Zhang Xinwang, a moon-faced Chinese man with a spiky beard, calls himself “Moishe.”

　　張新旺（音），這個圓臉的中國男子留著長而硬的連鬢胡子，他稱自己是“摩西”。

　　“So do you think I look Jewish?” he asks.

　　“你認為我長得像猶太人嗎？”張新旺問道。

　　For much of the past millennium, Jews in Kaifeng -- descendants of merchants who arrived here from Persia -- have been struggling with an existential question: What does it mean to be Jewish? Bob Davis/The Wall Street Journal

　　張新旺稱自己是“摩西”。 過去一千年的大部分時間里，開封的猶太人一直想搞清楚一個事關這一人群存在的問題：何謂猶太人？中國這支猶太人是當年從波斯來華的猶太商人的后代。

　　The handful of Kaifengers who go to Israel are sometimes floored to discover they need to go through a rabbi-certified conversion to be accepted as Jews, while the ones staying home squabble over which of them are really Jewish.

　　那些為數(shù)不多前往以色列的開封猶太人有時會沮喪地發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們需要經(jīng)過由猶太教牧師認證的宗教改宗，才能被接納為猶太人，而那些留在開封的中國猶太人則在為他們誰才是真正的猶太人爭吵不休。

　　The question has surprising consequences in this dusty walled city in central China. According to the Chinese government, there are no Kaifeng Jews because there are no Chinese Jews. Judaism isn't one of China's five official religions and Jews aren't designated as one of the country's 55 official minorities. Orthodox Jews have a similar view, though for different reasons. Kaifeng Jews trace their heritage through their father, as Chinese traditionally do, while Orthodox Jews define Judaism as passing through the mother.

　　在開封這個中國中部塵土飛揚的城市，這一問題產(chǎn)生了令人驚訝的后果。中國政府認為，并不存在開封猶太人，因為根本就沒有中國猶太人。猶太教不是中國獲官方認可的五大宗教之一，猶太人也不是中國被官方承認的55個少數(shù)一民族之。正統(tǒng)猶太人持與中國政府相同的看法，雖然其理由并不相同。像中國人傳統(tǒng)上那樣，開封猶太人是通過父系追蹤其血緣傳承的，而正統(tǒng)猶太人則是通過母系來確定其猶太血緣。

　　“They may stem from Jewish ancestry, but they aren't Jewish,” says Rabbi Shimon Freundlich, who runs the orthodox Chabad House in Beijing. “There hasn't been a Jewish community in Kaifeng in 400 years.”

　　在北京經(jīng)營著正統(tǒng)猶太人中心的猶太教牧師希蒙•弗羅因德利希（Shimon Freundlich）說，開封這些人可能有猶太祖先，但他們不是猶太人，開封400年來一直不存在猶太人社區(qū)。

　　Except there is one, some say, though it's divided and diminished. Somewhere between 500 and 1,000 people in the city say they are descendants of Kaifeng Jews and cling to at least some Jewish traditions. A canvas poster at No. 21 Teaching the Torah Lane announces the street as the site of a synagogue that was destroyed in an 1860 flood and never rebuilt. Inside a tiny courtyard house, “Esther” Guo Yan sells knick-knacks with Jewish stars.

　　但有人說開封存在猶太人社區(qū)，雖然它是分裂和被貶低的。這個城市大約有500到1,000人稱自己是開封猶太人的后代，他們至少還堅持著一些猶太人的傳統(tǒng)。開封南教經(jīng)胡同21號張貼的一幅帆布海報說，這里是一座猶太教教堂的原址，這座教堂1860年被洪水摧毀，此后再也未能重建。在這條胡同的一個小院里，教名為“埃絲特”（Esther）的郭燕（音）在賣有猶太星標記的小裝飾品。

　　When tourists stop by, she quizzes them on Jewish ceremonies, like what prayers to say when lighting Sabbath candles. She says she hasn't yet managed to fast a full day on Yom Kippur, though she is trying. As the granddaughter of a Kaifeng Jew, she says the Orthodox standard on Judaism is unfair: “We read the Torah with Eastern thoughts.”

　　當游客們駐足觀看時，她會考問他們一些有關猶太禮儀的小問題，比如祈禱者在點燃安息日蠟燭時應說些什么。她說自己還沒能做到在猶太人贖罪日全天禁食，不過正在嘗試這樣做。作為一名開封猶太人的孫女，郭燕說猶太教的正統(tǒng)標準是不公平的。她說，我用東方思維讀猶太教經(jīng)典。

　　The first Jewish merchants arrived when Kaifeng was in its heyday as the Song dynasty capital. They married the local women and rose to become mandarins and military officials. Over the centuries they blended in and were forgotten by the world until 1605, when a Jewish scholar from Kaifeng, Ai Tien, met Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci in Beijing. The missionary then spread the news that Jews had been living in China for centuries.

　　Bob Davis/The Wall Street Journal開封最后一個猶太教堂1860年被洪水摧毀，現(xiàn)在這里是一條四合院的胡同（開封南教經(jīng)胡同）。當猶太商人最初抵達開封時，作為北宋首都的這座城市正處于自己的鼎盛期。這些猶太人與當?shù)貗D女通婚，其后代中有人做了文職官員和軍官。在此后的幾個世紀里，這一人群與中國當?shù)厝酥饾u融合并被世界所遺忘，這種局面直到1605年才出現(xiàn)改觀，當時來自開封的一名猶太學者艾田在北京會晤了耶穌會傳教士利瑪竇（Matteo Ricci ）。利瑪竇后來將猶太人已經(jīng)在中國生活了好幾百年的消息傳播了出去。

　　The Kaifeng Jewish population is thought to have peaked at around 5,000 members, but by the early 1900s none could read Hebrew and the community's Torah scrolls were sold to collectors. Jews were called “the Muslims with the blue caps,” referring to the color of the yarmulkes some still wore.

　　據(jù)說在鼎盛時期，開封猶太人的數(shù)量達到過5,000人左右，但到20世紀初時他們已經(jīng)沒有人懂希伯來文，社區(qū)的猶太教經(jīng)典卷軸也賣給了收藏者。由于有的開封猶太人仍戴著猶太男子所特有的藍色圓頂小帽，因此他們被稱為“藍帽回回”。

　　“In our family, we didn't eat pork,” says Nina Wang, a 24-year-old Kaifeng native who now lives in Israel and underwent orthodox Jewish conversion. The family had menorahs and Sabbath cups, she said, “but we didn't know what to do with those things.”

　　24歲的Nina Wang是土生土長的開封人，現(xiàn)在住在以色列，已經(jīng)完成了皈依猶太教的正統(tǒng)儀式。她說，我們家不吃豬肉；家里有猶太教燭臺和圣杯，但我們不知道這些東西有什么用。

　　When thousands of European Jews settled in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s to escape the Holocaust, a few Kaifengers went there to study. But the Shanghai Jews were focused on aiding those persecuted in Europe.

　　20世紀30年代和40年代，數(shù)以千計的歐洲猶太人為逃避大屠殺在上海定居時，一些開封人前往上海學習。但上海猶太人主要是幫助那些在歐洲遭到迫害的人。

　　After the Communists took over in 1949, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping fretted that Kaifeng Jews might be subversive. In a 1953 document, they wrote that the Kaifeng Jews were “disclosing secrets to the overseas communities and causing trouble.” Even so, Kaifeng Jews say they weren't singled out for discrimination. Ms. Guo says that her friends used to tease her, saying she must be smart and good at making money -- common Chinese stereotypes of Jews.

　　共產(chǎn)黨1949年掌權后，毛澤東和鄧小平擔心開封猶太人可能成為顛覆分子。他們在1953年的一份文件里寫道，開封猶太人在“向海外團體透露秘密并制造麻煩”。盡管如此，開封猶太人說他們并沒有遭到歧視對待。郭燕說她的朋友以前總是取笑她，說她肯定既聰明又會賺錢，這是普通中國人眼中的猶太人典型形象。

　　As China opened again to foreigners in the 1980s, Jewish tourists, Christian missionaries and foreign academics made their way to Kaifeng, each doling out different advice.

　　20世紀80年代中國再次對外開放時，猶太游客、基督教傳教士和外國學者紛紛來到開封，他們給出了各種各樣的建議。

　　These days, many in Kaifeng turn to Timothy Lerner, who was born Jewish but believes in Christ as the Messiah, to learn Hebrew and Jewish customs. Mr. Lerner says he doesn't try to convince anyone to follow his religious beliefs. He says he set up the 'Kaifeng Israel School' to help Kaifeng Jews “learn the Jewish lifestyle” and move to Israel, which about a dozen did.

　　如今，許多開封人都向勒納（Timothy Lerner）學習希伯來文和猶太習俗。勒納生來是猶太人，但相信耶穌是幫助猶太人復國的救世主。勒納說他不會試圖勸任何人追隨他的宗教信仰。他說自己創(chuàng)建“開封以色列學校”是為了幫助開封猶太人“學習猶太人的生活方式”，并且?guī)退麄円凭右陨?。約有12人已經(jīng)搬到了以色列。

　　Others in the Jewish community are suspicious. Shi Lei, one of the first Kaifeng Jews to study in Israel, blames Mr. Lerner for “creating factions” with his school, though Mr. Lerner says Mr. Shi misunderstands his efforts.

　　開封猶太社區(qū)的其他人對勒納的做法持懷疑態(tài)度。石磊（音）是第一批到以色列學習的開封猶太人之一。他指責勒納利用自己的學校“制造摩擦”，但勒納說石磊誤解了他的努力。

　　Today, Kaifeng Jews tread with caution. Jewish descendants rarely meet in groups of 10 -- the number required by Jewish law for a religious service -- for fear it will be seen as a political gathering. Passover is celebrated as a restaurant meal, not as a religious gathering, though some pass out matzos sent from Hong Kong.

　　如今，開封猶太人如履薄冰。猶太教律法要求參加宗教儀式者最少須有十人，但開封猶太后裔很少這樣做，因為害怕被視為政治集會。他們將慶祝逾越節(jié)（Passover）的活動稱之為聚餐，而不是宗教活動，不過有人會在聚會上散發(fā)從香港送來的無酵餅。

　　Some of the city's notables (none of whom are Jewish) are looking to boost tourism by rebuilding the Kaifeng synagogue. “You could have tourists stay a night with local Jewish descendants,” says Su Linzhong, a management professor at Kaifeng University. “They are so emotional about their grandparents.”

　　開封市有些名人希望通過重建開封的猶太教堂來提振旅游業(yè)。他們都不是猶太人。開封大學管理學教授蘇林忠說，可以讓游客在開封猶太人后裔的家里住上一晚；他們對自己的祖輩有很深的情感。