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Kaifeng Stone Inscriptions

Description

Setting:
These steles were originally placed in the courtyard of the Kaifeng synagogue, which is tradition for Confucian and other Chinese temples. It was decorated with trees and pavilions, and was very similar to other open, airy and nature-centric courtyard homes and temples in China. However, after the Kaifeng synagogue was destroyed by a flood in 1861 and was not rebuilt, the steles remained there, utterly uncared for. [1] Anglican priests removed them and placed them outside the Trinity Church in the area, but this sparked an uproar and demands that the steles be returned, because Jews in the area believed that the priests were planning to remove them from the country. A peace was reached, and the steles were allowed to remain at the Trinity Church. [1]
Jewish History:
Jews are believed to have arrived in Kaifeng as early as 700 CE. They coexisted with Chinese citizens and were never victimized by government legislature, no matter which dynasty was in power. In fact, under the Yuan dynasty, Jews were extremely successful. [4] However, the social pressures were a different matter altogether. Coincidentally, Confucianism aligns well with Judaism, especially concerning moral conduct and family rituals, but it requires a full commitment, and in order to have a prominent role in society or move up the ranks, one needed to be well versed in Chinese classics and culture. This conundrum caused the slow process of the decline of Judaism in Kaifeng.

A different aspect to the assimilation is marriage culture in China. Traditionally, when women marry, they lose contact with their father’s family, and communicate almost exclusively with their husband’s family. Regulations were put in place to keep Jewish women from marrying non-Jews but were impossible to enforce and the community began to lose itself into Chinese culture. It started as a slow assimilation into Confucian society, and an example of this is a blessing that was found on one of the inscriptions. A translator noted that it has a similar meaning to the Amida, a Jewish prayer. It is believed that Hebrew blessings were passed down orally, and over time became heavily influenced by Chinese culture, and as Jews forgot the original Hebrew words, a Chinese version was written that maintained the meaning and spirit of the blessing. [2] Another example can be found in a direct quote from the translation of the inscription on a stele: “The Way of Heaven does not speak yet ‘the four seasons pursue their course, and all creatures are produced’”[1]. The Way is a Confucian term, and it seems to be used in place of God. As can be seen, the religion eventually succumbed to the Chinese culture that had become embedded within it and lost its prominence in the city as members married into Chinese families.

Another reason why Judaism suffered was due to the floods that plagued the area. They destroyed the synagogue several times and made it difficult to maintain a concrete community; on some occasions, Torah scrolls were lost to the floods and never found again. By 1850-51, poverty was so widespread that some of the surviving Jews sold six of their Torah scrolls and sixty-three smaller liturgical books to emissaries of the London Society for the Promotion of Christianity among the Jews (now the Church's Mission to the Jews). In ensuing years, three more Torahs and at least two smaller manuscripts were sold. Around 1860, the synagogue collapsed or was torn down, and a half-century later the land itself was deeded to Canadian Anglican missionaries. [6]  For more information about the Kaifeng Synagogue, go here.

Current Status:
The steles were moved to the Kaifeng Museum, where they are stored to this day. During their time outside the Anglican church, the government prevented them from being removed or destroyed. In times when anti-foreigner sentiments were particularly strong, protective brick coverings were built around the inscriptions to prevent them from being destroyed. Today, historians read the translations of the inscriptions by Bishop Charles White to gain an understanding of the rituals performed by the Kaifeng Jews. Some historians believe there is very little historical fact on these inscriptions, as their original purpose was not to document their history, but rather preserve important aspects of their religion for others to see in the future; others interpret the inscriptions as having historical accounts in addition to descriptions of the rituals. [2]

It is estimated that there are between 400 and 1000 Jews in Kaifeng by blood, but only 40 to 50 still partake in Jewish activities. [3] Additionally, there has been a crackdown by the Chinese government on Kaifeng Jews. While they had previously faced little to no discrimination, this is no longer the case. The Chinese government has also greatly restricted religious activities in the Catholic and Protestant communities, and their status as two of China’s five officially recognized religions (of which Judaism is not a part) did not save them. Soon, the government turned on the Kaifeng Jews, who had been experiencing a revival due to people noticing aspects of Judaism that were still present in their families. They are not allowed to practice Judaism anywhere, even within their homes. Even though the number of Jews that live in Kaifeng is waning as Jews are immigrating to Israel, awareness of their existence is spreading and since the steles are housed safely in the museum, the Jewish rituals and traditions that are unique to Kaifeng will be preserved for years to come. [5]

Kaifeng, China

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