Theory that Jews first entered China during the Tang
Judeo-Persian business letter dated 718 CE
Dandan Uiliq along the Southern Silk Road [International Dunhuang Project]
Judaeo-Persian letter found at Dandan Uiliq [Public domain]
1900 December: Oldest Judaeo-Persian letter
Sir Aurel Stein made the discovery in Dandan Uiliq
Sir Aurel Stein (斯坦因, 1862–1943) was born to Nathan Stein and Anna Hirscher in Hungary. He was Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and a Fellow of the British Academy.
On an expedition where two guides and thirty labourers assisted him, he found a mutilated Judeo-Persian letter. The document was a cluster of Iranian Jewish dialects written in Hebrew script. The letter was written by a merchant asking for help after being duped into buying bad sheep; he complained about unfair treatment.
The discovery was made in Dandan Uiliq (丹丹乌里克), an abandoned oasis in the Taklamakan Desert (塔克拉玛干沙漠). The name of the town meant "the Houses with Ivory." It is situated in the northeast direction of Khotan (和田) and was active from the 6th to the 8th century as part of the southern branch of the overland Silk Road.
Sir Aurel Stein translated the document into English.
Professor Margoliouth dated the letter to 718
David Samuel Margoliouth was an English Orientalist, a professor of Arabic at Oxford University, and a priest in the Anglican Church. He dated the letter to about the year 718. It is the oldest document of its kind in China.
Hebrew prayer note dated late 8th century
Professor Paul Pelliot examining manuscripts in the Library Cave of Mogao, 1908 [Public Domain]
Taklamakan Desert and Dunhuang [University of Washington Libraries]
Taoist priest Wang Yuan-lu 道士王圆箓 [Zane Archives]
Hebrew Penitential prayer founded by Professor Paul Pelliot at Dunhuang, in 1908 [Public Domain]
1908 April: Oldest Hebrew manuscript in China
Professor Pelliot (伯希和) discovered it in the Mogao Caves
In April 1908, Professor Paul Eugene Pelliot (1878–1945), a French
Sinologist and Orientalist, and head of the French expedition, arrived at the Mogao Caves (莫高窟) — commonly referred to as the Cave of the Thousand Buddhas (千佛洞) — in Dunhuang (敦煌). Dunhuang was an oasis city on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert (塔克拉玛干沙漠). It was a major oasis town for merchants and pilgrims and was active until the 14th century when the Silk Road began to decline.
The first Mogao Cave was carved in 366 CE by a travelling monk, Le-zun (乐尊和尚), and his three disciples. There are now 492 caves dug into cliffs and contain one of the largest depositories of historical documents.
Professor Pelliot's expertise in East Asian languages enabled him to procure a superb selection of documents in a matter of weeks for the Bibliotheque Nationale.
Wang Yuan-lu (王圆箓) sold 10,000 documents for £90
On 25th June 1900, a Daoist priest Wang Yuan-lu, caretaker of the site, discovered the ancient documents in the Library Cave of Mogao — almost 40,000 scrolls, with text dating from 405 to 1002. In 1907, Wang sold around 7,000 complete manuscripts and 6,000 fragments for £130 to Sir Aurel Stein. Professor Pelliot, who arrived a few months after Stein, paid £90 for almost 10,000 documents.
Hebrew penitential prayer
In Professor Pelliot's collection, there was a torn page from a Hebrew prayer book. It included passages from the Psalms and the Prophets.
The texts were square Hebrew scripts, written on an oblong-shaped, time-darkened creased paper, which at that point was only made in China.There were eighteen lines of writing on the paper, but fragments at the top and bottom of the page were missing, meaning the prayer text's beginning and ending were missing.
Schwab dated it to late 8th century
Moise Schwab (1839–1918), a French librarian and author who published Professor Pelliot’s Hebrew Penitential prayer, dated it to the late 8th century. This is the oldest Hebrew manuscript ever found in China.
Figurines with stereotypically Middle Eastern features
Bactrian camel and figurine from the Tang Dynasty, dated 700–800 at the Louvre Abu Dhabi [Zane Archives]
Figurines unearthed from tombs dating back to the Tang Dynasty depict foreign merchants with stereotypical Jewish facial features. However, this is not conclusive evidence to show Jewish presence in Tang China, for the figurines could have been representations of Arabs. Regarding this, Professor Pelliot noted, “At Ningpo, as in all this region of the estuary of the Yangtse, adventures and merchants from the large Persian junks, people of all races and creeds, Manicheans and Mazdeans, Muslims and Nestorians, bumped into brethren coming by the other route, via Turkestan and Kansu. It would be strange if the Jews were the only ones who remained outside this stream.” Thus, it is impossible that these figurines depicted the Jewish people.
Ibn Wahab, Emperor had a picture of Moses c. 815
Around the year 815, Ibn Wahab travelled to Xi'an from Guangzhou. In the capital city of the Tang Dynasty, he met with Emperor Xian-zong (唐憲宗, reign 805–820).
Throughout a long and exciting conversation, the pair chiefly focused on the religious beliefs of the East and the West. The emperor produced the pictures of a few great prophets, amongst whom Ibn Wahab recognised Noah, Moses and Jesus, and Mohammed. Ibn Wahab was greatly impressed by the emperor's extensive knowledge of the tenets of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Abu Zayd and Al Masudi, massacre of Jews in 878
In the year 916, Arab adventurist Abu Zayd Hasan al-Sirafi (賽義德哈桑) wrote about the Massacre of Guangzhou which took place in 878. During this event, Jews were amongst the 120,000 foreigners killed. In the year 940, Al Masudi (马苏第), another Arab explorer, recorded the same story except he noted the total number of foreigners, including Jews, killed was 200,000.
This uprising was part of the Huangchao Rebellion (黃巢起义, 874–884) that significantly weakened the Tang Dynasty and led to its collapse about 30 years later.
Dr Neubauer, c. 9th century
In 1895, Dr Adolf Neubauer (1831–1907) published the article, Jews in China in the Jewish Quarterly Review, where he focused predominantly on the surviving Kaifeng synagogue documents. Based on the type of Persian that existed in these manuscripts, Dr Neubauer estimated the Jews entered China around the 9th century.
Professor Laufer (劳乌茀), c. 10th century
According to Professor Berthold Laufer (1874–1934), there is significant Persian influence on the Kaifeng Jews; however, almost none were Pehlevi or Middle Persian, virtually all were the new Persian which was fully developed during the 10th century. Thus, Professor Laufer argues that the Jewish diaspora could not have entered China before the appearance of the new Persian.
Professor Laufer further believes the Jews came into China in multiple steams, in small groups over an extended period of time and then merged into a single community that settled down in Kaifeng; and that they most likely arrived in the Middle Kingdom by sea.
Ibn Khurdahbih, Radanites actively traded with China
Ibn Khurdadbih (胡尔达兹比赫, 820–912), Postmaster of Baghdad, wrote about a group of Jewish merchants called Radanites (拉丹族商人). On the trade routes between the East and the West, the Radanites boarded ships in Spain and France, travelled to China and back. They traded both with and within China.
Professor Chen Yuan (陈垣), entered China as traders
Professor Chen Yuan (1880–1971) was a Chinese historian and educator known as one of the Four Greatest Historians of Modern China. His research focused on religious history and the Yuan Dynasty.
Professor Chen believes that the Jews may have come to China during the Tang Dynasty with the primary purpose being commerce and trade, not to find a new home and that it was not until the Song Dynasty that the Jews began to live in China permanently.
Merchants along the Overland Silk Road
During its pinnacle, the Tang Dynasty was well-known all around the world. Merchants from as far as Syria travelled thousands of miles to the Middle Kingdom to trade. They were the earliest ambassadors between the ancient civilisations.
Academics generally believe that many Jews, just like the Persians and Arabs, came to China along the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty. Heading eastwards, they brought ivory, gems and fabrics; heading westwards, they brought silk, ceramics, and fur.
Their entrance into China was probably via Xinjiang Province (新疆省) and Gansu Province (甘肃省). This view has been fully substantiated by archaeological discoveries such as the Judeo-Persian business letter discovered by Sir Aurel Stein and the Hebrew prayer note found by Professor Paul Eugene Pelliot.
Merchants along the Marine Silk Road
Overland and Marine Silk Road, the Louvre Abu Dhabi [Zane Archives]
Carrying large volumes of goods by camel and caravan along the traditional overland Silk Road was challenging. The sea route soon became the main means of transport.
From the Persian Gulf, the early traders reached China’s southern coastal cities of Guangzhou (广州), Quanzhou (泉州), and Hangzhou (杭州).
Most of the trade from the 8th to the 13th centuries was carried out by Persian speakers such as the Arabs. The Jews were likely also active participants. Indeed, many of the earliest references to Jews in China came from the 9th century Arab travellers.