Image of Islam and Muslims in the Chinese sources From the dawn of Islam to the 4th century AH/10AD

Abstract

This study deals with an important problem in the history of the relationship between China and the Islamic world, that’s related to the early days of mutual discovery between China and the Islamic world, and the most important features of this great civilizational convergence between two great civilizations.

So,this study was based on an in-depth reading of some of the most important Chinese sources of that era, and it is divided into official records of the Chinese ruling families, such as: the ancient Book of Tang, the modern Book of Tang, and other general historical sources, and also with some foreign and Arab sources that played a mediating role in the transmission of the Chinese language, this study try to identify the image drawn by chinese of Islam and Muslims, on which many perceptions about Islamic civilization in Chinese heritage were based.