Chinese Islam between Confucianism and Daoism: A Cultural Orientation Approach

الإسلام الصيني بين الكونفوشيوسية والطاوية: منهج التوجّه الثقافي

Abstract

This study investigates the interaction and intellectual engagement between Islam and the major indigenous traditions of China—Confucianism and Daoism—through a cultural orientation approach. Focusing on prominent Chinese Muslim thinkers of the Ming–Qing period, such as Wang Daiyū (1570–1660) and Liu Zhī (1664–1730), the research highlights how these scholars adopted Confucian concepts as the main framework for expressing Islamic theology and ethics. Their writings demonstrate a deep appreciation for the Confucian emphasis on moral cultivation, social harmony, and humaneness, while showing comparatively limited engagement with Daoist metaphysical ideas and mystical cosmology. Utilizing Thomas Kasulis’ theory of cultural orientations of intimacy and integrity, the paper argues that Islam, Confucianism, and Daoism share certain affinities with the intimacy orientation, characterized by relational harmony and spiritual interconnectedness. However, Chinese Islam and Confucianism exhibit a stronger tendency toward integrity orientation, emphasizing structured knowledge, disciplined moral conduct, and the rational organization of faith. This theoretical framework helps explain why Chinese Muslim scholars found Confucianism a more compatible medium for Islamic expression than Daoism, despite Daoism’s prominence in Chinese cultural imagination. The study concludes that the Confucian-Islamic synthesis represented not a compromise of Islamic principles but a culturally contextualized articulation that maintained the theological essence of Islam while integrating it within the Chinese intellectual landscape.