The Complexity of Religious Traditions in Quanzhou 泉州 under Mongol Rule: An Inscription from Chunyang 純陽 Cave in Mt. Qingyuan 清源, Quanzhou

Abstract

This paper discusses the complexity of the religious traditions in Quanzhou (Fujian, China), the largest international trade port under Mongol rule. The contribution of presumed Persian Muslim Pu Shougeng 蒲壽庚to the reconstruction of a Taoist-Buddhist shrine was taken as the case study. The external conditions surrounding his composite religious act (beyond private beliefs) were also observed in terms of individual goals, backgrounds, and social networks. For this purpose, the author presents the Chinese stone inscription from Quanzhou (in Fujian, China) titled “Zhong jian Qingyuan Chunyang dong ji 重建清源純陽洞記 (Record of Reconstruction of the Chunyang Cave in Qingyuan Mountain),” dated to the fourth year of Hou-Zhiyuan 後至元 (1338) during the Yuan period.