Jews in China

Edwards speculates ( The Miscellanies, 1153-1360 , #1236) that the dispersion of the Jews was so massive that it sent Jews all the way to China:

“It is probable that some of the Israelites that had been carried into captivity penetrated as far as China, long before the Christian era; because in that country notices are yet to be found, to which we cannot rationally assign any other original, than some acquaintance with the Jews. If we may believe the traditions of the Chinese, Confucius, their great philosopher, who lived above five hundred years before Christ, had this remarkable saying often in his mouth, ‘It is in the West that the true saint is to be found.’ And Laokun, who lived before Confucius, was as remarkable for another saying, which seems to point at the Trinity: ‘Eternal Reason produced one, one produced two, two produced three, and three produced all things.’ They tell us further, that Mimti, one of their emperors, who reigned about sixty years after Christ, sent ambassadors, at the instigation of an apparition, to look for the saint that heaven had informed him was in the West.”

Dear Reader,

Can I be direct with you?

War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.

First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.

But we can’t do it without readers like you.

Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.


Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.

Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.

GIVE NOW

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The Church in the Age of Therapy

Matthew Loftus

In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…

Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot

Anna Farrow

On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…

The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen

Mike Aquilina

Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…