ABSTRACT
In the twelve or so years which have elapsed since China opened up to the world and Western culture, it would have been surprising indeed if the Jewish experience had not impacted in one way or another on the Chinese world. The Jewish fact is a part of Chinese history, tenuous and marginal though it may be. The story of the Jews of Kaifeng in Henan province is now well known. From the time of its establishment, probably in the Song dynasty, right up to its demise in the early years of the 19th century, the community managed to preserve its customs and religious practices. Where the former fleshes out the past, the latter draws on a sociological experience – the contact, direct or indirect, with a highly specific manifestation of Judaism: the American Jewish community, the most influential in today's world.
