The theology of the Chinese Jews, 1000-1850 / Jordan Paper.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paper, Jordan D.

Contributor:

University of Victoria (B.C.). Centre for Studies in Religion and Society.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--China--History.

Jews.

Judaism.

History.

China.

Jews--China--Kaifeng Shi--History.

Judaism--China--Doctrines.

China--Ethnic relations--History.

Ethnic relations.

China--Kaifeng Shi.

Physical Description:

xi, 157 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Waterloo, Ont. : Wilfrid Laurier University Press, [2012]

Summary:

A thousand years ago, the Chinese government invited merchants from one of the Chinese port synagogue communities to "the capital, Kaifeng. The merchants settled there and the community prospered. Over centuries, with government support, the Kaifeng Jews built and rebuilt their synagogue, which became perhaps the world's largest. Some studied for the rabbinate; others prepared for civil service examinations, leading to a disproportionate number of Jewish government officials. While continuing orthodox Jewish practices they added rituals honouring their parents and the patriarchs, in keeping with Chinese custom. However, by the mid-eighteenth century-cut off from Judaism elsewhere for two centuries, their . synagogue destroyed by a flood, their community impoverished and dispersed by a civil war that devastated Kaifeng-their Judaism became defunct.

The Theology of the Chinese Jews traces the history of Jews in China and explores how their theology's focus on love, rather than on the fear of a non-anthropomorphic God, may speak to contemporary liberal Jews. Equally relevant to contemporary Jews is that the Chinese Jews remained fully Jewish while harmonizing with the family-centred religion of China. In an illuminating postscript, Rabbi Alison Laytner underscores the point that Jewish culture can thrive in an open society, "without hostility, by absorbing the best of the dominant culture and making it one's own." Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction: The Four Questions 1

Who Are the Chinese Jews? 1

Are the Chinese Jews Jewish? 5

What Are the Sources for the Theology of the Chinese Jews? 16

Is This Theology Relevant Today? 21

2 From Whence They Came to Where They Went 25

The Extent of the Diaspora 25

Jewish Life under Christianity and Islam: Tenth to Twelfth Centuries 30

The Sea Route to China and the Settlement in Kaifeng 33

3 Life in China: Tenth to Nineteenth Centuries 37

Religion 37

Education 48

Social Structure 50

Government 51

Economy 52

Culture 53

4 Brief History of Buddhism and the Abrahamic Traditions in China 55

The Buddhist Experience in China 56

Christianity to the Mid-Nineteenth Century 58

Christianity in China after the de Facto Demise of Judaism 62

Islam 66

Judaism 69

5 The Sinification of Judaism 79

Veneration of Ancestors: Family, Tribal, Religious, and Cultural 79

Education and Its Relationship to Judaism 85

The Kaifeng Jews and Their Neighbours 87

Chinese Judaism 90

6 A Speculative Theology of the Chinese Jews 95

The Names of God: Hebrew 96

The Kaifeng Synagogue's Stelae and Plaques 98

The Names of God: Chinese 100

The Nature of Creation 106

Monotheism from a Chinese Perspective 110

A Speculative Chinese-Jewish Theology 113

Assimilation and Theology 124

Historical and Cultural Context 129.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-157).

Co-published by: Centre for Studies in Religion and Society.

ISBN:

9781554583720

1554583721

OCLC:

741549537