CHINESE GLEAMS OF SUFI LIGHT ‘Wang Tai-ya’s Great Learning of the Pure and Real and Liu Chih’s Displaying the Concealment of the Real Realm 9 With a New Translation of Jimi’ Lauri from the Persian Bi William C. Chittick Sachiko Murata With a Foreword by Ta Weiming State University of New York Pressabbey ‘Se Ueray of New rk Pr Alon 16 20 Sine Unnety oN tk Aight sre No paths bak ny be pied in ny manner wore ‘that ie eran Nop fs ek ny ese nero ‘ean ay roy my meno cn te ‘igmeape mecha, poe rcring tre ‘that por per go he pter Formato sre he Site Univerty of New rk Pre, ‘Sneeze, Alton NY De ‘rutin by Man Sener tng eM aie ‘ory a Congress Caen aati Dat sar, Sci at) hie lan ult Wang a's Gret ning othe prea a tn in Gis Doping henna othe al al tha noe as llams Lana rm ean by Wn Cathy Sao ‘rewardty te Wag Ine isip hc fences and inde ISBN 700-79 (ok pope) ENE 7a pope) "Ster~decin” 2 MCh 3 Wing ya Cincher ek ihc tet Che ching tora, ion fe Ltt aps Lae Ciriani Eg NL CB ein Chang e-en fg We pass dal Contents Foresrd Aekledgnents Introduction 41, Chinese-Language Islam ‘TheEsentialsof slam 14 ‘TheChinese Language 17 Wangiaiya 19 LiuChih 24 “The ArbicTansation of Li Chis Philosphy 28 ‘Tansations into Chinese. 31 ‘TheNeo-Confudan Background 35 2. The Works of Wang Tai-yi, The True Asie 48 ‘The Real Commentary on th True Teching $8 ‘Adam and Eve: From Chapter Two of the Ret Commentary 60 ‘TheReal Solitude 64 3, Wang Tl-y0's Great Learning ‘TheChinese Background 70 ‘Thelslamic Concepts 74 Thelen 78 Ba B4. The Great Learning of the Pure and Real Preface 81 Introduction 2 Synopsis: Comprehensive Statement 84 ‘TheRealOne ‘TheNumericalOne 93 ‘TheEmbodied One 96 General Discussion 101 5. Liu Chih’s Translation of Lawrilh ‘The Oneness of Existence 116 Liu Chitys Appropriation of ih 121 ‘The Fanslations 126 6. Gleams 7. Displaying the Concealment ofthe Real Realm Notes Gusary of Chinese Words Bigraphy Index of Chinese Names nd Tir Index of Person and Arie Name and Terms Cneral index a 13 128 19 an Foreword When the Prophet Mshammad instructed, “Seckknowledge, even unto China” the torical significance of China was perhaps remoteness “An unlkely place for Muslims to travel fr economic politcal or socal reavons. Therefore Ian's asval in China inthe Tang dynasty (618— ‘907, probably within the Est generation of Muhammad's dle, is ‘quite remarkable. The Musimsin Tang China weremainy traders who, protected by exrateritorial rights ad confined to specially desi Fated por cites, preserved their Arabic names, native tongues (prima ‘ly Persian) and original dress. Although they led a separate eigious ‘nd sori of the own, they built mosques in more than a dozen ‘ies, notably Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou, and Chang an. With the expansion of martne aden Song China (90-1279), the number ‘of Maslin increased and their prsencein the mainsteam of Chinese Society was reflected in art architecture, and iterature. Those who settled permanently in the Middle Kingdom married Chinese women or opted Chinese children, especialy in times of famine ‘The Mongol conquest of Chine (1278-1968) provided an unusual ‘opportunity for Central Asan peoples to serve as advisors and officials I the Chinese court As aresult several Muslims became ministers. One ofthe most prominent wae Sayyid Aj whove legacy asthe governor ‘of Yunnan province Is ngraned in the alectve memory ofthe local alture and an integral pat of ts elhico-rlgious identity” By the time fof the Ming dynasty (1348-164) acording to Donald Lesieandothers, ‘Masims in China had been thoroughly Wansformed into “Chinese Musime” and the Hot Hu! (s inicized or at last, Chinesespeaking, ‘Muslims, called themeclves and were designated in public discourse) ‘were a conspicuous presence on the Chinese religious landscape” [Nevertheles an intelectual etlerverence amonga cotre of thealog- ‘cally sophisticated Mastim scholar didnot bein untheseventeenth ‘century, specially nthe transition between Ite Ming and eaaly Qing {lot 910) For the fs tne inte history of Islami China, the lama Significantly enriched the intelectual feof the Chinese Muslim com- ‘munity by producing highly sophisticated theological works Why the [ate seventeenth and earyeighteenth-cntury Musi teachers felt he need to atculate pater of frstfl interaction between tei faithu hie Gams uit community an the ager society which had been profoundly shaped &y Confacon vlesin scintingare of ing fr neetal nso. ‘ns comparative eligi ad theology piosopherss itt aborecenty toate the atenson! anise then n Curl Chia efor snewerng hr chaleging question one mst tinge whet theczeative minds among the slams actly prodaced os heres ot the phlsephial rections and how they ropondedtothisprceved need Sach ninguiy tals aconcred tort tesa, desi, {nd appre the best ofthe rl proction ay sill aval {ous Archival wrk, textual analy Btlgraphicrseaeyphisogea stad and tanslaton are neestary step toward prctnnay ner pretation, Sachiko Marat, trough painstaking echelon Ire patient atetvenessnetrmentalin opening up ths el the International scholar commanty 1am pivilogd and tefl have teen ascites with her projet mn the very beginning It hasbeen snintlotualy enticing and pict uplfingexpenece {fst encountered ise philosophy In the tay Pay through a comparative align coure wth Wired Cantvell Sih ocsing on the perceptions of religous communities outside the Christan Wet Sms sympathetic reading ofthe Koa a a commited Chetan thinker was source of inspation to me and enbaned my ability 10 appreciate the thre Abeakame spinal tains frm 1 Confucian perspective Later abo bonefite rest from Huston Sat sontve ndhumane pproachtothe wor righne Hiadiaton for Fat Schuonsinsight into the personal philsophy algo helped me ches the qlnesenl values of Sul. Annematie Shines master deptdon ofthe myntealdensions of lm haghlensd my fsa wih the experentle as welt the ntletual undertanding of the hophet's message My mesing with Poesy ahi lute st ‘Neat Hot shen Coen gin anda subsaquet international gatherings fered ane arate opportunity tothinkpiesopicaly about Ste fon aSinc popes fan pou tohave played part in tesng his serial werk Sufism ano, ‘nNowth Ameria by the Univer of Calor res However tw ay alten whee on Nw and Gunn rnin ne-Confucaneatogues in Cambridge, Maseachset and in Kuala spur Maly n'995 that ena sn tory mee my sein the study of anc phikeophy in cascal Chinese Teaned fom Sachiko Maataand Wa Chick tht Wang Ty and Lu Chis piosophical efectos om lama represent the carck instance in which sim hnkers wrote ther reataesina major inte eeu language other than Arabi Pesan, Even the Masi appr Feewont pation of Greok philosophy 40 construct a new theological synthesis ‘arn Arabic In choosing to expres themselves lasical Chinese, the Chinese ulama were compelled to se a norlslamic idiom a8 a ‘medium ofcommunicaon, This obliged them torespond tothe Cont tdanintlectual word. The case of Matteo Ric and hisJesuicolleagues ead comes to mind for comparison ioe assumed that Ris Gelibrately adopted an accommodating strategy to make his Catholic message acceptable t Confucian tert By emphasising the compatibity ofthe Christan idea of God with the lasscal Confacian rosin of Heaven he intended to convey that be levingin Gad wae retuento the source of thesagely teaching that had ton Tost in Neo-Confucian moral metaphysics His teaching thatthe ‘eal meaning! the Lord on High fr rom an alien conception srooted inthe core of Confucian orthodony and orthopraxy had a sympathetic fesonancein the minds of hisconverts Recent scholarship gests that, ean envoy from the Vatican, Ric hada more grandiow design than Simple accommodation. Whether or not he really meant to colonize the (Chinese mind, hisevocation of asc Contain eeligisy was adeli- tate atemptto deconstrcttheNeo-Confocin fathofformungone body twith Heaven Earth, and the myriad things. Indeed, ony by denying ‘he truth ofthe Neo-Confuian coe ida ofthe unity and continuity of Allbcings was icc able to demonstrate the necessity of radial tense ‘ence ae the defining characteristic ofthe Lord on High a5 the Creator? ‘By contrat the Chinere Misi theologians were soseasonedin the ‘Neo: Confucian modect thinking that they philsophized fom the core ofits concerns: understanding things, refining knowledge, authent- ‘ating intentions, purifying hears and minds culvating bois, ha ‘monising family relationships, soverning states, and bringing peace the whole world, Intent on educating members of thelr own ath they tlucdated the base tenets of Islamic thought forthe purpose of sl- feflection and mutual learning rather than advocacy, let alone conver ‘on. The Neo-Confucan value system implicit n thet plulosophical fxpostion was an integral part of what they considered sell-evidenlly fre. The Neo-Confuclan cde of eis constituted a significant part of their comitment an action aswell They didnot try to accom ‘moda ther theology to the Neo-Confucan mold nor di they appro- ‘rate the Neo-Confacian frame of reference to make their theologies ‘eas more palatable to the larger cet. They were so steeped in the lmblance of the Neo-Confacan word that they took tor granted that “hs culture of ous” provided the skid ground for ther o oui as Masims. would bering however o giveth impression Ht the Chinese lama tomehow effortlessly integrated Neo-Confacanisn and Ilan. hae Gams Sof ight into a new synthesis. Actaly twas against overwhelming odds that the fst generation of Chinese Mim thinkers atined sich nterpree ‘balance The story of Wang T-yais truly exceptonal Widely acclaimed the first majorChinese Masi thinker Wang rote atleast vee semic ‘ates: Che chio ceca ("The realinterpretation ofthe orthodox teaching"), Cring-chn e-steh ("Te great laring ofthe pure and real) and si-chen cheng (eve answers onthe unique reat) Wang, twas conversant with the Four Teachings (lam, Confusanism, Tals, {and Buddhism), and involved in a vasey of intereigous dialogues from the Islamic perspective. Hb versity m engaging non-Muslim scholars inaneatndedconveriaton cored him the reputation of Chen Thal Laon erally, “the old man of lr. "et Wang was not raised in aChineseiterary fly nor washe ever formal tooredin Contac csi, Born na Musi any of Central ‘Asian ancestry, Wang received a eligious education typical of youth of ‘sila background, Since there was vitally no Chinese erature on Islam teachings, Chinese who could not read Arabi or Persian would nothavethe diet acen othe sacred mi text ands commenti Wang’ sstudy of lam was understandabiyin Arabic and Persian. There {smo way to gauge how he charted a course of acon in the symbolic “universe here mos of the people he encountered spoke Chinese Nor {stheresolid evidence of hi mecting with he Jena, eventhough the temple hath ater ansoated with for expounding the message of pure and ea wasadjacenttotherelgiousbase of his contemporary icin Nanking, ‘Aclingtohisautobigraphic note Wang iy began learning class calChinese in hislate tens While the need to acuie enough ingustic proficiency to discuss meaningfully the Islamic oath with members of /hSown ath community and scholars nthe apersociety rcbvious seems evident tha there was also intrns value he sustained fort to become educated in Contin casks The perceived or suspected inctrumental rationality sen in Rice's case was absent. There Was Ro ‘comparable nsittional presse for Wang to make his wor account ble foa higher authosty inthe religous herarchy Asan aspiring mem berof the ulama dass leading te lec the faithful his orthodoxy and fonthoprany were never judged by hin missionary work no matte bow broadly thats dened Surely his fry, his teachers the Muslim com uty in Nanking, isl in China, the spresd of Catholicism in the Confucian intelligent, the popalanty of Pure Land Sadism an religion Taoism the vibrancy ofthe folk traditions and a host of non- Felgios factors ll weighed in Wang's educational choice ‘But there no reagon to doubt that he commitment fo Confucian learning was also am integral part of his ow sal-cultvation.—a holistic = vay of learning tobe a good Mum ina predominantly Confucian society Wang was empowered by his profound “personal knowledge” Spd intimate tat understanding” of Neo-Confadan moral metaph¥s: ‘er toarticlateis slam theology na Chinese idiom. Hisreatiity in ‘constructing Chinese Islamic world view ian orignal eontibution to [Neo-Confucian thinking, na strict sens, he didnot use Confucian te ‘minology to articulate hs ultimate concern, Rather by embodying his franscending vision in the local knowledge, he offered a nuanced and ‘ble description af how the uth of Lam can be concretely realized {nConfcian China, What e proposed was not an alternative path but {Amtualy bene joint venture Hn acceptance of Confucian harman Smashisown culture esiched his ordinary daily experience sa Muslim intellects] in a coemopoitan Chinese ity His bro and dexp under ‘fanding of lane philosophy added 3 new dimension to and fresh [erepecive on his conversations with like-minded Confucian itera, Buudhist monks, and Taoist schaas nour plualstiereigious word, Nang aby canbe cay categorized asa Confucian Most. From te perspertvedt the dialogue among v- Taations the meeting in Cambrige snd Kea Lumpur afemed tne authentic possiblity of mutual reference fruitflinteraction, and gen {ne collaboration between Islamic and Confucian cvlizations. As we temnbarkon the twenty fst century we bein fo imagine the shapes of this kind of creative sytem North America and Southeast Asia ‘lang single-handedly and powerfully demonstrated tht it could be done Moreover ina sjstematic and conscientious way, he putinto pra tee a concrete procedure to seamlessly interweave the core curiculam foram studie witha hy textured exposition of Confucian lsrn- fing, Without fall understanding of his ow islamic faldh andthe Con- fucan wisdom he had gnined through the daily sital of painstaking reading, copitation, deliberation and writing, such aninspiring exercise ‘nanalogical imagination wa virtually impossble. Gra Laraing of he ‘ured Rel she fruition of Wang's nbor of love Tis emarkable thatthe dalogve that Wang nated the middle of ‘he seventeenth century eantinued to gather momentum insubsequent {generations and produced a sere of signliantcontbution by What ‘Kawata Rokr Anbu, and others identified os"Muslim Conf” (Gio) writers This trajectory reached ts apexin thecal eighteenth Century when one ofthe mont sophisticated theological ands in the Chines amie worl, Liu Chi 162-1730), signaled the renaissance ofSinczed lam Amongthe themes Li lacdate, dhe unity of Heaven Sha humanity i particulry intriguing. The mot inthe Deine of ie ‘Mon featured prominently in Liu's cntclogical and epsterologisl ‘exposition of apprehending the Supreme Lord. The anthropacormic“a rinse am ig vision ofthe human participation in cosmic creativity in the Dctine landories Li's project of 2 new fusion of the Islamic and Confucian hovizons ‘Only those who are the most sincere (authentic, true and rel) can fully realize their own nature; ‘Ale to fully realize thelr own nature they can fully realize the ature of humanity “AbletoFlly realize the nature of humanity, they can aly realize the nature of things “Abeta fly realize the nature of things hey can take partin the transforming and nourishing process of Haven and Earth “Able to take pati the transforming and nourishing proces of Heaven and Earth, they can form a tuty with Heaven, End Earth? Li interpretation of Heavervhuman, nature/destiny, substance! function is thoroughly Confucian. Yet by grounding the discourse In ‘Suftteachirgs he presented coherent vision ofthelamicwayoleaeh- ing tobe fly human. He succesfully, ot efortley incorporated Confucian notions of e-culivation, sagehood, and ultimate transfor mation into an Islamic word vow Af the same time, his Suf vision, Infortedbythe\deas of the unity ofall eles, the continulty of being, and conmic equiibrivm, enabled his to appreciate the Confacaflth inthe parership between Heaven and humanity as o-ereatos. Sochko Murat’ pioneering ttompt allow the chat of Suf ight to shine through the opacty of Chinese Islamic theology dluminats twellkep secret the comparative study of eligi, Irhas important {mpllations for several other felso inguey notably Chinese eigion, nit Asian thought and comparative cikzationl studies also helps ‘ust place the Confucian Christan dialogue in a broader contest cate- [gorize Chinese religions more ecumenical than the Three Teachings, {nd recogrize the contour of Islamic ties in traitional Cina. Her “View ofthe unfolding landscape is so enchanting thatthe promise of ‘ngial research and productive scholarship csems ites [am grate {alto her for inviting me to share 2 truly exceptional moment in the dialogue among cllzations. TwWawnc Acknowledgments 1 wish to expres my gratitude to all the organizations and individuals ‘hat have made this research possible and assted me along the way fam grteful to Stony Brook forthe junloe faculty research leave that I ‘ecsved inthe acum of 194 aa the sabbatil lave the spring of 1997, both of which allowed me to spend time at Harvard and the Yenching institute, Lam alco gratfl forthe assistance given by the FavvardYenching Listy and Harvard's Center for the Stuy of Wold Religions: Mort of al thank the National Endowment forthe Human ites whose generous support made poss the main body of my r- ‘search Several brariesin Japan including the Library of Congres, T0y0 Bunka Kenko of Toyo University, Toye Bunko, and te Tr Univer- Si Libracy, were generous in providing mica of Chinese works. My ‘Speci thanks goto Mr. Yamamura of Toyo Bunko and Miss Kobayashi ‘of Ten. Lam also grateful to the Cente for Civizatonal Dialogue at the University of Malaya, which providing me with some assistance for ‘tip to China, Profesor Teta Inoh of Chuo University Kindly sent ‘me various secondary sources on Islam that hhad obtained more than fitty years ago when he was teaching in Bejing, Professor Chivo Shima fof Chiba University and my fiend Hiroko Yamada helped me obtain ‘document rom the japan Libary of Congress Professor Sun Quanzhuo fof shanghal Foreign Language Unversity and Professor Ya Weihan, former president of Harping Meal College, acted as my gues in (China and gave ne allsots of sistance. Professor Yu Zhengu director ofthe Academy of Social Saences at Ningals, and FrfessorMa Fingof thesaime Academy were hepfltomein China Several people assisted se in varios stages of preparing this stad, ineludingProtessor Shi ning and Sung Bae Peskol Stony Brook, Zou Qin of Harvard and ‘Mitsuko Cover ofspecil collections atStony Brook brary, whoestab- lished a section for Islam in China. am grateful to Professor Seyyed Hossein Nas wha invited me o portipate nan ongoing dialogue with “Tu Weng on lami and Confucian relations, and who has contin ted fo encourage aie to pursue my work on Chinese Islam. My Rood frend Dr Alina Giese and Professor Wlthart Heinrichs of Harvard ot ‘only encouraged and aded mein my research but also gave me a cozy place to say in Boston whenever I needed i Finally, Tem extremely