The presence and history of Islam in China is not well-known. Since its arrival into China during the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), Islam and its traditions have become an inextricable part of the fabric of the Chinese tradition. By the time of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE), Chinese Islam had evolved its own indigenous identity and, by the seventeenth century, specifically Chinese formulations of Islamic teachings began to emerge. This edited volume presents the most authoritative contemporary scholarship on the topic of the Islam-Confucian synthesis in China. It introduces to an international audience the hybridization of traditions throughout the millennia of Chinese history. The experience of the Islamic-Confucian synthesis is a historical example of cross-cultural thinking and mutual borrowing. It testifies to the fact that there is no incommensurability between cultures that cannot ultimately be accommodated. In this accommodation is the potential for mutual and creative growth, novelty, cultural renaissance, and the flourishing of the human spirit.
Shuchen Xiang is assistant professor at the Institute of Foreign Philosophy and Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Peking University. Zongping Sha is associate professor of philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Peking University.
Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. The Sinicization of Islam and "Interpreting the Scripture Through Confucianism" Chapter 3. Han Kitab Of Muslims in Ming Dynasty and Confucianism Chapter 4. Dialogue Between Islam and Confucianism: A Study of Chinese Islamic Philosophy in The Ming and Qing Dynasties Chapter 5. The Cycle of Great Transformation: An Initial Survey of The Philosophy of Early Qing Dynasty Chinese Muslim Thinker Liu Zhi Chapter 6. Islamic-Confucian Synthesis in the Light of Zhenjing Zhaowei
Western studies of Chinese Islam had their modest beginnings over a century ago. In recent decades, English-language studies of the subject, from various scholarly perspectives and methodological approaches, have grown increasingly abundant and sophisticated. During the same time, unbeknownst to many in the Anglophone world, scholars in contemporary China have actively been engaged in a separate but parallel enterprise, studying the same thinkers and texts, albeit from a different vantage point and in Chinese. At last, this volume brings these two streams together, enriching the global trove of knowledge and providing an international readership access to a wealth of new translations and interpretations befitting the cosmopolitan historical Sino-Muslim scholars they examine. The multi-faceted effort that has gone into this important contribution should not be underestimated. -- James Frankel, Chinese University of Hong Kong
