The city of Kaifeng (开封市) is located 10 kilometers south of the renowned Yellow River (黄河), the second longest river in China (second only to the Yangtze River) as well as the cradle of Chinese civilization. Covering much of the heartland of the Middle Kingdom, spanning all the way from Qinghai province (青海省) to Shandong province (山东省), the Yellow River facilitates trade on a large scale.

Hence, by the turn of the Song Dynasty (宋朝), Kaifeng was already a bustling hub of commerce and therefore chosen to be the capital of China. The extensive trade made Kaifeng not only the economic powerhouse of China, but arguably of the entire world, given the vastness of the Middle Kingdom at the time. The economic prosperity brought with it political stability as well as a golden age, as the city flourished in terms of arts, music, culture, and philosophy.

It might be mentioned that there were in fact benefits brought to Kaifeng by the flooding, such as a need for advancements. The potential of a flood meant that governments had to become more systematic, insofar as planning defensive mechanisms to combat the floods. However, Kaifeng did still suffer much devastation, most notable being the 1642 Yellow River Flood.

In more recent history, Kaifeng has, however, become less suitable a place to house anything of large significance. The advancements in architecture has brought China out of the wood & bricks phase of short-term structures, and into the steel and concrete phase of modern skyscrapers. In the past, to rebuild houses and buildings destroyed by the Yellow River was an endeavour that was neither financially draining nor overly time-consuming; however, now, a major flood could leave a city like Kaifeng with billions of dollars’ worth of destruction. Moreover, China’s increased level of international maritime trade and improved railways and roads means that incentive to locate a city right by a river bank has fallen, for there are many locations much more efficient and less damage-prone.

In 2019, a trip to the city of Kaifeng will bring you minimal joy, at best, compared with many other destinations in the once-Kingdom in the middle of the world. However, behind the lack of commotion lives quietly a remarkable community of Jews: the Jews of Kaifeng. For tens of centuries, the Jews of Kaifeng have been a part-Jewish, part-Chinese needle in a haystack of mostly pure Han Chinese citizens. This community, boasting an incredibly lineage and history, embody the merging of two ancient cultures – Chinese and Jewish – which are often thought of in isolation to one another.

The Kaifeng Jews are the descendants of Sephardic Jews who immigrated to China millenniums ago and the Han Chinese, indigenous to the Middle Kingdom. The Jews of Kaifeng, according to stone inscriptions, were made up of 70 clans (or families) when they first set foot in China; unfortunately, after nearly a hundred generations, due to numerous instances of social, political, and natural upheavals, their population has declined significantly, leaving a headcount of barely 1,000.

The affirmative DNA tests also helped gain the Jews of Kaifeng the recognition of many Jewish institutions around the world, not least Shavei Israel. Shavei Israel was founded by Michael Freund who in the 1990s served a term as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s director of communictations. The organisations was established to locate ‘Lost Tribes of Israel’ and help them reconnect with their motherland - Israel. Shavei Israel, over the past decade, has helped bring 20 Jews of Kaifeng return to Israel, or in more extravagant terms ‘make Aliyah.’

As the Jews of Kaifeng, however, do not strictly adhere to certain Jewish traditions – because, for instance, maintain a purely kosher diet in China is practically impossible – they are required to undergo full conversion in order to become Jews recognised by the state and in order to receive Israeli citizenship.

In China, the Jews of Kaifeng found a civilization untouched by Biblical religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Where the Jews may have had a conflict of interest in the interpretation of the Old Testament with the Christians, they had no such issues with the Chinese. As such, the Jews in Kaifeng were never singled out as a group in a negative sense. China was a haven in which they could live freely, and anti-Semitism was a concept they need not worry about.

During their integration into the vast Middle Kingdom, the Kaifeng Jews not only faced no troubles, they were in fact viewed highly, as exemplary citizens for attaining a disproportionately high number of positions as civil servants through Chinese Imperial Examinations (there is more on this in the Ming Dynasty chapter). The community took great pride in this and therefore publically displayed any gifts received from emperors over many centuries.

The non-religious aspect of the Jews’ life came to be very similar to that of the Chinese, especially after the Ming Dynasty. They adopted the Chinese language (only rabbis and Jewish scholars continued to study Hebrew, although this ended in 1810 when the last rabbi past away), cuisine (apart from pork and some other non-kosher dishes), clothing, and secular education. In the Qing Dynasty, Jewish men began to wear pigtails, when it became new custom following a decree passed by Qing conquerors.

Their religious traditions were also largely influenced by local norms. From their very early days in China, the Jews of Kaifeng added great Chinese classics to the studying of Hebrew and the Torah. Their most beloved synagogue, when constructed in the 12th century, followed Judaic law insofar as the lack of idols and paintings on the walls (with exceptions later explained), but different in that the exterior of the synagogue was purely oriental. Indeed, a perfect example of Jews maintaining the integrity of their religion while adapting to the local surroundings this was.

The Chinese influence was by no means a decisive force in shaping the religious experience of Jews in Kaifeng, it supplemented Jewish tradition instead by, for instance, adding in the Chinese practice of offering food and drinks, and burning incense to deceased friends and relatives.

However, in many other regards, the Jews of Kaifeng did indeed blend into their surroundings and gradually became more like their Han neighbours than their predecessors. The assimilation of the Kaifeng Jews can arguably have been excessively extreme to a degree which can be categorised as fatal to the existence of Judaism in China.

“For the student of Jewish culture, Kaifeng is the opposite of the usual story of survival in the face of persecution,” said Dr Karen Wilson, Research Fellow at the UCLA Center for Jewish Studies, “Kaifeng is the rare example of a Jewish community coexisting happily with a broader culture that accepted it.” [1986]

The Jews of Kaifeng oftentimes willingly took upon Chinese practices; however, oftentimes, there would be a conflict of interest between Chinese and Jewish culture, which would force the Jews of Kaifeng into compromise, if the Chinese custom was backed by law.

According to the Torah, if a married man died without a child, his brother was obliged to marry his widow. The surviving brother would take over the estate of the deceased brother. The offspring of this union would take on the name of the deceased brother. This practice ensured the continuity of the deceased brother’s legacy, kept the family together and offered protection to the widow. However, levirate marriage was illegal under Chinese imperial law and the Jews of Kaifeng had to put this practice to a halt.

Certain Chinese emperors also demanded that their portraits be hung on the walls of every place of worship. This was clearly against Judaic teachings. The Jews had no choice but to put portraits of emperors on the entrance of synagogue; however, on top of the portraits, they always wrote in Hebrew the holy prayer of Shema Yisrael which translates to “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” To the Jews, this meant God was above all the Chinese emperors.

The Jews of Kaifeng never faced the issue of anti-Semitism as did their western counterparts, nor was the issue of malicious pressure from above an issue; however, the Jews of Kaifeng had to persevere a great deal, as implicit forces waged battle against the community.

Considering their low head count, the extended period of isolation from the outside world, and the countless upheavals over two thousand years of Chinese history, it is indeed remarkable that this tiny outpost of Judaism, amidst the vast Middle Kingdom, still exists. Their seamless integration into the Chinese society, together with the inclusiveness of China’s own religions, allowed them to develop a unique theology that differentiated themselves from China and the west. The stone tablets their ancestors left behind illustrated the great emphasis placed on drawing a parallelism between Judaism and Confucianism.

In the early to mid 1800s, they lost both their synagogue and their very last rabbi. With no more tangible attachment to their heritage, many scholars predicted the eventual extinction of this Sino-Judaic civilisation. 

The community’s unwavering loyalty to their Jewish origin, family lineage, ancestral worship and oral history ensured they held on tight and passed down all Judaic beliefs and practices they knew. Over time, however, stories fragmented and many customs were lost. Perhaps even without knowing the reason, they stuck to the custom of avoiding pork and retained their own version of “Jewish” identity.

The completeness of the Jewish identity of the Jews of Kaifeng may be subject to debate. They no longer practice most Jewish traditions nor do they observe most Jewish holidays, including the all-important Hanukah; they have had no rabbis for over two centuries; they have not had a synagogue or seen the congregation of Jewish communities for generations; their ancestors intermarried and followed patrilineal descent (being Jewish is matrilineal); and their features are no longer distinguishingly Jewish. And, whilst some Jewish communities consider them not Jewish – only of Jewish descent – the Jews of Kaifeng consider themselves wholeheartedly as Jews, regardless of what their critics think. It should be pointed out that the fact the Jews of Kaifeng have any idea about their Jewish heritage is quite impressive, given the many centuries that could have changed this.  

The Jews of Kaifeng acknowledge an underlying affinity between Chinese and Jewish thinking, and believe it has helped with their integration into society. Even if the Chinese lack a firm concept of a monotheistic supreme deity, the two shares strikingly many similar values: to name a few - both are incredibly competitive, have a strong entrepreneurial mindset, place a relatively large importance on education, and emphasis respect of the elderly. Indeed, the stone inscription tablets, which used to be kept in the courtyard of the Kaifeng Synagogue, consistently referred to the similar principles that often brought together Confucianism and Judaism.