A Study of the Historical Narrative of the Ancient Chinese Jewish Inscriptions: From the Perspective of Exodus Tradition

Abstract

Exodus tradition constructs the identity of Israelites through historical memory, rooting the traditions such as Passover, and connecting the Patriarchal tradition and Sinai tradition. The ancient Chinese Jews formed a localized interpretation of Exodus tradition based on their living environment and the influence of Confucianism. This paper focuses on the narration of the elements in Exodus tradition such as the roles of God, Moses and Israelites, and the Exodus event, researches on how Ancient Chinese Jews interpreted the previous elements and the reasons behind, thus, summarizes their historical narration. Ancient Jews kept the figures of God and Moses in the stone inscriptions, discarded the elements, such as the concept of chosen people and some plot in Exodus event that are not in harmony with the Chinese culture, transformed the images of God and Moses and formed their special historical narration with Chinese characteristic.