Joint Meeting on Research Trends of Sufism in China
According to Recently Acquired Materials

Uemura Hiroshi (Team 6) & Tonaga Yasushi (Team 2c)

On last September 27, a joint-study seminar was held in Sophia University at Yotsuya, Tokyo, and 16 participants gathered for a stimulating discussion despite it being a Sunday session. The study session was co-hosted by Team 6, which is in charge of collecting materials, and Team 2c, which is in charge of studying research trends. The latter team also held the 5th Sufism Research Trends Seminar as well.
We invited Mr. Takashi Kuroiwa and Jyun'ichiro Ando-both from Tokyo University Graduate School, who have collected materials and conducted research work in China during this summer, as our presenters for the seminar. A widely ranging discussion developed based on their recently acquired materials and lecture on research trends.
Though China was our focus in this seminar, we also had extensive participation of researchers specializing in other regions (Arabia, Turkey, South Asia, Southeast Asia, West Turkestan, etc), in which we divided the seminar into two parts: Part One to share basic knowledge of Sufism in China through reading the thesis summary together; and Part Two to present and discuss the results of the research. Following are the presentations made by each presenter:

Part One: Reading Presentation
Mr. Jyun'ichiro Ando, Tokyo University Graduate School

In a very organized presentation, Mr. Ando describe the tariqah, or Sufism in China by using the texts La Chine (F. Aubin), Les Voies D'Allah (A. Popovic & G. Veinstein eds., Paris: Fayard, 1996, pp.261-267). A full-translation of those texts were given to us in the form of a hand-out, and mistakes concerning the accuracy of the given report were immediately indicated along with honest criticism. One of the major points was that the fact that the report depicted the historical/cultural orientation of Chinese Sufism without flaw was commendable, but that its perspective in terms of Chinese and East Asian history as well as its correlation with the Chinese society was a little bit weak. For example some indicated that Han kitab could be regarded as a literature of Chinese Sufism, but it could also be regarded as a part of Confucianism. These stacks of literature present us a plentiful and yet unreclaimed field and what further research in this field will reveal is greatly anticipated.

Part Two: Research Presentation
Mr. Takashi Kuroiwa, Tokyo University Graduate School
Entitled "Transmutation of the Chinese Muslim Society During the 17-19th Century and Neo-Sufism," this presentation utilized the newly acquired books such as Mawlud, tracing the shifts that occurred in Northwest China before-and-after the 18th century, and actively inquiring into its correlation with the so-called "Neo-Sufism."
The overall composition of the literature is as follows:
  1. the patrimony of a cult being founded by the local huimin and a Saint who arrived from the "West" in the mid-17th century;
  2. the appearance of a Sufi who travels abroad in the 18th century;
  3. opinions of Western researchers such as Fletcher about the activities of Ma Laichi and Ma Mingxin
  4. criticism of "Neo Sufism" and tajdid (Islamic reform).
Chapter 1 introduces the patrimony of foundation of the three cults, Khufiyah, Quadiriyah, and Kubrawiyah, as well as a description of its relation with the "Western" Saint. In contrast, Chapter 2 depicts how a Sufi left China by reviewing accounts of Ma Laichi and Ma Mingxin. Chapter 3 consists of the placement of these movements from conventional Western research perspectives, and Chapter 4 inquires whether application of the notion of "Neo-Sufism" is applicable in this case or not.
Though it is a highly sophisticated issue and thus would necessitate further theoretical structuring, the attempt to place what is only inherent in China into a wider perspective/framework is very challenging and hence the advancement of such research is to be greatly anticipated.
In the Q&A session following each presentation, the remarks made by China-East Turkestan specialists and other regional researchers increased the importance of a broad-based analytical framework that made us feel the initiation of a new form of comprehensive research effort. I would also like to add that I got a strong impression that in the Chinese-Islamic studies, Japanese researchers have an advantage over the Western researchers because we are capable of reading the Chinese characters and we extensively have studied its long history.