Jews and China

Post: I have had a pretty quiet week for China. No traveler’s sickness and no tense confrontations with Chinese bank employees. Granted, the bank was closed for the week. This week was Chinese National Holiday. The city is relatively quiet during this week, and it was nice to see everything a little less crowded.

I am beginning to realize that the Chinese may have a slight obsession with Jews. Whenever my roommate introduces me to his friends, he always mentions that I am Jewish. When I say mention, I mean starts a conversation about me being Jewish. The conversation usually starts and finishes with how the Jews are the smartest people in the entire world.

I generally try to change the topic, but this week I decided to see what they actually know about Jews.

I have a Muslim friend from the Xinjiang province, and we have been hanging out a good amount lately. He asked me why I don’t eat the meat in China, and I told him it was because I am Jewish and keep kosher. His face lit up and he started telling me how the Jews are so smart and he was so happy to finally meet one. He started talking about how the Jews have changed the world. I asked him what he was talking about, and he said that he read a book about 4 Jewish people that impacted the world:

1) Karl Marx
2) Jesus
3) Freud
4) Einstein

Interesting list. Its ironic that one was an anti-Semite and another founded his own religion.

A few minutes later, one of my Chinese friends explained to me that the Chinese are very familiar with the Jewish stereotypes. For example, one of the wealthiest areas in China is Wen Zhou. The people in Wen Zhou are well-known for their money-making skills. Naturally, the Chinese say that Wen Zhou people are the Jews of China.

Finally, a few days ago I was approached by one of my good Chinese friends. He told me that Jerusalem was mine, and we should not give it up in peace talks.

With the world as small as ever, no matter where you go, certain stereotypes will always follow you.

But for now, it seems that the stereotypes and ideas are flowing from the developed to the developing countries. Maybe one day people in America will say that Jews are America’s Wen Zhou’s.