Muslims contribution in China:

Asian Muslims to serve as scientists, geographers, astronomers,

musicians, artisans, soldiers and administrators. Most began to
intermarry with Han women, and their children were raised as Muslims.
Hu dengzhou:
Islamic education had no formal system of teaching and was dependent
on local religious professionals’ idiosyncratic approaches and access to
limited textual resources.
This characterized the early life of Hu Dengzhou (circa 1522-1597),
who would go on to establish an important institutional system for
Islamic instruction in China — scripture hall education . Dissatisfied
with the level of instruction he was able to obtain at his local. Hu also
mixed foreign language textual study with Chinese language
instruction, making Islamic teachings available to a larger body of
students.

Hu’s scripture hall education system was an effective blueprint for

other Muslim communities throughout China and a direct prompt for
the production of Chinese language Islamic texts within a few
generations..

Advanced students curriculum:

The advanced students’ curriculum was frequently made up of 14

courses, eight in Arabic texts and six in Persian, often referred to as the
14 scriptures .This program of study included Arabic grammatical
theory, creeds, legal works of fiqh and Quranic commentaries,
including such well-known texts as “The Path of God’s Bondsmen
from Origin to Return” (
Many Muslims were trained in the scripture hall education system in
the eastern provinces of China.
Wang Daiyu was one of the first authors to write about Islam using
Chinese. He recounted that his ancestors were originally from “Arabia”
and arrived in China over 300 years earlier. He grew up in a devout
Muslim family and was of the fifth generation of the scripture hall
students. He did not receive a traditional Confucian literati education
like many of his peers in Nanjing but began studying literary Chinese at
age 20 in order to read Chinese books on metaphysics and history. This
background, and his advanced training in Islamic education, enabled
him to put Islam and Confucianism into dialogue through his writings,
which was aimed at the acculturated participants in the scripture hall
program. We can see this clearly through the title of his short treatise
“Great Learning of Islam”

. Liu Zhi’s father, Liu Sanjie, was his teacher and a well-known
author in his own right, penning “Explanation of Islam” and “The
Origins of Muslims.” Liu Zhi’s writings covered a wide range of topics
including theology, mysticism, legal theory, biography and the meaning
of Arabic letters. Among scholars he was most famous for his trilogy of
books: “Metaphysics of Islam” , completed in 1704; “Rituals of Islam”

Others
While some of the most eminent authors came from Nanjing, Yunnan
in southwest China became another important hub for this literary
tradition. One of the earliest Han Kitab figures from this region was Ma
Zhu (1640-1711), who authored the monumental “The Compass of
Islam”

). Ma Zhu asserted that Islam and Confucian teachings complemented

each other, but that without a recognition of God, one would ultimately
fall short of a true life.

The key generative thread throughout Ma Dexin’s many writings was

his seamless blending of Arabic and Chinese textual production that
was intended for his local Sino-Muslim audience. This was rooted in
the localized practice of Islamic learning that incorporated a parallel
Chinese and Arabic educational program .

Ma Dexin began writing his works in Arabic and Chinese, often

translating his own texts from one language to the other. He was a
prolific author, whose literary output covered most of the religious
sciences, including instructional materials for students, a record of
his hajj titled, “Record of the Pilgrimage Journey” He even produced
new editions of classic Sino-Islamic works, such as, “The Commentary
on the Compass of Islam”
while also connecting Sino-Muslims to Muslim communities abroad.

Ma Anli did this through his most important work, the “Islamic Book
of Odes” published in 1890, which was his rendering of the well-known
poem the “Mantle Ode” by the poet Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn
Said al-Busiri (died circa 1294).

Ma Lianyuan, on the other hand, made a clear move away from

Chinese language texts, writing primarily in Arabic and Persian. But he
honored the Han Kitab by making it accessible to Arabic reading
audiences with his text “Sublime Words on Nature and Principle”

These key figures represent only the crests of the vast ocean of this
textual tradition. Reading the Han Kitab literature and exploring the
social networks behind its production and consumption reveal the
diverse ways Islam was interpreted within premodern China. For Sino-
Muslims being Chinese and Muslim was not diametrically opposed,
and the ways they expressed their beliefs were rooted in both of these
intellectual traditions. Sino-Islamic religious scholarship was clearly
expressed as a Chinese religion, one that resonated with the sensibilities
and established conventions of participants deeply rooted in literati
learning. Altogether, the Han Kitab testifies to the unique way Muslims
in China have made their contribution to the rich legacy of Islamic
heritage.

Explorer
 Zheng He, mariner and explorer.
 Fei Xin, Zheng He's translator.

 Generals in the Republic of China:

 Ma
Ju-lung
 Ma Ching-chiang (Lt. General)
 Warlords of the Ma clique during the Republic of China era:
 Ma Chung-ying
 Ma Hongkui
 Ma Lin
 Ma Qi

 Generals from the 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army):

 Ma Sheng-kuei
 Su Chin-shou
 Pai Tzu-li
 Zuo Baogui (1837–1894), Qing Muslim general from Shandong
Religious
 Liu Zhi (c. 1660 – c. 1739), Islamic author (Qing dynasty).
 Qi Jingyi (1656–1719), Sufi master who introduced the Qadiriyyah school to
China.
 Ma Laichi (1681?–1766?), Sufi master who brought
the Khufiyya Naqshbandi movement to China.
 Ma Mingxin (1719–1781), founder of the Jahriyya Naqshbandi movement.
 Ma Wanfu, founder of the Yihewani.
 Ma Qixi (1857–1914), founder of the Xidaotang.
 Ma Yuanzhang, Jahriyya Sufi leader.
 Wang Jingzhai, one of the four famous Imams of the Republican period
 Hu Songshan (1880–1956), Yihewani reformer and Chinese nationalist.
Scholars and writers
 Bai Shouyi, historian.
 Tohti Tunyaz, historian.
  Ma Zhu, Islamic scholar and Southern Ming loyalist.
 Yusuf Ma Dexin, first translator of the Qur'an into Chinese.
 Muhammad Ma Jian, author of the most popular Chinese translation of the
Qur'an.
 Wang Daiyu, Master Supervisor of the Imperial Observatory (Ming dynasty)
 Zhang Chengzhi, contemporary author.
 Pai Hsien-yung, contemporary author, son of Bai Chongxi.
 Yusuf Liu Baojun, Contemporary Author and Historian.
Officials
 Ma Xinyi, official and a military general of the late Qing dynasty in China.
 Ma Linyi Gansu Minister of Education
 Tang Kesan, representative of the Kuomintang in Xikang
Martial arts
 Ma Xianda, martial artist.
 Wang Zi-Ping, member of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists (the
"Boxers") during the Boxer Rebellion.
 Chang Dongsheng, martial artist and Shuai jiao teacher.
Arts
 Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang, calligrapher.