Tomb of Liu Zhi in Nanjing

Tomb of Liu Zhi in Nanjing

The Tomb of Liu Zhi in Nanjing is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The tomb of Liu Zhi, a Chinese Islamic scholar. After his death (circa 1655–1745), Liu Zhi was buried in the Muslim cemetery at Maojia Lane, Huashenmiao Street, outside Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing. In 1982, it was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province. Liu Zhi’s tomb is situated within the Hui cemetery at Maojia Lane, Huashenmiao, outside Zhonghua Gate. It can be reached by Bus No. 19.

Liu Zhi (1660–1745), courtesy name Jielian, art name Yizhai, was a Hui ethnic scholar from Shangyuan (present-day Nanjing). He lived during the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns of the Qing Dynasty and was a distinguished scholar dedicated to the study of Arabic scriptures and Islamic classics. He produced an extensive body of translated and original works, including hundreds of volumes such as The Chronicle of the Prophet and Essentials of Islamic Rites.

The cemetery faces west and is entered through a pair of stone pillars inscribed with “Tomb of Liu Jielian.” The site has undergone several renovations and remains well-preserved. Inside the gate, a pathway is flanked by a pair of ornamental columns connected by a stone plaque inscribed with “The Exemplar in Sight.” The tomb foundation runs north-south. Originally a mound of yellow earth, it was later rebuilt with brick and cement, measuring 28 meters in length and 8 meters in width. In front of the tomb stands a stone stele inscribed with “Tomb of the Venerable Jielian Liu,” erected by Liu Dekun, the head imam of Jingjue Mosque in the late Qing Dynasty. Beside the stele grows a large tree whose branches shelter the tomb. Behind the tomb is a semi-circular memorial wall, inscribed at the center with “Tomb of Liu Zhi, Islamic Scholar of the Qing Dynasty.” At either end of the wall are stone tablets: the left one bears the inscription “Learned in Heaven and Earth,” written by Guilin’s Bai Runcang; the right one carries the words “Pioneer of Taoist Learning,” inscribed by Gansu’s Ma Yuanzhang and Ma Yuanchao. On the outer right side is Jin Ding’s inscription “Inscription on the Reconstruction of Mr. Liu Jielian’s Tomb”; on the outer left is a stele erected in 1982 by the Nanjing Islamic Association, inscribed with “Record of the Reconstruction of Liu Zhi’s Tomb.” In the same year, the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government designated the tomb as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

Liu Zhi (1660–1730), a prominent Islamic scholar of early Qing Dynasty. His courtesy name was Jielian, art name Yizhai, and he was of Hui ethnicity. Born into a family of Islamic scholars in Nanjing, his father Liu Sanjie had a solid foundation in Confucian studies, and Liu Zhi received a strong early education. As a youth, he studied Confucian classics, histories, and texts of Buddhism and Daoism. Later, he learned Arabic and Persian, dedicating himself to the study of Islamic doctrines. After fourteen years of diligent study, he mastered the teachings of the four traditions—Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Islam—and became a leading Hui scholar of his time. By the time Liu Zhi completed his studies, he was nearly thirty. To fulfill his father’s vision that “Islam… More about Liu Zhi++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province