Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s9.t3: Ma Dexin
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s9.t3
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Ma Dexin
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In Sino-Islamic intellectual tradition, Ma Dexin (1794-1874), also known as Yusuf Ma, is widely recognised along with Wang Daiyu and Li Chi as the three brightest scholars of pre-modern China. All of them contributed greatly to the spread of tenets of Islam through the translation of original text into classical Chinese using the vocabulary of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. They were aptly called ‘Islamic Confucian’ scholars who produced a collection of Islamic and Confucian texts as the religious *Han Kitab*.
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Born in 1794, Ma belonged to the Hui ethnic minority from Yunnan province of China. The Hui are Chinese speaking and have been culturally similar to Han except for their religion, which is mostly Islam. In fact, the Chinese character for Hui [回] also signifies Islam. The educated among the Yunnan Hui learned Arabic along with Chinese. Ma is known to have acquired excellent proficiency in Arabic and Persian as well as in Islamic texts.
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In 1841, Ma went to Mecca and Medina to perform Hajj. As the traditional maritime route was disrupted due to the Opium War, he accompanied a group of Muslim merchants and travelled overland to the south reaching Mandalay in Myanmar, and then took a boat down the Irrawady River to arrive at Rangoon (now Yangon). He then boarded a steamship for the Arabian Peninsula. After conducting the Hajj, he stayed in the region for another eight years studying at the al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt which was famous for Islamic studies, as well as travelling widely to places connected with the Ottoman Empire such as Alexandria, Istanbul, Jerusalem, etc. He was greatly influenced by the Islamic modernity movement simmering there.
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In the spring of 1849, Ma returned to Kunming in Yunnan as a Hajji and became an Islamic scholar. He not only received much prestige and honour for his accomplishments, but also commanded great influence over Muslim Yunnanese as a high priest. Settled in the Linan district (a Ming dynasty Muslim settlement in Jianxian county) in south Yunnan, he preached to a large Muslim congregation at the local mosques and school. In the time when greater Han migration and the Qing’s ethnic policies had started to alienate Muslims, his strong religious orientation arising out of developments in Arabia began to politicise the populace.
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In 1853, conflicts between Han and Moslem miners increased, which by 1855 finally took the shape of a local rebellion, known as the Panthey (or Hui) Rebellion, under the charismatic leadership of Du Wenxiu. Taking the title of Sultan Sulaiman and establishing the Pingnan guo [Kingdom of Pacified South], Du ruled from his capital, Dali, until caught and beheaded by the Qing in December 1872. Ma Dexin initially worked closely with Du in the Rebellion as one of the leading religious and military leaders. He later shifted his allegiance to the Qing Government and played the role of a peacemaker between the state and rebels, propagating a harmonic integration of Islam into the Confucian order. Some of his best writings were produced during this time. He was however, still considered a rebel by the state due to his early subversive activities. Finally in January 1874, two years after the complete suppression of Rebellion, he was arrested and executed. Some accounts mention that he was poisoned to death.
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As the leading Islamic scholar of his time, Ma is most famous for producing first authentic translation of the holy Qur’an in Chinese entitled, *A Direct Explanation of the Treasured Mandate of the True Scripture* [Baoming Zhenjing Zhijie 宝明真经直解]. His other important works reflect his exposition of theoretical and theological basis for the coexistence of Islamic and Confucian culture, strong rejection of incorporation of Daoist and Buddhist elements in practising Islam, and a positive attitude towards Tasawwuf or Sufi mysticism. Of his more than 30 publications, the noteworthy are *A Summary of the Great Transformation* [Dahua zonggui 大化總归], *Essence of the Four Canons* [Sidian Yaohui 四典要会], *Record of the Pilgrimage Journey* [Chaojin Tuji 朝觐途記], *Completing the Path of the Way* [Daoxing Jiujing 道行究竟], *Essential Discourse on Returning to God* (Huigui Yaoyu 会归要語]. His Arabic works include *Tahqiq al-Salat* [*The Verification of Prayer*], *Akadhib al-Nasara* [*Lies of the Christians*], *Mushtaq* [*Yearning*], *Munabbihat* [*Stimuli*], *al-Muhkam* [*The Definite*] and *Asrar al-Ma’ad* [*Secrets of the Return*]. To the Sino-Islamic intellectual tradition, Ma Dexin thus made a lasting contribution.