1421: An Cheng (俺诚)
Emperor granted permission to rebuild the synagogue
According to the 1489 Stone Inscription, in 1421, Emperor Yong-le granted An Cheng, a physician, the gift of incense and permission to rebuild the Kaifeng synagogue. The synagogue was possibly significantly damaged during the Yellow River flood of 1375 and then deteriorated further over the subsequent years.
Imperial order delivered by Prince of Zhou
The Imperial Order came to An Cheng from Zhou Ding-Wang (周定王), or Prince of Zhou, whose jurisdiction included the city of Kaifeng.
Imperial Tablet placed in the synagogue to show loyalty
Later, when the synagogue's re-construction was completed, the congregation placed a Long Live the Emperor Imperial Tablet (万岁碑) inside the holy house of worship to show their gratitude and allegiance to the emperor.
An Cheng the physician or An San (俺三) the soldier
An Cheng 俺诚 [Zane Archives]
While the inscription noted that An Cheng (俺诚) was a court physician, some scholars believe An Cheng was actually the historical person An San, a soldier of the Three Bodyguard Division in service of Prince of Zhou; one of the reasons being that it is much more likely that a solider was promoted to a high-level military position than a physician.
Accused Prince of Zhou of treason against the emperor
The Veritable Records of the Ming (明实录) recorded that, on 10th November 1420, the Prince of Zhou was summoned to the capital because An San had accused him of plotting treason against the emperor.
Bestowed royal surname of Zhao (赵)
Emperor Yongle (永乐大帝朱棣). [Public Domain]
According to the Veritable Records of the Ming (明实录), on 18th January 1421, An San was bestowed the royal surname of the Song Dynasty, Zhao (赵), and became known Zhao Cheng (赵诚), or Zhao the Honest.
According to the 1489 Stone Inscription (弘治碑), in 1423, An Cheng the court physician was, by Imperial Decree from Emperor Yong-le, bestowed the surname Zhao (赵).
An was actually one of the seventeen surnames listed on the 1489 Tablet as having entered China during the Song Dynasty, although it was not as popular as the others. While it was not unusual for emperors to bestow honourific surnames on people they found worthy, the surname chosen was often that of the ruling family or that of their relatives. The exact reason for picking Zhao is unknown; one theory was that Emperor Yong-le believed that the An family came into China during the reign of the royal family of Zhao and therefore was re-born into China by the Zhao.
Promoted to Embroidered Uniform Guard
According to the Veritable Records of the Ming (明实录), on 18th January 1421, An San was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This secret police force operated above all government agencies and reported only to the emperor.
According to the 1489 Stone Inscription (弘治碑), An Cheng was promoted to Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard (锦衣卫指挥) and Assistant Commissioner of the Regional Military (都指挥检事) in Zhejiang Province.
Prince of Zhou admitted to criminal behaviour
The Veritable Records of the Ming (明实录) recorded that, on 16th March 1421, Prince of Zhou, in seeing the evidence behind the accusation, admitted his crime and begged for pardon, which was granted because he was the Emperor Yong-le Zhu-Di's (朱棣) younger brother, Zhou Ding-Wang Zhu Xiao (朱橚).
Identity switch to conceal dishonourable act
The theory behind why the tablet describes An San, the informant soldier, as An Cheng, the court physician, was likely to conceal the nature of his distasteful act. An San belonged to the division of the bodyguards that were assigned to protect the Prince of Zhou, yet betrayed his master and had the master almost put to death.
In the eyes of most, especially in a Confucian world, this was an act of great disloyalty.
Thus, it was possible that the literary men who composed the text of the tablets, for the sake of the reputation of the Jewish congregation, changed the name An San (俺三) — which in Chinese, translates literally to the third born in the An family, a suitable name of a common soldier at the time; or Hassan, as some scholars believed his Hebrew name might be — to An Cheng, a court physician, a position that carries far more prestige and honour.
The inscription deviated from the official record and placed the change of surname to two years later, 1423, potentially to further cover up what had actually happened.