1st October: National Day of China
A brief about China’s Islamic written heritage
Among the 106 countries included in the “World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts” (the flagship project undertaken by Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation between the years 1989 – 1994) was China.
China’s Islamic written heritage was surveyed in 1993, by Mozafar Bakhtyar.
This survey brought to light a wealth of information about the Country’s collections of Islamic manuscripts, by indicating: the cities and libraries that hold these manuscripts, the approximate number of manuscripts within each collection, the subjects and languages in which they are written, the conditions in which they are and whether they have been catalogued and studied, the particular significant manuscripts which they contain, etc.
According to this Survey, China has just over 1,850 manuscripts, held in 26 libraries (private and institutional). These libraries have mostly been established between 1300 – 1990, and their collections vary between 10 and 600 manuscripts.
| Source note: This information was published in the following book: “World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts” (English version), 1997-2002, Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London, UK, Vol. 4, pp. 61-116. Please note that some of the images used in this online version might not be part of the published version of this article within the respective book. Disclaimer: The data figures, the names, and other details are overall reflecting those of the time when the Survey was conducted. Important note: The Foundation is striving to update these details in progress; and, Your help in this regard would be much appreciated. Please use the feedback form (below) to send us your comments and feedback. |