In Muslim Sanzijing, Shifts and Continuities in the Definition of Islam in China (1710-2010) Roberta Tontini traces the development of Islam and Islamic law in the country, while responding to two enduring questions in China’s intellectual history: How was the Muslim sharia reconciled with Confucianism? How was knowledge of Islamic social and ritual norms popularized to large segments of Chinese Muslim society even in periods of limited literacy?

Through a comprehensive study that includes a rigorous analysis of popular Chinese Islamic primers belonging to the Sanzijing tradition, Tontini offers fresh insights on the little known intellectual and legal history of Islam on Chinese soil to convincingly demonstrate its evolving quality in response to changing social norms.