In
spite, or perhaps because of these freedoms, the community dwindled
until about one hundred and fifty years ago, when the assimilation and
integration proved complete.

another key to the demise of the Kaifeng community lies
in the fact that China was the first to allow all its residents to join
the top rank of government officials – the Mandarins – by taking
qualification exams.

Most of the Jews in Kaifeng were
proficient in Chinese and some also in Hebrew, which gave them an
advantage over most of the residents in the empire; and so the number
of Jewish descendents that applied for the Beijing positions was
substantially higher than their actual r...

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In
spite, or perhaps because of these freedoms, the community dwindled
until about one hundred and fifty years ago, when the assimilation and
integration proved complete.

another key to the demise of the Kaifeng community lies
in the fact that China was the first to allow all its residents to join
the top rank of government officials – the Mandarins – by taking
qualification exams.

Most of the Jews in Kaifeng were
proficient in Chinese and some also in Hebrew, which gave them an
advantage over most of the residents in the empire; and so the number
of Jewish descendents that applied for the Beijing positions was
substantially higher than their actual representation in the
population.
After five years of study in the
emperor's courtyard, they were sent to various regions in the vast
empire. If they hadn't married during their years as students, they
were certainly interested in doing so when they began their government
service, and as Mandarins, whose careers were mapped out they were
considered eligible bachelors.

When
Mao Zedong took over China in 1949, his regime faced several dilemmas
pertaining to national minorities, as 20% of China was, and is, not
dominated by the Han – the largest national group. In 1953 the new
regime decided to recognize 55 national minorities but the Youtai – the
Jews – were not one of them. Mao was rumored to have made the decision
personally.
By that time, the majority of Jews
living in Harbin and Shanghai had already left China and the move was
undoubtedly prompted by this decision; but there is no doubt among
scholars that the decision had nothing to do with anti-Semitism, since
China has never, to this day, demonstrated any signs of anti-Semitism.
Jews enjoy a very positive image in
China. The decision not to recognize them is believed to have stemmed
from sheer math – they community was simply too small – a few hundred
in a country of a billion people.