The Han Kitab was a collection of Chinese Islamic

Islam in China

Throughout the history of Islam in China, Chinese Muslims have influenced the course of Chinese history. Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society...

 texts, written by Chinese Muslim

Hui people

The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...

s, which synthesized Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 and Confucianism

Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

. It was written in the early 18th century during the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. Its name is similarly synthesised: 'Han' is the Chinese word for Chinese, and 'kitab' means book in Arabic. Liu Zhi

Liu Zhi (scholar)

Liu Zhi was a Chinese Muslim scholar of the Qing period from Nanjing.- Biography :In his childhood, he received instruction from his father, Liu Sanjie . At the age of 12, he studied scriptures with Yuan Ruqi at the Garden of Military Studies Mosque in Nanjing, . At the age of 15, he began a...

 wrote his Han Kitab in Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 in the early 18th century. The works of Wu Sunqie, Zhang Zhong, and Wang Daiyu were also included in the Han Kitab.

The Han Kitab was widely read and approved of by later Chinese Muslims such as Ma Qixi

Ma Qixi

Ma Qixi , a Hui from Gansu, was the founder of the Xidaotang, a Chinese-Islamic school of thought.-Education and teaching:Ma was born into the family of a Taozhou ahong of the Beizhuang menhuan, a Sufi order. At 11 years of age, he studied with a non-Muslim who was an examination graduate at the...

, Ma Fuxiang

Ma Fuxiang

Ma Fuxiang . Ma, a Dongxiang muslim leader, had a military and political career which spanned the Qing dynasty through the early Republic of China and illustrated the power of family, the role of religious affiliations, and the interaction of Inner Asian China and the national government of...

, and Hu Songshan

Hu Songshan

Hu Songshan , a Hui, was born in 1880, in Tongxin County, Ningxia, China. His father was a Gansu ahong belonging to the Khafiya menhuan, a Chinese-style Sufi order. When he was 18 he joined Wang Naibi of Haicheng. At age 21, he became imam of the Yihewani sect, which was founded by Ma Wanfu...

. They believed that Islam could be understood through Confucianism.