Islamic menhuan, system, patrilineal family, and gender relations of Dongxiang people in Gansu, China

The Dongxiang Muslim people reside mostly in Dongxiang Autonomous County, in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture located in Gansu province. The Dongxiang people are one of 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in the People’s Republic of China. They speak their own language ¹ but use Chinese characters. Some researchers believe that the Dongxiang people originated from an ancient tribe known as the Sart in Central Asia. Over the centuries, the Dongxiang people have intermarried with members of the Han, Hui, Tibetan, and Mongolian ethnic groups.