An Investigation of the Date of Jewish Settlement in Kaifeng

This chapter focuses on the question of precisely when the Jews settled in Kaifeng and provides an answer based on a variety of sources. After investigations by relevant scholars, the inscriptions were found to be in the Kharosthi script used by Buddhist monks, a script extant in ancient India and not at all connected to Hebrew or to the Jewish religion. Neither the late establishment of the Jewish synagogue nor contemporary ignorance of the Jewish presence in the city can be bases for doubting the settlement of Jews in Kaifeng in the Northern Song period. Based on historical materials at hand, the theory that the Chinese Jews settled in Kaifeng in the Song is credible. This is not only because of the clear statement in the Hongzhi inscription but also because we can find other corroborating historical evidence.