The Han Kitab Authors 147
In describing his course of studies, Liu Zhi expressed his awareness
of his special cultural position at the intersection of various idea-
tional systems, with access to many different strands of Chinese
cultural tradition.
The main motivation behind his scholarly work was not simply
the desire to spread the knowledge of Islam. It seems to have been
more philosophical. Liu wrote that after much study he had ar-
rived at the conclusion that the basic principle (li 理) of all teach-
ings was the same and that the sages “of the East and of the West”
were motivated by the same ideas,^74 a feature of his thought typical
to many of his colleagues as well.
Liu prided himself on three works in particular. The first dealt
with the metaphysics of Islam, the second with Islamic law, and
the third was a translation of an Arabic biography of Muhammad,
to which Liu added some original material. Through the very cate-
gorization of Islam in this fashion—as divisible into three interre-
lated and fundamental components: metaphysics, law, and the
“sage” Muhammad—we see Liu’s systematic approach to study.
Whereas various scholarly predecessors had provided general expli-
cations of Islam or discussed specific issues, Liu attempted to
deal with the thought system in its entirety, dedicating entire
books to each of its fundamental aspects. This increased systemati-
zation can, I think, be seen as one symptom of the gradual consoli-
dation and development of Chinese Islamic scholarship as a whole,
a consolidation and development that reached an apogee in Liu’s
lifetime. Chinese Islamic tradition was not based on a static, time-
less cultural “import”; rather, it was flexible and constantly in
development.
Liu’s first important book was the Tianfang xingli 天方性理
(Metaphysics and principle of Islam), a five-volume work con-
cerned with all conceivable aspects of theology and Islamic cos-
mology.^75 Its title reveals the author’s familiarity with Neo-
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74. Liu stated this idea in several places, among them his introduction to the
Tianfang dianli 天方典禮 (Law and rituals of Islam). See Liu Zhi, “Zixu” 自序
(author’s preface), Tianfang dianli, p. 1 a.
75. Liu Zhi, Tianfang xingli 天方性理 ( 1760 ).