THE JEWS OF THE FAR EAST.
How far the bounds of the authority possessed by the Prince of the
Captivity extended must always be a matter of uncertainty. Records
exist of what occurred in the Roman empire down to the time of its
fall, which may be relied on with tolerable certainty. The kingdom
of Persia also has its historians, who throw a fair amount of light
upon what passed in that country during the centuries with which we
have been dealing. But of what took place farther eastward we have
no trustworthy knowledge at all. In Arabia, as we have seen, there
existed numerous and flourishing Jewish communities—indeed, a Jewish
kingdom had endured for many ages there, able to hold its own with
neighbouring sovereignties. Again, it is certain that there were not
only Jews in Parthia and Media, in Elam (or Persia), Mesopotamia,
Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, Pamphylia, and Ionia,[89] as noted in
the second chapter of the Acts; but there are grounds for believing
that they extended much farther eastward.
The traditions of the Early Church affirm that the Gospel was
preached by several of the Apostles—notably by Thomas,[90] Simon
Zelotes, and Matthias—in Asiatic Ethiopia, or the Land of Cush; the
bounds of which are wholly uncertain, but which extended a long
way to the eastward of the two great rivers. It is stated that
they encountered opposition from the Jews of those regions.[91]
Benjamin of Tudela also affirms that the authority of the Resch
Glutha ‘extended eastward to the Iron Gates, and as far as India.’
This assertion must be regarded as doubtful; but it certainly goes
to prove that there were Jewish communities in the districts he
names. Nothing, indeed, is more probable than that the Jews should
have migrated towards the East, when Chosroes let loose against them
the merciless wrath of an Eastern despot. To the West lay the Roman
empire, where harsh laws against their nation were in force: to the
South the new Arabian impostor was persecuting their countrymen: to
the North all was barren and ungenial. But to the East were rich and
pleasant regions, where, though they might encounter hostility from
neighbouring tribes, they were strong enough to maintain themselves
in peace and security. But though there is great likelihood of
their having done this, there is no certainty. We must acquiesce in
Milman’s opinion, that ‘the history of the Oriental Jews at this
early period is so obscure, so entirely or so nearly fabulous, that
it may wisely be dismissed.’
But though authentic history does not record the immigration of the
Jews into these countries, there are not wanting incidental evidences
to the fact. Take as an example the collection of Eastern tales
called the Arabian Nights. The date of these cannot be later than the
eighth century, and they are probably much older. In the various
countries to which they relate,—Persia, Turkestan, India, China,
etc., the presence of Jews as an integral part of the population is
assumed as a matter of course. In Balsora, in Kashgar, and other
cities, there is the Jewish merchant, the Jewish physician, the
Jewish banker—no strangers evidently, but recognised citizens. In
the tale of ‘The King of the Black Isles,’ described in the story
as a part of India, lying to the east of Persia, the people of the
country are represented as being changed by enchantment into four
different kinds of fishes, the four being the Mahometans, _the Jews_,
the Christians, and the Parsees. No writer would have introduced
this into his story, if the Jews had not formed a considerable and
recognised part of the population.
A fact also is recorded by a Mahometan historian of the ninth
century, which shows that even so far east as China, the Jews were
to be found in large numbers. He states that when the rebel Baechoo
took Canton, he massacred 120,000 Mahometans, _Jews_, Christians, and
Parsees.
The most interesting evidence on this subject is derived from the
narrative of the Jesuit Ricci in the sixteenth century.[92] It will
be remembered how, 150 years before, Francis Xavier had failed in his
earnest efforts to gain access to the Celestial Empire. When Ricci
succeeded, and had established himself in Canton, he was visited,
soon after his arrival, by a stranger, who professed his satisfaction
at the presence of persons of the same faith with himself. Ricci
took his visitor into the chapel, where he bowed reverently to the
altar-piece representing the Virgin Mary and the pictures of the four
Evangelists, whom he assumed to be ‘some of the Twelve.’ But further
conversation elicited the fact that the man was a Jew, and had
mistaken the picture of the Madonna for that of Rebekah with Jacob
and Esau, and supposed the portraits of the Evangelists to be some
of the twelve Patriarchs.
Great curiosity was aroused in Europe by the publication of Ricci’s
narrative, but further inquiries were checked by his death in 1610.
His successors later in the same century, Fathers Gozani, Domenge,
and Gaubil, transmitted a good deal of interesting information
to their friends in Europe, though they were greatly hampered by
their ignorance of Hebrew. Towards the close of the century other
missionaries arrived, who were acquainted with the Jewish language;
and probably a very complete knowledge of them would have been
arrived at, if it had not been that in 1723 the Jesuits were driven
out of China, and the country remained closed for nearly 100 years to
Christian missionaries.
Nevertheless, much valuable and interesting information was
obtained. It appeared, in the first place, that the Chinese Jews
were ignorant of our Lord’s existence, and did not understand the
meaning of the crucifix. When asked if they had heard of Jesus, they
replied that there was a holy man so called, who was the Son of
Sirach, but they knew of no other. They also had never heard of the
Septuagint or Samaritan versions, and their Hebrew text is without
the vowel points.[93] Further, they do not call themselves Jews, but
Israelites. They are strict observers of the Sabbath, never kindling
fires or preparing food on that day. They practise circumcision, and
intermarry only with their own people. They keep the Passover, the
feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles, and the great Day of Atonement. They
believe in a resurrection, in Purgatory and Hell, in Paradise and
heaven, in angels and spirits, and in a final judgment.
Their place of worship more nearly resembles the ancient Jewish
Temple than the synagogue of later times. It has a Holy Place, and
a Holy of Holies, in which are deposited the Books of the Law, and
which is entered by the High Priest only. The latter, however, does
not wear the Aaronic vestments, a scarf of red silk being his sole
distinguishing badge. They still expect the Messiah to come, but
their belief on this point is vague.
From some of the particulars recorded of them, the idea was once
entertained that they were the descendants, not of the remnants of
the Captivity, but of the ten tribes. This, however, is an evident
error, as they not only possess the Book of Ezra, for whom they
profess profound respect, but those of Esther and Maccabees also.
There is the greatest difficulty in determining when they first
arrived in China. According to some authorities, the immigration
began several centuries before the birth of Christ. According
to others, it was coincident with the persecution of Antiochus
Epiphanes, or Pompey’s Jewish wars, or the siege of Jerusalem under
Titus. Others date it from the period of Chosroes’s attempts at
forcible proselytism; and it is certain that there is a mixture of
Persian words in their language, which lends some likelihood to this
belief.
The most reasonable opinion at which we can arrive is, that although
there may have been some connection for commercial purposes in very
early times—as early even as those of David and Solomon—there was
nothing like a settlement before the 3rd or 4th century preceding the
birth of Christ. Then it seems likely that a number of Jews, who may
in the first instance have left Palestine under terror of Haman’s
persecution, established themselves in China. There may have been
other immigrations between that time and the destruction of Jerusalem
by Titus. But at that period there was a second and a larger influx.
From the Jews who then entered China the greater part of the modern
Chinese Jews are descended. A third considerable entrance into the
country may have taken place in the reign of Chosroes, the likelihood
of which has already been pointed out. Supposing these various
bodies to have settled in different districts widely removed from one
another, the strange variations in their statements respecting their
ancestry and date of settlement[94] in China would be accounted for.
This theory is in some degree supported by the fact that many of the
Chinese Jews report themselves as having sprung from seven tribes,
each called after the name of one of the emperors of China. It is not
unreasonable to argue that each of these tribes was called after the
name of the emperor during whose reign it arrived in the country.
But, whatever may have been the true length of their residence, it is
certain that the Taou-kin-keaon (dividers of the sinew, Gen. xxxii.
32), as the Chinese call them, have retained in those far distant
lands, and in that extreme isolation, their own habits, sentiments,
and religious peculiarities as inflexibly as their countrymen in
other lands have always done.
The annals of the Jews of Malabar date their arrival in that country
as having occurred A.D. 70, the time of the destruction of Jerusalem
by Titus. But others place this event in the fifth century of
Christianity, when one of the persecutions occurred in Persia, and
caused a numerous exodus of the Jews. The title which the Hebrew
leader of the refugees is said to have borne is Rabbana; and that
variation of the title Rabbi is said to belong to that special epoch.
In features and colour these Indian Jews very nearly resemble the
other inhabitants of the country; but their religious customs, their
prayers, and their reverence for the Talmud, distinguish them clearly
enough from all others.
The Jews of Cochin China also claim a very high antiquity. In the
latter part of the 17th century a letter was sent by them to the
Synagogue of Portuguese Jews at Amsterdam, in which they asserted
that their fathers had emigrated to the Indies when the Romans
conquered the Holy Land; that they had founded an independent
kingdom, which had lasted for a thousand years, during which time
seventy-two kings had succeeded one another. But a civil war
having broken out in consequence of the rivalry of two brothers, a
neighbouring sovereign had subdued them. Since that time they had
been in subjection to him; but they were nevertheless well treated
and their religion tolerated. How much of this may be true, it would
be difficult to say; but it appears to be beyond a doubt that the
Jews of that country have long enjoyed great prosperity, and populate
large and important cities.
Mention is also made of another race of Jews dwelling in the
neighbourhood of the Mahrattas. They call themselves Beni-Israel,
and acknowledge no relationship with the Jews of Malabar, China, or
Cochin China; but we are told that their Jewish physiognomies allow
of no doubt of their origin; nor do they bear any resemblance to
their Hindoo or Mahometan neighbours. There are other distinctions
also between them and the other Oriental Hebrews. While they resemble
them in the invocation of the Supreme God, in the observance of
circumcision on the eighth day, in their observance of feasts and
fasts, and especially of the great Day of Atonement, they do not
celebrate the Feast of Purim and Dedication, do not possess the
prophetical writings, have no remembrance of the destruction of the
second Temple by Titus—in fine, are unacquainted with the history of
their people since the time of the Babylonish captivity. If it were
not a subject which past experience warns every prudent man to avoid,
one would be tempted to inquire whether here were not to be found
some genuine traces of the lost tribes of Israel.
Other fancies have been put forward by one writer or another,
intimating the wide dispersion of the Hebrew race, which may be
mentioned as curious historical puzzles, though nothing more. Among
these is the tale of the Jewish inscription found on a tomb in the
island of St. Michael, one of the Azores, which seems to intimate
that some Jews once settled there; who must have subsequently died
out. Also the report of the Spaniards who conquered Peru, and
who affirmed that they found in that country a large and stately
edifice, built after a fashion and by the use of tools unknown to
the Peruvians. Tradition affirmed that it was the work of ‘bearded
men’ in very ancient times. It was dedicated to the one Maker of the
world, and bore all the appearance of a Jewish synagogue!
FOOTNOTES:
[89] ‘Asia’ in Acts ii. 9, no doubt means the Roman province, over
which a pro-consul ruled. It comprised Ionia and Mysia, Ephesus being
its capital. It is mentioned also Acts xvi. 6.
[90] Matthias is said to have been martyred by the Jews at
Sebastople, whichever of the towns of that name may be intended.
[91] See further on what is said of the Jews of Malabar.
[92] For a very complete account of the Jews in China, see Brotier’s
note, in the third volume of his edition of Tacitus.
[93] When questioned as to the absence of these vowels, they are said
to have answered, that God delivered the words to Moses with such
rapidity that he had no time to insert the vowels.
[94] Thus, Father Alvarez, the Portuguese Jesuit who wrote a history
of China, affirms that the Jews had not been settled there for more
than 600 years.