Zhao Yingcheng
Encyclopedia
Zhao Yingcheng 赵映乘 was a mandarin
in China
during the Ming dynasty
and a Jew. He and his brother Zhao Yingdou, also a mandarin, held important government posts in the 1660s.
and Chinese
, Zhao, from the province of Henan, obtained the jinshi
degree in 1646. He was named director of the Ministry of Justice. Four years later he was sent to Fujian
and Huguang
as an official. He was remembered as an efficient administrator and excellent Confucian scholar who exterminated local bandits and founded schools.
In 1642, near the end of the Ming Dynasty
, Kaifeng
was flooded by the Ming army with water from the Yellow River
to prevent the peasant rebel Li Zicheng from taking over. After this disaster, the city was abandoned. The synagogue of the Kaifeng Jewish community
(reportedly dating from 1163) was destroyed, and the Jews took refuge on the north side of the Yellow River. They took with them the Torah scrolls, which had been saved after having been thrown into the river.
Ten years later, Zhao was detailed to restore the city. With the aid of his brother, Zhao Yingdou, he induced the Jews to recross the river and take up their old quarters. The temple was rebuilt in 1653, with the personal financial support of Zhao. One complete scroll of the Law was made up out of the fragments which had been saved from the river, and other copies were made from this. A stone stele dated 1663 was afterward erected, giving the details of Zhao Yingcheng's action.
Zhao wrote an account of the saving of the scrolls and the rebuilding of the temple, Record of the Vicissitudes of the Holy Scriptures. His brother wrote Preface to the Illustrious Way, believed to be an exposition of the tenets of Judaism
. Both works are now lost, although in recent years Chinese scholars have begun a search for them in the libraries of Kaifeng, Beijing
, and elsewhere.
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and a Jew. He and his brother Zhao Yingdou, also a mandarin, held important government posts in the 1660s.
Life and career
Proficient in both HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Zhao, from the province of Henan, obtained the jinshi
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
degree in 1646. He was named director of the Ministry of Justice. Four years later he was sent to Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
and Huguang
Huguang
Huguang was a province of China during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. It was partitioned in the late Qing Dynasty, becoming the provinces of Hubei and Hunan....
as an official. He was remembered as an efficient administrator and excellent Confucian scholar who exterminated local bandits and founded schools.
In 1642, near the end of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
was flooded by the Ming army with water from the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
to prevent the peasant rebel Li Zicheng from taking over. After this disaster, the city was abandoned. The synagogue of the Kaifeng Jewish community
Kaifeng Jews
The Kaifeng Jews are members of a small Jewish community that has existed in Kaifeng, in the Henan province of China, for hundreds of years. Jews in modern China have traditionally called themselves Youtai in Mandarin Chinese which is also the predominant contemporary Chinese language term for...
(reportedly dating from 1163) was destroyed, and the Jews took refuge on the north side of the Yellow River. They took with them the Torah scrolls, which had been saved after having been thrown into the river.
Ten years later, Zhao was detailed to restore the city. With the aid of his brother, Zhao Yingdou, he induced the Jews to recross the river and take up their old quarters. The temple was rebuilt in 1653, with the personal financial support of Zhao. One complete scroll of the Law was made up out of the fragments which had been saved from the river, and other copies were made from this. A stone stele dated 1663 was afterward erected, giving the details of Zhao Yingcheng's action.
Zhao wrote an account of the saving of the scrolls and the rebuilding of the temple, Record of the Vicissitudes of the Holy Scriptures. His brother wrote Preface to the Illustrious Way, believed to be an exposition of the tenets of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. Both works are now lost, although in recent years Chinese scholars have begun a search for them in the libraries of Kaifeng, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, and elsewhere.
Sources
- Li Yu, A History of Reading in Late Imperial China, 1000–1800, Ohio State University doctoral dissertation, 2003
Further reading
- J. Tobar, Inscriptions Juives de K'ai-fong-fou. Shanghai, 1900
- M. Adler, in Jewish Quarterly ReviewJewish Quarterly ReviewThe Jewish Quarterly Review is an peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on Jewish studies. It is published quarterly for the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania by the University of Pennsylvania Press. The current editors are Elliott Horowitz...
, xiii, 22–23 - Donald Leslie, "The K’aifeng Jew Chao Ying-Ch’eng and his Family." In Studies of the Chinese Jews: Selections from Journals East and West, compiled by Hyman Kublin. New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1971
- — The Survival of the Chinese Jews: The Jewish Community of Kaifeng. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1972
- Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries: The Jewish Experience in the Chinese Empire. Philadelphia, 1980. Reprinted, 1983. 2nd ed., New York: 1998.
External links
- "The Jews of Kaifeng" by Michael Pollack. The Sino-Judaic Institute