Shanghai Jews: Interactions with a New Culture

Julia Y. & Iris A. 

Jewish Studies 434: Shanghai Project

Even before the Jewish refugees, during World War II, stepped foot in Shanghai, there has already a thriving and rich Jewish presence in Shanghai. The Baghdadi Jews prospered from the rich trade as Shanghai was able to grow into a bustling economic hub while it still held close to it’s native roots. In this blog, we hope to explore how the incoming refugees interacted with these two cultures; the rich and established Baghdadi Jews and the existing the native Shanghai one.

Even before the Baghdadi Jews, historical records show that there has been Jewish communities in China as far back as the Tang Dynasty which is around the 8th century. The most well known Jewish community was in Kaifeng and is dated during the Song Dynasty (around 900-1279). However, most Jewish communities now live in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tianjin and Harbin. Slowly, these communities created their own communal association, synagogues, schools, hospitals, clubs, political groups, etc. Some Jewish families, in particular, have thrived to the point that they became economic powerhouses not just in Shanghai, but throughout China and East Asia. This long standing history of thriving Jewish communities in China brings up a very important point; there has been little to no indigenous anti-Semitic activity on Chinese soil.

Culturally, most Chinese individuals are influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. There was very little Christian or Catholic influence on the Chinese culture despite there being long standing European communities in China. This allows the Chinese and Jewish culture to have a great deal in common. Both cultures stress family ties and education. Though both cultures have absorbed other cultures, the core of the Chinese and Jewish culture has relatively stayed the same. This commonality made it virtually impossible for anti-Semitism, in China,  to grow from religious roots. This environment made it incredibly appealing to the Jewish refugees who would suffer under Nazi Europe. Some refugees, like Annie F. Witting, would even go so far as calling Shanghai a “new homeland”.

By the time the Japanese occupied part of Shanghai, millions of native Shanghai residents also became refugees. Despite cultural and language barriers, the two communities bonded through mutual suffering. There are recorded cases of some Chinese residents in Hongkew that vacated space to house incoming refugees. Chinese hospitals also treated and saved the lives of hundreds of Jewish refugees. By the time Hongkew reach its absolute low from 1943-1945, both communities shared “weal and woe”. During the time of the American air raids, some memoirs described how the Jewish refugees ripped up the last of their table and bed linens to create bandages while the Chinese dug out and carried the wounded to safety. The wealthier individuals in the cities also were described to donate money and food to emergency clinics.