More than a thousand years ago, a group of Jews left their homeland and traveled thousands of miles to the city of Bieliang in Tokyo, where they settled in the world's most prosperous imperial capital at that time.
Today, in the south of The East Gate in Kaifeng, there is an old alley called "Jiaojing Hutong", which has a dilapidated northern courtyard, and there are still descendants of this Jewish tribe, guarding a "Kaifeng Jewish Sacred Community".
The Jewish people originated in Canaan (present-day Palestine), and in the first century AD, due to the uprising against the Roman Empire, they were driven out of their homeland, and the vast majority of Jews were scattered in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.
Some Jews chose to migrate along the long Silk Road to the more distant Middle Earth. According to modern archaeological findings, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, there were already some Jews engaged in trade in the Central Plains.
Until the end of the 10th century, because the Northern Song Dynasty failed to restore control of the western region, the land Silk Road was no longer safe and prosperous, and the maritime Silk Road arose.
In 998 AD, a large number of Jews from the Persian region, with rare treasures from their hometown, came to China on Arab merchant ships, passing through Quanzhou and Yangzhou, and finally arrived in Bieliang, Tokyo.
Whether Arabs, Persians, Europeans or other foreigners, they were never discriminated against in the Central Plains. The Jews are naturally no exception,
Not only were the trade routes of the Jews unimpeded, but the common people were very fond of the exotic goods brought by the Jews, and at the same time they were curious about their religious rituals and customs without the slightest offense, which made the Jews feel safe and satisfied.
In 1008 AD, in order to gain the official recognition of the Song Dynasty, the Jews visited The Song Zhenzong through the Ministry of Rites, and offered patterned cotton cloth and various western treasures, which made the Zhenzong Longyan very happy, and immediately issued an edict: "Return to me in midsummer, abide by the ancestral style, and leave behind the liang." ”
Jews were allowed to settle and do business in Pedagog for a long time, and could retain their religious beliefs and living customs.
As a result, Jews bought a large amount of land around the "Jiaojing Hutong" in Kaifeng today, and gradually formed their own community. At that time, the common people called the Jews "one gift of pleasure", which is also the Song transliteration of "Israel".
In 1127, Emperor Huizong of Song ordered a hundred taels of silver to help them build a synagogue. But before this hall could be established, the Jin soldiers attacked the city of Bieliang from the south, and the Northern Song Dynasty was destroyed.
Faced with a new Jin dynasty, the Jews chose to remain in Pekjeong to continue their business. Because the Jin people wanted to emulate the Northern Song Dynasty in issuing paper money to "jiaozi", they lacked talents in financial management.
Therefore, the Jews once again showed their excellent business talents, drawing on the mature experience of Northern Song dynasty banknotes, and designed the Jin Dynasty version of "Jiaozi" in only a short time.
This made the Jin Dynasty very grateful, and allocated a sum of money to support the Jews of Bieliang City. In 1163 A.D., a splendid synagogue was inaugurated in the Catechism Alley.
After the Yuan dynasty destroyed the Jin, the Jews continued to serve the Yuan Dynasty, which was also recognized by the Yuan Dynasty. In 1279, the synagogue was rebuilt and the area expanded to more than 10,000 square meters.
The real heyday of the Jewish community was during the Ming Dynasty, growing to more than 500 households and more than 5,000 people. From the Song dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the Jews of Kaifeng lived with Chinese for a long time.
They abandoned the Hebrew language and script, learned Chinese, began to intermarry with Chinese, and became officials through the imperial examination, accepted Confucianism, naturalized Chinese civilization, and had a social status completely equivalent to that of the Han Chinese.
Each Jew changed his or her surname, Zhao, Ai, Li, Zhang, Shi, Jin, and Gao, as well as the Zhang surname, which originated from the Zhang surname, commonly known as "Seven Surnames and Eight Greats".
Among them, the three surnames of Ai, Li and Shi also contain the shadow of Jewish identity for them, and it is said that the surname Li comes from "Levy", the surname Shi comes from "Sheba", and the surname Ai comes from "Adam".
Because of language, marriage, culture, employment, etc., the Jews of Kaifeng are becoming more and more like Chinese. In the late Qing Dynasty, Zhao Jincheng, the leader of the Jews in Kaifeng, no longer knew Hebrew, no one gathered to pray again, and the synagogue was in ruins.
In 1854, the Yellow River flooded, the Kaifeng Synagogue was razed to the ground, and the entire Jewish community was completely disintegrated. Later, the old site of the synagogue was sold and became the current Kaifeng Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.
At this point, the Kaifeng Jewish community was founded in 998 AD and dissipated in the early 20th century, completing a thousand years of history, and finally fully integrated into the Chinese nation.
Today, when you walk into the ordinary small courtyard of No. 21 Jiaojing Hutong in Kaifeng, you can still see a large blue David six-pointed star pattern on the wall, which seems to tell you the story of Jews and China.