Islam in Imperial China: Sinicization of Minority Muslims and Synthesis of Chinese Philosophy and Islamic Tradition

Even though China is nowhere near the heartland of Islam, the country isnot a stranger to the religion brought by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In fact, Islam hadreached China as early as 7th century ce and achieved its zenith during the era of theMing Dynasty (1368–1644 ce), also known as the “Golden Age of Islam” in China. Notonly were Muslims during the Ming era generally accepted by majority Chinese whoseaffiliations were predominantly Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, Islam was legallyrecognised by the imperial government. The number of Islamic institutions such asmosques and learning centres increased, and so did the number of Muslim population inthe country. In administration and politics, the Muslims equally received their share whileMuslim intellectuals and scholars found themselves appreciated and acknowledged byChinese rulers for their contributions. Nevertheless, as with minorities of other countries,the Muslims in China were subject to assimilation or integration into the culture of themajority, i.e., Han Chinese. This policy known as “sinicization” consequently affectedMuslims in many ways, leading to changes in their lifestyle, custom and tradition. Using qualitative approach and library research method, this paper aims to assess the underlyingreasons for the sinicization of Chinese Muslims apart from the obvious political necessity ofthe Chinese imperial government, and the effects of the process on the Muslim community.On the latter, focus will be given to Muslims’ attempt to synthesise Chinese philosophyand Islam during the imperial era (618–1912 ce) as it served to project the peaceable natureof Islam hence enabled Muslims to preserve their distinctive Islamic identity and traditionamidst the predominant non-Islamic cultural setting. In other words, the synthesis whichwas pioneered by Chinese Muslim scholars, particularly of the Ming until the Qing era, notonly prevented full assimilation of Muslims into local Chinese culture but also ensured thesurvival of Islam and its tradition in China until the modern period.