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World Religions
Introduction
Many religions that did not necessarily begin in China have over the years become an integral part of Chinese Society. Many of these religions began with people travelling to China. War, international Crisis, and missionaries are largely responsible for fueling the integration of new religions into China.
Islam
Islam was brought to China peacefully. Arab traders who landed on the southern coast of China established their mosques in great maritime cities like Guangzhou and Quanzhou. Muslim merchants travelling the Silk Road through central Asia to China often converted members of the Han Tribe in northern China. Today, there are several large populations of Muslims inside China; one of these areas include the Xinjiang region. A steady amount of Muslims have occupied this region since the Tang Dynasty.
Christianity
The earliest record of Christianity in China dates back to the Nestorians, a small Syrian Christian sect. They first appeared in china during the 7th century when a Syrian named Raban presented Christian scriptures to the Imperial Court at Chang'an. This event and the construction of a Nestorian monastery in Chang'an are recorded on a large stone stele made in 781 AD. The stone is displayed inside the Shangxi-Provincial Museum, which is located in the city of Xi'an. The next major Christian group to arrive in China was the Jesuits. The priests Matteo Ricci and Michael Ruggieri were permitted to set up base in Zaoqing, a city in the Guangdong Province, in the 1580s. They eventually made it to the imperial court in Beijing. Large numbers of Catholic and Protestant missionaries established themselves in China following the invasion of China by the western powers in the 19th century. Today, Christians are estimated to comprise about 1% of China's population.
Judaism
Kaifeng in the Henan Province has been the home of the largest community of Chinese Jews. Their religious beliefs and almost all the customs associated with them have died out, yet the descendants of the original Jews still consider themselves Jewish. Just how the Judaism spread to China is unknown. It entered China as a result of traders and merchants along the Silk Road when Kaifeng was the capital of China, or they may have emigrated from India.
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