96 Self-Perception and Identity
ing will not be able to reach completeness” 經學如海通理方能究
其他經也非游學不能大成. She’s response to this statement was
another question: “At the present, where is the most flourishing
place of heavenly studies?” 曰今天學何地最盛. His master’s re-
sponse was: “Shaanxi, Hubei, Jiangsu—all have scholars. Their way
of teaching is exemplary; men of ability are gathering [in these
places] in large numbers.” However, the master added, “There is
no one like the two masters Chang and Li of Jining” 無如濟水常
李二師 (JXCP, p. 84 ).^48 Shortly thereafter She Yunshan went to
Jining to study under the two great masters. It is clear from this
conversation that by 1650 the educational network was already
perceived as extremely large and that Li Yanling and Chang Yun-
hua were already famous.
Jining was not the only place where She studied, but it was there
that he spent most of his time as a student. He also visited Nanjing
and finally Kaifeng, where he began his own, extremely active, ca-
reer as a teacher. Just as She’s travels demonstrate his commitment
to a broad community of learning, so, too, does his innovative
method of scholarship. She is described as studying in the com-
pany^49 of other students (in She’s case these were Feng Tongyu and
Ma Yong’an 馬永安, both of whom became prominent teachers in
their own right). The three would study each book together, ask-
ing one another questions about its meaning and content. She’s
skill at this activity was unsurpassed and he was able to answer
even the most difficult of questions. In fact, he never failed to pro-
duce an answer (為問難先生百無一窘; JXCP, p. 85 ). He also dem-
onstrated his ability to study and learn with great speed. For ex-
ample, he studied the Musabih in “less than a month” (米斯巴哈不
逾月而畢; JXCP, p. 85 ).
She’s life reflects the strong emphasis placed on communal
knowledge and communal learning by the Chinese Muslim schol-
arly elite. Just as the translation of texts was understood as a means
by which knowledge could be shared and disseminated, so, too,
were study and teaching understood primarily as communal activi-
—————
48. Here Jishui stands for Jining.
49. The term used by Zhao for She’s classmates is tongchuang 同窗.