Israel-Asia Center

Israel-Asia Center: Where and when did Chinese-Jewish relations begin?

The Jewish presence in China can be traced back to at least the seventh century. The well-known Kaifeng Jewish community is believed to have arrived in China in the 11th century and has resided in Kaifeng ever since, practicing as an observant Jewish community for at least 700 continual years. But the fact that Jews resided in China does not mean that the Chinese had any great awareness of their presence. The majority of the Chinese knew very little. In fact, until the middle of the 18th century, Jews were simply referred as Blue Hat Hui Hui, people who came from the West to China, or Tiao-jin-jiao, Sect that Plucks Out the Sinews. Both names are based on some customs of the Kaifeng Jews. But no one, not even the most knowledgeable scholars in China, had a glimmer of suspicion that the Jews in Kaifeng might represent a larger religious population who were scattered in many countries, held common beliefs and shared a similar lifestyle.

Historically speaking, Chinese society has been quite ethnocentric. China considered herself the Middle Kingdom, which mediated between Heaven and Earth and was thereby superior to all other civilizations. Traditional Chinese education, therefore, did not cover the Western world, let alone a small minority like the Jews. Encounters between China and the Western world happened frequently at different times in history. However, academic work concerning occidental subjects remained unknown for a very long time.

The situation began to change around 1840, when China was defeated by European gun-ships in the Opium Wars and forced to open her doors to the West. At the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th, Western scholarship became very popular among the Chinese, especially among Chinese scholars after they saw the increasing power of Japan due to her open-door policy to the West.

Between the mid-19th century and mid-20th century, about 40,000 Jews came to China for business development or for a safer haven. The arrival of Jews in modern China made Chinese aware of the Jewish people and we may very well say that [at that point] Chinese-Jewish relations began.

IAC: How aware are Chinese of Judaism and Jewish history? Does that knowledge base stretch to include awareness of Israel?

Judaic studies (including the study of Judaism and Jewish history) appeared for the first time in Chinese history as an inevitable result of the deepening of occidental studies in China, since Judaism is one of two main sources of Western civilization. Information about Jews and Judaism was disseminated through China through two main sources: foreigners who now were permitted to enter China for missionary, commercial, trade, or diplomatic ventures, and Chinese who had been sent to either study or work abroad and who returned to China with new information gleaned from their exposure to the Western world.

Achievements in Judaic studies by Chinese scholars before the 1930s encompass a surprisingly large number of subjects, such as the Jewish Diaspora in China, Yiddish literature, Judaism, Zionism, and Jewish history.

Needless to say, Judaic studies in China laid a foundation for Chinese to be aware of Israel when it was founded.

IAC: How is Israel presented in the Chinese media?

Chinese media reported the establishment of the State of Israel the same day Ben-Gurion declared [its] establishment in 1948 and hailed it as a great victory of the Jewish people.

When the two countries, the State of Israel and the People’s Republic of China, were founded in 1948 and 1949, respectively, there were many valid reasons for them to have established and developed normal and close relations because both newly-established societies were basically socialist; both faced hostility from the Arab world (At that time, the Chinese government believed that most, if not all, Arab regimes were subservient to Western imperialism and hostile towards Communism and the New China. These attitudes were demonstrated by their votes on the China issue in the United Nations and by their refusal to recognize Communist China. Israel recognized Red China on January 9, 1950, which makes Israel the first and only country in the Middle East region that recognized the New China.), which could have helped to promote Israel studies among the Chinese. Unfortunately, the opportunity was missed and the window of opportunity for fruitful contact between Chinese and Israelis was closed in the mid-1950s. (China and Israel held talks on establishing formal relations in Moscow, but talks broke off when the Korean War broke out.)

Following the end of the Korean War, negotiations between China and Israel resumed. In January 1955, an Israeli Trade and Good Will delegation was invited to visit China. A five-point protocol agreement was signed, which demonstrated that China was very interested in establishing full and mutual relations with Israel. However, the Israeli government slowed the process to try to protest her relations with the United States.

In April 1955 Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai met Egyptian President Nasser and other Arab leaders at the Bandung Conference with participants chiefly from Asian and African countries. Zhou was greatly influenced by the Arab versions of the Arab-Israeli conflicts. Soon afterwards, China established diplomatic relations with Egypt, Syria and Yemen. When the 1956 Suez Canal War broke out, China stood on the Arab side firmly and left no chance for Israel to improve its relations with China for the next 30 years.

The normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Israel was finally realized in 1992. (There had been many contacts between the two countries openly or secretly since 1979. China wanted to improve her image and play a bigger role in international affairs. It was believed that China could do so if she would recognize Israel. The establishment of full relations with Israel made sure that China could participate in the Middle East Conference held in Madrid in 1992. Otherwise, China would be the only country having permanent seat of the Security Council of the United Nations that could not participate in the meeting.)

IAC: Do current-day politics play a role in the understanding of Israel?

Definitely. As China is a highly politicized country, politics and ideology play a decisive role in all fields, including academia and education. The ultra-leftist policies adopted in Chinese social and academic circles since the 1950s made it almost impossible for Chinese scholars to conduct serious study and academic research in the field of Judaica (after China condemned Israel as the aggressor of the Suez War).

Since there was so little information available about Israeli society, its people and daily life, it is no wonder that Israel appeared alien and mysterious. For instance, a respected Chinese reference book published in 1973 defines the Bible as a Christian book, having nothing to do with Jews, appears ignorant of the term "kibbutz" and makes no mention of Modern Hebrew literature.

Because of repeated reports of Mid-East conflicts and because the blame for these conflicts was always assigned to Israel, the Chinese defined Israelis as bellicose, aggressive, and full of martial spirit. Zionists were said to be people whose only purpose was to steal land from its rightful owners, the Arabs. Israel was habitually defined as "a running dog of the Western imperialist powers."

One of the major consequences of these abnormal relations between the two countries is that Israel studies became, by and large, a suspended subject in China. Direct contact between Chinese and Israelis became impossible. Very few, if any, Chinese publications dealt with Israeli or Jewish culture, society, and life. Chinese knowledge of Israel remained very limited and never went beyond the abstract and superficial. It was always more negative than positive.

China suddenly witnessed the publication of a large number of books and articles on various Jewish and Israeli subjects in Chinese after the normalization of the relations between China and Israel. More importantly, the change of policy resets the attitude of Chinese scholars towards Israel.

Those who are familiar with earlier Chinese scholarship on Israel-related issues, much of which was written largely to criticize Israeli policies towards the Arabs, may find some big changes in the attitude of Chinese scholars towards Israel now. Chinese scholars today strive for greater balance and objectivity and reflect a gradual change in attitudes, both in the government and among the people, from ignorance and hostility towards objectivity and even admiration and sympathy. This dramatic change is best seen in their treatment of Zionism.

The reassessment of Zionism by Chinese scholars is an indicator of changes in the political views of Chinese scholars towards Israel-related issues. For instance, The Third Temple: The Rise of Israel, a book written by Xu Xiangqun and Yu Congjian in 1994, is the first Chinese book ever to provide a detailed, balanced description of Zionism. Its 80-page discussion on Zionism provides the historical, religious, and political background of the rise of the Zionist movement and its developments and accomplishments at various stages. The discussion makes it possible, for the first time, for Chinese readers as well as Chinese academics to understand the historical link between Jews and the Land of Israel, and the role played by modern anti-Semitism in the rise of the Zionist movement, describing the Zionist movement as a national movement of the Jewish people.

The change of viewpoint is even more dramatic if we take into consideration the attitude of the same author towards the Balfour Declaration ten years earlier. In his article, “From the Rise of Zionism to the Founding of the State of Israel”, Yu Congjian wrote that the British government issued the Balfour Declaration because it wanted “to use Zionism as a tool to suppress the national liberation movement of the Arabs.” Yu argues that Balfour “defies the national rights of the Arabs and disregards the fundamental interests of Arabs in order to give the Jews the land on which the Arabs are majority.” Obviously, he treated the issue of the Balfour Declaration as a negative action then.

IAC: How much interest is there in Jewish and Israel studies?

Currently there is enormous interest in Jewish and Israel studies among Chinese college students. For instance, more and more students express their interest in entering the Jewish programs at various universities in China than the programs could actually take. China now has both M.A. and Ph.D. programs for Jewish studies.

IAC: What reasons have students given you for studying in your department?

Modern Chinese admiration and envy of Jews’ genius in commerce seems to have become a tradition in the Chinese mind. Today Jews are usually enviable and learnable because of their outstanding achievements in fields like commerce, technology, education, etc., to which the Chinese are devoting themselves. Jewish wisdom and learning tradition are also major attractions for Chinese students to join Jewish studies programs.

IAC: How much interest is there in Israel in your work?

Israel is part of our Jewish studies program. Every year we send two to three of our students to study or do research in Israel. We have close relations with Israeli diplomatic missions to China and invited Israeli officials or scholars to come and give lectures to our students and faculty. Lectures on Israel by Chinese scholars are given annually at our university.

IAC: Can you see ways to create more awareness of Israel and Judaism in China?

With the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Israel, the Chinese media, and especially Chinese scholars, have taken a more "benevolent" position towards Israel. Chinese knowledge of Israel and her history and culture has already broadened beyond the abstract and superficial. The advancement of Israel studies in China is great and the impact on Chinese academia is obvious and strong. Therefore, to strengthen Jewish studies in China and to increase of the exchange of personnel (students and scholars) are some effective ways to create more awareness of Israel and Judaism in China.

IAC: How do you think Jewish studies can be used as a vehicle for promoting closer Israel-China ties?  

Jewish studies programs in China have greatly promoted closer ties between the two countries in the last twenty years. With scholars asserting such strong and influential ideas, it is no wonder that Israel studies - which is essentially part of Jewish studies - in China has picked up speed. The development of Chinese-Israeli relations in recent years shows that the two nations are closer than ever before. Political contacts, cultural exchanges, and economic cooperation have reached new heights. In contrast to ten years ago, when only a few books were available, interested Chinese readers can now find a broad spectrum of respectable publications about Israel. To varying degrees, they address new developments and trends in Israel and provide a balanced picture of Israeli society today.

Jewish education at college and university level not only trains a new generation with friendly attitude towards Israel and Jews but also has laid a solid foundation for a better understanding of Israel and Israeli culture, which is extremely important for the future of friendly relations between Israel and China. Only through a deep and genuine mutual understanding of and respect for their respective cultures will the relationship between the Israeli and Chinese peoples acquire the necessary strength and resilience to withstand the changing dictates of ephemeral politics.