1,000 JEWS CANNOT BE WRONG
Rami Tal
Ynetnews
,7 340,L-3590419,00.html
Sept 1 2008
Israel
Descendants of centuries-old Jewish community in China’s Kaifeng
rediscover Jewish heritage after near complete assimilation in local
community
In Chinese terms, the city of Kaifeng, about 500 miles southwest of
Beijing, is reminiscent of the Israeli city of Hadera: The number
of its residents is 700,000 – as opposed to Beijing’s 15 million or
Shanghai’s 20 million – and it doesn’t even have its own airport.
However, a thousand years ago, Kaifeng was the capital of the Chinese
empire, the largest, richest and most advanced in the world at the
time, with 600,000 residents that made it the most populated city
on earth.
Ancient Kaifeng had a Jewish community – a small but thriving one,
whose story is unique in the history of the Jewish people. For the 800
years of its existence, Kaifeng’s Jews never suffered from persecution
or discrimination. The Chinese authorities, as well as the general
population, welcomed their Jewish neighbors, viewed them as citizens
in every respect and allowed them to observe their religion with
complete freedom.
In spite, or perhaps because of these freedoms, the community dwindled
until about one hundred and fifty years ago, when the assimilation
and integration proved complete. It is only in the past 20 years
that the descendents of Kaifeng Jewry, who now number about 1,000
people, have rediscovered their Jewish tradition. Some of them have
considered undergoing proper conversion and making aliyah, and a few
of them have done so already.
Thirty-year-old Shi Lei does not try to hide his excitement when he
takes his guest, an Israeli journalist, to the central room in his
parents’ home. His family, which is of Jewish descent, has lived in
this home for more than 100 years. After the death of his grandmother
and grandfather, Shi, together with his father, turned this room into
a mini-museum and a small Jewish center, where he gives classes on
Jewish tradition to children and adults of Jewish descent.
Shi Lei, who graduated with a degree in English from the University of
Kaifeng, spent close to three years in Israel studying at Jerusalem’s
Machon Meir and at Bar-Ilan University: "I was the first person
from Kaifeng that studied in Israel. I was privileged to receive a
wonderful welcome at the Machon Meir yeshiva, and I was treated as a
Jew in every respect, although I am not technically a Jew according
to Jewish law, and had not yet undergone conversion.
"I decided to return to Kaifeng and to develop my mini-museum, because
if I would leave here then there would be no one to teach the younger
generation. We feel connected to the Jewish people and to the State
of Israel – it’s in our blood."
An emperor’s welcome It is not clear when exactly the first Jews came
to China or when the Jewish community in Kaifeng was formed. In the
prophecy of the redemption in the book of Isaiah it states: "See,
they will come from afar – some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Sinim ("Chinese")" (Isaiah, 49:12); but
biblical scholars agree that the verse does not speak of China per
se. Some claim that the Jews of Kaifeng are descendents of the Ten
Lost Tribes. Others theorize that they came to China in the second
century following the downfall of the Jews in the Bar Kokhva revolt
(132-135CE).
DNA testing done over the past few years on the descendents of the
Kaifeng Jews, proved them distant relatives of Armenian, Iranian
and Iraqi Jews. Most of the researchers, as well as the Kaifeng
descendents themselves, tend to suggest that the original Jews in
China were merchants from Persia that came by way of the Silk Route
(in today’s southern Turkey) to the city of Xian in central China.
Historical references and archaeological findings have proven that
the Persian Jews first arrive in China in the eighth century; and
since the long, difficult journey made family life difficult, the
solution was to establish a permanent base in China. The location of
choice was Kaifeng – China’s capital from 927BC to 1127AD.
A stone tablet dating back to the 1489 Kaifeng synagogue – which is now
in the city museum – in inscribed with the following: "According to the
commandment of their god, the Jews came from Tian-Sho (Chinese for both
"India" and "every state to the west of China") with woven materials
from the west in their hands, meant as a gift for the emperor."
The last emperor, according to the tablet was pleased with the
beautiful and said "welcome to our country; dwell here and keep the
customs of your ancestors".
The emperor’s warm welcome provided them with automatic Chinese
citizenship, not a trifle feat at a time the Jewish communities in
Europe and the Muslim countries were suffering persecution. It is
believed that one of the reasons for this show of tolerance was that
the Chinese of the time did not have a "religion" in the sense of any
of the three monotheistic faiths: The common practices of faith based
on the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius, were an array
of ethical and behavioral codes more than the belief of religious
ordinances commanded by a higher power.
While each of the three monotheistic religions claims to state
the absolute truth god, Confucianism is willing peacefully coexist
with any religious belief. Kaifeng’s Jews found it easy to adhere
to Confucianism since it doesn’t require the recognition of a new
Messiah or prophet and there was no need to give up on the rules of
keeping kosher or observing the holidays.
The ancient stone tablet also states that one of the emperors from the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) bestowed "the gift of incense" upon the Jewish
community. It was given to the Jewish doctor Yung-Ching who appears to
have been his personal physician. This indicates that Kaifeng’s Jews
used Chinese names rather than Hebrew names, and incorporated a Chinese
ceremony into their religious rituals – the lighting of incense.
Eligible bachelors Kaifeng’s Jews were away from any Jewish center,
as they had no contact to other Jewish communities around the world. At
its peak, the community numbered no more than 6,000 people. There was
no yeshiva and the young Jewish men that were interested in academic
studies naturally attended the local institutions, which cultivated
knowledge of Chinese literature and tradition. Given the circumstances,
the chances of the small, isolated Jewish community to maintain its
unique features in the hub of China were remote.
According to researchers, another key to the demise of the Kaifeng
community lies in the fact that China was the first to allow all its
residents to join the top rank of government officials – the Mandarins
– by taking qualification exams.
Most of the Jews in Kaifeng were proficient in Chinese and some also
in Hebrew, which gave them an advantage over most of the residents
in the empire; and so the number of Jewish descendents that applied
for the Beijing positions was substantially higher than their actual
representation in the population.
After five years of study in the emperor’s courtyard, they were sent to
various regions in the vast empire. If they hadn’t married during their
years as students, they were certainly interested in doing so when they
began their government service, and as Mandarins, whose careers were
mapped out they were considered eligible bachelors. Excluding Kaifeng,
however, there were no eligible Jewish brides to be found in China,
prompting the assimilation further.
According to the information available, the Jewish community life
in Kaifeng came to a virtual halt about 150 years ago. The community
synagogue existed for almost 700 years, until 1854, when Kaifeng was
flooded by the Huáng Hé – the Yellow River. It was never rebuilt.
Although Kaifeng’s Jews had already completely assimilated, their
descendants continued to observe several customs, like keeping kosher
and keeping Shabbat. Many continue to live the old city in the old
section, and the Jewish names of two of the neighborhood’s streets
still appear in Hebrew and English. The community is now slated for an
evacuation-renovation project, like many of its Chinese counterparts.
Highly regarded second-rate citizens When Mao Zedong took over China
in 1949, his regime faced several dilemmas pertaining to national
minorities, as 20% of China was, and is, not dominated by the Han –
the largest national group. In 1953 the new regime decided to recognize
55 national minorities but the Youtai – the Jews – were not one of
them. Mao was rumored to have made the decision personally.
By that time, the majority of Jews living in Harbin and Shanghai
had already left China and the move was undoubtedly prompted by this
decision; but there is no doubt among scholars that the decision had
nothing to do with anti-Semitism, since China has never, to this day,
demonstrated any signs of anti-Semitism.
Jews enjoy a very positive image in China. The decision not to
recognize them is believed to have stemmed from sheer math – they
community was simply too small – a few hundred in a country of a
billion people.
In the 1980’s, as China started moving toward a free-market economy
and opened up to the West, Jews from Canada and the US came to Kaifeng
and met with the old community’s descendants in the city. These visits
strengthened the Jewish awareness of the descendants.
In the last several years, Shavei Israel has been the main Jewish
organization that has been actively involved with the Kaifeng’s Jewish
descendants. According to Michael Freund, an American Jew who made
aliyah 13 years ago and is now heads Shavei Israel, the group is
"the extended arm of the Jewish people, and supplements the work of
the Jewish Agency.
"We believe that strengthening the connection with them should be a
top priority for Israel. Since establishing contact with the Jews of
Kaifeng, we have translated numerous books and articles for them, and
have provided them with basic materials on Judaism and on Israel. Even
more importantly, we have already assisted 10 young adults from the
community to make aliyah and get settled here in the country".
While many of the descendants are interested in a much more intensive
connection with Jewish tradition, only a small group is interested
in immigrating to Israel and converting.
A bull in a china shop?
As of now, Shavei Israel’s activities amongst the descendants of
the Kaifeng Jews do not enjoy the cooperation of any official Israeli
bureau. Freund frowns on what he calls Israel’s ignoring of the Kaifeng
Jewry, and claims that that even though many of the Jewish descendants
of Kaifeng are interested in reconnecting with Israel, the staff of
the Israeli Embassy in Beijing refuse to give them the time of day.
The Foreign Ministry offered the following comment: "The Jewish
community in Kaifeng assimilated within its host country completely
by the 17th century. There is no Jewish community in Kaifeng today,
but some individuals are aware of having some Jewish lineage and
ancestry. Official Israeli delegates have visited Kaifeng more than
once and were impressed by the historical connection it has to Jewish
heritage."
The careful diplomatic wording suggests Freund’s claim is not
completely farfetched, but things are far from simple: Foreign relation
analysts warn that Freund and his organization are the proverbial
"bull in a china shop" and may potentially harm the diplomatic
relations between Israel and China.
"Russia aside, China has a great deal of influence over Iran," a
foreign relation expert told Yedioth Ahronoth. "Israel has to have
China’s assistant on the Iranian front, as well as in an array of other
political and financial issued on the international community’s level,
where China is becoming a significant force.
"The subject on national minorities in China is a very sensitive one,
because of the Tibet as well as due to the large Muslim minorities
which inhabit its west, where they border the Muslim republics of
the former Soviet Union," he continued. "The Chinese government is
wary of nationalistic movement which may turn separatists and try to
break away from it.
"Kaifeng’s Jews are no such threat, of course, but Beijing wants top
maintain the status-quo. The Israeli government can’t and shouldn’t
upset the Chinese government over such a delicate matter."
On the ground, however, the Chinese authorities have yet to voice
any objection to Shavei Israel’s activities in Kaifeng. Freund sees
that as a sign: "If some of Kaifeng’s Jews decide to reclaim their
Jewish heritage – as I believe they will – it would make for some
very important and historical closure."
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