The Dao of Muhammad: A Cultural History of Muslims in Late Imperial China

Harvard East Asian Monographs #248

by Zvi Ben-Dor Benite

This book documents an Islamic-Confucian school of scholarship that flourished, mostly in the Yangzi Delta, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Drawing on previously unstudied materials, it reconstructs the network of Muslim scholars responsible for the creation and circulation of a large corpus of Chinese Islamic written material--the so-called Han Kitab. Against the backdrop of the rise of the Manchu Qing dynasty, The Dao of Muhammad shows how the creation of this corpus, and of the scholarly network that supported it, arose in a context of intense dialogue between Muslim scholars, their Confucian social context, and China's imperial rulers.

Overturning the idea that participation in Confucian culture necessitated the obliteration of all other identities, this book offers insight into the world of a group of scholars who felt that their study of the Islamic classics constituted a rightful "school" within the Confucian intellectual landscape. These men were not the first Muslims to master the Chinese Classics. But they were the first to express themselves specifically as Chinese Muslims and to generate foundation myths that made sense of their place both within Islam and within Chinese culture.

Genres: Islam, China, Religion, History, Nonfiction, Asia, Social Science

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2005

Reviews

[Asim Bakhshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't say it was a great book in terms of lucidity of prose and furnishing of ideas but nevertheless, it was an interesting read in terms of drawing upon some really unexplored texts, the community that preserved them and the associated tradition that was created. Chinese Islam is an intriguing subject and this tradition can be seen as a laboratory for exploring the intricate interplay of religion, society and identity.

[Brett Dulle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly disappointed. I was expecting there to be more on Chinese Islamic theology and the interaction between Confucian ideas and Islamic ones. Instead the book really is more of a social history of Islamic educational networks in China. I found the book repetitive, the main point of his book is that these muslim scholars were engaged in the broader Chinese-Confucian culture, yet were not absorbed by it, that they retained their unique identity as Muslims. Yet the possibility of there being an "accommodation" or watering down of Islam in China is not really looked into. For instance as part of his evidence that the Chinese muslims were Chinese and Muslim, he shows how muslims presented Muhammad as a sage with his own "dao" (Way, tradition) similar to sages in the Confucian tradition, and many even saw Islam and Confucianism as complementary. Yet a sage, as the author acknowledges, is different from a prophet. How did these Chinese Muslims interpret revelation in a Chinese context? What about God? These aspects of Islamic theology and belief would have been quite different from traditional Chinese-Confucian culture. These questions are not really brought up in the book, and at a few moments in the book he mentions the Chinese muslims did not really discuss or present Islam as a religion so much as a philosophy. To me this suggests a sort of accommodation either intentionally so as not to rock boats in Chinese with their foreign religion, or because after so much time in China naturally sort of accommodation occurred. Now, it is possible that if the author had delved more into the Chinese Muslim communities theological beliefs, all my questions would be answered and misunderstandings untwisted.
Another thing about the book is that it does not really go into how the Muslims were perceived by the border Chinese community. There are hints and references, but nothing substantial. We know that they were viewed with suspicion with some, while tolerated by others. His conclusion for instance deals with a conflict between a governor who arrested a muslim and ordered book brings of Islamic books, and the Qianlong emperor's curt response and call for toleration (even though Qianlong is quite condescending to the Islamic tradition calling it simple). This was an interesting anecdote but the treatment could have been more through. Did any non-Muslim literati have an interest in the Dao of Muhammad. The author does reference the fact that Islamic scientific knowledge was well respected and sought after, yet this is not really discussed in detail.
Finally another problem I had with the book is that the book is all about these Islamic educational networks in China, yet we do not really get to hear about why a Chinese muslim would go to these schools. In China, you go to school to study the classics in hopes of passing the civil service exam with thee hope of getting a bureaucratic job in the Chinese government. But what could you get out of going to the Islamic schools. Could going to these Islamic schools in any way help a Chinese Muslim get a job If not, why go to an Islamic school, other than to get the feeling you as a muslim better understand your religion. But certainly, it would note be essential to being a practicing Muslim in China since not every Muslim went to these schools, or at least the author does not suggest that it was compulsory for a Chinese Muslim.
I did not think the book was as boring as some people said it was. I just felt the subtitle "a cultural history of Muslism in late Imperial China" is not entirely accurate. It is not that wide ranging; the book is really a monograph on a very specific topic, Islamic educational networks in China. The book has a very specific goal: to show that Chinese Muslims, were both Chinese and Muslim, carrying a dual identity, and were not just Muslims living in China, nor were they Chinese who also happened to be Muslim. Instead, they were fully engaged with the broader Chinese society and culture, and at the same time had a throughly earnest faith. Yet I wonder whether the faith they practiced would have been recognized by their co-relgionists in the Middle East as being orthodox.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book doesn't pretend to be about Chinese Islamic theology- it's up front about being about the mosque education system and identity building. This is for you if you're looking to read about Chinese Muslim literati and the mosque education system. If you're looking to read specifically about theology, ritual, etc there are other sources which explore this.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique evaluation of the transmission of religious identity and its mutable, fungible character alongside one's ethnic or cultural identity. Certainly a worthwhile read!

[Guillaume · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite of all time. Very clear on the Islamic education system in China and full of facts and details. A must read to understand how Islam thrive and interact in the Chinese state