Aron Shai is Shaul N. Eisenberg Professor of East Asian Studies and Pro-Rector of Tel Aviv University. He earned his PhD from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. His research focuses on imperialism in Asia, China’s role in international relations, diplomatic and economic history, and Sino-Israeli relations. He lectured at international conferences and served as guest professor at Oxford, Paris, Toronto, New York and in China. Shai authored and edited numerous books in Hebrew, English, and Chinese, including Origins of War in the East; From the Opium War to Mao Zedong; Britain and China 1941-1947; The Fate of British and French Firms in China 1949-1954; Twentieth Century China; and Zhang Xueliang—The General Who Never Fought. He has also written two historical novels.

• Preface: My Road to ChinaStructure and ContentsIntroduction: Jewish Communities in ChinaThe Kaifeng CommunityJudaism as a Popular ReligionThe Harbin CommunityReligious, Cultural, and Social InstitutionsHarbin Jews Following the Japanese OccupationThe Baghdadi Sephardic Community in ShanghaiInstitutions of the Baghdadi Jewish Community in ShanghaiThe Russian Jewish Community in ShanghaiThe European Refugee Community in ShanghaiDecline of the Shanghai CommunitiesThe Hong Kong CommunityOther Jewish Communities in ChinaChapter One: 1948 to 1955—The Early Years of Trial and ErrorMutual Recognition and Establishment of Diplomatic RelationsIsrael Recognizes the People’s Republic of ChinaInitial TiesBurma, Russia, and India Help Initiate ContactThe Israeli Commercial Delegation to ChinaA Missed Historical Opportunity?Chapter Two: Moshe and Ya’akov—Two Jews in ChinaMoshe (Morris) CohenJacob RosenfeldChapter Three: 1948 to 1956—Behind the ScenesMembers of Leftist Israeli Parties Visit ChinaOther Israeli Visits to ChinaThe Parliamentary Front in IsraelChapter Four: 1955 to 1978—No ContactThe Israel Communist Party and the Chinese Communist Party: The Great Leap BackwardView from Afar: “Going Behind the Wall”Chapter Five: Clandestine Contact—Shaul Eisenberg in ChinaGlobal BusinessBusiness in KoreaOn the Road to IsraelOne Billion Chinese AwaitEisenberg’s Influence on China–Israel RelationsAfter Eisenberg’s DeathChapter Six: How to Lose Money in China—The Stories of Four Israeli CompaniesIsraeli Business people Try Their Luck in ChinaThe Case of SanoNot Worth Peanuts—The Case of OsemLessons LearnedA Guide to Losing Money in China: The Next GenerationDavid ShieldKardan Israel Ltd.Chapter Seven: 1992 to 2018: Beijing and Jerusalem—The Last Battle?China, Israel, and Hong KongPatience Pays Off: Gradual Establishment of Diplomatic RelationsChina–Israel Relations Since 1992Despite All, a RelationshipChapter Eight: China, Israel, and Other SpheresChina, the Palestinians, and the Middle EastIran–China–IsraelChina’s Relations with North KoreaRelations between Israel and Taiwan (Nationalist China)China in the International SphereThe Future of Israel–China RelationsChapter Nine: Me, China, and Everyone ElseThe Confucius Institute: Founding, Crises, and Return to RoutineSigns of ConciliationDisseminating the Chinese LanguageMore Questions, This Time from GuangzhouChapter Ten: Review So Far, and What’s Next?BibliographyArchives, Official Sources, and Sources without an AuthorHebrew and Chinese sourcesEnglish sourcesBooks and periodicals (Hebrew)Books and periodicals (English and Chinese)InterviewsIndex

“Shaiprovides an overview of Chinese–Jewish relations from medieval Kaifeng to the present. In 239pages of text and a ten-page quatro-lingual bibliography, he surveys thecorresponding academic field now known as Sino-Judaica. … Shai condenses thisvast corpus of scholarship as context for what is the strength of this volume:his profiles of Sino-Judaic personalities. These include Sun Yat-sen’s English bodyguard Morris Cohen (1887–1970) and Chinese Communist Fourth Armyphysician Jacob Rosenfeld (1903–1952), originally from Austria. Shai also offers vignettes aboutlesser-known individuals who are arguably of equal historical significance.Drawing upon hard-to-get interviews and the Yad Tabenkin archive of the kibbutzmovement, he profiles leaders of the Israel Communist Party (ICP) and theirChinese initiatives. … Shai’s persistent sleuthing about [Israeli businessman Shaul] Eisenbergand the ICP is matched in Sino-Israeli historiography only by Yitzhak Shichor’s startling revelations about Israelinuclear cooperation with Taiwan.” —Jonathan Goldstein, The China Quarterly,238

Aron Shai is Shaul N. Eisenberg Professor of East Asian Studies and Pro-Rector of Tel Aviv University. He earned his PhD from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. His research focuses on imperialism in Asia, China’s role in international relations, diplomatic and economic history, and Sino-Israeli relations. He lectured at international conferences and served as guest professor at Oxford, Paris, Toronto, New York and in China. Shai authored and edited numerous books in Hebrew, English, and Chinese, including Origins of War in the East; From the Opium War to Mao Zedong; Britain and China 1941-1947; The Fate of British and French Firms in China 1949-1954; Twentieth Century China; and Zhang Xueliang—The General Who Never Fought. He has also written two historical novels.

• Preface: My Road to ChinaStructure and ContentsIntroduction: Jewish Communities in ChinaThe Kaifeng CommunityJudaism as a Popular ReligionThe Harbin CommunityReligious, Cultural, and Social InstitutionsHarbin Jews Following the Japanese OccupationThe Baghdadi Sephardic Community in ShanghaiInstitutions of the Baghdadi Jewish Community in ShanghaiThe Russian Jewish Community in ShanghaiThe European Refugee Community in ShanghaiDecline of the Shanghai CommunitiesThe Hong Kong CommunityOther Jewish Communities in ChinaChapter One: 1948 to 1955—The Early Years of Trial and ErrorMutual Recognition and Establishment of Diplomatic RelationsIsrael Recognizes the People’s Republic of ChinaInitial TiesBurma, Russia, and India Help Initiate ContactThe Israeli Commercial Delegation to ChinaA Missed Historical Opportunity?Chapter Two: Moshe and Ya’akov—Two Jews in ChinaMoshe (Morris) CohenJacob RosenfeldChapter Three: 1948 to 1956—Behind the ScenesMembers of Leftist Israeli Parties Visit ChinaOther Israeli Visits to ChinaThe Parliamentary Front in IsraelChapter Four: 1955 to 1978—No ContactThe Israel Communist Party and the Chinese Communist Party: The Great Leap BackwardView from Afar: “Going Behind the Wall”Chapter Five: Clandestine Contact—Shaul Eisenberg in ChinaGlobal BusinessBusiness in KoreaOn the Road to IsraelOne Billion Chinese AwaitEisenberg’s Influence on China–Israel RelationsAfter Eisenberg’s DeathChapter Six: How to Lose Money in China—The Stories of Four Israeli CompaniesIsraeli Business people Try Their Luck in ChinaThe Case of SanoNot Worth Peanuts—The Case of OsemLessons LearnedA Guide to Losing Money in China: The Next GenerationDavid ShieldKardan Israel Ltd.Chapter Seven: 1992 to 2018: Beijing and Jerusalem—The Last Battle?China, Israel, and Hong KongPatience Pays Off: Gradual Establishment of Diplomatic RelationsChina–Israel Relations Since 1992Despite All, a RelationshipChapter Eight: China, Israel, and Other SpheresChina, the Palestinians, and the Middle EastIran–China–IsraelChina’s Relations with North KoreaRelations between Israel and Taiwan (Nationalist China)China in the International SphereThe Future of Israel–China RelationsChapter Nine: Me, China, and Everyone ElseThe Confucius Institute: Founding, Crises, and Return to RoutineSigns of ConciliationDisseminating the Chinese LanguageMore Questions, This Time from GuangzhouChapter Ten: Review So Far, and What’s Next?BibliographyArchives, Official Sources, and Sources without an AuthorHebrew and Chinese sourcesEnglish sourcesBooks and periodicals (Hebrew)Books and periodicals (English and Chinese)InterviewsIndex

“Shaiprovides an overview of Chinese–Jewish relations from medieval Kaifeng to the present. In 239pages of text and a ten-page quatro-lingual bibliography, he surveys thecorresponding academic field now known as Sino-Judaica. … Shai condenses thisvast corpus of scholarship as context for what is the strength of this volume:his profiles of Sino-Judaic personalities. These include Sun Yat-sen’s English bodyguard Morris Cohen (1887–1970) and Chinese Communist Fourth Armyphysician Jacob Rosenfeld (1903–1952), originally from Austria. Shai also offers vignettes aboutlesser-known individuals who are arguably of equal historical significance.Drawing upon hard-to-get interviews and the Yad Tabenkin archive of the kibbutzmovement, he profiles leaders of the Israel Communist Party (ICP) and theirChinese initiatives. … Shai’s persistent sleuthing about [Israeli businessman Shaul] Eisenbergand the ICP is matched in Sino-Israeli historiography only by Yitzhak Shichor’s startling revelations about Israelinuclear cooperation with Taiwan.” —Jonathan Goldstein, The China Quarterly,238

Aron Shai is Shaul N. Eisenberg Professor of East Asian Studies and Pro-Rector of Tel Aviv University. He earned his PhD from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. His research focuses on imperialism in Asia, China’s role in international relations, diplomatic and economic history, and Sino-Israeli relations. He lectured at international conferences and served as guest professor at Oxford, Paris, Toronto, New York and in China. Shai authored and edited numerous books in Hebrew, English, and Chinese, including Origins of War in the East; From the Opium War to Mao Zedong; Britain and China 1941-1947; The Fate of British and French Firms in China 1949-1954; Twentieth Century China; and Zhang Xueliang—The General Who Never Fought. He has also written two historical novels.

• Preface: My Road to ChinaStructure and ContentsIntroduction: Jewish Communities in ChinaThe Kaifeng CommunityJudaism as a Popular ReligionThe Harbin CommunityReligious, Cultural, and Social InstitutionsHarbin Jews Following the Japanese OccupationThe Baghdadi Sephardic Community in ShanghaiInstitutions of the Baghdadi Jewish Community in ShanghaiThe Russian Jewish Community in ShanghaiThe European Refugee Community in ShanghaiDecline of the Shanghai CommunitiesThe Hong Kong CommunityOther Jewish Communities in ChinaChapter One: 1948 to 1955—The Early Years of Trial and ErrorMutual Recognition and Establishment of Diplomatic RelationsIsrael Recognizes the People’s Republic of ChinaInitial TiesBurma, Russia, and India Help Initiate ContactThe Israeli Commercial Delegation to ChinaA Missed Historical Opportunity?Chapter Two: Moshe and Ya’akov—Two Jews in ChinaMoshe (Morris) CohenJacob RosenfeldChapter Three: 1948 to 1956—Behind the ScenesMembers of Leftist Israeli Parties Visit ChinaOther Israeli Visits to ChinaThe Parliamentary Front in IsraelChapter Four: 1955 to 1978—No ContactThe Israel Communist Party and the Chinese Communist Party: The Great Leap BackwardView from Afar: “Going Behind the Wall”Chapter Five: Clandestine Contact—Shaul Eisenberg in ChinaGlobal BusinessBusiness in KoreaOn the Road to IsraelOne Billion Chinese AwaitEisenberg’s Influence on China–Israel RelationsAfter Eisenberg’s DeathChapter Six: How to Lose Money in China—The Stories of Four Israeli CompaniesIsraeli Business people Try Their Luck in ChinaThe Case of SanoNot Worth Peanuts—The Case of OsemLessons LearnedA Guide to Losing Money in China: The Next GenerationDavid ShieldKardan Israel Ltd.Chapter Seven: 1992 to 2018: Beijing and Jerusalem—The Last Battle?China, Israel, and Hong KongPatience Pays Off: Gradual Establishment of Diplomatic RelationsChina–Israel Relations Since 1992Despite All, a RelationshipChapter Eight: China, Israel, and Other SpheresChina, the Palestinians, and the Middle EastIran–China–IsraelChina’s Relations with North KoreaRelations between Israel and Taiwan (Nationalist China)China in the International SphereThe Future of Israel–China RelationsChapter Nine: Me, China, and Everyone ElseThe Confucius Institute: Founding, Crises, and Return to RoutineSigns of ConciliationDisseminating the Chinese LanguageMore Questions, This Time from GuangzhouChapter Ten: Review So Far, and What’s Next?BibliographyArchives, Official Sources, and Sources without an AuthorHebrew and Chinese sourcesEnglish sourcesBooks and periodicals (Hebrew)Books and periodicals (English and Chinese)InterviewsIndex

“Shaiprovides an overview of Chinese–Jewish relations from medieval Kaifeng to the present. In 239pages of text and a ten-page quatro-lingual bibliography, he surveys thecorresponding academic field now known as Sino-Judaica. … Shai condenses thisvast corpus of scholarship as context for what is the strength of this volume:his profiles of Sino-Judaic personalities. These include Sun Yat-sen’s English bodyguard Morris Cohen (1887–1970) and Chinese Communist Fourth Armyphysician Jacob Rosenfeld (1903–1952), originally from Austria. Shai also offers vignettes aboutlesser-known individuals who are arguably of equal historical significance.Drawing upon hard-to-get interviews and the Yad Tabenkin archive of the kibbutzmovement, he profiles leaders of the Israel Communist Party (ICP) and theirChinese initiatives. … Shai’s persistent sleuthing about [Israeli businessman Shaul] Eisenbergand the ICP is matched in Sino-Israeli historiography only by Yitzhak Shichor’s startling revelations about Israelinuclear cooperation with Taiwan.” —Jonathan Goldstein, The China Quarterly,238