Crane Mosque


The Crane Mosque, also known by its Chinese name as the Xianhe Mosque and by [|other names], is a mosque located in Yangzhou, in the Jiangsu province of China.
The mosque was listed as a Chinese major cultural heritage site in 2019.

Etymology

The English name, Crane Mosque, is a partial calque of its Chinese name, pronounced Xiānhè Sì in Mandarin. The name is sometimes explained by the supposed resemblance of the mosque's shape to a crane, although the Chinese name references a Taoist immortal. As the most historically important mosque in the city, it is also known as the Yangzhou Mosque and as the Qingbai Liufang Mosque.

History

The Crane Mosque was reportedly built in 1275 CE by Puhaddin, an Arab Muslim and 16th-generation descendant of Muhammad, in the year after his death and the year before the Mongol general Bayan received the surrender of Yangzhou following the execution of Li Tingzhi by the Southern Song.
The mosque was severely damaged during the Red Turban Rebellion that ended the Mongolian Yuan dynasty. An Arab Muslim named Hasan rebuilt the mosque in 1390 under the early Ming. It was further renovated and refurbished in 1523 under the Jiajing Emperor.
The Crane Mosque is accounted as one of the Four Great Mosques of Chinaalongside the Huaisheng, Qingjing, and Phoenix Mosques in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Hangzhouand was inscribed as a cultural relic protected by the Jiangsu government in April 1995. It now includes a small collection of documents concerning China's relations with Muslim countries.