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Concept
Hui people
Summary
The Hui people (, Xiao'erjing: خُوِزُو, Хуэйзў, Xuejzw) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2010 census, China is home to approximately 10.5 million Hui people. Outside China, the 110,000 Dungan people of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are also considered part of the Hui ethnicity.
The Hui have a distinct connection with Islamic culture. For example, they follow Islamic dietary laws and reject the consumption of pork, the most commonly consumed meat in China, and have therefore developed their own variation of Chinese cuisine. Abstinence from alcohol, on the other hand, is less systematic. They can also dress differently than the Han Chinese, with some men wearing white caps (taqiyah) and some women wearing headscarves, as is the case in many Islamic cultures.
The Hui people are one of 56 ethnic groups recognized by China. The government defines the Hui people to include all historically Muslim communities not included in China's other ethnic groups; they are therefore distinct from other Muslim groups such as the Uyghurs. The Hui predominantly speak Chinese, while maintaining some Arabic and Persian phrases. The Hui ethnic group is unique among Chinese ethnic minorities in that it is not associated with a non-Sinitic language.
Hui Muslims descend from Indo-Iranian Persians, Mongols and other Central Asian immigrants. Their ancestors were of primarily Central Asian and East Asian and origin, with some Middle Eastern ancestry from ethnic groups such as Arabs and Persians, who spread Islam in the area. About 6.7 percent of Hui peoples' genetics have a Middle Eastern origin; however, most Hui samples have very similar characteristics to other East Asian populations, revealing a common genetic makeup. They show significant genetic homogeneity with the Han Chinese population in Linxia and with other East Asian populations rather than European or Middle Eastern, supporting a simple cultural diffusion as the origin of the Hui in China.
Official source
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