Over the past couple of decades the Chinese have become more interested in the Jews. Of late the Chinese regime has been bringing Jewish scholars and theologians to the People’s Republic to discuss Torah, Talmud, Mishnah and even some of the more mystical tracts.
Why?
It’s no surprise that China-Israel trade is increasing, nor that the China-Israel relationship has grown and deepened. Israel may well be the most dynamic country in the world, bursting at the seams with high-tech startups, dazzling inventions–especially in military and medical technologies–and highly educated and talented people.
But I’m not talking about Israel here. This is about the Chinese fascination with the Jews and Judaism, the religion and the People of the Book.
I’ve got a theory. It’s based on some real history, some anecdotes from participants in those ongoing conversations, and my own views of how the Chinese think about the world. Some of it will likely turn out to be fanciful, but it’s an important subject and it behooves us to ponder it. David Goldman has done some first-class pondering already, as is his wont, and I’m hoping to add some context.
Back when the country’s greatest modern man, Deng Xiaoping, converted the PRC economy to capitalism, Chinese “social scientists” went to work trying to figure out what makes capitalists tick. They were quickly baffled. They kept running into problems; that “knack” we’ve got somehow eluded their new system. After a while, they figured out that the capitalists’ success couldn’t be entirely explained by the nuts and bolts of the marketplace, or by institutions like private property, important though they were. Yes, it would have been easier just to read Michael Novak’s magnum opus, but they got to his end place: religion is an essential part of successful capitalism.
In their amazing way of organizing most anything, the Chinese launched churches, and of course millions upon millions of them attended Christian (mostly Catholic) services. To be sure, the Party kept a suspicious eye wide open, and some of the churches were deemed too dangerous, even in the cause of Communism. But on they went, convinced they were on the right path. If anyone doubted it, they had mountains of research and even Tocqueville to justify the turn to religion.
After a couple of decades of this, there were still problems, and their social scientists took another look. This time around, they found–surprise!–lots of Jews involved in capitalist enterprises, from banks to stock exchanges to corporations. Indeed, the Jews had a history of doing it. Maybe the Jews knew something the others didn’t? Well, look at Israel…or New York…
And so they’re talking to Jews, not about capitalism but about Judaism. State radio now broadcasts in Hebrew. The Jewish experts who are brought to China find themselves speaking Hebrew with their Chinese interlocutors. Chinese students can now learn Hebrew, and immerse themselves in Jewish studies (maybe they’ll give Ayaan Hirsi Ali an honorary degree sometime soon?).
If you grew up when I did, this will all remind you of jokes that used to be told in New York City. I can’t repeat them here because political correctness forbids it, but they’re about Chinese people in New York who only speak Yiddish.
I wish them well, and I have a bit of advice for the Chinese quest for the secret of capitalist success. First, the Jews do well at lots of things because Judaism is a quest for the right questions, not a canon of correct answers. The constant questioning, and the resultant playfulness of Jewish culture, are central to our success. This is hard for the leaders of the PRC to absorb, and dangerous to their political enterprise, even though in the long run it’s the only way they’re going to get away from the folly of attempting to maintain political control over a “free” economy.
Meanwhile, I have no doubt the Chinese have noticed that the world’s oldest man is a Jew living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He drifted away from the faith for a long time, but has recently re-embraced it. He’s a scientist, he thinks the soul outlives the body, and he’s still asking questions.
With such evidence, I think the Chinese are going to continue their Jewish studies. Maybe Shanghai will reestablish the thriving Jewish community for which it was known for so long…and if there start to be mass conversions to Judaism in China, it will be great fun to watch the response of the Jew-haters, won’t it?
Faster, please.
Buzz of the Orient Said:
It seems to me that there is no word for ‘quality’ in Chinese as a concept of production. They can produce art, but massed-produced art is shoddy in quality, as is everything I have ever purchased with ‘Made in China’ on it. There is no exception!
Interestingly enough in Israel there is a propensity for taking production short-cuts, and project management also, yet somehow the product is high quality. Its not something I quite understand yet myself. On the other hand Germans strive for high quality, but end up with what they wanted, but by the time they get there, it is unaffordable. Americans have become ‘infected’ with this, to the point that it seems US manufacturers can no longer produce simple and useful products rapidly and affordably. It is for this reason that the Chinese have been successful in penetrating the EU and US markets. Ultimately though one pays twice for anything Made in China, for the item, and repair there of. I have a case in point in my home now!
“Pursuit of quality”? Well, I’m not so sure about that. Consider the defective wallboards and lead painted toys shipped to the USA, or the result of a combination of cheating and corruption that lead to the death of thousands of school children in the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, or the sickness of thousands of children from malamine-infested baby formula, or the shoddy illegal copies of brand name products. Want to by a Rolex watch for 10 US bucks? There are lots of street vendors where they’re available – but don’t expect it to work more than a month.
Buzz of the Orient Said:
You’re to sensitive. That how the talk to everyone. TX couldn’t figure out how the timer on the microwave worked, the he carried you would think he was the last man standing at the Alamo.
Jus look em in the eye Darlin, and snarl back.
Maybe that has to do with their tone of voice when they say it.
yamit82 Said:
Jews are no smarter than any other Europeans at making money. What they did have is a greater stress of doing so because of the constraints of anti-Semitic laws on their business activities for much of the last 1700 years, and the benefit of near-universal education in business law since a significant part of the Talmud is that.
Jews that live in a permissive society and who have abandoned this learning for conventional (secular) education essentially lost all the advantages of having their ‘feet held to the fire’ and daily practice of adversarial negotiation tactics practice.
I am constantly surprised by how many Jews don’t realise that ‘Judaism’ is not a “religion” and is certainly not “traditional”. ‘Religion’ in Jewish context, and its original Latin meaning, have a very narrow application to Jews. Tradition is temporary in application by the very nature of Jewish diasporic dynamics – people move and traditions change.
But what does this have to do with ‘Judaism’, i.e. Torah observance, which is not a ‘religion’ except for those Jews that return to it?
yes, and the pursuit of quality
But this isn’t true. In the first place Israel is located outside one of the largest competitive cluster in the World, the EU. and this is an advantage, even more so when this cluster is adversarial, because greater competitive challenge usually produces greater creative effort.
India however is a business cluster in its own right. India is not monolithic as a market in the way some think of national markets in the pre-industrial age world. It is highly regionalised, and culturally diversified. Most states within India have their own calendars! What is impacting on Indian competitiveness, and to a lesser degree that of Israel, is the bureaucratisation of the society.
India has a second-largest single Islamic population in the World next to Indonesia. Indian nationalist philosophy is deeply based in Indian religion and a version of history which is almost mythical. In this sense it is highly anti-Judaism if only because of the influence Judaism has had on the global belief systems, i.e. Christianity and Islam, that have both successfully conquered India in the past.
China has two populations, the urban and the rural. There is very little movement between the two. The urban population is also segmented, so in reality the Chinese population of what is considered economically productive ‘middle class’ is roughly 300 million, which produce about 80% of the Chinese wealth.
The big question for the Chinese Communist Party is how surplus is reallocated equitable given the Party was created from the very old idea of ‘peasant revolts’ that repeated in China with historical regularity over its history.
Hence the above
China has her own Islamic problem, and it isn’t limited to Xinjiang province. Much of Chinese maritime trade passes through the territorial waters of Malaysia and Indonesia, states that are both Islamic and relatively beyond its reach. Resources from Australia also must pass through Indonesian waters. And this is before Persian Gulf is mentioned for oil supply, or the Suez as a second strategic choke point in a region more unstable than Malaysia.
It seems to me that pragmatism would be seen within the reality of the constraining economic strategies.
Buzz of the Orient Said:
That’s what Texans and Southerners say about the Jews and when they do they are called anti-Semitic. Did you know George Wallace’s grandfather was Jewish.
As soon as the Chinese proclaim knowing there is one God, we could have something to talk about with them. I have my doubts about this happening soon since it would require the Communist Party leadership to acknowledge an authority higher than themselves. Even Jews in the Knesset can’t do that at times…
This seems to be a pretty good history of Jews and Judaism in China.
http://blackjews.net/infogene/chinese-jews-from-kaifeng-arrive-in-israel/
@ yamit82:
I won today’s pool, now you have to one: tell me how you one: to know Lee Marvin two: send a pastrami !!!
@ Buzz of the Orient:
My reply blocked by spam filter.
Buzz of the Orient Said:
That about sums up what the clips presented only visually.
There is another not so obvious thread. Traditional values respect for ancestors and tradition, learning (education) from the earliest age. There seems to be a great religious explosion in china and besides major inroads of christianity and Islam tradition Confucian teaching are making a big return after so many years of being intentionally ignored.
Most would never believe how few Jews there are or how small is Israel. Hebrew being taught in Universities and Jewish authors being translated into Chinese.
Still I think our future is with India and not China. China cannot rise much because the Confucian culture lacks creativity, and only emphasizes diligent work. India is the best candidate for the next superpower. India, however, suffers from the same problem as Israel: a lack of competitive clusters. Both countries have excellent brains and accept foreign outsourcing, but lack the infrastructure: excellent universities, venture finance, business-friendly regulation, and a host of support industries such as marketing. It remains unclear whether India can develop competitive clusters rather than remain an outlet for high-tech outsourcing. But if it does, that would be great for Israel. India has big problems with Islamic terrorism, somewhat resents America and Britain, and historically has not been anti-Semitic, though its socialist and some nationalist leaders promote anti-Semitic feelings.
China won’t develop into a superpower for two reasons: its non-creative Confucian culture and its huge population, which prevents the upward pressure on wages that would necessitate technological advancement (India’s intellectually able castes are relatively small). China, however, has already accumulated a huge financial surplus, and its totalitarian government daily squeezes more from its citizens without distributing much of the funds. China, therefore, makes a good friend for a country like Israel. The Chinese, however, are highly pragmatic, and would side with Muslim regimes against Israel, especially since that doesn’t preclude Israel from supplying China with military technologies.
It makes sense for Israel to shift her foreign focus to India despite the American and Chinese objections.
@ yamit82:
What do Chinese people think of Jews?
I am unable to open the videos or photos that were posted with that comment, but I can tell you from personal experience and also from many comments seen elsewhere that the Chinese people respect and admire Jews because they think that they are smart and know how to make money. They rarely if ever get to actually meet a Jew but they know that Albert Einstein was a Jew and I guess they personify us all with his intelligence. In my almost eight years in China I never once encountered or ever heard of an act of anti-Semitism or anti-Zionism.
@ yamit82:
Chinese, Asian and American Indian men are unable to grow full beards.!! Now whatcha gonna do, Yamit82. You and Isaiah are gonna have to re-think this in-coming bit.
The prophet Isaiah teaches us that an ingathering of the exiles will herald the day of Redemption, for “You will be gathered up one by one, O Children of Israel; It shall be on that day that a great shofar [ram’s horn ] shall sound, and those lost in the land of Assyria and foresaken in the land of Egypt [and from all the other countries of exile and dispersion] will come [together] and bow down to Hashem on the holy mountain of Jerusalem (Isaiah 27:12-13).
Chinese Jews from Kaifeng arrive in Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijxSD0Lk3Tk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edhtdoPukk0
Buzz of the Orient Said:
The Chinese are not fortunate ??????
What Do Chinese People Think of Jews?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjwW3mMxw_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emmy82tFT30
No such thing as fortune cookies in China. They’re an American invention.
watsa46 Said:
Of fortune cookies ?????????????????????
China: a mixed bag like everything else.
mickeyobe Said:
My Great-Aunt Annie [may she rest in peace] worked in the garment industry in NYC, sewing buttons on garment to earn my Grandmother and her brother’s passage to the USA from Lodz,Poland. They then moved to Denver, CO because Aunt Annie’s husband had TB.
They were not ” political prisoners”, but free people ,for the first time in their life, who could live and work where they wished.
@ honeybee:
Some sort of coincidence.
The gulag that my grandparents and most Jewish immigrants worked in were called “sweatshops”.
@ mickeyobe:
This is very true. If there is anyone that can take a dollar and turn it into a hundred dollars – it’s the Chinese!
My friend taught me how to properly irrigate my garden so as to not waste any water. He loves to drop by in the summertime to watch the progress of my garden and marvels at the growth and production.
He does some gardening of his own and gave me some strawberry plants and chinese garlic. I in turn give him some tomatoes and zuchini.
mrg3105 Said:
Do you take in to consideration that many of these items are made by political prisoners in the Chinese gulag?
I live in a neighborhood that has become predominantly Chinese.
I am very fortunate. They are good people and good neighbours and very loving and solicitous parents.
They remind me of when my grandparents and neighbours were mostly newly arrived Jewish immigrants. Hard working and hungry for knowledge.
As they may wish to learn from us, we can in turn, learn a great deal from them.
Mickey Oberman
One of my good friends and his wife are Chinese. They immigrated to Canada about 15 years ago. A couple of weeks ago I had a recurring plumbing problem that had been fixed by a plumber – or so I had thought. When my Chinese friend heard about it he immediately rushed over with his tools and fixed it. He said the plumber didn’t do a very good job and it should have lasted for 5 years. He looks out for me. His wife and I have chatted about me being Jewish and that’s ok with them.
There is a lot more history of Jews in China than the Shanghai haven for refugees from the Nazis. The Jews of Kaifeng go back 1000 years, when they travelled the Silk Road from Eastern Europe to trade, and were made welcome by the Chinese emperor who at that time was in Kaifeng, the then Dynasty capital. At one time there were about 5000 Jews in Kaifeng but since that time due to intermarriage and conversion to Confucianism there are few left. However those who are left are still practising their Judaism (although secretly since Judaism is not a religion licensed to be practised in China). Perhaps with this new interest in Judaism, the religion will be granted status in China. Maybe then I’ll be able to enjoy the hot corned beef on fresh rye with mustard that I hunger for.
“Back when the country’s greatest modern man, Deng Xiaoping, converted the PRC economy to capitalism” – no, PRC is still a Communism-oriented state. The fact that your underwear and mine are made in China does not make it ‘capitalist’. It simply chose a different approach to the Soviet Union’s one after seeing that increasingly fail. In fact it is evolving as a new -ism, the CommuNationalism. The Chinese leadership in a wave of nostalgia are looking back to the Chinese Empire while moving towards a ‘bright Communist future’.
The Chinese don’t wallow in resentment and hatred. They try to learn from the success of others.