Wáng Dàiyú (,
Xiao'erjing: ) (ca. 1570 - ca. 1660) was a
Chinese Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
-
Maturidi
Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic ...
(
Hui) scholar of
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
descent. His given name was Ya, style name Daiyu. He called himself ''Zhenhui Laoren'' ("The True Old Man of Islam") and went by his style name.
Life
His earliest ancestor in the early
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...
period came to China in the retinue of a Tributary Emissary from the West (the
Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
). Because he was adept at the art of astronomy and calculating calendars, he held the office of Master Supervisor of the Imperial Observatory, and was granted a residence in Lu Fei Lane (present day South Hong Wu Street) in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
.
Philosophy
His descendants followed in this field. As a child, Wang Daiyu learned from his father. Later, he studied under Ma Junshi from
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
. At the age of 20, he began studying
Chinese and an intensive investigation of the writings of
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
Daoism, as well as other miscellaneous teachings. In the fifteenth year of the reign of the
Chongzhen Emperor
The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源),''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德� ...
, he made a translation of ''Zhengjiao Zhenquan'' (正教真詮, "A True Explanation of the Right Religion"), in twenty "juan", and began the enterprise of translating the Islamic scriptures into Chinese. Later, he also wrote ''Qingzhen Da Xue'' (清真大學, "The Great learning of Islam") and ''Xizhen Zhengda'' (希真正答, "Rare and True Answers"). Within
Chinese Islamic circles, he is known by the laudatory title, "Great Saint of the Qing Period." Wang believed in providing Islamic works in Chinese-language versions instead of depending upon Arabic ones.
Works
Wang was fluent in Chinese, Persian, and Arabic. He studied Confucianism extensively and used it to explain Islam.
Wang wrote "The Real Commentary", in which he uses Chinese Classical texts to explain Islam, since Chinese speakers couldn't read original Islamic texts in other languages. He is most critical of Buddhism and Taoism, while citing Confucian ideas which agreed with Islam in order to explain it.
Wang wrote about Islam in the Chinese language and in a Confucian context, not to convert non Muslim Chinese to Islam, but to help Muslims in China understand Islam, since the majority of them spoke Chinese at his time.
Wang also used the Chinese language and Confucianism to explain Islam to non Muslim Han Chinese in addition to Muslims.
Wang Daiyu's works eventually became part of the Chinese Islamic text the
Han Kitab, along with other Muslim scholars from eastern China like
Liu Zhi, and
Ma Zhu
Ma Zhu (馬注) (1640 – after 1710) was a Chinese Hanafi- Maturidi scholar. Ma was noted for his combining of Confucian and Islamic values in his philosophy.
Biography
Ma was born in Yongchang Fu in Yunnan Province during the reign of ...
.
See also
*
Ma Zhu
Ma Zhu (馬注) (1640 – after 1710) was a Chinese Hanafi- Maturidi scholar. Ma was noted for his combining of Confucian and Islamic values in his philosophy.
Biography
Ma was born in Yongchang Fu in Yunnan Province during the reign of ...
*
Yusuf Ma Dexin
*
Liu Zhi (scholar)
*
List of Hanafis
The following is the list of notable religious personalities who followed the Hanafi Islamic madhab followed by the section of Contemporary living Hanafi scholars, in chronological order:
*Abu Hanifa (d. 767)
*Ibn al-Mubarak (d. 797)
*Abu Yusuf (d ...
*
List of Ash'aris and Maturidis
*
List of Muslim theologians
References
External links
王岱輿 CDSIA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Daiyu
Hanafis
Maturidis
17th-century Muslim theologians
Shaykh al-Islāms
Sunni Sufis
Sunni imams
Sunni Muslim scholars
Ming dynasty scholars
Qing dynasty translators
Hui people
Chinese Muslims
Chinese people of Arab descent
Ming dynasty translators
Writers from Nanjing
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
16th-century Chinese writers
17th-century Chinese writers
1585 births
1658 deaths
17th-century Chinese astronomers
17th-century Chinese translators