The heart of the Islamic-Chinese dialogue: Wang Daiyu and the creation of a Chinese Muslim discourse

Chapter one outlines the historical spread of Islam in China through the Ming Dynasty. Chapter two chronicles the scripture hall educational system (jingtang jiaoyu) and its spread into eastern China. Chapter three introduces the Han Kitab, a Sino-Islamic canon (c. 1600-1750), and delineates its major themes. Chapter four describes Wang Daiyu's (c. 1590-1658) life and philosophy. Chapter five analyses the heart in the "Zhenxin" or "True Heart" chapter of his True Explanation of the Orthodox Teaching (Zhengjiao zhenquan ). I argue that Wang Daiyu's employment of a Chinese lexicon to articulate Islam shows that he thought of himself as simultaneously "Chinese" and "Muslim." His work represents those involved in the education system and epitomizes this Chinese Muslim literati identity. This development created a new discourse for understanding Islamic knowledge and the Chinese Muslim identity.