islamic Tombs

Islamic Tombs

Islamic Tombs

The Islamic Tombs are an important relic of Quanzhou’s Islamic history. Together with Qingjing Mosque, it bears testimony to the activities of Muslim merchants and their ethnic groups in Quanzhou during the Song-Yuan period, and embodies the interchange and fusion of diverse cultures in the city during that era. The Islamic Tombs are located in the southern foothills of Lingshan Mountain, two kilometers from the east gate of Quanzhou City. They are believed to be the final resting places of two Muslims who came to Quanzhou in the 7th century. Facing southward, the tombs are built into the mountainside. The main layout is a half-moon shaped corridor encircling the two stone tombs. The stone tombs are at the center of the site, typical of Quanzhou Muslim tomb design. On the ground lying next to one another from east to west, two rectangular tomb-cover stones are carved from granite. A stone pavilion stands over the tomb-cover stones. The west, north and east sides of the site lean on a stone retainer wall in the shape of a half-moon that curves into the mountain side. Against the retainer wall is a curved stone corridor encircling the tomb. The stone corridor is styled to imitate a wooden beam-and-pillar structure, and has nine bays on the facade; its architectural elements include the foundation, pillars, corbel brackets, beams and square columns, all carved out of stone. Below the curved corridor and in the middle of the retainer wall, there are seven inscribed steles from different dynastic eras. One of those, erected in 1322, is a stele recording the concerted efforts of Quanzhou’s Muslim community to renovate the tombs. Another stone stele, erected in 1417, records that renowned navigator of Ming Dynasty Zheng He stopped here for an incense offering ritual during his voyage to the west. The Islamic Tombs were included into the third group of major cultural heritage sites protected at the national level by the State Council in January, 1988.