THE DUNGAN REVOLT 
1203 
the other streets, having generally been erected in ac- 
cordance with some wealthy man’s will, to perpetuate his 
name to posterity. 
I cannot however leave Si-ning-fu without saying some- 
thing about the Dungan revolt, of which Mr. Ridley gave 
me the following account. 
The revolt, which, like the first uprising of the Dungans 
(1861-77), threatened to involve a vast portion of the 
territory of Chinese Asia in the horrors of civil war, broke 
out in the district of Salar in December 1894. In that 
district there existed a dogmatic schism between the two 
sects of Chinese Mohammedans, the Lao-jao and the 
Shin-jao, i.e. the adherents of the Old Religion and the 
adherents of the New Religion. The Dao Tai of Si- 
ning-fu was so imprudent as to meddle in these purely 
domestic religious differences. He took prisoners five of 
the leaders of the former, the Lao-jao sect, and had them 
nailed like dead vermin to the wall of his city. In retalia- 
tion the people of Salar fell upon a Chinese force and 
massacred every man. In reply to that the mandarins 
affixed proclamations to the gates of the city, saying that 
the inhabitants of Salar should be exterminated root and 
branch. The Dungans saw now the doom that impended 
over them, and resolved to strike the first blow. The 
revolt spread therefore like wildfire from one region to 
another. But it was not until July 1895 that the rebels 
approached Si-ning-fu. The country-folk flocked into the 
city for safety, bringing their property with them, so that 
the population increased suddenly from 20,000 to 50,000. 
Meanwhile the Chinese met their revolted subjects outside 
the walls, in the valleys which converge upon Si-ning-fu. 
The wounded soldiers were brought into the town. The 
temples were converted into temporary hospitals, and Mr. 
and Mrs. Ridley worked day and night at tending the 
wounded and binding up their hurts. 
For five months the city was closely besieged by the 
Dungans, and every night four thousand men kept watch 
on the walls. Every tenth man carried a lantern, so as 
to be able to see if his comrades were awake, as well 
