A Chinese Jew: Prime Minister in China

 Li Gang 

China’s Israelite Prime Minister: 

Hero of the Defense of Kaifeng

By Tiberiu Weisz

 

In January of 1126 CE, Kaifeng the capital city of China, was under siege: the Song Dynasty (960- 1279) was on the verge of collapse.  As a last resort to save the empire, the Chinese Emperor charged Li Gang with the defense of Kaifeng, and appointed him Prime Minister. 

Li Gang was a Chinese Jew...

Now for the first time, the story of the Chinese Jewish Prime Minister is brought to Western readers.  Please contact the author for a free copy of the article @  

kaifegnstones@yahoo.com

A History of the Kaifeng Israelites (2018) 

(available on Amazon)

Author's Note

The current Chinese government does everything to erase the classical Chinese term of youren for Jews in modern Chinese language. Instead they use the modern word of youtairen, a term with a very short history and conveniently refers to the Western Jews who live in China since the 18th century. It replaced the word xibolai, a more traditional Chinese term for Jews, still in use in Taiwan. Ever since the Communist takeover in 1949, the descendants of the original Chinese Jews had been denied recognition as Jews. 

This book , "A History of the Kaifeng Israelites" is based solely on original Chinese texts, translated here for the first time, proves that Israelites resided in China in antiquity, they participated in the Chinese way of life, and some Judaic concepts sprouted seed in Chinese way of thinking. 

No revision of history will change that. 

Synopsis:  "A History of the Kaifeng Israelites"  adds a new chapter to the history of the Jews, bringing to light the sanctuary that Israelites priests had established in China in biblical time and they were known in Chinese literature for their erudition and skills.
The book traces a small group of Israelites in Chinese literature who migrated and settled in China in biblical times. New addition to the history of the Jews is the identification of the Chinese terms (Chinese characters) that denoted Israelites in Chinese literature, and based on that the book provides documentation that attested to their presence and activity. Their sanctuary in China was mentioned in the Zhou Dynasty  (7th century BCE) or 1000 years before the West became aware of their existence. This is their story collected from Chinese literary works.

Reviews:

1 Villager January 31, 2018

The [Highland] Villager features  author Tiberiu Weisz in an article by Dave Page:

"Author helps uncover 1000-year history of Jews in China."

2. February 28, 201

The author and book Is featured: 
https://twitter.com/tsdm/status/968979260592607232

3. Kyoto Journal 92 posted a review  of the book: 
https://tiberiuw.blogspot.com/2018/10/kyoto-journal-92-reviews-history-of.html