[2] When the Ming dynasty emerged, the Hongwu Emperor's military officers who served under him were given noble titles which privileged the holder with a stipend but in all other aspects was merely symbolic.

[11] Consort and issue(s): In his The References of History of Islam in China, Bai Shouyi explained that he failed to find any reliable proof of Mu Ying was a Hui Chinese.

"[14] Jonathan Neaman Lipman notes that Mu Ying is among a number of generals "unambiguously claimed as Muslim by Sino-Muslim scholars" mentioning specifically Bai Shouyi.

F. Mote, in Goodrich and Fang, Dictionary, 1079–83, indicates that we have no evidence that Mu Ying was born a Muslim, and the story of his adoption and upbringing in Zhu Yuanzhang’s intimate circle certainly indicates that he was not raised as one.

"[15] However, other authors such as Li Qingsheng have pointed out his dietary practices of eating only lamb meat, his Muslim wife, and his construction of a mosque in Xining as examples of his identification with Islam.