A story titled “A Permanent Record in an Impermanent World” can be considered a legend, as it tells of events that took place in relation to history and the development of people. The arrival of Jews to Kaifeng was one of the major impacts on the Jewish people in their language, culture, traditions, and norms. They have assimilated to the local conditions rather effectively and this fact allowed them to prosper.
The major determinant of such rapid involvement in the Chinese society was the limitations that Jews had in the anti-Semitic lands. There, they were not allowed to get involved in politics, social aspects of a citizen and other major affairs. Only the select few were given an opportunity. But in Kaifeng, they were given a chance to do something for the community. Jews were offered a test that they must pass in order to make themselves worthy to practice Confucianism and get a closer involvement in the Chinese society. The Chinese heritage is very extensive, so it would require a lot of devotion for a person to get involved with religion and study of the Chinese way of life. But Jewish people did not mind, as they were hardworking and willing to learn. Over time, they became so used to the local Chinese culture and traditions that they started thinking of themselves as being in Kaifeng from the very beginning.
Unfortunately, this had some major consequences for the Jewish religion and the way of life. Because Jews distanced themselves so much from their own religion, they forgot many texts and completely lost touch with the language. Chinese was now their official spoken language and many did not know Hebrew at all.
This was very alarming for the elders who wanted to preserve the Jewish culture and heritage. One of the major goals was to preserve the history of Jewish people and so, it was decided to inscribe their history on stones tablets. This was one of the most reliable ways to transfer knowledge through time, as stone is one of the hardest materials and does not weather easily with the passage of time. One of important points was how the history would be written, so they started from the beginning, with Abraham. After writing about the origins of the people, their further history in China is also mentioned. This was an acknowledgement that Jewish people were accepted and respected as people.
An interesting comparison brings about a story titled “Resisting Conversion”. It starts out by saying that by 1605, it was known that Jews have been living in Kaifeng and became rather prosperous. This fact was much valued by historians, as the society and stone history was the only evidence of Jewish heritage in China. There was some speculation that the rabbis have altered the historical texts in order to “divinely” predict the birth of Jesus. But, all this became secondary, as the primary problem was now Jesuits and their efforts to convert Jews to Christian religion. Not only did they want Jewish people to convert to a new and unknown religion, they wanted even Chinese people to believe in Christ.
Jesuits were met with much pressure, as the religions are different in the core. Buddhism and Confucianism offer a life of divinity on Earth, where people can reach salvation and become one with the surrounding world and themselves. The attainment of highest possible state of becoming possible for every person, and they do not have to wait for their sins to be forgiven and only then given the eternal life.
After realizing that conversion would not be as easy as they planned, Jesuits decided to focus on the Jewish population in Kaifeng. They thought that the beginning points of their beliefs and Christianity were much similar, which would provide for easy conversion. From one perspective, the Jesuits were somewhat correct because they were trying to re-instate the religion that Jewish people lost. But from another angle, it was a much newer and modified religion. As a result, the Jews of Kaifeng exhibited resistance in their conversion. It is interesting to see that the Jewish population had no problem assimilating to Confucianism and the Chinese way of life for the daily routine. They forgot their language, heritage, and even their beliefs became slightly modified by the newfound religion. But when Jesuits offered to forcefully and quickly convert to Christianity, it seemed very hard to do and people refused.
The passage of time could be one of the possible explanations, as people did not have the daily routine in order to adjust to new practices. Even when Jesuits explained about Christ and how He came to earth to end the suffering and take the sins of all humanity, they did not believe, and could not understand how could God take on a human form.
Even though the two stories are about the same peoples, it shows that some parts of life can be changed, while others will always stay the same. These legends are a part of human history and must stay in folklore in order to educate future generations.