5 replies to this topic

[l0ckx]

I'm only curious to know...what is the prevalance of judaism in China, or Asia for that matter?

[MengTzu]

I'm only curious to know...what is the prevalance of judaism in China, or Asia for that matter?

Asia as in East Asia? Not very prevalent in either China or East Asia. Judaism in China dates back at least to late Tang or Song dynasty. They were mistaken as Muslims, and were called Blue Capped Muslims, as opposed to the real Muslims, who were called White Capped Muslims. They were also called the Sinew Plucking Religion, because they pluck out the sinews of animals before eating them (for some reason that was the feature that stood out among other things.) I'm sure you probably already heard of the Jews in Kaifeng. There were some outstanding Jews who passed the state exams and became prominent officials. There was also a Jewish general who saved the Ming court from some kind of usurption.

But I guess you're asking about the prominence of the Jewish religion. As far as I know, it wasn't and isn't very prominent in China or East Asia.

[DannyJo]

But I guess you're asking about the prominence of the Jewish religion. As far as I know, it wasn't and isn't very prominent in China or East Asia.

True not very widespread.

However there is a thread on the Shanghai Jewish community in the ROC PRC history section

[Yun]

Judaism exists wherever there are Jews; however it does not spread beyond the Jewish community in that particular place. Thus there certainly is Judaism in many Asian countries, including China, but it grows only in step with the community's birth rate and no faster.

The Jews in Kaifeng practiced Judaism up to around 1850-1860, but then tore down their synagogue because of poverty, the death of their last rabbi, and inability of the rest of the community to read Hebrew. The Kaifeng Jews have mostly given up their religion since then, with some even converting to Islam. For an article on the gradual assimilation of Judaism in Kaifeng, see: http://www.sino-juda...rg/kaifeng.html

Other books and films on Chinese Judaism: http://www2.kenyon.e...ibliography.htm

Another good recent article on the Jews of Kaifeng and Shanghai: http://chinesejil.ox...nt/full/4/1/235

[MengTzu]

Judaism exists wherever there are Jews; however it does not spread beyond the Jewish community in that particular place. Thus there certainly is Judaism in many Asian countries, including China, but it grows only in step with the community's birth rate and no faster.

I would like to make some qualification to your statement which is basically true. While religious Jews do not believe in converting non-Jews, Judaism can sometimes have influence outside of its practitioners. Moses Maimonides (known affectionately as Rambam), a great Jewish rabbi of the Middle Ages, has enormous influence in Christian Scholastic Theology. It was possible that a Jewish scholar has this kind of influence in ancient China; unfortunately, the Jews were not prominent in ancient China, and their culture was perhaps deemed too foreign for it to have enough resonance with Chinese culture in order to have such an influence.

[Mok]

The Sassoons are Jewish. So are the Hardoons I think. They were mostly from northern port cities.