understanding the sources of the sino-islamic intellectual...

Understanding the Sources of the Sino-Islamic Intellectual Tradition:A Review Essay on The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thoughtin Confucian Terms, by Sachiko Murata, William C. Chittick, andTu Weiming, and Recent Chinese Literary Treasuries

Kristian Petersen

Philosophy East and West, Volume 61, Number 3, July 2011, pp. 546-559(Article)

Published by University of Hawai'i PressDOI: 10.1353/pew.2011.0037

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546 PhilosophyEast&WestVolume61,Number3July2011546–559 ©2011byUniversityofHawai‘iPress

Halbfass, W. 1991. India and Europe: An Essay in Philosophical Understanding.Delhi:MotilalBanarsidass.

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Jhalakīkar,B.M.1928.Nyāyakośa, or Dictionary of Technical terms of Indian Phi-losophy.BombaySanskritSeriesno.49.Poona:BhandarkarOrientalResearchInstitute.

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Krishna,D.1991.Indian Philosophy: A Counter Perspective.Delhi:OxfordUniver-sityPress.

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Sjödin,A–P.2006.The Happening of Tradition: Vallabha on Anumāna in Nyāyalīlāvatī.SouthAsianStudies1.Uppsala:ActaUniversitatisUppsaliensis.

Sprung, M. 1978. The Question of Being: East-West Perspectives. Edited by M.Sprung.UniversityPark:PennsylvaniaStateUniversityPress.

Uddyotakara1997.Nyāyabhāṣyavārttika of Bhāradvāja Uddyotakara.EditedbyA.Thakur. In Nyāyacaturgranthikā, vol. 2. New Delhi: Indian Council of Philo-sophicalResearch.

Vācaspati1996.Nyāyavārttikatātparyaṭīkā of Vācaspatimiśra. EditedbyA.Thakur.In Nyāyacaturgranthikā, vol. 3. New Delhi: Indian Council of PhilosophicalResearch.

Vātsyāyana1997.Gautamīyanyāyadarśana with Bhāṣya of Vātsyāyana.EditedbyA.Thakur. In Nyāyacaturgranthikā, vol. 1. New Delhi: Indian Council of Philo-sophicalResearch.

UnderstandingtheSourcesoftheSino-IslamicIntellectualTradition:AReviewEssayonThe Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms,bySachikoMurata,WilliamC.Chittick,andTuWeiming,andRecentChineseLiteraryTreasuries

Kristian PetersenGustavusAdolphusCollege

Anoft-quotedHadithpurportsthatitisincumbentuponeveryMuslimtoseekknowl-edge, even if it is to be found as far away as China.1 However, the plethora of

KristianPetersen 547

knowledgethatwasdiscoveredtheregenerallyhasyettobeunraveledbyWesternacademics.IftheintellectualtraditionofChineseMuslimsmayappeartobeofminorconsequencetothelargerfieldofIslamicstudies,thisisinpartbecauseofourfailuretoassesstheirinfluence.TheabundantresourcesforunderstandingtheIslamicsci-encesinChinahavebarelybeengrazedandareawaitingourthoroughanalyticalperegrination.Thisessayattemptstoevaluate(1)themostrecentworkthatexploresthisintellectualtradition,The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms,bySachikoMurata,WilliamC.Chittick,andTuWeiming(HarvardUniversityPress,2009);(2)somesourcesforsubsequentstudy;and(3)methodsforproceedinginthefuture.

Priortothesixteenthcentury,ulemalivinginChinawereimmersedwithinthesameubiquitoustraditionofIslamicscholarshipastheirMiddleEasternorCentralAsianancestors.WhileChinawasperiodicallycutofffromthelargerummah,teach-ersandstudentswereactivelyengagedinthestudyoftheQur an,theHadith,andtheIslamicsciences.ThereligiouseliteworkedwithArabic,Persian,andTurkiclan-guages andcouldparticipate in thewiderdiscourseofmostMuslims.Witheachrecurringoscillationof renewal theChineseulemawould reevaluate their under-standingofIslam,theirmethodsfortransmittingthisknowledge,andthemannerinwhichtheycouldcontributetothediscussion.2Beginninginthemid-sixteenthcen-tury, Muslims adopted a new instructional system called scripture-hall education(jingtang jiaoyu 經堂教育).3ItwascreatedbyHuDengzhou胡登洲(ca.1522–1597),whoreturnedfromhishajj pilgrimagewithrenewedknowledgeofIslamandmanyauthoritativetextstoguidehiscoreligionistsintheirfaith.Thescripture-hallsystemsucceededbecauseofseveralinnovativepedagogicalmethods,includingnewlyac-cessibleArabicandPersiantexts,financingfortuition,roomandboardforperipa-teticstudents,studymaterials,aformalizedcurriculum,andtheinclusionofChineseasthelanguageofinstruction.Thestructureandconsistencyofthesystemmadeitsmethodseasilyreplicable,andHu’sstudentssoonspreadthescripture-hallsystemthroughoutChina.The inclusionofChinese as an “Islamic” language inspired itsadvancedstudentstocreatetreatisesthatreflectthetheologicalandlinguisticcom-plexityofthescripture-hallsystem.However,itwasnotuntiltheseventeenthcen-tury that Chinese Muslims created a canon of texts that expressed their nativecontributiontotheIslamicintellectualtradition,theHan Kitab.

Theseliterarycompositionsexhibitthetheologicalsubstanceandexpressiveori-entationoftheChineseulema.However,whilekeyfiguresinthetraditionandmajorSino-Islamictextshavebeenoutlined,thecontentoftheirworkhasyettobestudiedingreatdetail.4Ourmostpressingandurgenttaskistoprovideclearandreliabletranslations andexaminationsof the keycomponentsof texts.Oncea significantamountofthesetreatiseshavebeenintroduced,wecanthenbegintodelineatetheintellectualcurrents,connections,andcontroversiesoftheChinesetexts.ThelimitedworkthathasbeendonefailstomakesignificantconnectionsbetweentheChineseworksandtheirMiddleEasternandCentralAsiancounterparts.Further,wedonotevenhaveasufficientunderstandingoftheChineseMuslimintellectualtraditiontolink theworksbetweenChineseulemathemselves.The Sage Learning takesgreat

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strides in remedying this problem by translating one of the most important Han Kitab texts,adding substantialobservableevidence for intellectual influencesandsignificantmethodologicaldevelopmentsforthefuturestudyofSino-Islamiclitera-ture.

Sachiko Murata on Sino-Islamic Thought

Ingeneral,SachikoMuratahasmade themostconcertedeffort tounderstand thesubstanceoftheHan Kitab.HerworkhastracedthepathoftheChineseulemabyfollowingsimilar stages in itsdevelopment. Initially,Murataemployeda thematicframeworkfromtraditionalChinesephilosophicalsystemstoanalyzetheMedievalIslamicintellectualtradition.HergoalinThe Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought wastoapproachtheissueofgenderintraditionalIslamicthoughtandexplorethespiritualaspectsofthefemininethroughthewritingsofSufisandMuslimphilosophers.5ThisissimilartotheconventionalmethodofIs-lamicinstructionpriortotheestablishmentofthescripture-hallsystem.Mastersanddiscipleswouldfocustheirtrainingontheirlong-standingIslamicintellectualtradi-tion and apply itsmeaning to their contemporary epoch,whichhighlighted theirChinesecultureinvaryingdegreesdependingonlocale.

Murata’ssecondbook,Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light,turnedherattentiontotheactualwritingsoftheHan Kitab.6ThisworkwasthefirstmajorattemptbyaWesternauthortoanalyzethecontentofthesetexts.Initshefocusedonthefirstchiefauthorinthetradition,WangDaiyu王岱輿(ca.1590–1658),andononeofthemostre-markable,LiuZhi劉智(ca.1670–1724).Chinese Gleams offeredalengthyexamina-tionofWangDaiyu’sprinciplework,The True Explanation of the Orthodox Teaching (Zhengjiao zhenquan 正教真詮),whichistheoldestextantworkinthegenre.7Shealsoprovidedtranslationsoftwoshortertreatises,WangDaiyu’sGreat Learning of Islam (Qingzhen daxue請真大學)andLiuZhi’sDisplaying the Concealment of the Real Realm (Zhenjing zhaowei真境昭微),anddemonstrated theiraffinitywith Is-lamicthoughtingeneralandwiththeschoolofIbn Arabi(1165–1240)inparticular.LiketheearlyHan Kitab authorsshewaschallengedwiththemannerinwhichtotranslatecomplextechnicalterminologyfromonelanguagetoanother.Shealsoborethe addedweight of deciphering themeaningof these treatises thatweredeeplyrooted in two textual traditions and various languages. Unraveling the intendedmeaningoftheHan Kitab authorsisoneofthemaindifficultiesininterpretingtheirwork.

InMurata’s latestbook,The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi,8shehascontinuedhermeticulousanalysisandmadeavailableoneofthemostimportantSino-Islamicvol-umes,LiuZhi’sNature and Principle in Islam (Tianfang xingli天方性理).Thisworkexaminesmetaphysicsandcosmologyandexplainsthetheologicalunderpinningsthatserveasthefoundationforourphysicalactionsandourcorporealreality.Itisimportant because it represents the culmination of the development of a system-atizedSino-Islamictechnicalvocabulary.ItispartofatrilogyofworksthatattemptedtoclarifythecommonIslamictripartitedivisionoftheworldintoaspiritualrealm,


thematerialworld,andtheperfectcoalescenceofthetwointhepersonalityoftheProphetMuhammad.Liu’ssecondmajorwork,Ceremonies of Islam (Tianfang dianli天方典禮),focusedontheritualaspectofMuslims’livesanddelineatedIslamicor-thopraxis.9 His final principal text was the Veritable Records of the Most Sagely of Islam (Tianfang zhisheng shilu天方至聖實錄),whichwasabiography (sīrah)oftheProphetMuhammad.10Allof theseworksdemonstratedLiu’saffinity forNeo-ConfucianthoughtandhisengagementwiththethreeteachingsofChina(sanjiao三教)—Daoism,Buddhism,andConfucianism—aswellhisfamiliaritywith“West-ern”thought,whichmayhavebeenintroducedtohimbyJesuitmissionaries.

TheproductionofThe Sage Learning reunitedMuratawithWilliamChittick,oneoftheforemostscholarsonIbn ArabiandIslamicthought,andTuWeiming(TuWei-ming), renowned authority on the Confucian tradition and Chinese thought, andcontinuedtheworkdoneduringtheircollaborationonChinese Gleams.Thetransla-tionwasdonethroughaprocessofgroupreadingsandconstantrewriting.MuratawouldinitiallyreadtheChineseandconsultwithChitticktocomeupwitharead-ableandappropriateEnglishrenderingthatreflectedboththeChinesemeaningofthecharactersandtheIslamiccontextthatitwastryingtoconvey.TheywouldthenperiodicallytraveltoCambridgetorereadtheChineseandtheirtranslationwithTu,whoseinputwasutilizedtocapturetheChinesecontextofeighteenth-centuryChinaandinfluencedthefinalrewritingoftheEnglishtranslation.Murata’suniqueabilitytograspboththeChineseandIslamictraditionsenabledhertoactastheheadauthorandproducethisfinebook.

Thelengthyintroduction,whichisdividedintofivesections,thoroughlyexploresthetworealmsofthoughtandhowtheyintersectinthewritingsofLiuZhi.Inthefirstsection,MurataamendstheworkdoneinChinese Gleams bysquarelysituatingLiuZhi’sworkwithinthescripture-hallsystem.Sheisquicktoadmitthatshewasun-awareof thehistorical settingof Islamiceducation inChinaduring thewritingofChinese Gleams buthasnowutilizedthemostrecentWesternandJapanesescholar-shipinintroducingustoLiuZhi’swork.Thisshiftinhistoricitymaybeoflittlecon-sequencetothereader,asMurataquicklymovestothecontentofLiu’swork.Sheexplains that thebasis formuchofLiu’sTianfang xingli wasderived fromseveralArabicandPersian treatises.Sheechoes the influenceof the fourestablishedSufitextsinChina:Najmal-DīnRāzī’s(d.1256)The Path of God’s Bondsmen from Ori-gin to Return (Mirṣād al- ibād min al-madba ila l-ma ād); Azīzal-DīnNasafi’s(d.ca.1300)The Furthest Goal (Maqṣad-i aqṣā);and Abdal-RaḥmānJāmī’s(1414–1492)Rays of the Flashes (Ashi at allama āt)andGleams (Lawā iḥ).Butsheadds Aḍudal-Dīnal-Ījī’s(d.1355)The Standpoints in the Science of Theology (al-Mawāqif fī ilm al-kalām)totheshortlistoftitlesMuslimswereactuallyusinginpremodernChina.PinpointingthesourcesthatwereavailabletotheChineseulemahasbeenalong-standingobstacletounderstandingwhattheauthorsweretryingtoconvey,whichThe Sage Learning hashelpedslightlytoresolvethroughitscloseinvestigation.

ThesecondandthirdsectionoftheintroductiondelineatestheIslamiccosmog-raphythattheTianfang xingli exploresandtheChineseappropriationofArabicandPersian technicalvocabulary.Thiscomponent follows theworkbegun inChinese


Gleams butisabletoachieveitsendswithmuchgreaterdetailandprecision,outlin-ing particular Chinese characters and their Arabic or Persian equivalent. Muratacoverstopicssuchasrealization(taḥqīq),Origin(mabda )andReturn(ma ād),Sover-eignty(malakūt)andKingdom(mulk),MacrocosmandMicrocosm,Names(asmā )andAttribute(ṣifāt),andtheFiveDivinePresences(al-ḥaḍarāt al-ilāhiyyat alkhams).ShethenrevealstheintendedIslamicprinciplesbehindLiu’suseofcommonChi-nesemetaphysicalconcepts.Forexample,Liuutilizesxing性(nature)inplaceofrūḥ (spirit);li理(principle)isusedforboth aql (intellect)andnafs (soul);andming命(mandate)translatesamr (command).

ThefinaltwosectionsofMurata’sintroductionoutlinethestructureandargu-mentsoftheTianfang xingli andthemethodsheusestorenderitintoEnglish.InThe Sage Learning,MuratadoesathoroughstudyoftheprolegomenonoftheTianfang xinglititledThe Root Scripture (Benjing本經).11The Root Scripture isasummationandconsolidationof thekeypoints covered in theTianfang xingli. The styleandstructureoftheTianfang xingli,aswellexegeticalcommentsonit,suggestthatitwasintendedtobememorizedbystudentswhowouldthenbeabletorecallitsbroaderteachingsjustbyrecitingThe Root Scripture.MurataalsodescribesLiu’suseofsev-entydiagramsthroughouttheTianfang xingli,whichreflectshisknowledgeoftheuseof theological illustration,whichwascommon throughout theMuslimworld.TheaimandsubstanceoftheTianfang xingli isencapsulatedinLiu’sdiagramtitled“TheMacrocosm’sFollowingintheCircleofCreationandTransformation.”Thisisavari-antofwhatmanyscholarshavelabeled“thecircleofexistence”(dā irat al-wujūd)anddemonstratesLiu’scontinuedinfluencefromIbn Arabi.Thediagramdelineatestheorbitofthecirclethroughthe“arcofdescent”(qaws al-nuzūl)andthe“arcofascent” (qaws al-su ūd) and its various stages.12 For example, he begins with the“NondesignationoftheEarliestBeginning,”whichconsistsofBeing(you有)alone,moving towardhis finaldiagram,“UndifferentiatedTransformationofHeavenandHumans,”madeupoftheReal(zhen真).TheintermediarydiagramsillustratehowBeingmanifestsintheworldandleadsbacktotheReal.InThe Root Scripture Liuoffersaprécisofhisanalysisandusesthegreaterremainderofthebooktoexplicatehumankind’sconditioninthecosmos.

The Root Scripture isrevealingbecauseLiucitedhis influencesfor thesesub-jects,utilizingthetransliteratedformsofthePersianorArabictextsthathelpformu-latehisunderstanding.MurataalsohadthebenefitofcomparingThe Root Scripture withitsArabictranslationbyMaLianyuan馬聯元(d.1904),titledThe Subtleties (al-Laṭā if ).FouryearsaftertheproductionofThe Subtleties, Maalsowroteacommen-tary on the work titled Explanation of the Subtleties (Sharḥ al-Laṭā if ). Like manyulemafromthenineteenthcenturyonward,MaLianyuanreturnedtousingArabicasameansforengagingboththeirlocalChinesecommunitiesandthebroaderMuslimworld.Ma’sdecisiontotranslateThe Root Scripture intoArabicdemonstratesthattheChineseMuslimcommunityusedArabicinorder tounderstandthelarger Islamicdiscourseandparticipateinitsevolution.ItalsoshowsthathebelievedLiu’srepre-sentation of Islamic theology was exemplary and worthy of a wider distributionoutsidetheChinese-speakingcommunity.However,Mahadthedifficulttaskofren-


deringLiu’sChineseintoanintelligibleArabictreatise.ThemovementbacktowardwritinginArabicposedchallengestoauthorsidenticaltothoseoftheearlyChineseulema in the scripture-hall system who had developed a technical Sino-Islamicvocabulary.

ThepresentationoftheRoot Scripture isstructuredinawaysimilartoMurata’sandChittick’stranslationofLiuZhi’sZhenjing zhaowei,theChinesetranslationofJāmī’sPersianLawa ih inChinese Gleams.13The lefthalfof thebookpresentsLiuZhi’sThe Root Scripture inreadableandeloquentEnglishfollowedbyalucidtrans-lationofMaLianyuan’sSubtleties.Inadditiontoside-by-sideinterpretationsoftheoriginalworks,theauthorsoffereditedtranscriptionsofboththeChineseandArabictext.TheinclusionofthissupplementarymaterialmakesThe Sage Learning exceed-inglyvaluablebecauseitenablesthereadertoanalyzetheoriginalterminologythatwasusedandcomparetheChineseandArabiccorrelationsandassociations.

ThenextfourhundredpagesofThe Sage Learning renderLiu’sextensiveexplica-tionofThe Root Scripture influidEnglishtranslation.Thediagramscreatethestruc-tureforthediscussionandleadthereaderthroughthedetailsofexistence.MuratapresentseachChinesediagraminitsoriginalformnexttoanEnglishtranslationofthatexactdiagram.ThisallowsthereadertobecognizantofspecificChinesechar-actersforcorrespondingtranslationswhilegeneratingavastphilologicalrepositoryforfuturescholars.Murata’snumerousnotesteaseouttheIslamiccontextthatcanbelost in theChinesecharactersand thebroaderChinesecontext that informed thechoiceofcertainvocabularybyLiu.InmanysherelatesLiu’sexplanationtoearlierauthorsanddemonstratestheclosecorrelationstopopulartextsfromtheSufitradi-tion,suchas Ibn Arabi’sThe Meccan Openings (al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya)andThe Ringstones of the Wisdom (Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam); Ṣadr al-Dīn Qūnawī’s (d. 1274) The Texts (al-Nuṣūṣ); Aynal-QuḍātHamadānī’s(1098–1131)Prolegomena (Tamhīdāt);Maḥmūd Shabistarī’s (1288–1340) Garden of Mystery (Gulshan-i rāz); Alī ibn UthmānHujwīrī’s(d.1073)Unveiling of the Veiled (Kashf al-maḥjūb);MullāṢadrā’s(d.1640)The Four Journeys (al-Asfār al-arba a)andThe Elixir of the Gnostics (Iksīr al- ārifin);Shihābal-DīnYaḥyāSuhrawardīal-Maqtūl’s(d.1191)The Reverberation of Gabriel’s Wing (Āwāz-i parr-i Jibrā il);Jalālal-DīnRūmī’s(1207–1273)Rhyming Couplets (Mathnawī);Nasafī’sExplanation of the Revelation (Bayān al-tanzīl),Un-veiling of Realities (Kashf al-ḥaqā iq), and The Book of the Perfect Human Being (Kitāb al-insān al-kāmil);Jāmī’sSelected Texts of Commentary on the Imprint of the Ringstones (Naqd al-nūṣūṣ fī sharḥ naqsh al-fuṣūṣ); and Sa’īd al-Dīn Farghānī’s(d.1300)The Rising Places of the Brilliant Stars (Mashāriq al-darārī)andThe Utmost Perception (Muntaha l-madārik).

MurataalsosituatesLiu’steachingswithinthebroaderChineseliterarycontextandhowitembracedconceptsfromsuchtextsastheAnalects (Lunyu論語)ofCon-fucius孔子(551–479b.c.e.);Laozi’s老子Daodejing道德經;theBook of Changes (Yijing 易經)andthe Great Commentary (Dazhuan 大傳)[onthe Yijing];theZhuang-zi 莊子; Zhou Dunyi’s 周敦頤 (1017–1073) Explanations of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji tushuo太極圖說); Chen Chun’s陳淳 (1159–1223) Neo-Confucian Terms Explained (Beixi ziyi 北溪字義); and WangYangming’s 王陽明


(1472–1529)Inquiry on the Great Learning (Daxuewen大學問),aswellasthewrit-ings ofWang Bi王弼 (226–249), ShaoYong邵雍 (1011–1077), Zhang Zai張載(1020–1077),ChengHao程顥 (1032–1085) andChengYi程頤 (1033–1107), LuXiangshan陸象山(1139–1193),andthecelebratedZhuXi朱熹(1130–1200).

Murata’spreviousworkon theHan Kitab alsoenablesher to cite andcross-referenceLiu’sworkwiththatofWangDaiyu.Murata’sthoroughprobingintoLiu’sinfluencesand theextensivecontextualization sheprovides is exemplaryand thetypeofanalysisneededinorderforustocompleteanimageofwhatSino-IslamicscholarshipconsistedofinpremodernChina.

The Comprehensive Chinese Canons of Islamic Classics

For Western scholars, the larger context of Sino-Islamic scholarship is becomingmoreandmoreaccessibleandthispictureoftheChineseMuslimintellectualtradi-tionisbeginningtotakeshape.ThisisinpartduetotherecentproductionofvariouscompilationsoforiginalsourcematerialinChinese.Whilemanyimportantauthors’writings,suchastheworkofLiuandWang,haveseennumerousprintingsbothinpremodernandmodernChina,thevastmajorityofHan Kitab textshaveremainedintheirmanuscriptform,scatteredthroughoutChinaorinvariouslibrariesallovertheworld.14 However, most recently, many of the premodern woodblock prints havebeenrepublishedandmadeavailabletoawideraudience.

In2005,thefirstsuchcollectionwaspublished,The Great Canon of Islam (Qing-zhen dadian清真大典).15TheQingzhen dadian consistsoftwenty-fivevolumesandgatherstogetheronehundredandsixty-sevenofthemostimportanttextsfromtheYuandynasty(1279–1368)untiltheRepublicofChina(1912–1949).Mostofthesearefacsimilesoftheoriginalmanuscripts,butthereareafewmodernprintedselec-tions. It is arranged thematically, covering a wide range of topics, including theQur an, Hadith, sīrah, elementary textbooks (zaxue 雜學), mysticism, ethics, law,medicine,astronomy,geography,history,philosophy,genealogies,inscriptions,andtranslations.Italsoincludessomexiao’erjing 小兒經literature,whichwasamethodoftransliteratingChineselanguagewithArabicscript,andasmallnumberofArabictexts.ManyofthetextsarerareoutsideChinaandprovideadoortoagreaterunder-standing of Sino-Islamic literature.The Qingzhen dadian represents a great stridetowardgatheringthesourcesofChineseMuslimintellectualhistory,anddespiteafewdeficiencies,suchaspoorreplicationofsomedocumentswithillegiblecharac-ters,itisaninvaluablereference.

Aconcisebutwell-publishedcollection,A Selection ofAuthoritative Chinese Islamic Texts (Zhongguo Yisilanjiao dianji xuan 中國伊斯蘭教典籍選)anditsArabictitle,A Selection from the Heritage of Chinese IslamicBooks (Min turāth al-kutub al-Islāmīyah al-Ṣīnīyah al-mukhtārah),wasproducedin2007.16Foritsbreadththiscompilation iscomprehensiveandvaried. It includesmaterial from the lateMing(1368–1644)andQing(1644–1912),aboutfifteentexts,butprimarilyfocusesontheRepublicofChinaperiod.These textsoriginate invariouspartsofChina, suchasBeijing,Tianjin, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan,Yunnan, and


Guangdong. Itcontains fifty-twoworks thatexplorevariousaspectsof the Islamicsciencesandpedagogicalmaterials.Theeditors’goalsforpublishingthesematerialswerethreefold:toimprovethelocalunderstandingofIslambyChineseMuslimsandpreventthetendencytowarderroneousapplicationsandinterpretationsofthefaith;topromoteacross-culturalexchangefromtheperspectiveofcomparativereligiousstudies;andtodispelfallaciousperceptionsanddepictionsofIslamandMuslimsinChinaforanon-Muslimandpossiblynonacademicaudience.Zhongguo Yisilanjiao dianji xuan coversthetraditionalSino-IslamicphilosophyofWangandLiu,aswellasworksontheQur anandHadith,popularliterature,newspaperpublications,andbilingual educational materials.While the editors have repaired the condition ofmanyofthesetexts,ofteninmicroform,unintelligiblecharactersplaguesome.ItisdoubtlessaverysignificantcontributiontothestudyofChineseMuslimauthorsandcanprovidefurthermaterialformappingtheirintellectualcontributions.

ThemostrecentandambitiousanthologyisA Comprehensive Collection of Is-lamic Classics (Huizu diancang quanshu回族典藏全書),publishedin2008,whichis richly informativeandextremelyvaluable for futureSino-Islamic studies.17 It isdividedintofourmajorcategoriesofworks:religion,madeupof210texts;politicalhistory,110documents;artsandliterature,144treatises;andscienceandtechnolo-gy,68works—spanning235volumesaltogether.Thisprojectwasapprovedforpub-lication by the NingxiaAcademy of Social Sciences in 2004, but an initiative togatheranddiscoveranyandallIslamictextsbeganyearsearlier.TheresearchteamtraveledthroughoutChinasearchingprivatecollections,mosquelibraries,oldbook-shops,andvariousMuslimenclavesinordertoobtaineventherarestofdocumentsrelatedtothehistoryofMuslimsinChina.ThepublicationofA Comprehensive Col-lection wasdesignedtocoincidewiththefiftiethanniversaryoftheestablishmentoftheNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion,anditsunveilingwasamomentousoccasionintheculturalhistoryofChineseMuslims,whoseetheirliteraryhistoryasanimpor-tantachievement.TheexhaustivenatureofA Comprehensive Collection hascom-pelledmanytodubittheHuizu Siku quanshu回族四庫全書,inreferencetoChina’smost sweeping compendium, the Qianlong Emperor’s 乾隆帝 (1711–1799) Four Treasuries (Siku quanshu四庫全書).TheappellationisappropriatebecausetheHui-zu diancang quanshu isthemostcomprehensive,complete,andauthoritativelarge-scalecompilationavailable.

AsforthecontentofA Comprehensive Collection,thereligiousdocumentscoverIslamicphilosophy,thought,anddoctrine;pedagogicalitems;biographicalrecords;legends;history; ritual;Hadith;and theQur an.Thepolitical section includes thehistoryofpoliticalsystems,individualgenealogies,andMuslimrevolts.Theartsandliteraturecomponentcontainsworksofpoetry,aspectsofpaintingandcalligraphy,andcollectedwritingsofMuslimauthors.Thetextsinthefinalsegmentonthesci-encesdiscussastronomy,medicine,hydrology,agriculture,martialarts,foreignpol-icy,gastronomy,mathematics,geography,hydrography,andnavigation.TheHuizu diancang quanshu addsconsiderabledepthtothetextuallegacyofChineseMuslimsbutalsoenhancesourabilitytounderstandhowthesewritingswereusedandre-ceivedbylatergenerationsthroughtheinclusionofmultipleeditions,suchasboth


theQingwoodblockprintandtheRepublican-erapublishedversionoftheTianfan xingli.AstrongcharacteristicofmanyofthereligioustextsincludeddemonstratestheemploymentofNeo-Confucianteachings,or,asthispracticeisoftenreferredto,“usingConfucianliteraturetotransmitWesternlearning”(yong ruwen chuan xixue用儒文傳西學).However,afurtherexaminationofthetextsincludeddemonstratesthatitisdifficulttofixacommoncharacterontheregion’sIslamicintellectualoutputandauthors.Therefore,ingeneral,wecannotanticipatestructuralfeaturesofSino-Islamicscholarshipandneedtoletthesenumeroussourcesunveiltheirnatureanddetermine the contours of their intellectual history. Overall, the Huizu diancang quanshu isasuperbwealthofvaluablesourcesandwillcertainlybetheresearchandreferencetoolforIslamicists,andothers,interestedinliteraryproductionsofChineseMuslimsfortheforeseeablefuture.

Effective Methodologies for Engaging the Sources

WiththeabundanceofnewlyavailableprimarysourcesforWesternacademiathereneedstobeaclearlydefinedstrategyforapproachingthesetexts.Murata’slatestshiftinherresearchmethodappearstobethemostusefulatthepresentmomentinSino-Islamicliterarystudies.Inheranalysis,shecomparestheArabictranslationofThe Root Scripture with the Chinese original to try and determine Liu Zhi’s intendedtheologicalprinciplesandhisuseofspecificlexicalequivalents.MaLianyuanuti-lizesArabic technical vocabulary from his own training to explain Liu’s work inChinese.From the Subtletiesand theExplanation of the Subtleties weareable topinpointwhatmeaningLiuwastryingtoconveywhenheusedspecificChinesevo-cabulary inacertaincontext.MurataandChittickusedasimilar techniquewhiletranslatingLiuZhi’s translationof Jāmī’sLawa ih.ThroughsimilarexaminationsofArabic,Persian,andChineseworkswrittenbytheChineseulemaandtranslationsoftheircounterpartswecanbegintodevelopapreciseunderstandingofhowIslamwasexpressedinChineseintheHan Kitab.ThismaybeoneofthemostpressingneedscurrentlyfordevelopingaccurateandauthentictranslationsofSino-IslamictextsintoEnglish.Themorefaithfulwecanbetotheoriginalintentionsoftheauthorsthrough-outitsdevelopmentthebetterwewillbeabletoattainacomprehensiveunderstand-ingofSino-Islamic intellectualhistory, its interconnections,and its relation to thebroaderIslamicintellectualworld.

However,wemustnotbetooeagertousethisnewlyfoundunderstandingretro-spectivelyfortheentireSino-Islamicintellectualtradition.UsingtheclassificationsandterminologyofonescholaruncriticallywouldbeanachronisticifappliedtothewholeofSino-Islamicscholarship.LiuZhi’sworkoutlinedthemiddleperiodoftheSino-Islamicintellectualtraditionwell,butweshouldbemorecomprehensiveinourapplicationof thismethodology.There are severalChinese translationsof PersianworksintheearlyperiodofSino-Islamicscholarshipthatcanhelpdeterminehowvocabularywasrendered.TheearliestknowntranslationwasofNajmal-DīnRāzī’sMirṣād al- ibād,18whichwasrenderedasThe Essentials of the Return to Truth (Gui-zhen yaodao yiyi歸真要道譯義)byWuZixian伍子先 in1651and isoneof the


oldestextanttextsintheHan Kitab.Thistextwassopopularthatseveralpeoplecre-ated theirown translations,underdifferent titles, touse in the scripturehall.Thesecondimportanttranslationwas Azīzal-DīnNasafī’sMaqṣad-i aqṣā,ofwhichtherearetwotranslations,possiblybythesameauthor.Thefirst,The Scripture of Studying the Truth (Yan zhen jing研真經),wastranslatedbySheYunshan舍蘊善in1679.Thesecond is anundatedcopyattributed toPoNachi破納痴, possibly thepennameofSheYunshan,calledThe Outline of the Way Returning to the Truth (Guizhen biyao歸真必要).

Acomprehensivecomparisonof theseChinese textswith theoriginalPersianversionswillrevealhowtheseearlyscholarsapproachedtheIslamictraditionthatcamebeforethem.AstudyoftheirtranslationsinconjunctionwithothersignificantearlySino-Islamictexts,suchasWangDaiyu’sThe True Explanation of the Orthodox Teaching;WuZixian’sElementary Introduction on the Cultivation of Truth (Xiuzhen mengyin修真蒙引);ZhangShizhong’s張時中(ca.1584–1661)General Principles of the Return (Guizhen zongyi歸真總義1),Essentials of the Four Chapters (Sipian yaodao四篇要道), and Kalām [Philosophy] (Kelimo克理黙); and Ma Zhu’s馬注(1640–1711) Compass of Islam (Qingzhen zhinan清真指南) will help determinehowChineseMuslimscholarswithinthescripture-hallsystemwererenderingandappropriatingChinesephilosophicaltraditionsduringitsinitialphase.Thenwecanproduceasketchofthisinitialstageofmaturationandlinguisticsophisticationwith-intheHan Kitab.19

ThismethodologycaneffectivelybeappliedtoMaDexin馬德新(1796–1874)andhisstudentsforunderstandingthelaterperiod.MaDexinwasaprolificauthorcomparabletoLiuZhiinhisliteraryoutput,whichcoveredmostofthereligioussci-ences, including instructionalmaterials for students,a recordofhispilgrimage toMecca,andthefirstthoroughattemptatastandardizedtranslationoftheQur an.HewroteinChinese,Arabic,andPersian,andoftenheorhisstudentstranslatedfromonelanguagetoanother.MaDexin’sworksprovideseveralopportunitiesforexplor-inghowChineseMuslimsusedthetechnicalvocabularyofallthreelanguages.

HisArabictreatiseal-Taysir wasfirstpublishedin1862andtranslatedintoChi-nesein1868asDescription of the World (Huanyu shuyao寰宇述要).Similarly,thereexistsanArabicandaChineseversionofhisSources of the Islamic Calendar (Tian-fang Liyuan天方曆源).ThisdirectcorrespondencebetweentheArabicandChineseeditions shows how an important author rendered his own terminology betweenlanguages.MaalsoproducedhisowntranslationofNasafī’sMaqṣad-i aqṣā, titledDaoxing jiujing道行究竟(Completing the Path of the Way).Thisishelpfulfordeter-mininghowPersiantechnicalterminologywasrenderedinthelaterstagesofSino-IslamicintellectualhistorywhenArabicwasbecomingmoreandmorepredominant.Finally,hisQur antranslation,A Direct Explanation of the Treasured Mandate of the True Scripture (Baoming zhenjing zhijie寶命真經直解),ismostvaluableforanun-derstandingof howSino-Islamic terminologywas formulatedwithin this traditionduringitsfinalstages.Ma’sdesireforChineseMuslimstohaveagreaterunderstand-ingoftheirreligionmotivatedhimtorenderhisholybookdirectlyfromArabicandprovidesuswitharichsourceforinvestigatingSino-Islamicscholarship.


MaDexin’sstudent,MaAnli馬安禮(d.1899),gaveusanothertext,theIslamic Book of Odes (Tianfang shijing天方詩經),thatisvaluableforanunderstandingoftheconceptual relationship between Chinese andArabic in Chinese Muslim scholar-ship.TheTianfang shijing isadirecttranslationoftheinfamousMantle Ode (Qaṣīdat al-Burdah)bytheEgyptianpoetAbū AbdAllāhMuḥammadibnSa īdal-Būṣīrī(d.1294–1297).20InMaAnli’smanuscripthepresentstheoriginalArabicpoemalongthetopofthepagewithhisChinesetranslationbelow.AcomparisonofallofthesetextswiththeircorrespondingoriginalswillrevealfurtherevidenceonhowauthorsrenderedspecificterminologyandunderstoodIslamintheChineseculturalcontext.

ThegrowinguseofArabicbyChineseMuslimsfromthelatenineteenthcenturyonalsoopensuptheirliteraryoeuvretoabroadergroupofIslamicists.Asmentionedabove,MaDexinutilizedArabicheavilyinhisworks,andhismostsuccessfulstu-dent,MaLianyuan, thesubjectofpartofThe Sage Learning,wrotealmostexclu-sivelyinArabic.Almostallofhistexts,includingInterpretation of Qur anic Verses (Haiting chiayi孩聽解譯),The Islamic Divisions of Faith (Tianfang fenxin bian天方分信篇),Dismiss the Trinity and Honorthe One (Chusan chongyi黜三崇一),Gen-eral Rules for Praying for Rain (Qiyu zonggui祈雨總規), First Rules of Character Methodology (Zifa chucheng字法初程),andA Summary of Character Methodology (Zifa cuoyao字法撮要),werewrittenentirelyinArabicexceptforthetitlepage,andsome,likeSublime Words on Nature and Principle (Xingli weiyan性理微言),con-sistedofbothChineseandArabic.Therefore,theintellectualhistoryofChineseMus-limsneednotbelimitedtoSinologistsbutshouldbeapproachedbythoseinterestedin Islamic thought ingeneral.Byproviding studiesand translationsofkeyArabicworksthatareatoncebothfaithfultotheoriginalandcomprehensibletothecon-temporaryEnglishreader,ArabistscanhelpbridgethegapsinourunderstandingoftheeffortsofChineseMuslimintellectuals.Murata’scollaborativeeffortshavedem-onstratedtheireffectivenessinascertainingthekernelofSino-Islamicthoughtandshouldbeemulatedinfuturestudies.ThefreshperspectiveofIslamicistsmayalsohelptopreventanymyopicanalysesofChineseMuslimscholarship,which,unlikeMurata’swork,caneasilybe tackled solely in termsof theirChinese literaryandculturalsettingbythosetrainedinChinese.ThebroaderthelensweseektoobserveSino-Islamic intellectual trends through the more comprehensive the picture, themorewewillultimatelybeabletoconstruct.

Ingeneral,acomparisonoftheworksofWangDaiyu,LiuZhi,andMaDexinshowsthattheyeachtreatedChinesethoughtandvocabularyinadifferentmanner.The Sage Learning demonstrates that Liu enthusiastically adopted the essence ofNeo-Confucianthought,whereasChinese Gleams illustratedthatWangutilizeditssymbolismbutwasoftenunsympathetictoitsinherentmeaning.MaDexin,ontheotherhand,explicitlymaintainedtheSino-Islamictraditionofhispredecessorswhilesimultaneouslypushingforgreater inclusionandunderstandingofArabicwritingsandtheQur an.Therefore,wemustbeexplicitonthemeaningsofcertainvocabu-lary fromeachgenerationandplace themwithin theirhistoricalcontext.Further-more,when trying todesignate thecorrelationsbetween the IslamicandChinesetraditionswemustnotassumethattheuseofspecializedChinesevocabularydis-


placedtheoriginal Islamicmeaningthat theoriginalauthorwas tryingtoconvey.UnderstandingtheterminologyusedacrosstimewillrevealhowtheChineseIslamicintellectualtraditionmaturedandwastransformedacrossitslonghistory.Ultimately,thesestudieswillrevealthecontoursanddevelopmentoftheChineseMuslimintel-lectualdiscourseandcontributetoourunderstandingofitsevolution.ThenwewillbeabletoproceedwithourexaminationsofthevastbodyofSino-IslamicclassicsthatremainunknowntotheWesternaudience.

Overall,wemustovercomeanylingeringhesitationtoengagetheavailablere-sources.Thisreluctancemaybeduetomethodologicalorlinguisticlimitations,butwith somanyoriginal sourcesyet tobe surveyedwemustbrazenly forgeahead.Utilizingtranslationstoconstructanaccuratelexiconappearstobeanadvantageousandeffectivestartingpoint.OncewehaveestablishedhowSino-IslamicvocabularywasformulatedandhowitwasusedwithinsomekeytextsorbyleadingauthorsintheHan Kitab wewillbeabletofurnishadetailedanalysisofitsdevelopmentandtransformationovertime.TherecentpublicationoftheQingzhen dadian,Huizu di-ancang quanshu,andZhongguo Yisilanjiao dianji xuan,allofwhichcanbefoundinseverallibrariesintheUnitedStates,makesalmostallthemajorSino-Islamicworksavailableand leavesnoreason to ignore theminour investigationof theChineseMuslimintellectualtradition.OurfutureengagementwiththemshouldallowustobetterlocatetheSino-IslamictraditionwithinthebroaderintellectualhistoryofIslamandunderstandtheinterconnectionsbetweenChinesescholars.

Notes

1–“SeekknowledgeevenifinChina,forverily,seekingknowledgeisincumbentuponeveryMuslim.”ThisHadithisgenerallyconsideredweak(ḍa ’īf )(Al-Khaṭībal-Baghdādī,Tārīkh Baghdād [Beirut:Dāral-Kutubal- Ilmīyah,1997],9:369).

2–JosephFletcherexplainedIslamicrevivalinChinathroughthemotifof“Tides”of influence.Seehis “Les ‘voies’ (turuq) a soufitesenChines,” inLes ordres mystiques dans l’Islam, cheminements et situation actuelle, ed. AlexandrePopovicandGillesVeinstein(Paris:EHESS,1986).

3–Foranextensivestudyofthedevelopmentofthejingtang jiaoyu seeZviBen-DorBenite,The Dao of Muhammad: A Cultural History of Chinese Muslims in Late Imperial China (Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2005).

4–ForsomekeybibliographicalworksseeDonaldDanielLeslie,YangDaye,andAhmedYoussef, Islam in Traditional China: A Bibliographical Guide, Monu-menta Serica Monograph Series 54 (Sankt Augustin, Germany: MonumentaSerica Institute, 2006); Donald Daniel Leslie, Islamic Literature in Chinese (Canberra:CanberraCollegeofAdvancedEducation,1981);ClaudeL.Pickens,Annotated Bibliography of Literature on Islam in China (Hankow:SocietyofFriendsoftheMoslemsinChina,1950);andIsaacMason,“NotesonChineseMohammedanLiterature,”Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asi-atic Society 56(1925):172–215.


5–SachikoMurata,The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought (Albany:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress,1992).

6–SachikoMurata,Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light: Wang Tai-yü’s Great Learning of the Pure and Real and Liu Chih’s Displaying the Concealment of the Real Realm,withanewtranslationofJāmī’sLawā iḥfromthePersianbyWilliamC.Chittick;forewordbyTuWeiming (Albany:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress,2000).

7–TheearliestSino-IslamictextsareThe Investigation of the Teachings of the Pure and True (Qingzhen jiaokao情真教考),The Lord’s Book of Explaining Obstruc-tions (Junshu shiyi君書釋疑),andThe Teachings of the Arabian Sage (Tianfang shengjiao天方聖教),ofwhichtherearenoremainingeditionsandallareonlyknownfromtheirinclusioninLiuZhi’sVeritable Records of the Most Sagely of Islam (Tianfang zhisheng shilu天方至聖實錄)(Leslie,Islamic Literature in Chi-nese,p.21).

8–The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms,bySachikoMurata,WilliamC.Chittick,andTuWeiming,withaforewordbySeyyedHos-seinNasr(Cambridge,MA:PublishedbytheHarvardUniversityAsiaCenterfortheHarvard-YenchingInstitute;distributedbyHarvardUniversityPress,2009).ThistitlecanalternativelybetranslatedasMetaphysics of Islam orPhilosophy of Islam.

9–TheTianfang dianli isthoroughlyexaminedinJamesFrankel,Liu Zhi’s Journey Through Ritual Law to Allah’s Chinese Name: Conceptual Antecedents and Theological Obstacles to the Confucian-Islamic Harmonization of the Tianfang Dianli (PhD.Diss.,ColumbiaUniversity;AnnArbor:UMI—DissertationsPub-lishing, 2005).This title can alternativelybe translated asLaw and Ritual of Islam.

10–ApartialtranslationoftheTianfang zhisheng shilu canbefoundinIsaacMason,The Arabian Prophet: A Life of Mohamed from Chinese and Arabic Sources, a Chinese-Moslem Work by Liu Chia-lien (Shanghai:CommercialPress,1921).

11–Murata translates the term jing 經as“Classic,” i.e.,The Root Classic,whichconformstothecommonrenderingofthiswordinrelationtotheFourBooksandFiveClassics (Sishu Wujing 四書五經)of theConfucian tradition.Whilerenderingjing asClassicreflectsthisspecifictradition,itfailstoencompassthewideruseof the term jing in theBuddhistandDaoist traditions.Therefore, Ihavechosentotranslatejing as“Scripture,”whichshouldbeunderstoodinthebroadsenseofatextthathassocial,cultural,orreligiousmeaningforagroupofpeople.

12–Foraseriesof Ibn Arabi’sdiagramsillustratingthesethemes,seeWilliamC.Chittick,“Ibnal- ArabiandhisSchool,”inIslamic Spirituality: Manifestations, ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr (NewYork: Crossroad, 1990), pp. 49–79. On Ibn Arabi’scosmology ingeneralseeWilliamC.Chittick,The Self-Disclosure of God (Albany:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress,1998).


13–Murata,Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light,pp.128–210.

14–TheholdingsofvariouslibrariesthroughoutEuropeandtheUnitedStatesareoutlinedinFrançoiseAubin,“ChineseIslam:InPursuitofitsSources,”Central Asian Survey 5(2)(1986):73–80.TheHarvard-YenchingLibraryhasnowcre-atedabibliographicaidforTheRev.ClaudeL.Pickens,Jr.CollectiononMus-limsinChina.ItisthelargestcollectionoforiginalmanuscriptsintheUnitedStates,collectedbythreemissionaries,SamuelM.Zwemer(1867–1952),IsaacMason(d.1939),andClaudeL.Pickens,Jr.(1900–1985).TheNewYorkPublicLibrary,AsianandMiddleEasternDivisionResearchLevelCollections,housesIsaacMason’spersonallibrary,theMasonCollectionofChinese-MuhammadanBooksandPamphlets,thesecondlargesttreasuryofmanuscripts.

15–Committee for Compiling Data on an Integrated Chinese Religious History(Zhongguo Zongjiao LishiWenxian Jicheng BianzuanWeiyuanhui中國宗教歷史文獻集成編纂委員會),The Great Canon of Islam (Qingzhen dadian清真大典)(Hefei:HuangshanShushe,2005).

16–WangJianping王建平andBaiRunsheng白潤生,Zhongguo Yisilanjiao dianji xuan 中國伊斯蘭教典籍選 (AselectionofauthoritativeChineseIslamictexts)(Shanghai:ShanghaiGujiChubanshe,2007).

17–WuHaiying吳海鷹,WuJianwei吳建偉,LeiXingkui雷興魁,andLeiXiaojing雷曉靜,Huizu diancang quanshu 回族典藏全書(AcomprehensivecollectionofIslamicclassics)(GansuWenhuaChubanshe,2008).

18–ForanEnglishtranslationandanexplanationofthistext’simportancethrough-outtheIslamicworldseeHamidAlgar,The Path of God’s Bondsmen from Ori-gin to Return (Delmar,NY:CaravanBooks),1982.

19–MostofthesetextsarecontainedinoneorboththeHuizu diancang quanshu andQingzhen dadian.

20–ThefulltitleofthepoemisCelestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation (al-Kawākib ad-Durrīya fī Madḥ Khayr al-Barīya).

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