His Hundred-word Eulogy, in praise of Islam and the Prophet Muhammed, remains one of the most unique examples of the importance and spread of Islam during the medieval ages.
His Hundred-word Eulogy, in praise of Islam and the Prophet Muhammed, remains one of the most unique examples of the importance and spread of Islam during the medieval ages.
The Hundred-word Eulogy, known in Chinese as 百字讃 or baizizan, is a 100-character poem in praise of Islam and the Prophet Muhammed. Written by the Hongwu Emperor in the mid-1300s, this ancient poem stands as an important but little-recognized reminder of how wide-spread the beauty of Islam historically was.
The Hongwu Emperor, who was the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China, ruled from 1368 to 1398. Born as Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor rose to power after leading the force that ended the long-standing Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty, which ruled China from 1279 to 1368.
After establishing himself as the Emperor of the new Ming Dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor claimed the ancient Yuan capital, Khanbaliq, as the new capital of the empire. Khanbaliq is today known as Beijing.
The reign of the Hongwu Emperor was revolutionary in many ways: he encouraged the cultivation of new land and agriculture across China, reduced taxes, cracked down on political corruption, and established new laws that protected the rights of peasants. He also notably forbade private slavery and redistributed land held by nobles to the poorer levels of society.
The Hongwu Emperor also reportedly built mosques in Xijing and Nanjing, as well as in Yunnan, Fujian, and Guangdong in the southern regions of China. His Hundred-word Eulogy, in praise of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, remains one of the most unique examples of the importance and spread of Islam during the medieval ages.
The poem in Chinese runs as such:
《百字讚》寫道：“乾坤初始，天籍注名。傳教大聖，降生西域。授受天經，三十部冊，普化眾生。億兆君師，萬聖領袖。協助天運，保庇國民。五時祈祐，默祝太平。存心真主，加志窮民。拯救患難，洞徹幽冥。超拔靈魂，脱離罪業。仁覆天下，道冠古今。降邪歸一，教名清真。穆罕默德，至貴聖人。”《百字讚》
In English, the poem translates as:
“Since the creation of the universe
God had already appointed his great faith-preaching man,
From the West he was born,
And received the holy scripture
And book made of 30 parts (Juz)
To guide all creations,
Master of all rulers,
Leader of the holy ones,
With support from the Heavens,
To protect his nation,
With five daily prayers,
Silently hoping for peace,
His heart directed towards Allah,
Giving power to the poor,
Saving them from calamity,
Seeing through the Unseen,
Pulling the souls and the spirits away from all wrongdoings,
Mercy to the world,
Transversing to the ancient,
Majestic path vanquished away all evil,
His religion Pure and True,
Muhammad,
The Noble High One.”
Today, several copies of the poem are on display in mosques across Nanjing, China, as an important reminder of the influence of Islam in even the far corners of China during the early Ming Dynasty.
