The Jewish Presence on the Silk Roads

The archaeological and literary evidence discussed in class readings for this week suggest that Jews did in fact travel, trade, and live along the Silk Roads during the 8th to the 13th centuries. A large number of Jews were living at the Western end of the Silk Roads in both the Byzantine and Persian Empires. Documents also show that Jews had settlements on the Eastern end of the Silk Roads in countries such as India and China. However, exactly when and how Jews entered China is not known. The trade along the Silk Roads was mostly at the hands of Arabs and Persians during this period. And it is in the accounts of the Arab travelers and geographers that we find our earliest evidence for the presence of Jews in China. For instance, in a book written in the 9th century by Ibn Khurdadhbih, there is a reference to Jew merchants called Radhanites. Ibn Khurdadhbih's account shows that Jews travelled via both land and sea along the Silk Roads and carried goods from West to East and East to west. Marco Polo also talks about Jews that he met in China in his 1271 journey to that country. The evidence also shows that Jews had settlements in China in both Hangchow and Kaifeng. Leslie states that there are references to Jews in Chinese resources from the Yuan (Mongol) period (1280-1368). However, he suggests that the Kaifeng community was established way earlier than this, perhaps during the Sung dynasty (960-1279). I enjoyed the readings but I guess it would be interesting to know whether the Jewish faith was altered in any way as a result of its encounter with Chinese culture. i found this interesting picture that is apparently from the Jewish Encyclopedia that I would like to share with you.

Kaifeng Jews. or Chinese Jews.