1913 January: Shi Jing-xun (时经训)
Chairman of Henan Association of Educational
Shi Jing-xun (1874–1919), a native of Kaifeng, was a Chinese historian and Chairman of the Henan Association of Educational (河南省教育联合会会长).
Published a series of articles on Kaifeng Jews
Around January of 1913, Shi wrote a series of articles under the title A survey of the Origin and Development of Tiao Jing Jiao in Henan (河南挑筋教源流考). His research was based not only on written records but also on oral legends and anecdotes that he had collected himself from the Kaifeng Jews. The articles were published in the local papers of Kaifeng, such as the Freedom Chronicle (自由报) and Freedom Literary Digest (自由文综).
Stopped Bishop White from taking the stelae out of China
Towards the end of 1912, Bishop William Charles White (1873–1960) tried to take the 1489 Stone Inscription out of China; Shi wrote these articles in trying to stop the deal. His writings aimed at explaining the origin of the Kaifeng Jews, their historical significance, and the intangible value of these tablets.
Shi rallied the people of Kaifeng and got them to paste notices about the matter along the streets to increase awareness amongst the residents. In addition, he reached out to local newspapers such as Sound of River Daily (河声日报) and Henan Express (时事豫报) and had them actively report the matter. He further contacted government officials at multiple levels and locations, including the well-known and influential Henan natives based in Beijing, to block the movement of the stelae.
Shi played a decisive role in the subsequent negotiations and was instrumental in preventing the Canadian Mission from taking the tablets out of Kaifeng.
Reason synagogue was not built during the Song
In this series of articles, various issues were discussed. Three points were of the most interest.
Shi believed that the Jews came to Kaifeng in the early Northern Song period; however, they could not build their synagogue because the Imperial Court supported Daoism and had very little tolerance for the other religions.
There existed a Chinese version of the Kaifeng Torah
Shi claimed that one of his friends had seen a Chinese version of the Kaifeng Torah at the house of a Jew named Gao.
First Chinese scholar on assimilation due to shared values
Shi touched upon the reasons why the Jews in Kaifeng were respectful of Confucian values and traditions; he became the first Chinese scholar to discuss this as a cause for the assimilation of the community and their integration into the Chinese society.
1913 December: Undertaking by Bishop White
Paid for the stelae
At the request of the Jews, the Canadian Mission purchased the stones outright with money.
The Provincial officials, wishing to secure the monuments for the government, tried to get the Jews to withdraw their offer; however, despite bribes and threats of imprisonment and persecution, the Jews refused the government officials.
Undertook the stelae will never leave Kaifeng
A compromise was eventually reached, where the Canadian Mission were to be custodians of the tablets, but these stones were never to leave the boundaries of Kaifeng.
Bricked over the stelae during turbulent times
The Republic of China was established in 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution; political turmoil under the new government continued to ensue. Alongside anti-imperial sentiment was an anti-anything-foreign prejudice that grew so strong that these pillars had to be bricked over to prevent them from being forcibly removed or destroyed.