One of my fascinations, in studying ancient Chinese philosophy and its application to modern American life, is how the meaning of "Chinese-ness" changes over time and in different locations.  My interest was piqued, therefore, when I spotted this article in today’s NYT: "Chinese Orphan’s Journey to Jewish Rite of Passage."   It describes the bat mitzvah of a girl who had been born in China and adopted by an American couple (two women) and raised in the Jewish faith.  The story notes the apparent peculiarity of a Chinese Jew but notes that many more such rites of passage are in the offing, given the large number of Chinese babies adopted into US families in the past 15 years or so.

     Here’s the question that comes to my mind in this: what does "Chinese" means here?

     I think, in this instance, it connotes a racial identity, the fact that this girl does not "look" Jewish.   The racial meaning of "Chinese" is especially prominent in contemporary America, given the racial dynamics of the society in general.

    In this sense, being Chinese and Jewish is really not a big deal.  Judaism, as a faith, does not have to be dependent upon race or ethnicity (I know: there is a general understanding that Jewish identity is intergenerationally transferred through matrilineal blood ties, but  conversion is still possible from an Orthodox point of view).  The bat mitzvahed girl’s comments are apt in this regard: “Being Chinese and Jewish is normal for me. Thinking about being Chinese and Jewish is a little strange.”  At the level of practice, there is no problem; it is only when we "think" about it, and bring other meanings of the term "Chinese" into the discussion, that is might seem different.

    We also attach cultural meanings to the word "Chinese," referring to the cuisine, the holidays, and, yes, the ancient philosophies.  From this perspective it might seem difficult, at first, to reconcile Judaism and Chinese-ness.  But it is not, really.  We know that there are, and have long been, a wide variety of cultural expressions of Chinese-ness.  You can be a Buddhist and be Chinese, an atheist and be Chinese, a Christian and be Chinese, a Muslim and be Chinese, etc.

    However, even some of the most familiar expressions of Chinese-ness were, at certain times, contested. Thirteen hundred years ago, during the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Wuzong used state power to deny Chinese-Buddhist identity.  He ultimately lost (at least in the long term) and today we take it for granted that Chinese-ness and Buddhism can fit comfortably together.

     So, Chinese Jewish-ness is hardly problematic, from a historical perspective.  In other words, if we think enough about it – and not just get caught up in simplistic racial and cultural stereotypes – there is no contradiction here.

     But there is another point I want to raise about this story.  All of this, in this case, is being enacted in the US, in the midst of American culture.  To some degree, then, this is really not about Chinese-ness but about American-ness.  Can you be Chinese-Jewish and American?  Yes, of course.  The openness and fluidity of American identity, which gives some conservatives the jitters, has facilitated the acceptance of a wide diversity of cultural expressions and practices (I am not a naive idealist: I recognize that the expansion of American identity has had to be fought for, bloodily at times.  At this point in history, however, the argument for inclusion is predominant). 

    And that leads to me to a final question: what does Chinese-American-ness imply for Chinese-ness in China?  I tend to agree with Tu Wei-ming, ("Cultural China: The Periphery as Center," Daedalus 120, no. 2 (1991), who argued that Chinese-ness is globally dispersed and that expressions and reformulations of Chinese identity that occur outside the boundaries of the space we call "China" can have an enlivening and transformative effect on the understanding of Chinese-ness within "China."  By this logic, the cultural life of Chinese-Americans, their choice to become Jewish for example, can shape the more general, global, definition of "Chinese." 

     A Chinese-American Jew, therefore, is a part of that larger project of Chinese cultural expression and can, if she so desires, claim a Chinese identity.

     But what if she chooses not to?  What if, she "looks" Chinese but, through her daily life experiences, does not believe that she practices Chinese culture (however that is defined) sufficiently enough to be called "Chinese."  Must all people who "look" Chinese be categorized culturally as "Chinese"?  People who look "white" claim a wide variety of differing cultural identities (Irish, German, Russian, etc.).  Is there less choice in this regard for people who "look" Chinese?