- 1862-00-02 —
Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí, a cousin of the Báb, lived in Shanghai during this period. This is the first record of a Bábí or Bahá'í living in China. [PH24]
- From 1870 he lived in Hong Kong dealing as a merchant and was joined by his brother, Hájí Mírzá Muhammad Husayn. [PH24; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 2min56sec]
- 1902-00-00 — Two Persians from Ischabad, 'Aqá Mírzá Mihdi Rashti and 'Aqá Mírzá Abdu-i-Baki Yazdi arrived in Shanghi. Mirza Rashti passed away in Shanghi in 1924
[Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 5min10sec]
- 1902-00-06 — Shanghai was re-opened to the Bahá'í Faith by the arrival of two Bahá'ís from`Ishqábád, Áqá Mírzá Mihdí Rashtí and Áqá Mírzá `Abdu'l-Baqí Yazdí, who opened a branch of the Ummi'd company, an import-export firm. [PH25]
- 1909-11-00 —
Charles Mason Remey and Howard Struven left the United States on the first Bahá'í teaching trip to circle the globe. [BFA2:348, GPB261]
- They went to Hawaii, Japan, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong and to Burma, India and `Akká. [BFA2:348–50; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 2min56sec]
- 1910-00-00 — Charles Mason Remey and Howard Struven arrived in Shanghai and met with Áqá Mírzá `Abdu'l-Baqí Yazdí. They were probably the first Bahá'ís from the West to go to China. [PH25; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 5min45sec]
- 1914-00-00 —
Mr Husayn Uskuli and two Bahá'ís friends arrived in Shanghai from 'Ishqábád. His family joined him later. [PH28-29, BW13p871-872]
The war years 1937-1945 were difficult for him and the conditions following the victory of the Chinese Communist Party made it impossible to have contact with the local people yet he remained.
- He spent all his remaining years but for a few in Shanghai where he passed away on the 25th of February, 1956 and was laid to rest in the Shanghai Kiangwan cemetery. [Video Early History of the Bahá'ís of China 6min 33 sec]
- 1917-00-00 — At this time there were eleven Persian Bahá'ís in Shanghai. Through the efforts of Aqa Mirza Ahmad and Ridi Tabrizi a Bahá'í pamphlet was published, probably the first Bahá'í publication in the Chinese language. It included 'Abdu'l-Bahá's twelve principles and passages from His explanation of the spiritual significance of the European War. The pamphlet include a picture of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and was also published in Persian. [PH31; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 7 min 42 sec]
- 1919-00-00 — Chen Ting Mo accepted the Faith in the United States. He returned to Shanghai with many Bahá'í books that he deposited in the Shanghai library.
[PH31; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 7 min 04 sec]
- 1921-00-00 — The first publication in Chinese was published by the Bahá'ís in Shanghai.
[Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 7min40sec]
- 1923-00-00 — After the passing of his wife, the eldest daughter and son-in-law of Mr. Uskuli arrived in Shanghai as pioneers. Also arriving were his mother, Sarah Khanum and his two younger daughters Rohani (Rawhaniyyih), and Jalalia (Jalaliyyih) as well as his son Goudrat (Qudrat). In 1934 these three younger children, accompanied by their grandmother, left to study at the American University at Beirut. Ridvaniyyih and 'Ali-Muhammad Suleimani returned to Iran in August of 1950 due to the difficult conditions in China at the time. [PH39; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 7 min 57 sec]
- 1927-03-27 — Martha Root left Shanghai for Hong Kong. At the end of May she sailed for Australia and New Zealand. During her stay in Hong Kong she made a trip to mainland China visiting Guangzhou and made another sortie to Saigon and Cambodia. [P35]
- 1928-00-00 — The first local assembly of Shanghai was formed. [PH28; Film Early History of the Baha'í Faith in China 17 min 34 sec ]
- 1930-08-22 — Martha Root returned to China for her third visit and stayed two months. She sailed from Shanghai on the 22nd of October 1930. [PH39-41; Film Early History of the Baha'í Faith in China 13min 46 sec ]
- 1937-06-00 —
- 1954-10-22 — Mr and Mrs Suleimani arrived in Keelung, Taiwan by ship. They spent the rest of their lives there.
Ridvaniyyih Suleimani served on the Auxiliary Board and the National Spiritual Assembly. She passed away in Taiwan on the 18th of March 1981. [BW18p752-754]
Suleiman Suleimani served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan from its formation in 1967 until 1978. He also served as a deputy of the institution of the Huqúqu'lláh for about two decades. [BW20p889-891]
The Suleimanis, originally from Iran, had lived for about 28 years in Shanghai where Mrs Ridvaniyyih Suleimani's father, Mr Husayn Ouskouli Uskuli (or Uskui) had long resided and conducted a business. Mr and Mrs Suleimani had left Shanghai permanently in 1950 because of the difficult situations for foreigners in China but Mr Ouskouli decided to stay on and won the admiration of the Guardian. He died in Shanghai at the age of 86. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p3; PH39; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 7 min 57 sec] - 1956-02-25 —
Husayn Uskuli, (b. 1875) long-time pioneer to Shanghai from 'Ishqábád, passed away in Shanghai at the age of 82 and was buried in the Kiangwan Cemetery in Shanghai. [PH29, BW13p871-873]
- He had heard about the Faith at the age of 18 from Mírzá Haydar-'Alí. After his marriage he moved to 'Ishqábád where he was very active in the community. After his move to Shanghai his home was the centre of activity and hospitality for all those passing through. He was the only foreign-born Bahá'í to remain in China after the regime change. The xenophobic attitude of the government precluded any meaningful contact with the local citizenry.
- He was survived by four daughters and a son.
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