In S.M Perlmann’s The History of the Jews in China, he wrote that China's acceptance of Jews was, in fact, what contributed to the downfall of the Kaifeng Jewish community, as this prompted the Jews to assimilate. On this point, he elaborated, "The overwhelming majority of the native people, which, in a case of being not of a lower cultural standing than the alien minority, and if in intercourse with the foreigner treats him kindly, not make him feel to be a stranger, must in course of time, by quite a natural process grind the minority, crumble off parts of them and gradually absorb them. This normal process, which acted upon the Jews of China had been considerably accelerated by inundations and revolutions which time after time decimated them and lessened their power of resistance."

This point was also well made by Pearl Buck in the novel Peony, “‘We cannot live here among these people and remain separate, Father,’ David argued. In the countries of Europe, yes, for there the peoples force us to be separate from them by persecution. We cling to our people there because none other will accept us, and we are martyred and glorified by our martyrdom…. But here, where all are friends to us and receive us eagerly into their blood, what is the reward for remaining apart?”

The Kaifeng Jews were now indistinguishable from their Han Chinese counterparts, both in appearance and in culture, the only exception being they refrained from pork and did not worship idols. To Perlmann, the physical and the ideological were the "two forces that worked simultaneously towards the doom of the Jews in China." He argued that there was very little hope for the long term survival of Jewish communities in societies that treat them well – this is in direct contrast to the Jewish experience in nations where they faced persecutions, as they would be more reluctant to intermarriage and assimilation.

From the days of leaving Asia Minor, traversing along the ancient Silk Road and being welcomed by the Song emperor to settle down in Kaifeng, this community has tried to remember its heritage, keep its traditions, and stay distinct from the vast Chinese population that surrounded them. They built a synagogue; although the geographical location of the site, which they called their new home, faced countless Yellow River floods, they never gave up on repairing and expanding their house of worship, until the 1850s. By the beginning of the 20th century, any cultural and physical distinction that they had was completely gone. Their most precious holy manuscripts were sold off through auctions. They were no longer familiar with their religion or distinguishable from their Chinese neighbours.

Dr MacGillivray also provided his interpretation of the Jewish origin of some of the Chinese surnames: Ai (艾) came from Ezra; Zhang (张) from Kadmiel; Zhao (赵) from Joshua; Li (李) from Levi; and Shi (石) from Samuel.