Islamic thought in China : Sino-Muslim intellectual evolution from the 17th to the 21st century

The essays in this volume tell the stories of Chinese Muslim intellectuals trying to create satisfying, safe and coherent lives at the intersection of two potentially conflicting cultures. The eight essays in this volume, written by scholars from six countries, narrate the continuing translations and adaptations of Islam and Muslims within Chinese culture through the writings of Sino-Muslim intellectuals. Progressing chronologically and interlocking thematically, they help the reader develop a coherent understanding of the intellectual issues at stake. How can people belong simultaneously to two cultures without alienating themselves from either? Muslims have lived in the Chinese culture area for over a millennium, and intellectuals among them have wrestled with this problem in print since the 17 th century. The Chinese written language never adopted vocabulary from “Islamic languages” to enable precise understanding of Islam’s religious and philosophical foundations, so Islam had to be translated into Chinese, a language dominated by Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, which lacks words and arguments to justify monotheism. Even in the 21 st century, culturally Chinese Muslims must still defend their devotion to a single God, avoidance of pork, regular worship at the mosque and other markers of their communities’ distinctiveness. These essays trace the intellectual evolution of Islam in Chinese, answering questions about the translation of exogenous traditions and opening new possibilities for comparison with other imported ideas, such as Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Marxism, and modernism. Sino-Muslim intellectuals thought about Islam in Chinese, so close readings of their writings provide direct evidence of the contradictions and triumphs of their cultural simultaneity How Can People Belong Simultaneously To Two Cultures, Originating In Two Different Places And Expressed In Two Different Languages, Without Alienating Themselves From Either? Muslims Have Lived In The Chinese Culture Area For 1400 Years, And The Intellectuals Among Them Have Long Wrestled With This Problem. Unlike Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Or Malay, The Chinese Language Never Adopted Vocabulary From Arabic To Enable A Precise Understanding Of Islam's Religious And Philosophical Foundations. Islam Thus Had To Be Translated Into Chinese, Which Lacks Words And Arguments To Justify Monotheism, Exclusivity, And Other Features Of This Middle Eastern Religion. Even In The 21st Century, Muslims Who Are Culturally Chinese Must Still Justify Their Devotion To A Single God, Avoidance Of Pork, And Their Communities' Distinctiveness, Among Other Things, To Sceptical Non-muslim Neighbours And An Increasingly Intrusive State. The Essays In This Collection Narrate The Continuing Translations And Adaptations Of Islam And Muslims In Chinese Culture And Society Through The Writings Of Sino-muslim Intellectuals. Progressing Chronologically And Interlocking Thematically, They Help The Reader Develop A Coherent Understanding Of The Intellectual Issues At Stake. "Tells the stories of Chinese Muslims trying to create coherent lives at the intersection of two potentially conflicting cultures. How can people belong simultaneously to two cultures, originating in two different places and expressed in two different languages, without alienating themselves from either? Muslims have lived in the Chinese culture area for 1400 years, and the intellectuals among them have long wrestled with this problem. Unlike Persian, Turkish, Urdu, or Malay, the Chinese language never adopted vocabulary from Arabic to enable a precise understanding of Islam's religious and philosophical foundations. Islam thus had to be translated into Chinese, which lacks words and arguments to justify monotheism, exclusivity, and other features of this Middle Eastern religion. Even in the 21st century, Muslims who are culturally Chinese must still justify their devotion to a single God, avoidance of pork, and their communities' distinctiveness, among other things, to sceptical non-Muslim neighbours and an increasingly intrusive state"-- Publisher's Web site Contents 5 Glossary of East Asian Names 7 Glossary of East Asian Terms 11 The Contributors 19 Editor’s Introduction: Four Centuries of Islamic Thoughtin Chinese 21 Part I. The Qing Empire (1636-1912) 33 1. A Proper Place for God: Ma Zhu’s Chinese Islamic Cosmogenesis 35 2. Liu Zhi: The Great Integrator of Chinese Islamic Thought 54 3. Tianfang Sanzijing: Exchanges and Changes in China’s Reception of Islamic Law 75 4. The Multiple Meanings of Pilgrimage in Sino-Islamic Thought 101 Part II. Modern China 125 5. Ethnicity or Religion? Republican-Era Chinese Debates on Islam and Muslims 127 6. Selective Learning from the Middle East: The Case of Sino-Muslim Students at al-Azhar University 167 7. Secularisation and Modernisation of Islam in China: Educational Reform, Japanese Occupation and the Disappearance of Persian Learning 191 8. Between ‘Abd al-Wahhab and Liu Zhi: Chinese Muslim Intellectuals at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century 217 Bibliography 253 Index 280