Ancient Chinese (Ancient Qiang) and Similarities with the Ancestors of Jews

The ancient and modern Qiang people became widely known to those in Mainland China and elsewhere after the Sichuan/Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. Their cultural practices are very similar to those of Israel, and according to archaeological records, they migrated from the West to where they are!

A short but informative documentary made by Taipei Unity Church (台北合一基督教會), which was released during the Chinese Spring Festival during the Year of the Sheep, spotlights one of the most ancient Chinese ancestors of Chinese people, the Ancient Qiang ethnic minority. The Ancient Qiang people are the ancestors of the Han (the world’s largest single ethnic group in terms of numbers), Tibetan, Yi, Qiang, and Xixia peoples. Mainly found in East Asia, the Han Chinese are also found in other parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia. With a total population of over 1.3 billion, the Han Chinese account for about 18% of the world’s population. (Note 1)

Interestingly, the Ancient Qiang uses the sheep as a sacrificial symbol and draws parallels to Judeo-Christian theology centered around the Lamb of God. The short film aims not only to celebrate the Chinese New Year but also to provoke contemplation on the cultural and spiritual connections between Christian beliefs and Chinese traditions.

The Qiang people, with their preference for white stones in architecture, show striking similarities to Jewish heritage. The Chinese character “羌” consists of “羊” (sheep) above “ㄦ”, symbolizing “Christ’s lamb”, suggesting ancient biblical influences possibly brought to China by the Qiang people, who were nomadic tribes in ancient China.

The documentary highlights amazing religious and cultural similarities between the ancient/modern Qiang people and the ancient Israelites: (Note 2)

1) The Qiang use white stones in their religious practices, akin to the Jewish use of “white stones”.

2) Their sacrificial rituals involving sheep and altars resemble biblical sacrificial burnt offerings.

3) Practices like applying sheep’s blood to door frames, to be shielded from evil entering the household/to let the evil pass over (cf. Passover), later evolving into Spring Festival couplets, bear resemblance to Passover traditions.

4) The retention of ancient Hebrew pronunciation and meanings in ancient and modern Qiang languages, such as “Yahwei”, “Abba”, and “Elohi) reflects connections to the God of Israel and the world.

5) Their priests, known as “shibi”, wear linen garments and perform rites similar to Jewish rabbis and priests. In worship rituals, they also smear blood on the horns of the worship altar, just like Jewish people.

The director of the documentary, Pastor Chu PY, also pointed out that the Ancient Qiang, considered ancestors of the Chinese people, preserved aspects of ancient biblical culture after the Noahic flood and Tower of Babel language dispersion when the descendants of Shem migrated eastward to became an Oriental nation. “Sinim” mentioned in Isaiah, is believed by some scholars to be the Chinese. Pastor Chu also postulated that at a later stage, the then present-day “Qiang” people were the migration of the Jewish people, when the northern kingdom of Israel was attacked in 722 BC, by the Assyrian Empire, and 10 of the 12 Israeli tribes were scattered throughout the region, including those who migrated to the east. At the same time, China was in the Spring and Autumn Period, when many vassal states fought and competed for supremacy. He believes that the Qiang people who have many similarities to the Israelites, must be a part of the dispersed people of the northern kingdom of Israel.

The initiative aims to bring God’s chosen people back to the gospel truth. They seek to awaken the people of Shen Zhou (神州 Divine Land or the Sacred Land) to their ancient faith and heritage, affirming the reality of the scriptures. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGDtzz8ku00

In another report, a local Qiang sister relayed the tradition of those in their culture: “In our Qiang culture, whenever a house is to be repaired, the family needs to prepare a goat, and the oldest person in the stockaded village will lay his hand on the head of the goat and declare in front of the people that all the bad things of this family are attributed to the goat, and it will be slaughtered. The blood shed from the goat is to be sprinkled on every corner of the house and also painted on the door frames. In the past, I didn’t understand why these rituals were done, especially after I went to school, I thought they were superstitious and not based on science. It was not until I read the Bible that I realized that these rituals in the stockaded village were meant to atone for sins, to cover up sins and to bring peace. The sheep is considered a blessed emblem of the Qiang people. In the past, every family would hang a sheep’s head in their house, but we did not have a god of sheep, nor did we make offerings to sheep. The sheep has always been represented as a sacrificial object.” All these customs are clearly recorded in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament of the Bible, which is the custom of the Israelites. (Note 3)

Note 1: 漢族，是大中華地區的主體民族，屬於東亞人種，在世界其他地區亦有分佈，如緬甸果敢族、越南艾族、明鄉人，也屬於漢族的分支。漢族總人口超過13億，佔世界人口約18%，以人數而言，目前是世界第1大單一族群。(https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B1%89%E6%97%8F) (Refer to Minahan, James B. Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. 2014: 89–95 [2021-08-20]. ISBN 978-1-61069-018-8.)

Note 2: 找出「羌族」的基督奧秘　「羊」年賀歲片正夯！https://cdn-news.org/News.aspx?EntityID=News&PK=0000000000652e59b6ff4306e88bf541ba0ff87da24beca1

Note 3: 羌族习俗为何与以色列习俗相似？ https://www.cclife.org/View/Article/10010

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