Shadian incident

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Shadian Incident
Part of Cultural Revolution in China
Bodies during the Shadian incident.png
Photo of bodies of ethnic minority Hui Muslims, taken in the aftermath of the massacre.
LocationGejiu City, Yunnan, China
Date1974-1975; 46 years ago
Attack type
Ethnic conflict, Civil unrest, Religious war, Massacre
Deaths1600 Civilians
300 Children
VictimsHui Ethnic minority
PerpetratorsPeople's Liberation Army,
Communist Party of China, Militia etc.
MotiveReligious and political purge, Conflict of religious freedom with interpretation of Socialism and atheistic principles of Marxism-Leninism

The Shadian incident (Chinese: 沙甸事件; pinyin: Shādiàn shìjiàn) was a major uprising of religious Hui people during the Chinese Cultural Revolution which ended in a military-led massacre.[1][2][3][4][5] The massacre took place in seven villages of Yunnan Province, especially at the Shadian Town of Gejiu City, in July and August 1975, causing the deaths of more than 1,600 civilians (866 from Shadian alone), including 300 children, and destroying 4,400 homes.[1][3][4][6][7][8][9]

The conflict between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and local religious Hui people began in 1974, when the latter went to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, to demand the freedom of religion granted by the Chinese constitution.[1][2] However, the local government deemed the behavior of the hundreds of protesters as "causing a disturbance" and "opposing the leadership of the Party".[1][2] In 1975, the villagers attempted to forcefully re-open the mosques closed during the Cultural Revolution, escalating the conflict and catching the attention of Beijing.[1][2][4] Eventually, on 29 July, 10,000 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army were ordered by Deng Xiaoping (however some sources claim Wang Hongwen[10][11]) to settle the conflict, resulting in a massacre which lasted for about a week.[1][2]

Historical background[]

The Grand Mosque of Shadian in Yunnan, China

Shadian Town at the time had one of the largest Hui people populations totalling about 7,200 people.[12] During the Cultural Revolution, as part of the campaign to destroy the "Four Olds", the People's Liberation Army closed down mosques and burned religious books.[13][14] Many Muslims set up their own factions to preserve their rights as guaranteed under the PRC constitution.[13][15] The statements of the Gang of Four, especially Jiang Qing, encouraged violence against all religious believers.

Yunnan Province (in red)

The incident[]

Conflicts[]

Shadian was not being allowed to reopen its mosque as a result of the aforementioned earlier incident in January. In 1974 a notice was issued ordering closure of mosques in the town. More than 1,000 people boarded a train to Beijing to complain.[12]

Massacre[]

This ultimately let the central government conclude that the movement had become militarily rebellious. A string of incidents ensued, culminating in a military attack by a 10,000 strong force of PLA soldiers (upon the approval of Mao Zedong[2]) against the Hui people living in seven villages in July 1975. One week later, more than 1,000 Huis lay dead with 4,400 houses destroyed. The PLA used guns, cannons and also aerial bombardment in the campaign.[12][15]

Rehabilitation[]

See also: Boluan Fanzheng

After the Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party branch in Yunnan reviewed and investigated the Shadian Incident during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period, subsequently rehabilitating the victims and offering official apologies in February 1979.[12][13] The Communist Party under Deng Xiaoping blamed the worst and most violent parts of the Cultural Revolution which were directed at minorities upon the Gang of Four, especially Jiang Qing. After the Gang of Four were toppled by Hua Guofeng, the Communist Party ended the Cultural Revolution and issued apologies and reparations to survivors. The Gang of Four variously received death sentences or long prison terms, commuted to life imprisonment.

The local people received certain amount of reparations from the government for the damages suffered, and after Deng Xiaoping's Gaige kaifang policy, the Malaysian and Middle East markets have been granted more access and special treatment by the government specifically for Shadian merchants, which has increased prosperity, and also increased religious and educational exchange, as more and more Hui students left for Islamic education abroad, and brought back Arabic speaking skills, religious ideas and practices from these countries. As part of the reparations scheme, the government has also erected a Martyr's Memorial in Shadian to honor the 800 officially recognised victims, whose graves surround the pathway that leads up to the memorial. The government also partially financed the building of the Great Mosque in Shadian which was completed in 2009. It is designed in an Arab style, and now serves as the town centre and a source of pride for the local Muslim community.[16]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Gladney, Dru C. (1996). Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalism in the People's Republic. Harvard Univ Asia Center. ISBN 978-0-674-59497-5.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f MacFarquhar, Roderick; Schoenhals, Michael (2006). Mao's Last Revolution. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02332-1.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Zhou, Yongming (1999). Anti-drug Crusades in Twentieth-century China: Nationalism, History, and State Building. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8476-9598-0.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "China's Puzzling Islam Policy". Stanford Politics. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  5. ^ Su, Alice (6 June 2016). "Harmony and Martyrdom Among China's Hui Muslims". The New Yorker. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  6. ^ Foundation, World Peace. "China: the Cultural Revolution | Mass Atrocity Endings". Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Shadian's Muslim communities and trans-local connectivities: observations from the field | IIAS". www.iias.asia. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  8. ^ Song, Yongyi (25 August 2011). "Chronology of Mass Killings during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)". Sciences Po. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  9. ^ Khalid, Zainab (1 April 2011). Rise of the Veil: Islamic Modernity and the Hui Woman. SIT Graduate Institute - Study Abroad.
  10. ^ Qi, Zhi (26 November 2019). 中华学人论文集——文化大革命50年（1-4）: 学校和地方（三） (in Chinese). Remembering Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-951135-09-6.
  11. ^ 文革反思回忆史料之八: 云南'文化大革命'运动大事纪实 (in Chinese). Zhong wen chu ban wu fu wu zhong xin. 2007.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Mystery Archive: More than 1,000 Hui People (i.e. Muslims) killed in Cultural Revolution; popular armed conflicts turn into military suppression (神祕檔案﹕雲南沙甸事件 逾千回民死亡文革武鬥變成軍事鎮壓) Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 7 February 2010.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c Zhou, Kang. "骇人听闻的云南沙甸惨案". Yanhuang Chunqiu. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019.
  14. ^ Wei, Dedong (27 March 2012). "中国宗教30年 从"文革禁止"到"信仰自由"". Phoenix New Media. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Israeli Raphael, (2002) Islam in China: religion, ethnicity, culture, and politics. Lexington Books. ISBN 0-7391-0375-X, 9780739103753.
  16. ^ Khalid, Zainab (4 January 2011). "Rise of the Veil: Islamic Modernity and the Hui Woman". SIT Graduate Institute - Study Abroad: 8, 11. Retrieved 25 July 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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