Qi Jingyi (Hilal al-Din)

A Chinese Hui Muslim Sufi born in 1656 whose Arabic name was Hilal al-Din; he is the founder of the Qadiriyya order in China, revered as 'Qi Daozu' (Grand Master Qi). In his youth he met Afaq Khoja and then became a disciple of Khwaja Abdullah; living an ascetic, celibate life, he preached across Shaanxi, Sichuan and Gansu and established the Qadiriyya menhuan (lineage brotherhood). He died in 1719 and was buried in his home city of Hezhou (present-day Linxia); the Da Gongbei ('Grand Gongbei') built over his grave is the principal Qadiri shrine in China. (Sources: en.wikipedia.org 'Qi Jingyi'; islamichina.com 'Qadiriyya Sufi in China'; baike.baidu.com '大拱北')