Chinese Jewish Surnames

Michael Freund on Chinese Jewish surnames in Kaifeng, China

All of the Jewish descendants belong to one of seven clans, each identifiable by its surname. Legend has it that during the Song dynasty over a thousand years ago, a Chinese emperor, unable to pronounce the Jews' Hebrew-sounding names, bestowed his surname and the surnames of six of his ministers on the Chinese Jews. These seven names -- Zhao, Li, Ai, Zhang, Gao, Jin and Shi -- were used by Kaifeng's Jews throughout the centuries, and it is to the Shi clan that Shi Lei traces his own roots.