Huaisheng Mosque

Huaisheng Mosque
怀圣寺
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Branch/traditionSunni
Location
LocationGuangzhou, Guangdong, China
Huaisheng Mosque is located in Guangdong
Huaisheng Mosque
Guangdong
Geographic coordinates23°7′31.38″N 113°15′12.91″E / 23.1253833°N 113.2535861°E / 23.1253833; 113.2535861
Architecture
Typemosque
Huaisheng Mosque
Simplified Chinese广州怀圣寺
Traditional Chinese廣州懷聖寺
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuǎngzhōu Huái Shèng Sì
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinggwong2 zau1 waai4 sing3 zi6*2

The Huaisheng Mosque[1][2][3] (Chinese: 广州怀圣寺;[2][4] also known as the Lighthouse Mosque[4][5] and the Great Mosque of Canton[n 1]) is the main mosque of Guangzhou. Rebuilt many times over its history, it is traditionally thought to have been originally built over 1,300 years ago,[6] which would make it one of the oldest mosques in the world.[7]

In China, the most unusual feature of the mosque is its pointed 36 metre minaret,[7] the Guangta or Kwangtah.[4] Although this meant the "Plain Pagoda" in reference to its unadorned surface,[8] it is also sometimes taken to mean "lighthouse" and gave the mosque its alternate name.[7] Somewhat similar "minimalist" minarets can be seen outside China, e.g. at the Khan's Mosque in Kasimov, Russia.

  1. ^ Kees Versteegh; Mushira Eid (2005). Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics: A-Ed. Brill. pp. 379–. ISBN 978-90-04-14473-6.
  2. ^ a b Hagras, Hamada (2017). "An Ancient Mosque in Ningbo, China "Historical and Architectural Study"". Journal of Islamic Architecture. 4 (3): 102–113. doi:10.18860/jia.v4i3.3851.
  3. ^ Hagras, Hamada (2019). "Xi'an Daxuexi Alley Mosque: Historical and Architectural Study". Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies. 9 (1): 97–113. doi:10.21608/ejars.2019.38462.
  4. ^ a b c Hagras, Hamada (2020). "The Functions and Symbolism of Chinese Minarets: A Case Study of the Huaisheng Guangta". Journal of Islamic Architecture. 6 (2): 68–76. doi:10.18860/jia.v6i2.10209.
  5. ^ Yanxin, Cai (2011). Chinese Architecture. Cambridge University Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-521-18644-5.
  6. ^ Great Mosque of Guangzhou Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine at archnet.org
  7. ^ a b c Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (September 2008), "China's Earliest Mosques", Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 67 (3): 335, doi:10.1525/jsah.2008.67.3.330
  8. ^ "Canton" , 'Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. V, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, p. 37.


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