Muhammad Ma Jian
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Muhammad Ma Jian (; ar, محمد ماكين الصيني '; 1906–1978) was a
Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
-Chinese
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic scholar and translator, known for translating the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
into Chinese and stressing compatibility between
Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
.


Early years

Ma was born in 1906 in Shadian village in Gejiu,
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
. This was a majority-Hui village that would later be the site of the infamous
Shadian incident The Shadian incident () was an uprising of Muslim Hui people during the Chinese Cultural Revolution which ended in a military-led massacre. The massacre took place in seven villages of Yunnan Province, especially at the Shadian Town of Gejiu ...
during China's
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
. When Ma was six years old, he was sent to the provincial capital of
Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
, where he would receive his primary and secondary education until the age of 19. Following his graduation, Ma returned to his hometown of Shadian to teach at a Sino-Arabic primary school for two years - an experience which he did not enjoy. This was followed by a stint of study under
Hu Songshan Hu Songshan (1880–1955), a Hui, was born in 1880, in Tongxin County, Ningxia, China. His Muslim name in Arabic was Sa'd al-Din ( ar, سعد الدين '; ). Although he was born Sufi and turned Wahhabi, he changed his views and turned his ...
in
Guyuan (), formerly known as Xihaigu (, Xiao'erjing: قُ‌يُوًا شِ), is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It occupies the southernmost section of the region, bordering Gansu provin ...
, a city in the Hui region of Ningxia. He then went to
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
for further education in 1929, where he studied at the Shanghai Islamic Normal School for two years.


Study in Cairo

Following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Ma was sent by the Chinese government to
Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...
in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, to cultivate relations with Arab nations. He was a member of the first group of government-sponsored Chinese students to study there - which included men who would later become leading Chinese scholars of Arabic and Islam, such as Na Zhong. While in Cairo, he contacted the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
-affiliated Salafi Publishing House, which agreed in 1934 to publish one of his works - the first full-length book in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
on the history of
Islam in China Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui people, Hui Muslims are the ...
. A year later, Ma translated the ''
Analects The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...
'' into Arabic. Whilst in Cairo, he would also subsequently translate several of
Muhammad Abduh ; "The Theology of Unity") , alma_mater = Al-Azhar University , office1 = Grand Mufti of Egypt , term1 = 1899 – 1905 , Sufi_order = Shadhiliyya , disciple_of = , awards = , infl ...
's works into Chinese, with the assistance of Rashid Rida, as well as Husayn al-Jisr's ''The Truth of Islam''. To promote Chinese interests in the context of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, Ma was sent to
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
in early 1939 as part of a
hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
delegation alongside 27 other students - a journey on which they spoke to
Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...
about the determination of 'all the Chinese people' to resist the Japanese.


Return to China

Ma returned to China in 1939. There he edited the ''Arabic-Chinese Dictionary'', while translating the ''
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
'' and works of
Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...
and
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. He also became a professor of Arabic and
Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...
at
Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
in 1946, a role in which he oversaw the introduction of the first Arabic-language courses in the Chinese higher education system. At Peking University, he would train many of the next generation's most prominent Chinese
Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on the ...
s, such as Zhu Weilie. His initial translation of the Qur'an's first 8 volumes was completed in 1945, and after being rejected by Beijing publishing houses in 1948, this was published by Peking University Press a year later. Following the Communist victory in the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, he was also elected as a member of the
People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
in 1949. In 1952, another edition of his Qur'an translation was published by
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
's
Commercial Press The Commercial Press () is the first modern publishing organisation in China. History In 1897, 26-year-old Xia Ruifang and three of his friends (including the Bao brothers Bao Xian'en and Bao Xianchang) founded The Commercial Press in Shang ...
, and Ma became one of the founders of the
Islamic Association of China The Islamic Association of China () is the official government supervisory organ for Islam in the People's Republic of China. The association is overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following the S ...
. As part of this role, Ma also aimed to increase public awareness of Islam - which he did by publishing several articles in newspapers such as the
People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language ...
and the
Guangming Daily The ''Guangming Daily'', also known as the ''Enlightenment Daily'', is a national Chinese-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1949 as the official paper of the China Democratic League. St ...
. He also published a translation of Tjitze de Boer's ''History of Philosophy in Islam'' in 1958. Due to his linguistic skills, he served as a high-level interpreter for Chinese officials such as
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
, whom he enabled to speak to
Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
at the
Bandung Conference The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference ( id, Konferensi Asia–Afrika)—also known as the Bandung Conference—was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–2 ...
. It was this that allowed him to keep his professorship and post in the PPCC until his death in 1978, despite widespread persecution of Muslims during the upheaval of the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
. Ma's mother-in-law, sister and niece were killed during the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution but Ma was unable to voice his personal feelings on the tragedy. Following his death, Ma's translation of
Philip K. Hitti Philip Khuri Hitti (Arabic: فيليب خوري حتي), ( Shimlan 22 June 1886 – Princeton 24 December 1978) was a Lebanese-American professor and scholar at Princeton and Harvard University, and authority on Arab and Middle Eastern history, Is ...
's History of the Arabs was published in 1979 by the
Commercial Press The Commercial Press () is the first modern publishing organisation in China. History In 1897, 26-year-old Xia Ruifang and three of his friends (including the Bao brothers Bao Xian'en and Bao Xianchang) founded The Commercial Press in Shang ...
. The
China Social Sciences Press China Social Sciences Press (CSSP, traditional Chinese: 中國社會科學出版社; simplified Chinese: 中国社会科学出版社), also known as Social Sciences in China Press, is a Chinese state-level publishing house sponsored and managed b ...
also posthumously printed, in 1981, his complete translation of the Qur'an, which Ma had worked on up until 1957, and then between 1976 and 1978.


Influence

His translation of the Qur'an remains the most popular in China today, surpassing versions by
Wang Jingzhai Wang Jingzhai (; 1879 - 1949) was a well-known Muslim scholar during the Republic of China period. He was the first or possibly second person to translate the entire Qur'an into Chinese, with the exact time attributed to either 1927 or 1932. He beg ...
and Li Tiezheng. It has been lauded for its faithfulness to the original, and has reached an 'almost canonical status'. The quality of this translation has also been recognised internationally - with the
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
-based King Fahd Holy Qur'an Printing Press opting to use it for their Arabic-Chinese bilingual edition of the Quran, published in 1987.Petersen.


See also

*
Islam in China Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui people, Hui Muslims are the ...
*
Islamic socialism Islamic socialism is a political philosophy that incorporates Islamic principles into socialism. As a term, it was coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Islamic socialists believe that the teachin ...
* Quran translations *
Hui people The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...


References


Further reading

*''Zhongguo Da Baike Quanshu'' (中国大百科全书 " Encyclopedia of China"), first edition, 1980-1993.


External links


Biography of Ma Jian and his translation of the ''Qu'ran''

Al-Quran
project includes Ma Jian's
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
translation (both in classical and traditional
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Muhammad 1906 births 1978 deaths Chinese spiritual writers 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Chinese Muslims Al-Azhar University alumni Translators from Arabic Translators to Chinese Translators from Chinese Translators to Arabic Hui people Writers from Yunnan Chinese Confucianists Republic of China translators People's Republic of China translators Translators of the Quran into Chinese People from Honghe Peking University faculty 20th-century Chinese translators