FINDING THE JEW IN ZHOU

 

                                         FINDING THE JEW IN ZHOU

 

The word “Ma” in Hebrew (מַה) means what.

I live near a day care center for little guys, toddlers and the like.  It is not often, but then again not unusual for a Mother who is exhausted from a full day’s work raises her voice with a resounding shrill-like “MAAAA” in answer to some exasperating question from her little tyke.

Not having much patience myself with little guys or big guys or just about anyone I used to find this annoying. However, after giving it some thought, my point of view changed:  We Israeli Jews are the people of the “MA”, the “מה” or the “what”. Take for example the מה  נשתנה   at the Passover Seder; we are always asking questions, seeking understanding and wanting answers.

Israelis are not the only people to use “MA” when asking a question.  The Chinese when they ask a yes-no question place a neutral sounding “ma” at the end of the sentence.  I wonder where they got it from.  Is there some kind of Chinese Israeli Jewish connection?

 

At first glance the answer is no way.  In terms of size and population, the two are not look-alike nations.  China is about 500 times the size of Israel and has about 1,000 times the population.  However, despites obvious disparities, China has a curious affection for “Jewishness”.  For example: The Chinese are enamored with the Talmud.  To them it is a wonder book, a guide on how to be successful in business.

Growing up in Brooklyn, I had no particular interest in things Chinese. For sure I was well aware of the post-modern assimilated Jewish ritual of going to Chinese restaurants during the High Holidays. Oh yeah, sometimes my buddies and I would grab an eggroll from Taeng Fong’s on Bay Parkway, but nothing more. So how did I come to be interested in China and things Chinese?

Professionally I am a Geologist.  By learning and experience, I have some expertise in what is called Economic Geology.

 

Some time ago I found out that Beijing, China was to be the host location for a conference dealing with the exploration and development of economic mineral deposits. I was psyched; this was my baby. Moreover, there was going to be an in-depth seminar on how to find gold deposits. The instructors for this special class were to be personnel from the United States Geological Survey. By reputation, these were the best of the best. And as a bonus, you could sign up for a hands-on field trip to visit working Chinese gold mines.  Without an instant’s hesitation, the check was in the mail.

I had a year to prepare for the adventure. During that time I took courses at the local community college in Chinese Language, Chinese History and Chinese Culture. I excelled in history and culture, but as to Chinese language classes, that was a different story.

I’ve never been much good at languages.  I’ve had multiple classes in French, German, Hebrew and Yiddish. The best that I could do, and it has not changed, is to only get a passing grade.  After living in Israel for almost 12 years, 3-year-olds are way ahead of me language-wise. Even when I headed a start-up mining company in rural West Virginia, the first person I hired was someone who could translate for me, as I could not understand them, and they could not understand me.

Most of the students in the Chinese language class were ethnic Chinese. We were learning Mandarin which is the dialect of Mainland China. These students spoke the Chinese dialect of Taiwan or Hong Kong and did not know Mandarin. Patting myself on the back, although slower in processing information, I was able to keep up with these kids, even though I was probably 40 years older than them

The instructor was great. What saved my bacon was that as a group, Chinese people respect and even venerate older people as we Jewish people sometimes do or should do. Bottom Line: I passed the course and can ask where the bathroom is, can order a beer or a whisky and you can’t go wrong by being able to say Thank You.

One of the texts I read got me thinking that there is Chinese connection to things Jewish. Moreover, this speculative connection goes way back thousands of years ago to the time of the Judges.  The text written by Frederick W. Mote describes the foundation. of Chinese intellectualism. Much of what I have to say relies on Mote’s words. However, he does not, and for that matter no one else to my knowledge, puts together this particular insightful phenomenon.

Writing developed in central China about 3,300 years ago in a small kingdom called Shang.  According to Frederick Mote there arose in the land of Shang a learned group of political advisors and ritual experts known as the “Ju”.  The Ju were not priests. But they were responsible for making sure that the king and his court performed ancestral ritual worship in the correct manner. 

When the kings and aristocracy needed guidance or instruction, they turned to the “Ju”. In Mandarin Chinese the letter J has no sound and is not aspirated. You put your tongue against your teeth and make a noise that sounds something like rue´.

The term “Ju” became to be regarded as wise men, not holy men. Writing originated in Shang, maybe an innovation of the Ju. The Ju were responsible for the royal calendar.  They had to make astronomical observations and accurate calculations. 

They were literate. The Ju kept detailed records, and as literate men they became the kingdom’s historians and the interpreters of history and the recorded wisdom of their predecessors. 

This is how the word “Jewish: is represented in Chinese symbols.

犹太人: Jewish

犹: Even Now, In Spite of Everything

太: Most Senior

人: People

The Shang dynasty lasted for about 200 years.  They were conquered by a powerful kingdom known as Zhou. The Zhou were very much impressed by the Ju, who then performed the very same services for their new masters. The Zhou dynasty lasted for almost 800 years until the time of Alexander the Great.

 It was not a bed of roses. The Ju were opposed by a militaristic group called the shii who considered the Ju to be weak. As time went by the groups merged. This reminded me of the conflict between Jacob and Esau. Jacob was the man of the tent where he learned Torah and maybe cooking from the ladies. Esau, on the other hand, was the man of the field. He was a hunter, a warrior.

 Just like the Ju and the Shii, we see these two characteristics merge today in Israel’s fighting force, the IDF. Some people say that the second in command of every IDF unit is headed by a guy wearing a yarmulke.  And it is not unusual to see photos of soldiers with tzitzits and tefillin.

Probably the most well-known figure in Chinese history is the philosopher Confucius. He referred to himself as a Ju, a wise man.

Does any of this grab you? 

Was the Ju in ancient Zhou a fellow Jew?