Essays on Writing and Language in Honor - Sino-Platonic Papers

Sino-Platonic Papers, 27 (August 3 1, 199 1)
refer to a people called the 'Hui Huil, it is generally
recognized that Shen Guo's reference is not to the same group
that we call Hui today, but instead is in reference to the
'~ui-hel ( @ 3% ) or 'Hui-hul ( @I$$ ) people. In Western sources
these groups are sometimes referred to as the Itold Uighur1I (see,
for example, Eberhard 1982:58). The old Uighur were a Turkic
people who came to power in Central Asia in the mid-8th century.
They are believed to be the precursors of the present-day Uighur
( Ex vd) nationality of China, not of the present-day Hui
nationality. Unfortunately, this confusion of historic
terminology has led to confusions in modern designations as well.
Wixman (1984:59) for example, states that in China the term "Hui
HuiI1 refers not only to the Hui nationality, but to the Uighur
nationality as well. This misperception may be based on the
confusion of historic terms described above.
(8) This is the explanation of the usage of the term 'Hui Huil in
Yuan Dynasty documents as given by Bai, et a1 (1964:5-7) and Ma
(1986:182-183). According to other sources, such as Zhongguo
Shaoshu Minzu, the general Chinese name for these 13th century
immigrant groups was \Se Mu Ren I ( $ a L ) , which might be
translated 'Appearance-to-the-Eye People1, referring to the fact
that the physical appearance of these people was different than
that of the Chinese. In he Yuan Dynasty work,
between Tillinss ( $$&kt($$. ), the author Tao
lists a total of 31 groups included within the name 'Se Mu Renl;
'Hui Huil is one of them (Cihai 1967:2417).
(9) An interesting elaboration of this folk etymology appears in
a 1932 account of a British missionary, Reverend Andrew. Andrew
writes: "'Hwei-Hweil means 'to go back upon onels track1, or the
returners-..In early times, (the) great trail from the Caspian
Sea through Central Asia to China was a known route, and in the
early centuries of Christianity is was a well-travelled road. As
early as the fifth and sixth centuries we know of Arabs who
penetrated China by this route as well as by sea. We have one
record of the visit of an Arab embassy to China during the
lifetime of the Prophet (Mohammed, 570-632). The embassy, which
landed at Canton, visited the court of the Emperor at Chlang An
in Shensi, and from there the ambassadors attempted the overland
journey through Central Asia and Persia to Arabia. In accordance
with the common usages of the Chinese, the Emperor sent an escort
to accompany them for several days on their journey, and these
Arabs, who knew none of the finer terms of courtesy, when they
begged the escort to return, used the words 'Hwei-Hweif, to
return, instead of the more polite terms; and from that day to
this they and their descendants have been known as the Hwei-Hwei,
the returners" (Andrew 1932 : 89-90) .