Jews and Judaism in Modern China

Jews and Judaism in Modern China Jews and Judaism in Modern China explores and compares the dynamics at work in two of the oldest – and starkly contrasting – intact civilizations on earth: Jewish and Chinese. The book studies how they interact in modernity and how each views the other, and analyzes areas of cooperation between scholars, activists and politicians. Through evaluation of the respective talents, qualities and social assets that are fused and borrowed in the socio- economic, intellectual and cultural exchanges, we gain an insight into the social processes underpinning two dissimilar and long-surviving civilizations. Identifying and analyzing some of the emerging current issues, this book suggests that Jewish–Chinese relations may become a growing discipline of importance to the study of religion and comparative identity, and looks at how the significant contrasts in Jewish and Chinese national constructs may serve them well in the quest for a meaningful discourse. Chapters explore identity, integrity of the family unit, minority status, religious freedom, ethics and morality, tradition versus modernity, the environment, and other areas which are undergoing profound transformation. Identifying the intellectual and practical nexus and bifurcation between the two cultures, worldviews and identities, this work is indispensable for students of Chinese Studies, sociology, religion and the Jewish Diaspora, and provides useful reading for Western tourists to China. M. Avrum Ehrlich is a theologian, social philosopher and scholar of Jewish texts. He is a full professor of Judaic Studies at the Center for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies at Shandong University, a government-funded national center for inter-religious research in Jinan, Shandong Province, the People’s Republic of China, and is also the Founding President of the Israel Asia Center, based in Jerusalem. Routledge Jewish Studies Series Series editor: Oliver Leaman University of Kentucky Studies, which are interpreted to cover the disciplines of history, sociology, anthropology, culture, politics, philosophy, theology, religion, as they relate to Jewish affairs. The remit includes texts which have as their primary focus issues, ideas, personalities and events of relevance to Jews, Jewish life and the concepts which have characterized Jewish culture both in the past and today. The series is interested in receiving appropriate scripts or proposals. Medieval Jewish Philosophy Judaism, Philosophy, Culture An introduction Selected studies by E. I. J. Rosenthal Dan Cohn-Sherbok Erwin Rosenthal Facing the Other Philosophy of the Talmud The ethics of Emmanuel Levinas Hyam Maccoby Edited by Seán Hand From Synagogue to Church: Moses Maimonides The Traditional Design Oliver Leaman Its beginning, its definition, its end John Wilkinson A User’s Guide to Franz Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption Hidden Philosophy of Hannah Norbert M. Samuelson Arendt Margaret Betz Hull On Liberty Jewish philosophical perspectives Deconstructing the Bible Edited by Daniel H. Frank Abraham ibn Ezra’s introduction to the Torah Referring to God Irene Lancaster Jewish and Christian philosophical and theological perspectives Image of the Black in Jewish Culture Edited by Paul Helm A history of the Other Abraham Melamed From Falashas to Ethiopian Jews Maimonides’ Guide to the Daniel Summerfield Perplexed: Silence and Salvation Donald McCallum Philosophy in a Time of Crisis Don Isaac Abravanel: defender of Muscular Judaism the faith The Jewish body and the politics of Seymour Feldman regeneration Todd Samuel Presner Jews, Muslims and Mass Media Mediating the “Other” Jewish Cultural Nationalism Edited by Tudor Parfitt with David Aberbach Yulia Egorova The Jewish–Chinese Nexus Jews of Ethiopia A meeting of civilizations The birth of an elite Edited by M. Avrum Ehrlich Edited by Emanuela Trevisan Semi and Tudor Parfitt German-Jewish Popular Culture before the Holocaust Art in Zion Kafka’s Kitsch The genesis of national art in David Brenner Jewish Palestine Dalia Manor The Jews as a Chosen People Tradition and transformation Hebrew Language and Jewish S. Leyla Gürkan Thought David Patterson Philosophy and Rabbinic Culture Jewish interpretation and Contemporary Jewish Philosophy controversy in medieval Languedoc An introduction Gregg Stern Irene Kajon Jewish Blood Antisemitism and Modernity Reality and metaphor in history, Innovation and continuity religion and culture Hyam Maccoby Edited by Mitchell B. Hart Jews and India Jewish Education and History History, image, perceptions Continuity, crisis and change Yulia Egorova Moshe Aberbach; edited and translated by David Aberbach Jewish Mysticism and Magic An anthropological perspective Jews and Judaism in Modern China Maureen Bloom M. Avrum Ehrlich Jews and Judaism in Modern China M. Avrum Ehrlich First published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 M. Avrum Ehrlich All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ehrlich, M. Avrum Jews and Judaism in modern China / M. Avrum Ehrlich. p. cm. – (Routledge Jewish studies series ; 32) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Jews–China–History. 2. China–Ethnic relations. I. Title. DS135.C5E47 2009 305.892′4051–dc22 2009003824 ISBN 0-203-87351-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0-415-45716-5 (hbk) ISBN10: 0-203-87351-3 (ebk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-45716-3 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-87351-9 (ebk) Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction to modern Jewish–Chinese relations 1 1 Chinese perceptions of Jews 6 Snapshot impressions 6 Survey of impressions 7 Observing them observing you: impressions of Chinese culture via impressions of Jews 9 Jews as worthy of emulation 13 Evolution of the concept of Jew in Chinese consciousness 15 Attitudes towards foreigners 18 On anti-Semitism, philo-Semitism and stereotypes 19 Jews as a reflection of Chinese ambition 20 Jews as a non-threat factor 21 Genetic or cultural 23 Government-inspired favor 24 Jewish responses to Chinese perceptions 25 Conclusion 28 2 Food, identity, Jews and Chinese 30 Food and trans-generational identity 31 East–West culinary axis 32 Chinatown and the overseas Chinese food industry 33 The Jewish axis: doctrine not taste 34 Religiously prescribed methods, not ingredients 35 American Jews and Chinese food 36 The River Elegy, food and liberty 40 Conceptions of food 42 Food and health 43 viii Contents Confucius on food 45 Hyper-liberal versus hyper-selective 45 Cruelty to animals 46 Comparing the Jewish and the Chinese kitchen 48 Staple foods 50 Food and festivals 51 On alcohol 52 On fasting 52 Conclusion 53 3 The kosher industry in China: anatomy of a growing community 58 Kosher fundamentals 58 The politics of kosher meat 59 Introducing the Chinese authorities to kosher politics 60 First base: local Jewish communities and local kosher consumption 63 Chabad and the kosher industry 65 Shkhita for local consumption 67 Supervision of raw materials for international food conglomerates 67 Kosher certifying agencies 68 Kosher China and its implications for Jewish law and ethics 69 International markets for kosher food from China 71 Israeli industry 72 Costs of supervision 73 The kosher supervisor: scope of supervision and duties 73 The Jewish–Chinese encounter 74 Chinese impressions of kosher 77 Kosher profit 77 The health and public safety component of kosher food 78 Implications for the international kosher industry 79 Hesitations about complex foods 80 Shkhita for export 81 Future of the industry 82 4 Jewish Studies in China: people, motivations, subjects, applications and future directions 85 Motives, me ans and themes 87 Opening up and soft power 87 Contents ix Discourse within the international arena 89 No concession to Western imperialism 91 Jewish Studies not Jewish ethnicity 92 The problem of religion 94 A check and balance on Christianity 95 The process of legitimizing Jewish Studies 97 Gateways into Jewish Studies 99 Chinese academia 99 Manifest opportunity or lack of choice 101 A gradual process of synthesis 102 Philosophy, history and the Western classics 102 Love of foreign languages 104 Literature penned by Jews 105 “Jewish Fever” and the myth of Jewish wealth and power 109 Omission, misunderstandings and distortions of Judaism 110 Historical Jewish presence in China 112 Jewish foreign experts, Jewish heroes and guests throughout Chinese history 117 Jewish tourism 117 The Kaifeng connection 117 The art, theater and film industry 121 Christian Bible and theological studies 121 Chinese converts and seekers of Jewish spiritualism 123 International affairs and the Arab–Israeli conflict 124 Internet and online resources 126 Genocide Studies 126 Institutions and departments 129 The Center for Judaic and Inter-Religious

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