Replies

http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48937262.html

...Historical references and archaeological findings have proven that the Persian Jews first arrive in China in the eighth century; and since the long, arduous journey made family life difficult, the solution was to establish a permanent base in China. The location of choice was Kaifeng – China’s capital from 927BCE to 1127CE.

A stone tablet dating back to the 1489 Kaifeng synagogue – which is now in the city museum – in inscribed with the following: “According to the commandment of their god, the Jews came from Tian-Sho (Chinese for both “India” and “every state to the west of China”) with woven materials from the west in their hands, meant as a gift for the emperor.”

The last emperor, according to the tablet, said “welcome to our country; dwell here and keep the customs of your ancestors”.

The emperor’s warm welcome provided them with automatic Chinese citizenship, not a trifle feat at a time the Jewish communities in Europe and the Muslim countries were suffering persecution. It is believed that one of the reasons for this show of tolerance was that the Chinese of the time did not have a “religion” in the sense of any of the three monotheistic faiths: The common practices of faith based on the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius, were an array of ethical and behavioral codes more than the belief of religious ordinances commanded by a higher power.

Kaifeng’s Jews found it easy to adhere to Confucianism since it doesn’t require the recognition of a new Messiah or prophet and there was no need to give up on the rules of keeping kosher or observing the holidays...