New Edition of "The Jews in China" Announced

The China Intercontinental Press will soon publish a new edition of "The Jews in China," according to an April 21 Xinhua article. The new edition will be published with text in Chinese, English, and, for the first time, Hebrew. The book provides an introduction to the history of Jews in China, from the Tang Dynasty through the departure from Shanghai of World War II refugees. To read a review of the first edition of this book, click here.

The Chinese government does not recognize Judaism as one of the five "patriotic" religions permitted by law, and has not allowed old synagogues to reopen or new ones to be built. AsiaNews has reported that "Jews in China are tolerated only to the point that they live their faith discreetly and without involving the Chinese people." Yet the Chinese government has supported a project to recover the architectural history of Shanghai’s old Jewish quarter, where over 30,000 Jewish refugees made their homes temporarily during World War II. Most Jews in China are expatriates from the United States and other countries; few ethnic Han Chinese profess Judaism.