ებრაელთა ჩინეთში დასახლების ისტორიიდან

Abstract

The contacts of the Jewish people with China began with the launch of the Great Silk Road (2nd century BC), which connected the Western world and the countries of Asia through the first transcontinental highway. From that time on, trade caravans of peoples of different nationalities traveled along the Silk Road to Central and East Asia, Iran, the Transcaucasia, and the Mediterranean basin. Among them were Jews who migrated to different parts of the world from ancient times- .The paper highlights on the first arrival of Jews in China and their set- 78 tlement there. Information about these events is kept in written sources of the Middle Ages (IX-XIV centuries) in various languages according to which, the first influx of Jews hit China from Iran and India, through the Silk Road. Sources unanimously state the existence of Jewish communities and colonies in various cities of China, as well as their successful activities, especially in trade and crafts. The compact settlement of large groups of Jews in China began during the reign of Tang Dynasty (618-907), namely in the VIII century. Distinguished in this respect was the ancient historical city of Kaifeng (Henan Province), where the first Jewish community was established and the first synagogue was built in 1663. It is noteworthy that the Jewish religion did not suffer persecution in China. Moreover, after some time, the Jews who settled in China, received a wide range of rights from the government as a reward for their loyal service to the country.They could practice all their religious customs without restriction. In fact, the powers of the "Chinese" Jews were almost equal to the rights of the local Chinese population. In the course of time process of assimilation of Jews to a certain extent with Chinese culture, Confucian ideology and the reality norms of middle ages China.