Missionaries and Orientalists Studies of Chinese Islam- Before the 20th Century

Abstract

In the 19th century, the development of natural science and the emergence of enlightenment gradually gave birth to social science in modern Europe. As Europe opened the door to China in the middle of the 19th century, Western academia began to pay attention to China, and Western theories and methods progressively entered China and were accepted by Chinese scholars. Most saliently, some Christian missionaries and Orientalists have completed more serious studies of Islam in China, and published several corresponding works and research results on this basis. During this period, those who studied Islam and Muslims in China could be divided into two categories. the Religious people, including Christian missionaries. and Scholars, including Orientalists. Subsequently, when Western missionaries entered China, they found the presence of a large Muslim group, so they began to study them and organize missionary work. Although this missionary activity proved unsuccessful in terms of the number of converts to Christianity, it maintains a certain positive significance regarding religious and cultural exchange, and cross-civilizational interaction. Documents recording the encounters between Christianity and Islam in China since modern times are scattered in journals such as Chinese Repository, The Chinese Recorder, Friends of Moslems, The Moslem World and China’s Millions.