Hui-

Author: Liu Yihong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This book's research scope is limited to the exploration and analysis of Islamic philosophy in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. As this study involves different cultural systems—the Islamic system of the Arab world and the Confucian culture of China (including its fusion with Chinese Buddhist, Taoist, and other philosophical thoughts)—the author adopts a comparative philosophical and comparative theological research perspective, employing argumentation methods such as parallel and contrastive comparison in comparative studies, to conduct a specific analysis of individual cases in the development stages of Chinese Islamic philosophy, emphasizing the logical nature of its integrated development. At the same time, the book clarifies the conceptual connotations, research methods, and research objectives among religion and religious philosophy, religious philosophy and theology, as well as comparative philosophy and comparative theology. The book briefly outlines the philosophical thoughts of the Islamic Quran, provides a detailed analysis of the philosophical ideas of the 11th-century Islamic Sufi thinker Al-Ghazali and his major work—Revival of the Religious Sciences—revealing the main ideological sources that influenced the creation of Chinese Islamic philosophy, and proposes that the philosophical thoughts of the Quran and Al-Ghazali are the theoretical foundations that directly or indirectly influenced the final establishment of Chinese Islamic philosophy. In the case analysis and argumentation of the development of Chinese Islamic philosophy, the book elaborates in greater detail on the philosophical ideas of several renowned Islamic scholars in the history of Chinese Islamic development, such as Wang Daoyu, Ma Zhu, Liu Zhi, and Ma Dixin, and compares and analyzes their motivations for writing and their fundamental ideological propositions. Based on their theoretical characteristics and ideological categories, it elucidates and highlights their unique contributions to the creation of Chinese Islamic philosophical theory. It is believed that in the history of Chinese Islamic philosophy, Wang Daoyu pioneered the concept of "interpreting Islam through Confucianism," establishing important philosophical concepts of Chinese Islamic philosophy such as "the Unity of the True," "the Unity of the Number," and "the Unity of the Body." He consciously compared the doctrines and thoughts of Islam with those of other religions such as Buddhism and Taoism, emphasizing the uniqueness of Islam. Although his use of ancient Chinese philosophy, particularly the philosophical concepts of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism, to interpret Islamic doctrines and principles seemed somewhat forced, he ultimately laid the foundation for the establishment of Chinese Islamic philosophy, becoming a model for later scholars to emulate and develop. Ma Zhu strongly advocated for the emperor to accept Islam, hoping to "supplement Confucianism with Islam" and achieve mutual illumination between Confucianism and Islam. He posed questions and answers to clarify the tenets of Islamic faith, aiming to "preach and resolve doubts." Ma Zhu's The Way to Return to the True is more straightforward and lucid in both language style and ideological characteristics. In the study of Liu Zhi's philosophical thoughts, the author believes that Liu Zhi, deeply feeling that "the teachings of the heavens are in harmony with the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius," and with the ambition to "make the principles of the world clear," approached his analysis with an extremely objective attitude, emphasizing the commonalities between the connotations of Islamic philosophy and traditional Chinese philosophical concepts. In the analysis and argumentation of Ma Dixin's philosophical thoughts, the book explains his motivation for writing, which is to "supplement Confucianism with Islam." It is argued that the Islamic concept of "resurrection in the afterlife" in Islamic thought supplements the Confucianism of China, which only speaks of the present life and not the afterlife, emphasizing the importance of the "principle of returning to the origin and completing the cycle." He blended the metaphysics and epistemology of Confucianism (including both the school of principle-learning and the school of mind-learning) to interpret the relationship between the human heart-mind and