The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng : A Millennium of Adaptation and Endurance.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (291 pages)
Cover -- The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng -- The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng -- Contents -- Introduction -- The Kaifeng Community: The Past -- The Kaifeng Community: The Present -- Notes -- Part I -- Past -- Chapter 1 -- Râdhânites, Chinese Jews, and the Silk Road of the Steppes -- Introduction -- The Râdhânites in Arabic Sources -- The Silk Road of the Stepes -- Khazaria and Its Trade Routes -- Origins and Persistence of the Râdhânites -- The Origin of the Chinese Jews -- Visible and Invisible Trade -- Notes -- Chapter 2 -- Eight Centuries in the Chinese Diaspora -- Note -- Chapter 3 -- Kaifeng Jews Revisited -- History -- Jewish Identity and Kinship Organization -- Jewish Identity and Sectarian Identity -- Adam, Abraham, and Pan Gu -- Heaven, God, the Way -- Conclusion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Chapter 4 -- The Confucianization of the Chinese Jews -- Notes -- Chapter 5 -- The Old Testament and Biblical Figures in Chinese Sources -- Introduction -- The Song Dynasty -- The Ming Dynasty (1369-1644) -- Conclusion -- Appendix The Holy Land14 -- The Holy Language -- The Holy Book16 -- The Holy Name17 -- Notes -- Chapter 6 -- The Issue of the Jewishness of the Chinese Jewish Magistrates -- Prolegomena -- The Conundrum -- The Solution -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Chapter 7 -- Zhao Yingcheng from Fact to Fiction -- Introduction -- Background -- #Climate Change #Elite Corruption -- #Border Control #Xenophobia #Populist Revolt -- #Kung Fu #Terror #Genocide -- #Hairstyles #Exams #Wonder-Women -- #Law-and-Order #Education #Grief -- #Redemption -- Notes -- Part II -- Present -- Chapter 8 -- A History of Early Jewish Interactions with the Kaifeng Jews -- Early Leters -- Isaac Leser and -- The Shanghai-Based Society for the Rescue of the Chinese Jews -- The Revival of the Society and Beyond -- Conclusions -- Notes -- Chapter 9. Delving into the Israelite Religion of Kaifeng -- Notes -- Chapter 10 -- Identity Discourse and the Chinese-Jewish Descendants -- Notes -- Chapter 11 -- Bringing Our Lost Brethren Back Home -- Notes -- Chapter 12 -- Between Survival and Revival -- Contact Is Made -- The Struggle to Maintain Jewish Identity in Kaifeng through the Mao Zedong Era -- Contact Is Renewed and "Openness" Is Challenged -- Troubles Ensue as the Relationship Depens -- Analysis and Conclusions54 -- Governmental Attitudes -- The Kaifeng Jews -- Economic Opportunism -- Factions -- Resolving the Status of the Kaifeng-Jewish Descendants64 -- Building a Community Center -- Notes -- Chronology of China Relevant to Judaism in Kaifeng1 -- Note -- Recommended Further Readings -- Never has so much been writen about so few -- Index -- About the Contributors.
This collection examines the origins, history, and contemporary nature of Chinese Judaism in the community of Kaifeng. Among other topics, the contributors analyze the community's unique synthesis between Jewish and Chinese thought, the tenuous nature of its Jewish identity, and the impact of Western Jewish contact.