Water is one of the most significant factor for a civilization to rise. Every civilization begins with its proximity to specific bodies of water and China is no different. The evidence of Chinese civilization’s beginning can be traced back in the Yellow river (Daniels/ Hyslop, p.60). Water also legitimizes leadership. Advanced irrigation and flood control system of their time were priorities to some kingdom for this increased overall production. The Roman aqueduct is an exemplary example of this (p.80). The public talk I attended was about rain magic and its significance in the Qing Empire’s infiltration into the Islamic world. Islam was indispensable to legitimize the Qing to its Muslim subjects. As mentioned in the Jia Yi’s writing, the strength of an empire depends on the people (Yi, p. 292). Thus, accepting
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Qing destroyed the notion of Islam exceptionalism, the idea that Islam is different from the rest of religions, by allowing it into the empire. Meanwhile, rain magic had 2 main significance. To begin with, the belief of rain-making came to the empire in Xinjiang with the arrival of Turk-speaking nomads who brought the Yada (rain-making) stone and was naturally incorporated to Qing along with Islam. Yada stones were formed from the guts of animals that naturally take shape as time passed by. First, rain-making played a vital role in an agrarian empire like the Qing. As previously mentioned water was crucial for empires to flourish and therefore it was no surprise to learn that Qing open-heartedly accepted the idea of rain-making. More rains generally meant better harvest that contributed to peace in the empire and empowered the emperor. This is not particular to China and the Cahokia leaders embraced the rain rituals as well. More rain proved they were powerful and legitimizes their closeness to God (Richter, Feb.2017). It is also important to
Qing destroyed the notion of Islam exceptionalism, the idea that Islam is different from the rest of religions, by allowing it into the empire. Meanwhile, rain magic had 2 main significance. To begin with, the belief of rain-making came to the empire in Xinjiang with the arrival of Turk-speaking nomads who brought the Yada (rain-making) stone and was naturally incorporated to Qing along with Islam. Yada stones were formed from the guts of animals that naturally take shape as time passed by. First, rain-making played a vital role in an agrarian empire like the Qing. As previously mentioned water was crucial for empires to flourish and therefore it was no surprise to learn that Qing open-heartedly accepted the idea of rain-making. More rains generally meant better harvest that contributed to peace in the empire and empowered the emperor. This is not particular to China and the Cahokia leaders embraced the rain rituals as well. More rain proved they were powerful and legitimizes their closeness to God (Richter, Feb.2017). It is also important to