参考

分类:清朝回族人

分类:清朝穆斯林

分类:清朝作家

Biography

Liu Zhi was born into a scholarly family around 1660. In his childhood, he received instruction from his father, Liu Sanjie. 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 studied Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism and "Western Studies." 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 Persian, and studied both 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.

After Liu Zhi's death, his tomb became a site of pilgrimage for Chinese Muslims, with thousands visiting his tomb annually.

Works

• 天方性理 (Tianfang Xingli, The Metaphysics of Islam or The Philosophy of Arabia). was the Arabic translation by Ma Lianyuan (马联元 and , 1841-1903)

• 天方典礼 (Tianfang Dianli, The Rites of Islam)

• 天方字母解义 (, Arabic Script explanation meaning)

• 天方至圣实绿 (Tianfang Zhisheng Shilu, The Real Record of the Last Prophet of Islam) In 1921 it was translated into English by Royal Asiatic Society member Isaac Mason as "The Arabian Prophet: A Life of Mohammad from Chinese Sources".