Rectifying God’s Name: Liu Zhi’s Confucian Translation of Monotheism and Islamic Law: Professor James D. Frankel:Book Review: Islamic Circles-Feb 9,2021

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Amazon:Rectifying God’s Name: Liu Zhi’s Confucian Translation of Monotheism and Islamic Law: James D. Frankel - amazon.com

Islam first arrived in China more than 1,200 years ago, but for more than a millennium it was perceived as a foreign presence. The restoration of native Chinese rule by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), after nearly a century of Mongol domination, helped transform Chinese intellectual discourse on ideological, social, political, religious, and ethnic identity. This led to the creation of a burgeoning network of Sinicized Muslim scholars who wrote about Islam in classical Chinese and developed a body of literature known as the Han Kitab. Rectifying God’s Name examines the life and work of one of the most important of the Qing Chinese Muslim literati, Liu Zhi (ca. 1660–ca. 1730), and places his writings in their historical, cultural, social, and religio-philosophical context. His Tianfang danli (Ritual law of Islam) represents the most systematic and sophisticated attempt within the Han Kitab corpus to harmonize Islam with Chinese thought.
The volume begins by situating Liu Zhi in the historical development of the Chinese Muslim intellectual tradition, examining his sources and influences as well as his legacy. Delving into the contents of Liu Zhi’s work, it focuses on his use of specific Chinese terms and concepts, their origins and meanings in Chinese thought, and their correspondence to Islamic principles. A close examination of the Tianfang dianli reveals Liu Zhi’s specific usage of the concept of Ritual as a common foundation of both Confucian morality and social order and Islamic piety. The challenge of expressing such concepts in a context devoid of any clear monotheistic principle tested the limits of his scholarship and linguistic finesse. Liu Zhi's theological discussion in the Tianfang dianli engages not only the ancient Confucian tradition, but also Daoism, Buddhism, and even non-Chinese traditions. His methodology reveals an erudite and cosmopolitan scholar who synthesized diverse influences, from Sufism to Neo-Confucianism, and possibly even Jesuit and Jewish sources, into a body of work that was both steeped in tradition and, yet, exceedingly original, epitomizing the phenomenon of Chinese Muslim simultaneity.
A compelling and multidimensional study, Rectifying God’s Name will be eagerly welcomed by interested readers of Chinese and Islamic religious and social history, as well as students and scholars of comparative religion.

James D. Frankel, Ph.D., a native New Yorker, holds his bachelor's degree in East Asian studies and doctorate in religion from Columbia University in New York City. His expertise is in the history of Islam in China, a field that draws upon and informs his scholarly interests in the comparative history of ideas, and religious and cultural syncretism. As a member of the faculty of religion at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Dr. Frankel teaches courses in comparative religion, Islam, and mysticism. He has lived in China and traveled extensively in Asia and Europe for research and to meet with fellow scholars and religious leaders of Muslim minority communities. Rectifying God's Name is his first book.

Fons Vitae: The Harmonious Unity: Liu Zhi's Sino-Islamic Interpretation of the Five-Fold Path:Translation by Naoki Yamamoto fonsvitae.com

This is an English translation of Liu Zhi’s The Exposition of the Five Pillars of Islam, which remains the most influential Chinese-language Islamic work, regarded by Chinese Muslims (Islam arrived in China as early as 618 CE) as a fundamental textbook for learning and comprehending the divinely ordained duties of Islam. Liu Zhi (1660-1739), was a prominent Chinese Sunni Hanafi-Maturidi scholar of the Qing dynasty and a leading figure in the Han Kitab tradition.
“The Exposition of the Five Pillars of Islam” (Wugong Shiyi) by Liu Zhi is a profound treatise on the meaning of the Five Pillars of Islam (Shahada, Salah, Sawm, Zakat, and Hajj), framed within a metaphysical structure that draws on the language and lens of Chinese civilization and philosophy. The work provides both a theological and spiritual explanation of the Five Pillars as well as a moral framework that connects them to broader philosophical ideas about the nature of existence, ethics, and personal cultivation.
Besides its innate metaphysical and philosophical value, the text is invaluable for understanding how the masters of Chinese Islam straddled religious and civilizational frontiers and created harmony between two different intellectual worlds. Liu Zhi’s approach, however, is distinguished from that of other Muslim scholars in that he addressed the basic articles of Islamic thought with Neo-Confucian terminology and categories. The lens of Chinese civilization includes concepts derived from Taoism, Confucianism & Buddhism.
Professor Wang Genming explains in the Foreword that: “Although the Five Pillars are the foundational rites of Muslim life, the author approaches them not merely as ritual obligations, but as a profound gateway into the doctrines and spiritual philosophy of Islam. Through multi-faceted analyses of their origin, function, requirements, and religious significance, Liu Zhi offers a deep and nuanced exposition of Islamic teachings.The result is a text of exceptional conciseness and philosophical depth, where each line offers clarity at a glance and insight upon reflection.”
Many editions have been produced over the centuries, including a wood block edition in 1768. To have such a work giving insights into the way Islam was presented and understood in China is extremely valuable. It opens up a profound, refreshing and exciting approach to thinking about the 5 pillars of Islam whose deeper meanings some Muslims might take for granted.

Amazon: amazon.com The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi:Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms:Sachiko Murata,William C. Chittick, Tu Wei-ming, Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Liu Zhi (ca. 1670–1724) was one of the most important scholars of Islam in traditional China. His Tianfang xingli (Nature and Principle in Islam), the Chinese-language text translated here, focuses on the roots or principles of Islam. It was heavily influenced by several classic texts in the Sufi tradition. Liu’s approach, however, is distinguished from that of other Muslim scholars in that he addressed the basic articles of Islamic thought with Neo-Confucian terminology and categories. Besides its innate metaphysical and philosophical value, the text is invaluable for understanding how the masters of Chinese Islam straddled religious and civilizational frontiers and created harmony between two different intellectual worlds.
The introductory chapters explore both the Chinese and the Islamic intellectual traditions behind Liu’s work and locate the arguments of Tianfang xingli within those systems of thought. The copious annotations to the translation explain Liu’s text and draw attention to parallels in Chinese-, Arabic-, and Persian-language works as well as differences.