en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_China
Today, with the current expansion of trade and globalization, Jews of many ethnicities from multiple regions of the world have settled permanently and temporarily in China's contemporary commercial centers. Several of the most prominent advisors and technical experts in China during the height of its communist period--who were to settle as permanent residents--were of Jewish descent.
patrilineal descent, as well as intermarriage with the local population. Since their religious practices are functionally extinct, they are not eligible to immigrate to Israel unless they explicitly convert.
One Catholic researcher of the early 20th century showed that Ricci's manuscripts indicate that there were only approximately ten or twelve Jewish families in Kaifeng in the late 16-early 17th century, and that they had reportedly resided there for five or six hundred years.
This could be taken to suggest that the Jews did indeed arrive during the Song, based on the timeframe indicated, and in fact the dynasty's capital was Hangzhou.
The community was composed mainly of "Asian," German, and Russian Jews, though there are a few of Austrian, French, and Italian origin among them. During the early days of Jewish settlement in Shanghai the trade in opium and Bombay cotton yarn was mainly in Jewish hands.
Sephardic Jews from the Middle East came as traders via India and Hong Kong and established some of the leading trading companies. Later came Jewish refugees from Russia (and later the Soviet Union).
In 1943, the occupying Japanese army required these 18,000 Jews, formally known as "stateless refugees," to relocate to a 3/4 square miles area of Shanghai's Honkew district (today known as Hongkou) where many lived in group homes called "heime."
Shanghai was an important safe-haven for Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, since it was one of the few places in the world where one didn't need a visa. The Japanese, who controlled the city, preferred in effect to look the other way. Some corrupt officials however, also exploited the plight of the Jews. By 1941 nearly 20,000 European Jews had found shelter there.
Late in the War, Nazi representatives pressured the Japanese army to devise a plan to exterminate Shanghai's Jewish population, and this pressure eventually became known to the Jewish community's leadership. However, the War ended before the Japanese could succumb. Nevertheless, conditions in the Designated Area were abyssmal, particularly during the summer months.
Jewish dietary law would have most likely caused Jewish communities to stand out from the surrounding mainstream Chinese population, as Chinese culture is typically very free in the range of items it deems suitable for food.
pinyin: Lanmao Hui), in contrast to other populations of Hui, who have identified with hats of other colors. The distinction between Muslim and Jewish Chinese is not, and historically has not been, well recognised by the dominant Han population. A modern translation of the "Kaifeng Steles" has shown the Jews referred to themselves as "The Pure and Truth".
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