The Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province is an area where Chinese Muslims are concentrated. Still carrying the old name of Hezhou, the prefecture was established in 1956, and became known as the Mini-Mecca of China. The prefecture gained its reputation as the Mini-Mecca of China not only because of the richness of its Islamic culture, but also because of a phenomenon unique in the entire Islamic world, the segmentation of Muslims in this area into several denominations owing to differences in religious life. Movements of Muslim society in Linxia are deeply linked to the operations and interactions of these denominations. During the Hui uprising and the period of denominational competition, Imam Chi Ming-De (1897-1987), commonly called “Deaf Imam”, was particularly praised for safe-guarding the belief in the ”old religion” and for his superior scholarship in preaching. His marvelous life vividly reflected the differences and disputes among the denominations in Linxia. After his death, the works of his descendants and followers have continued the transformation of the attributes of Muslim denominations in contemporary Linxia. This paper is primarily based on data gathered from fieldwork in Linxia over the past twenty years (1992-2013), and the three volumes of writing by Imam Chi Ming-De published by the Mingde Mosque. We investigate how Chi’s family transformed gradually from Qadim to Menhuan in a confronting situation of plural denominations in the Linxia area, which in turn formed the special “Deaf Imam” phenomenon in the overall atmosphere of new Islamic new thoughts and social modernization in Linxia.