Halfon-Michel, Constance-Hélène. “From Oral to Written Culture: An Example from the Hui of China.” In Devout Societies vs. Impious States? Transmitting Islamic Learning in Russia, Central Asia and China, through the Twentieth Century, edited by S.A. Dudoignon, 105–23. Islamkundliche Untersuchungen 258. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz, 2004.
The hua’er [花兒], a typical mountain song practiced by all the minzus (民族, national groups)—whether Muslim (Hui, Salar, Dongxiang, Bao’an) or not (Han, Tibetan)—in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia are becoming a centre of interest for many. Is the Hui minzu [the Chinese Muslims] the father of the hua’er, as some of them pretend? This paper describes the shifts of the hua’er from oral songs to literary identity of a minzu, through these different kinds of written literature by young Hui authors.
CER: I-6.3.D-607