Zhao Yingcheng (;

Hebrew name A Hebrew name is a name of Hebrew origin. In a more narrow meaning, it is a name used by Jews only in a religious context and different from an individual's secular name for everyday use. Names with Hebrew origins, especially those from the ...

: Moshe ben Avraham;Michael Pollack, "The Jews of Kaifeng", p. 4 1619 – ) was a Chinese-Jewish philosopher and

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. He and his brother Zhao Yingdou, also a mandarin, held important government posts in the 1660s.Zhao 2005

Life and career

Born to a Jewish family in the province of Henan, Zhao became proficient in both

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and obtained the ''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

'' degree in 1646. He was named director of the Ministry of Justice. Four years later he was sent to

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

and

Huguang Huguang was a province of China during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was founded by the Yuan dynasty in 1274. During the Yuan dynasty it included the areas of modern Hubei south of the Yangtze river, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. During the Min ...

as an official. He was remembered as an efficient administrator and excellent Confucian scholar who exterminated local bandits and founded schools.Li Yu, p. 258 In 1642, near the end of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

was flooded by the Ming army with water from the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

to prevent the peasant rebel

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by his nickname, the Thunder King, was a Chinese Late Ming peasant rebellions, peasant rebel leader who helped overthrow the Ming dynasty in April 1644 and ruled over northe ...

from taking over. After this disaster, the city was abandoned. The synagogue of the Kaifeng Jewish community (reportedly dating from 1163) was destroyed, and the Jews took refuge on the north side of the Yellow River. They took with them the Torah scrolls, which had been saved after having been thrown into the river, though they had grown moldy and illegible. Ten years later, Zhao was detailed to restore the city. With the aid of his brother, Zhao Yingdou (), he induced the Jews to recross the river and take up their old quarters. The temple was rebuilt in 1653, with the personal financial support of Zhao. One complete scroll of the Law was made up out of the fragments which had been saved from the river, and other copies were made from this. A stone stele dated 1663 was afterward erected, giving the details of Zhao Yingcheng's action. Zhao wrote an account of the saving of the scrolls and the rebuilding of the temple, ''Record of the Vicissitudes of the Holy Scriptures''. His brother wrote ''Preface to the Illustrious Way'', believed to be an exposition of the tenets of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. Both works are now lost, although in recent years Chinese scholars have begun a search for them in the libraries of Kaifeng,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, and elsewhere. All known descendants of Zhao are recorded to have perished from dysentery by the 17th century.

References

Sources

* Li Yu, ''A History of Reading in Late Imperial China, 1000–1800'', Ohio State University doctoral dissertation, 2003 *

External links

"The Jews of Kaifeng"
by Michael Pollack. The Sino-Judaic Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Yingcheng 1619 births 1650s deaths 17th-century Chinese philosophers Chinese Confucianists Chinese Jews History of Kaifeng Jewish Chinese history Jewish politicians Jews and Judaism in Kaifeng Ming dynasty philosophers People from Kaifeng Politicians from Kaifeng

Life and career

References

Sources

Further reading

External links