Everything about Yusuf Ma Dexin totally explained
Yusuf Ma Dexin (1794-1874) was a
Hui Chinese scholar of Islam from Yunnan, known for his fluency and proficiency in both
Arabic and
Persian, and for his knowledge of
Islam.
Biography
Hajj
Ma performed the
Hajj in 1841, leaving China by a circuitous route; as ocean travel out of China had been disrupted by the
Opium War, he chose instead to leave with a group of Muslim merchants travelling overland. After passing through
Xishuangbanna, they went south to Burma, then took a riverboat along the
Irrawaddy River from
Mandalay to
Rangoon. From Rangoon, they were able to board a
steamship which took them all the way to the
Arabian Peninsula. After his time in
Mecca, he stayed in the
Middle East for another eight years; he first went to Cairo, where he studied at
Al-Azhar University, then travelled throughout the
Ottoman Empire, going to
Suez,
Alexandria,
Jerusalem,
Istanbul,
Cyprus, and
Rhodes.
Return to China
As a prominent Muslim in Yunnan, Ma became involved in the
Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan shortly after he returned from the Hajj. The Panthay Rebellion, which flared up in 1856 as part of a wider series of uprisings by Muslims and other minorities, was led mainly by
Du Wenxiu; though Ma disagreed with
Du Wenxiu's revolutionary methods, he also encouraged his followers to aid in the uprising; later, he'd try to act as a peacemaker between the central government forces and the rebels. In total, he published over 30 books, most of which fall into five categories.
- Islamic jurisprudence and philosophy: 四典要会, 大化总归, 道行究竟, 理学折衷, 性命宗旨, 礼法启爱 据理质证,
- Islamic calendar and history: 寰宇述要 (Description of the World), 天方历源 (History of Arabia)
- Introduction and analysis of works of other Muslim authors in China, such as Ma Zhu and Liu Zhu: 真诠要录, 指南要言, 天方性理注释
- Qu'ran: the first five volumes of 宝命真经直解 (True Revealed Scripture), the earliest translation of the meanings of the Qur'an into Chinese
- Arabic grammar: 纳哈五 (Nahawu), 赛尔夫 (Saierfu), 阿瓦米勒 (Awamile)
- Other: 朝觐途记 (Diary of a pilgrimage), a description of his time in Mecca; originally in Arabic, translated to Chinese by Ma's disciple Ma Anli
Further Information
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