In the Song Dynasty (960-1279),
Quanzhou was a famous coastal city and one of the main ports of foreign trade.
At that time a large number of Arabic businessmen from central and western Asia
gathered in Quanzhou. The Pure and Clean Mosque is an Arabic mosque with an
Islamic architectural style built by Arabic Muslims. Among the preserved
mosques, it is the oldest one. The mosque was constructed in the 400th year
(1009) of Islamic calendar, and rebuilt in the 2nd year of Yuanzhi
calendar (1309AD) by Ihammed Ben Mohammed Gudessi. In the 10th year
of Yuanzhi calendar and the 37th year of Mingwan calendar it was
renovated twice. The main existing structure of the Pure and Clean Mosque
includes the gate of the mosque, the Hall for Worship and the Hall of
Enlightened Goodness. The gate of the mosque faces south, and is 20 meters high
and 4 meters wide. It is built by piling up green and white granite stones. The
corridor of the gate tower is composed of four arcades and three partitions. The
first partition has an astroid vault. The second partition is a semi-vault
carved out of granite stones. There are honeycomb patterns on all sides of the
vault. The four sides of the third partition are piled up with cubic stones. It
has an arcaded stone dome.
The Hall for Worship covers an area of 600
square meters. Four sides of the hall are built of granite stones. The wall in
the facade is covered with niches. With a huge window on each wall, the lighting
in the hall is greatly increased. The decorative stone carving of the
Koran in Arabic can be seen everywhere. The dome of the hall is very
impressing, but it collapsed in the earthquake in the year 1607. The
construction style was a popular mode for the Arabic halls for worship Islam in
the 10th century. Today it is seldom seen in the Arabic areas in the
Middle East. The Hall of Enlightened Goodness is a small hall for worship in the
northwestern corner of the mosque. It has a structure the same as Chinese
traditional Siheyuan (traditional-style single-story houses with rows of
rooms around the four sides of a courtyard), which can hold more than 30 people.
There are stone carvings in Arabic of the Song and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties on
the wall of the hall.
Since its construction, the Pure and Clean
Mosque has always been appropriately protected by the Quanzhou people. Up till
now the piece of inscription with the Imperial Order on it is still well
preserved in the mosque. The Order was issued in the 5th year (1407)
of the Yongle reign by Emperor Mingcheng (Zhu Li) in order to protect the Pure
and Clean Mosque and the Islam. The Pure and Clean Mosque is the historical
evidence for the friendly intercourse and cultural exchange between China and
Arabic countries.