Junhan Xiao
JPH 1003 Between Eastern and Western Civilizations
Professor Mordechai Cohen
1/14/2025
Enduring Civilizations: Cultural Identity in China and the Jewish World
Both Chinese and Jewish civilizations are renowned for their profound history, ancient traditions, and rich cultures. Spanning from antiquity to the modern era, both have endured significant challenges, most notably invasions by nomadic peoples in China and the forced migrations and diaspora experiences of the Jewish people. Still, the enduring resilience of their cultures has allowed them to persist and thrive to the present day. This paper will explore how both Chinese and Jewish communities have preserved their cultural identities throughout history. For Chinese culture, a deeply ingrained cultural awareness and Confucianism have played pivotal roles, while for Jewish culture, strong cultural consciousness and Judaism have been the key factors. From a comparative perspective, the similarity of these two civilizations' means of maintaining culture is that they both have strong “cultural consciousness” as an important factor. By using the term “cultural consciousness,” I mean the ability to be aware of one’s cultural identity and prevent assimilation into other cultures. This paper will also explore how outside influences, like new ideas and beliefs, have affected these cultures and why preserving cultural identity is still important today.
As a preliminary matter, we note that Jewish culture and Chinese culture are most accurately viewed as two “civilizations.” Here we draw upon the characterization of Eisenstadt, who indicates that “...the best way to approach the study of Jewish society and history...is by analyzing it as the history of a civilization.... [whereas] concepts as ‘religion,’ ‘nation,’ and ‘people’ are not adequate for an understanding of Jewish history” (Eisenstadt, 5). Viewing Chinese and Jewish cultures as civilizations shaped by diverse social and cultural influences over a long history helps dispel the common misconception of perceiving the development of any modern state as homogeneous and isolated from cultural interactions before the arrival of Western modernity. Examining the historical evolution of enduring civilizations reveals the complex factors that have contributed to their longevity, offering valuable insights into explaining their sustained cultural and societal continuity. Throughout history, both Jewish and Chinese civilizations were greatly impacted by the forces of other cultures, prompting significant cultural adaptation. For example, the Jewish scholar Maimonides (1138–1204) is the foremost figure of a school that sought to harmonize Greek philosophy with Jewish thought. The integration of Judaism with surrounding cultures advanced rapidly after the French Revolution, culminating in the 19th century, when modern Judaism was born. Most notably, Abraham Geiger (1810–1874) founded Reform Judaism, a new branch of Judaism that abandoned many rituals designed to distinguish Jews from their Christian neighbors. In the early 20th century, Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983) created Reconstructionist Judaism, redefining it as an evolving civilization that emphasized community over tradition and removed the requirement to believe in God.
Similarly, in the 20th century, after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, the New Culture Movement criticized old Chinese tradition and introduced Western ideas such as “Democracy” (德先生; de xian sheng) and “Science” (赛先生; sai xian sheng) into China. These major events make it important to think about how we regard and preserve our cultures. In the case of ancient China, the preservation of culture was deeply tied to the transmission of Confucian ideals and the role of institutional frameworks such as the imperial examination system, which reinforced shared values across generations. These mechanisms not only safeguarded traditions but also adapted them to meet the needs of changing times, ensuring cultural resilience.
How Culture was Preserved in Ancient Times
China: Surviving War Through Cultural Integration
The opening line of the famous novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, “Domains under the Heaven, after a long period of division, tend to unite; after a long period of union, tend to divide,” encapsulates the historical cycle that unfolded in China over four thousand years. This cycle was then elucidated in the book My Country and My People by Yutang Lin: “Each cycle begins with a short-lived and militarily strong dynasty, which unified China after centuries of internal strife. Then followed four or five hundred years of peace, with one change of dynasty, succeeded by successive waves of wars, resulting soon in the removal of the capital from the North to the South. Then came secession and rivalry between the North and the South, followed by subjugation under a foreign (ethnic minority) rule, which ended the cycle” (Lin, 30).[1] From a political perspective, a regime may be destroyed by multiple conquests, yet the civilization manages to endure. The key to understanding this historical pattern of survival lies in identifying the unique characteristics of Chinese civilization that have enabled it to preserve its essence through all its ups and downs.
First, the strong sense of “Chineseness,” in other words, strong cultural consciousness, enables the civilization to embrace new ideologies and cultures, which helped Chinese civilization survive the internecine wars it experienced. There have been three major ethnic mergers throughout Chinese history. Respectively, they happened during the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE), the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 CE), and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–979 CE). The famous Chinese anthropologist and sociologist Xiaotong Fei argues that “Undeniably, the flow of people, cultural exchange, and inter-state rivalries during the 500 years of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods resulted in a cultural peak in Chinese history... The Wei and Jin Dynasties was also a time of significant contact and mixture between the Han and non-Han peoples... Among the Five Dynasties after the Tang... it was nominally under Han rule, in reality it was under the rule of many ethnic groups” (Fei, 6–12). All these periods of ethnic mergers featured military invasions of ethnic minorities and mergers into the Han. For example, the Northern Wei Dynasty in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, whose rulers were the Xianbei (鲜卑) people, adopted Han culture, adapted to Confucian teachings, and allowed free intermarriage with Han people. Many of them even regarded themselves as the successors of Chinese culture. The root of the conversions to Chinese identity lies in the influential Han culture, which raised a strong consciousness of being Chinese people, eventually uniting the different ethnicities into one country. In this way, Chinese culture survived the internecine wars with “infusion of new blood.” The foundation of conversions to Chinese identity lies in the influential awareness of Confucian teachings, which fostered a strong consciousness that to be Chinese is to act in accordance with Confucian ideals and follow the Confucian political project. Confucianism does not exclude any specific groups of people, as it fundamentally believes that all individuals, at least all men, have the potential to be educated, gain knowledge, and ultimately transform into a Confucian Junzi (君子, a morally exemplary person). This transformation is viewed as a matter of moral cultivation rather than being determined by one's birth or ethnicity. As Confucianism is inherently inclusive, it allowed the concept of “Chineseness” to encompass diverse ethnicities, integrating them into a shared cultural framework.
The shared cultural framework consists of enduring institutions—like the imperial examination system and family clan structure—that survived through the political chaos caused by these internecine wars. Equally important were the cultural practices that helped non-Han ethnic groups blend into Chinese society by learning and following Confucian teachings, which played a vital role in providing spiritual support and establishing social norms. Adopted as the state ideology in 134 BCE, Confucianism provides us with values like humaneness (仁, ren), righteousness (义, yi), propriety (礼, li), and wisdom (智, zhi). According to Mencius: “The mind's feeling of pity and compassion is the beginning of humaneness (ren); the mind's feelings of shame and aversion is the beginning of rightness; the mind’s feeling of modesty and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the mind’s sense of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom” (Yong, 59). By defining moral values, Confucianism provides all people with ethical guidelines to follow. Even though the extent of inclusivity in Confucianism varies based on interpretations and applications, especially when confronting historical and cultural biases, the philosophy is theoretically inclusive. It emphasizes self-cultivation and moral integrity over immutable traits such as birth or class.
Confucianism not only guides people ethically but has also given rise to two major socio-political systems that emerged from its teachings. These systems later played a crucial role in sustaining Chinese culture through the transitions of various dynasties. The first one is the complete Chinese patriarchal clan system. It is a well-defined and organized system, and it influenced the traditional ways of social practice in China. The Chinese clan system primarily consists of two key components: ancestral worship and filial piety, along with other associated obligations, which together reinforced the stability of the fundamental social unit in Chinese society throughout history. Ancestral worship functions as a religious practice that brings members of a clan together at specific times. It fosters unity within the larger clan, reinforces a sense of belonging, and upholds the social hierarchy among its members, enabling each individual to recognize their role and associated responsibilities within the clan. For instance, filial piety, a core duty of children within the clan, encompasses both obligations and gratitude toward parents. It also serves as a discipline of relations between parents and children. As Lin writes: “such a well-organized and religiously conceived family system was of tremendous force when the Chinese people was thrown into contact with a foreign people with less well-defined family consciousness” (Lin, 36).
Another crucial system that makes the class structure less rigid is the imperial examination system (科举, keju), which opened opportunities for changing one's and their family's social class for most men in society. By requiring candidates to study and master Confucian classics, the system institutionalized Confucian teachings as the foundation for governance and moral conduct. This not only ensured that Confucian principles permeated the ruling class but also provided a common framework of values and knowledge for scholars from all regions of the country. In pre-modern China, men from various backgrounds were encouraged to engage with the system. As participation grew, it became increasingly persuasive for a broader population to shape their cultural and social identities around their connection to it. It was not uncommon for individuals from ethnic minorities to identify as Confucian scholars and, by extension, align themselves with the identity of being “Chinese.” Women, too, could find a place within the system, depending on the involvement or potential participation of their male family members. In doing so, it fostered a sense of unity and shared identity across different areas, contributing to the stability and harmony of Chinese society.
Judaism: Surviving Diaspora Through Religious Tradition
Just like Chinese civilization, Jewish civilization has a history that stretches back approximately 4,000 years. The Jews are actually a subsection or fractional remnant of the ancient Israelites as they are called in the Bible, though nowadays the two terms “Jews” and “people of Israel” or “nation of Israel” are used interchangeably. The history of the Israelites, according to the Bible and as accepted by Jewish tradition, begins with the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Near East. Jacob, who was given the second name “Israel” after struggling with an angel, was the father of twelve sons, who were, in turn, each the fathers of the “twelve tribes of Israel.” (While the term “Jewish” is often used to describe this civilization throughout its history, it is more accurate to refer to the early period, before the Babylonian Exile or at least before the 7th century BCE, as the history of the “Israelites.” The “Jews” specifically trace their lineage to the tribe of Judah and associated groups, such as the Levites and Priests, who emerged as a distinct community after this earlier Israelite period. Judah and Levi were two of the twelve tribes of Israel.) According to the biblical account, after the Exodus, when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt under Moses’ leadership, the Israelite people conquered the land of Canaan and eventually built a strong and united kingdom in what they would call the land of Israel. This kingdom was brought to its military height by King David, Israel’s most famous and strongest king. During the reign of his son, King Solomon, the culture and prosperity of ancient Israel were at their peak, and the Holy Temple was built. After King Solomon’s death, the kingdom split into two: the northern kingdom, called Israel, and the southern kingdom, called Judah (which was later called Judea and is where the term “Jewish” comes from). The northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE, and its people were sent into exile, causing that kingdom and its people to disappear. The southern kingdom, Judah, was conquered by the Babylonians in the early 6th century BCE. In 586 BCE, the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and sent the Jewish people into exile in Babylonia. Despite these challenges, the Jewish people and their culture have remained resilient until today. The key to this endurance lies in the deeply rooted Jewish cultural identity.
The history of Jewish civilization can be broadly divided into two phases: before the Babylonian Exile (586 BCE), which marks the beginning of the first significant diaspora, and after the exile. In its pre-exilic phase, Israel was a small nation and later kingdom surrounded by other national kingdoms. However, it stood out among them by its monotheistic religion. “What is more important is that this God is the one and only God, the invisible and unimaginable God, beyond whom no other God exists. Therefore, from the very beginning, monotheism completely rejected the polytheism that was prevalent throughout the Near East at that time and opposed the worship of many gods and idols” (Song, 20). In this monotheistic view, ancient Israelite religion, which would later evolve into Judaism, had “a very strong emphasis developed on the covenantal, semi contractual relationship between God and the tribes of Israel, the people of Israel” (Eisenstadt, 69). This emphasis is evident in the Bible, as “the covenant between the Jews and their God was established through God’s act of choice in selecting the Jews as the ‘chosen people’” (Song, 57). Also, the land of Canaan, later known as Israel, was promised by God to the Israelites, and hence to the Jewish people. This land therefore has deep religious significance and served as a spiritual power that connected Jewish people with God. The bonds between Israelite people and God, and the Israelite people and the land of Israel were strengthened by this combination of a divine covenant and sacred land. Thus, cultural consciousness was raised, and a strong Israelite identity was fostered.
Following the Babylonian Exile in 586 BCE, which marked the beginning of the first diaspora, the Jewish people experienced significant religious and cultural developments. ***, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the 5th century and the evolution of Judaism both in Israel and the diaspora. However, the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE led to a more widespread and enduring diaspora, scattering the Jewish people across many lands. In these diasporas, Jewish cultural continuity was preserved through distinct mechanisms. Eisenstadt summarized it as two “poles”: “There are two poles of continuity of Jewish civilization: first, the development of international and cultural frameworks and social networks that made possible the continuation of the Jewish people and civilization in a situation of dispersion of Jews in many lands; and second, the strong, ambivalent attitude of the ‘host’ civilizations, reciprocated by a parallel ambivalent attitude among the Jews toward these civilizations. These poles shaped the course of the Jewish history of exile” (Eisenstadt, 16).
The first pole was about the social network of Jewish people, which was established on shared religious practices and beliefs. In the diaspora, Jewish people formed communities across distant lands. In these communities, Jewish people recited prayers in Hebrew and read Torah in the Jewish synagogues, which are the places for religious activities and the centers for social and cultural communications. The Jewish Sabbath, Shabbat in Hebrew, is one of the most characteristic holidays of the Jewish people: “For believers, Shabbat provides a realm of peace. It is a day that invites—even compels—us to focus on family and community” (Mordechai Cohen). As the Jewish historian Steven Fine notes, it was widely known even in the ancient Roman world that the practice of gathering every Shabbat in synagogue was a key to maintaining Jewish identity. The Emperor Augustus Caesar (63BC–14AD), for example, “knew that they have houses of prayer [辫谤辞蝉别耻肠丑ê] and meet together in them, particularly on the sacred sabbaths when they receive as a body a training in their ancestral philosophy” (Fine, 40). Synagogues served as havens from the outside world, helping to protect Jewish communities from being absorbed into their respective host societies. They were places where Jews came together to pray, read the Torah and other books of the Bible, and observe important rituals such as the Shabbat. These shared religious activities strengthened the bonds among community members. In this way, synagogues became a second home—both spiritually and socially—and played a key role in preserving Jewish identity during the diaspora.
The second pole concerns the attitude among Jews toward the host civilizations they lived in. “They engaged mainly as middlemen in economic activities—as traders, as artisans, and financiers—and only to a much smaller degree in agriculture. Their legal and economic rights were relatively circumscribed. They were in continual danger of serving as the object of popular discontent or of earning the displeasure of the rulers or ecclesiastical authorities, with the looming menace of riots and expulsion” (Eisenstadt, 44). Host societies often viewed Jews with suspicion or resentment, leading to periods of persecution, segregation, and expulsion. Jews, in turn, developed an ambivalent attitude toward their host cultures. This dynamic, rooted in ancient times, extended into modern history, shaping Jewish experiences in diverse contexts.
Even in the twentieth century, these tensions were evident in the life of Henry Kissinger. “The relationship between Henry Kissinger’s life and his Jewish identity was complex. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community and studied the Jewish classical texts... As a teenager, Kissinger witnessed extreme anti-Semitic persecution in Nazi Germany... Later in life, when he served in the US government, Nixon and others in the administration occasionally questioned Kissinger’s loyalty to the United States because of his Jewish heritage” (Shai Cohen). Kissinger experienced hatred in Nazi Germany and suspicion in the United States. This led to his ambivalent attitude toward his Jewish roots and even “alienation from the Jewish community” (Shai Cohen).
While some individuals, like Kissinger, struggled with their Jewish identity under pressure from their host societies, Jewish communities as a whole often responded by strengthening their cultural boundaries. Faced with repeated exclusion and discrimination, many Jews turned inward, drawing on shared rituals, history, and religious memory to preserve a sense of collective identity. The longing for their ancestral homeland, especially the memory of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, became a powerful symbol of unity and hope. Across generations, this deep sense of nostalgia helped sustain Jewish culture and made it even more distinct from the surrounding societies.
Conclusion: Preserving Cultural Traditions Today
The histories of the Chinese and Jewish peoples serve as powerful examples of cultural preservation during difficult times like foreign invasions, segregation, and exile. Both civilizations managed to preserve their culture by building strong cultural consciousness and maintaining their distinct identities. Chinese civilization created stable systems based on Confucian principles, like the family system and the Imperial Examination system, to provide a framework for social order and strengthen Chinese identity. In the same way, Jewish civilization built lasting institutions centered on family and synagogue that served as foundations for cultural continuity. These institutions provided Jewish people with both community support and spiritual protection that helped them resist assimilation during centuries of living in different countries.
The Jewish community’s commitment to religious practices, especially the observance of Shabbat, shows this preservation strategy clearly. Shabbat offers regular opportunities for community and family gatherings, strengthening Jewish identity while providing a safe space from outside pressures. Through such consistent practices, Jewish culture maintained its unified identity across different countries and historical periods.
We can still learn from ancient strategies of cultural preservation today. In our increasingly interconnected 21st century, many civilizations and communities face the risk of losing their distinct identities under pressure from dominant cultures. This cultural homogenization threatens the survival of unique languages, practices, and traditions, diminishing the vibrant diversity that defines human civilization. To counteract this trend, we must actively preserve our cultural heritage—not only to maintain our own identities but also to sustain the rich tapestry of human diversity for future generations.
Works Cited
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Cohen, Shai. 柯文善. “亨利·基辛格 (Henry Kissinger).” Chinese-Jewish Conversation, 每日大瓜, Mar 29,2024, /news/cjc/henglijixinge. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
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