!שלום־עליכם 欢迎! 欢迎! Welcome!
The Sino-Judaic Institute has been a pioneer in the field of Chinese-Jewish relations for over 30 years.
We are a virtual institute, based in the U.S.A. but with members the world over.
We offer this website as a resource to all who are curious about various aspects of Chinese-Jewish relations and want to learn more.
SJI is a membership organization. We welcome your participation and involvement.
See New Updates on "Current Issue Highlights" page as of 4 August 2017
KAIFENG OPED by Anson Laytner
TWO GREAT NEW BOOKS
Reviewed by Drs. Gao Bei and Beverly Friend
Our fields of work include:
- The study of the ancient Jewish community of Kaifeng, the capital of China during the Song Dynasty, where Jews have been living now for over a millennium, and assisting the Kaifeng Jewish descendants to reconnect with their cultural heritage as appropriate.
- The study of Jewish life in Shanghai, Harbin, Tianjin, Hong Kong and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- The study of cross-cultural issues such as adoption of children, intermarriage, literary influences, comparative diasporas, religion, etc.
- Working with Chinese authorities to promote tourism to Kaifeng and other cities and to make current exhibits on the Jews of China more accessible to the public.
- The study of Sino-Israeli relations.
- The support of Jewish Studies programs in China and fostering scholarship in this field.
- SJI publishes Points East, a journal that comes out three times a year, and Sino-Judaica, an occasional scholarly publication.
NEW BOOK ON THE KAIFENG JEWS
This scholarly collection examines the origins, history, and contemporary nature of Chinese Judaism in the community of Kaifeng. The essays, written by a diverse, international team of contributors, explore the culture and history of this thousand-year-old Jewish community, whose synthesis of Chinese and Jewish cultures helped guarantee its survival. Part I analyzes the origin and historical development of the Kaifeng community, as well as the unique cultural synthesis it engendered. Part II explores the contemporary nature of this community, particularly examining its relationship to Jewish organizations outside of China, the impact of Western Jewish contact, and the tenuous nature of Jewish identity in Kaifeng.