“The Orphan Colony: Kaifeng Diaspora”
（998CE-1920’s）
By Liang Ping-an
Chief Secretary of Kaifeng Jewish Studies Institute,
Senior Fellow of Center of Jewish & Israeli Studies, Shanghai, China
In the later fall of 998 ACE, Northern Song Dynasty, a group of foreigners came to Kaifeng with an Arab Caravan, which was the capital of China, and also a metropolitan of politics, economy, culture, commerce and trade. Nobody knew who they were and where they were from. They liked this city and took themselves as one part of the millions of the city citizens.
With their simple Mandarin, the local people were told that they originally came from Palestine—maybe via India or Persia—but that had been centuries ago. They asked the local inhabitants to call them Israelites(一赐乐业教人). They presented themselves before H.H. Zhen Zong, the Second Song Emperor with some colored cotton cloth, which was rarely seen in China then. An edict about these immigrants was issued by the generous emperor: “join the Chinese family; keep your own customs and rites; settled down in the capital”. The edict was engraved on the stela 1663. From then on they had been living in Kaifeng and developing their business all over China.
In Kaifeng, they were given the best district as their quarter(Never Ghetto). They had been keeping good and harmonious relations with other nationalities. Nobody knew the difference between them and the later coming Muslims, thus the nicknames as “Blue Capped Muslims” or “Sinew-Extracting Religion” were bestowed on them. Year after year, quite a few of them took important positions as Chinese officials, and others kept the possessions of a very big property. Meanwhile, they practiced their own religious rituals and ceremonies, and built the first Synagogue in 1163ACE. They loved the city and its people. They preferred this life than to “wander the globe”. They had been unknown by other Jewish communities in the world until 17th century.
In 1601ACE, Pere Marteeo Ricci, an Italian missionary traveled to Peking. He happened to meet with someone named Ai Tien from Kaifeng, to the great surprise of the missionary, he found that there had been a Jewish community surviving in the far oriental China. They were living on an “Isolated Island”. It created an explosion in the Western Jewish communities. It was a miracle of Jewish Diaspora, of Jewish history, of Jewish and Confucius cultural regimes. Based on these, William Charles White, a Canadian Anglican Bishop, wrote a book “Chinese Jews” during his mission of decades in Kaifeng. Driven by this book, thousands of Jewish historians, scholars, archaeologists, Rabbis poured into Kaifeng for their research and study. There had been more than 270 books about this up to now.
As it’s widely known, after the intrusion of Palestine by the Roman Empire in 67ACE, the local citizens were scattered in Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa. They didn’t have homes, and the vast shabby “Ghettoes” were their only choice available. Especially during the reign of Adulf Hitler, millions of European Jews were persecuted and slaughtered, which had been a miserable page of the Jewish history.
However, a striking contrast originating from Chinese land indicated the fortune of the Jewish immigrants. They were favored by different feudal dynasties. In Sung Dynasty(960-1127 AD), they were granted the best part of the city as their living quarter; they were encouraged to study Chinese culture and join the ruling class as one member of the big Chinese family. For other Jews, they managed jewelry shops, dentist’s, pharmacy, silk and satin factory and some other businesses. They had never suffered any kind of anti-semitism or persecution. Under such tender, gentle and tolerant background, they were assimilated to the huge Chinese nation naturally, which had been a rare scene in Jewish history.
It’s unbelievable. During the years of Diaspora, all the Jews kept close together with a tie of faithful belief and pure blood lineage. The more they were discriminated and persecuted, the closer they kept with themselves among the communities. However, it proves to be true that a community of thousands disappeared in the mysterious Chinese land and merged into the Chinese family without any force or compulsory means.
Today, we may come to a conclusion like this—The Kaifeng Jews had achieved the same political and social positions favored by authorities of different dynasties. They lost any “vigilance” of assimilation among the tolerant and generous Chinese. They chose Confucius culture while practicing the Old Testament in an isolated environment; the marriage with Chinese spouses made them have clever and healthy babies. Nobody could read the Torah, or practise any rituals; “hatan”(Brit Mila) or “circumcision” has been one of the frightening phrases to the naughty boys by the elders. They would have taken themselves as ordinary Chinese without the frequent visits by foreign Jewish tourists in the modern time.
Having a tour in Kaifeng, the site of the Synagogue and the nearby Jewish quarter between “South” and “North Teaching Torah Lane”, is a necessary choice; three stone steles left from the Synagogue in Kaifeng Museum will tell you a legendary about the Kaifeng Jews, Sharing a dinner with the local Jewish scions could be a rare experience, groups of Jewish cemeteries just make you believe that the dead had made a right choice to rest here forever, dozens of survived buildings from Kaifeng Jews’ families indicate the wealth and prosperity of their ancestors.
The former Seven Clans of Jewish families have their descendants scattered all the city. Today there are still 632 people declaring their Jewish background, with their facial characteristics void of a real Jewish identity.
