Studying Talmud in China

I have become friendly with a Taiwanese exchange student, and I go out with him a few times a week.  This Taiwanese friend, who goes by Michael, introduced me to his roommate Shuhai.  Shuhai is a business student from Hong Kong and is spending one semester in Shanghai.  Surprisingly, Shuhai is very interested in Jewish philosophy and culture.  He has studied the Talmud very carefully and can quote many parts of it.  I asked him what he thought the biggest difference was between Jewish culture and Chinese culture.  While I was expecting a general answer having to do with business culture, Shuhai started talking about Jewish Theology and Ethics.  He explained that while the Chinese generally don’t strongly value human life, Jews believe that “He who saves one soul it’s as if he saved the entire world.”  That is a direct quote from the Talmud.  Of all the things I was expecting to experience in China, discussing Talmud with a Chinese student was not one of them. 

Impressed with his answer and knowledge of the Talmud, I asked Shuhai why a secular Chinese business student decides to study a nearly 2000-year old text on Jewish law. 

Why?  To do Business.  Since the Jews have been successful in business, it is important to understand their thoughts and culture.  In this respect, many other Chinese try to understand Jewish thoughts and culture.  But very few go as far as Shuhai.  Even fewer study Talmud.

Chanukkha and 4-Star Bathrooms

Its been too long since I last wrote so get ready for a big update.  I had been traveling around China with friends and family for the past 3 weeks.  Since my website is blocked here in China, I had no way of updating the blog while my family was here.

My last few weeks studying in Beijing were really incredible for two reasons.  First, most students overnight decided to forget about the language pledge.  For the most part, we had been speaking Chinese to each other before and could never have complex conversations.  Many students tried to sound more Chinese and often used Chinese slang.   For example, I tried to become more colloquial and mimicked my roommate.  Unfortunately, my roommate mumbles and 60% of the time responds by saying Wa! or Ah!.  For a couple of weeks, I think I said Wa! or Ah!  at least twice in every conversation.  Once we started speaking English it was like we were completely different people.

The second factor was Chanukkha.  Being a Jew in Beijing is about as exciting as it sounds.  Small, temporary community.   Few events. Fewer synagogues. 

But then came Chanukkha.

 As the holiday approached, the few Jewish kids each contributed something to celebrate the holiday.  In the end, we had one menorah, 60 jelly-donuts (soufganiot), 6 bottles of beer, and 20 Chinese students wanting to celebrate.  We told the story of Chanukkha to our Chinese roommates and then taught everyone Israeli songs and dances.  We even did the full Hora.  Everything was going so great, but then we couldn’t find the menorah.  Someone must have thought it was junk and threw it out.  It didn’t matter.  We celebrated each night with whatever improvisational menorah we could use.  Every night we went to a room and proudly sang Hebrew songs, and every night a roommate asked why we were lighting fires and shouting in a foreign language.  It brought us much closer and deeply confused most of the Chinese roommates.

Some quick observations from my traveling.  First, many bathrooms by major tourist sites are rated on a 4-star scale.   As we left the Forbidden City, we had the privilege of using a 4-Star bathroom.  My friends from the states were expecting an above-average restroom.  Unfortunately, they were disappointed to find a simple bathroom with spit-cans on top of the urinals.  The spit-cans were old beer cans cut in half.  What really caught my attention was the sign in Chinese above each urinal.  The sign said “Take one step forward, take a big step toward civility.”  Its interesting to see how the government communicates to the masses in order to bring about change.  In the West we pursue sanitation and manners as goods in themselves, and our bathroom habits have no connection to politics.   Here it seems that sanitation and manners are pursued more to improve the country’s image.  Wherever you go in China, I am sure you will find a red poster with some slogan about building a more civilized society.  Its interesting that a civilization with almost 6000 years of history is trying to adopt a Western standard of civility, manners, and cleanliness. 

I’ll post more soon along with some pictures of the traveling.

Mini-Update

My roommate and I have a very laid back friendship.  He uses my stuff as he pleases and vice versa.  I was looking through his books today and I found this: The History of Jewish Culture.  The book was writtenby the famous Chinese historian Qian Cheng Dan.  It looks like a legitimate book, but I was pretty surprised that Chinese historians would research Jewish culture. 

I’ll post more this weekend.  Shabbat Shalom

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.

Happy Sukkot

I will be sleeping on the Great Wall tommorrow night.  Unreal.

Check back Sunday morning for the works: pictures, videos, and updates.

Happy Sukkot!

China and Jews

One of the most surprising things about China is how much the average Chinese person knows about the West; specifically Bill Clinton and the Jewish People. Whenever I tell someone I’m Jewish the reaction is always one of three things:

1) Jewish people are extremely smart
2) Jewish people are very good at doing business
3) Jewish people are extremely smart and very good at doing business

This is especially interesting considering that the Jewish population in the entire world is less than the population of Shanghai.

The Chinese people pay close attention to the West. They follow American and European politics more than many Americans. If you asked the average American to name the Chinese president, he would probably have no idea.  Its ironic that a country as powerful and with a culture as well-established as China’s is so interested in a country that knows almost nothing about it.

On a lighter note, on Friday I walked to the a big shopping center with two of my black friends.  On the way there a group of construction workers/potentially homeless men started whistling and pointing.  To add to the experience, a store vendor called me a Xiaoqi Gui, or ”Cheap Ghost,” after I lowered her price on a soccer jersey.

Shana Tova to everyone:

Savta, Papi et Mami, Yuri, Rivka, Malka, Offer, Alain, Claudine, Shimon, et Mispacha/famille

A Bientot!