1613–1723: Discovery trips to Kaifeng
Convert Jews to Christianity
The Europeans were eager to interact with the Kaifeng Jews for three main reasons.
As early as the times of the Roman Empire, the Christians had had success in converting the Jewish communities in Europe.
Since the Jesuits were keen to spread the Gospels in China, it was only natural that they would think that the Kaifeng Jews were the easiest target — for they were already monotheists in a country that worshipped everything from the Kitchen God to the River God. So the Jesuits' main task was to get the Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah.
Seek evidence to support the theory of Rabbinical Forgery
As the theory of Rabbinical Forgery was widespread in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, the Jesuits were keen to prove that there were passages in the "pristine" Old Testament that clearly predicted the coming of Christ. It was assumed that the Kaifeng Jews had entered China before the birth of, or rise to the prevalence of, Jesus Christ, and the Torah in their possession must not have been tampered with by the early Talmudists. Thus, the Jesuits wanted access to the "unexpurgated" Bible, be it to copy from the Kaifeng Jews, or even better, to purchase from them.
Clarify Kaifeng Jews’ position on the Rites Controversy
By the early 17th century, the Jesuits were ridiculed heavily for their missionary strategy in China. The Dominicans and Franciscans were critical of the Jesuits' policy of tolerance and accommodation regarding evangelising. In addition, the Jesuits' adaptation to the local culture was regarded as intolerable concessions to heathen beliefs and practices. This so-called Rites Controversy, which was heavily debated by the two sides, concerned three main topics.
§ The Jesuits adopted Confucian terms such as 天 (Pronunciation in Chinese: Tian; Meaning: Heaven) and 上帝 (Pronunciation in Chinese: Shang-di; Meaning: Lord Above) when referring to the Christian God.
§ The Jesuits deemed ancestral worship as a civic rather than religious act, thereby making it compatible with Christianity.
§ The Jesuits believed the worship of Confucius was a Civil Rite as opposed to a Religious Rite. They argued that the Chinese merely paid respect to him as a great philosopher rather than a deity.
Since the Jews, also monotheists, had been in China for over a thousand years, the Jesuits were keen to find out how the Kaifeng Jewish community reconciled with these issues.
Many Jesuits visited Kaifeng
Thus, from Father Giulio Aleni (艾儒略, 1582–1649) in 1613 to Father Antoine Gaubil (宋君荣, 1689–1759) in 1723, many Jesuits, including those from their mission base in Beijing, went on fact-finding trips to Kaifeng.
In 1724, the missionaries were expelled from China by the Chinese emperor.
Documented the condition of the Kaifeng Jews
Through multiple trips, the Jesuits recorded the various religious and secular rituals that the Kaifeng Jewish community had observed and documented everything from the Kaifeng Jewish book collection, ink rubbings of inscriptions, to the blueprints of the synagogue.
These are invaluable contributions to understanding the history and development of the Jewish diaspora in China.
Kaifeng Jews refused to sell Torah
Generally speaking, the Jesuits were treated with respect. The Kaifeng Jewish community shared their rituals and traditions.
The Jesuits were invited to see the synagogue; however, they showed no inclination to be converted to Christians or entertained the idea of parting with their Holy Books.