Road Trip

Jews first came to China from Persia as early as the 8th century via the Silk Road. Some of them settled in what was then the Chinese capital, Kaifeng. They brought a Torah with them, built a synagogue and followed Jewish law, including keeping kosher. They were treated well by the Chinese and the local Muslim community. Marco Polo met some of them in Beijing in the 13th century and Jesuit missionaries visited them in later centuries. A series of floods from the Yellow River repeatedly leveled the synagogue, which was last rebuilt in the 17th century. After a few more generations, the Kaifeng Jews, like the Mongols and Manchus and other foreign peoples who had come to China, were almost totally assimilated.
Western scholars have long been fascinated by this small community, which never numbered more than 2000 people. It also has been studied by some Chinese scholars, most notably by Xu Xin here at Nanjing University. Prof Xu originally taught American literature when he became fascinated by Jewish writers like Saul Bellow and Phillip Roth. He founded the Judaic Studies Center here and has written two books about Kaifeng Jews. He now runs one of the most successful programs at the University and has raised $15 million from foreign donors so that he can send his students to Israel to study Hebrew, hire visiting lecturers and attract hundreds of undergraduates and dozens of graduate students to his courses.
I have known about Xin's work for years and got in touch with him as soon as I learned I would be teaching at Nanda. Marcus's Hebrew tutor and my Chinese tutor are both graduate students in his program. I lectured in one of his classes some weeks ago and we began talking about making a trip to Kaifeng. Xin arranged an invitation for me to speak at the Judaic Studies program at Henan University in Kaifeng. Xin was kind enough to come with Marcus, Irene and me on the trip.
We took a fast evening train from Nanjing and arrived in Kaifeng in less than five hours. Our hotel had overbooked so they upgraded us to their "VIP" suite, a huge room with a jacuzzi in the middle. After breakfast, Xin took us to a Kaifeng theme park. The city is relatively small for China and doesn't have much industry, so it's trying to attract tourists. The Milennium City Park has pavilions, rivers and squares where performers act out battles, acrobatics and arts and crafts. My favorite was the fire eater. At one point, he drank a bowl of maotai (strong Chinese liquor) then spit it up in the air at a burning stick, shooting flames high in the air.
But the real reason Xin took us there was to see a small two-story house in the park that told the story of the Kaifeng Jews. He had helped put together the exhibits based on his research. It included copies of their Hebrew writing that showed evidence it had been transcribed from spoken words rather than from another text (the "lameds," l's, had been written as "raishes," r's), a copy of the steles that told some of the history of the community, a small model of the synagogue complex, and sketches of some members of the community. Later that day, we visited the site of the former synagogue, which is now a hospital. Xin also took us to visit the family of Guo Yan, who still identify themselves as Kaifeng Jews. The family doesn't follow any Jewish practices but, with Xin's help, greets occasional Jewish guests from around the world in their small home in a narrow hutong. Xin got government approval to put up street signs identifying their street as "Teaching the Torah Lane. Guo's family has some pictures and art work in their home and sells paper cuts, including one based on the design of the synagogue. They also have a website.
That evening, I spoke to about 100 students and faculty at the university. My topic as "Who is a Jew?" and I discussed how difficult it is to answer the question since Jews have adapted and changed their traditions, languages, beliefs and practices in different societies over thousands of years. The students seemed knowledgeable and asked good questions, including one I always dread answering. Why did Hitler and the Nazis hate the Jews and murder them? I answered with a question. We all know that the Chinese people have a rich history and culture and are a wonderful people, I said. What would you say if I asked you why people hate the Chinese?
We enjoyed our VIP suite for another night and then headed off to visit the legendary Shaolin Temple. Marcus and I are off on another road trip today to Tianjin--I'm lecturing on journalists in American film at Nankai University. Irene will pick up the story of Shaolin and the Longmen caves when we return. She's got her final in advanced acupuncture and moxibustion this week so she's staying in Nanjing.