Liu Zhi (scholar)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Liu.

Liu Zhi
Traditional Chinese	劉智
Simplified Chinese	刘智
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Liú Zhì
Jielian (courtesy name)
Chinese	介廉
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jièlián
Yizhai (pseudonym)
Traditional Chinese	一齋
Simplified Chinese	一斋
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yìzhāi

Liu Zhi (ca. 1660 – ca. 1739) was a Chinese Muslim scholar of the Qing dynasty from the traditionalist Gedimu sect of Islam. He was from Nanjing.

Biography

In his childhood, he received instruction from his father, Liu Sanjie (劉三杰). At the age of 12, he studied scriptures with Yuan Ruqi (袁汝契) at the Garden of Military Studies Mosque in Nanjing, (which no longer exists). At the age of 15, he began a career of study in his home. For fifteen years, he read up on Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, as well as "Western Studies"; there was nothing he did not read. He considered Confucius and Mencius to be "Sages of the East" and Muhammad to be a "Sage of the West," and that "the teachings of the Sages of East and West, today as in ancient times, are one." He further believed that the scriptures of Islam are also "generally similar to the intentions of Confucius and Mencius." From around the age of 30, he took up residence at the foot of Qingliangshan in Nanjing, where he began to interpret and expound on the Islamic scriptures, using Confucian studies, for a period of about twenty years. During this time, he twice brought his manuscript with him to visit and solicit advice and the opinions of both Muslims and non-Muslims, leaving his tracks throughout Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and other places. In his later years, he resided at his studio, Saoyelou ("House of Sweeping Leaves"), at Qingliangshan in Nanjing.

He learned Arabic and was versed in Buddhism and Daoism. He also wrote several works on Islam in 1674, 1710, and 1721.

His writings became part of the Han Kitab, a collection of literature which synthesized Islam and Confucianism.

He said that Muslims were allowed to believe in the Mandate of Heaven and serve the Emperor, because Allah allowed the Mandate of Heaven to exist.

Works

• 天方性理 (Tianfang Xingli, The Metaphysics of Islam) T'ien fang sing li wikisource:zh:天方性理 https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/天方性理
  • 天方性理(一)
  • 天方性理(二)
  • 天方性理(三)
  • 天方性理(四)
  • 天方性理(五)
  • 天方性理(六)
• 天方典禮 (Tianfang Dianli, The Rites of Islam) T'ien fang tien li
• 天方字母解義 (Tiānfāng zìmǔ jiě yì, Arabic Script explanation meaning) T'ien fang tse mu kieh i
• 天方至聖實綠 (Tianfang Zhisheng Shilu, The Real Record of the Last Prophet of Islam)
  • 天方至聖實錄(一)
  • 天方至聖實錄(二)
  • 天方至聖實錄(三)
  • 天方至聖實錄(四)
  • 天方至聖實錄(五)
  • 天方至聖實錄(六)
  • 天方至聖實錄(七)
  • 天方至聖實錄(八)
  • 天方至聖實錄(九)
  • 天方至聖實錄(十)
  • 天方至聖實錄(十一)
  • 天方至聖實錄(十二)
  • 天方至聖實錄(十三)
• Dozens of others

See also

• Wang Daiyu, an eclectic Chinese Islamic scholar, versed in all oriental philosophical traditions.
• Yusuf Ma Dexin, a later Islamic scholar who also tried to reconcile Islam and Confucian philosophy.