Yes, Jews made it even into China, during the time when Kaifeng was the capital of China. Filination has an exerpt of this from the Haaretz:

This is quite a remarkable story of a Chinese Jewish community in Kaifeng-China. Haaretz tells their story with “Taking the Silk Route back home”:

Jin Jin and Nina Wang are students in Hebrew University’s preparatory program. They will soon commence their BA studies, but they already have long-term dreams. Jin wants to eventually serve as a diplomat in the Foreign Ministry. Wang hopes to use her diverse knowledge of languages to represent Israeli companies in China. The two women belong to one of the smallest Jewish communities in Israel - immigrants from Kaifeng, China - which numbers just 10 souls.

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Read on to learn more all on this. In 2005 I was fortunate enough to meet a former Chinese tour-guide who would show foreigners around about the Chinese Jews who once lived in Kaifeng. He knew Hebrew fluently and definitely put me to shame on my lackluster Hebrew skills.

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I keep watching the history channel and am never ceased to be amazed by what I can learn about Chinese history and its technological prowess in ancient times.

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I must say, I really do enjoy the History Channel as it provides some great insight and new changes into ancient history. What fascinates me is how technology and science of Ancient Rome did not disappear, but moved towards the Middle East during the 8th to 13th Centuries (known as the Islamic Century) where all the knowledge moved into the House of Wisdom. (more…)

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I wanted to follow-up on my previous post about Life After People by the History Channel as I ran across an article online by the Discover Magazine called “Earth Without People.” Essentially it has the same fundamental concepts as what the History Channel will show on January 21st, but it was written back in 2005:

Given the mounting toll of fouled oceans, overheated air, missing topsoil, and mass extinctions, we might sometimes wonder what our planet would be like if humans suddenly disappeared. Would Superfund sites revert to Gardens of Eden? Would the seas again fill with fish? Would our concrete cities crumble to dust from the force of tree roots, water, and weeds? How long would it take for our traces to vanish? And if we could answer such questions, would we be more in awe of the changes we have wrought, or of nature’s resilience?

It was a great read and now the only thing I hope is that I didn’t ruin watching the Life After People special if it takes the same stuff from that. (more…)

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Bump and Update on 1/29/2007:

Please go here if you are looking for my thoughts on Life After People.

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What looks to be a fascinating TV special by the History Channel coming up on January 21st called “Life After People“:

The human species appeared on Earth about two million years ago and has been changing it ever since. What will Earth look like in the days, weeks, months, years and millennia after humans are gone? How long would it take for our edifices to crumble–all traces of us gone, to be replaced by primordial forests, wild boar, rare cranes in pristine marshes? The clues to the future are right here in the present but are illuminated when we look through the lens of history. Experts from all fields of science will paint the picture, and the destructions and resurrections will all be animated by the magic of George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic. (Genres: Science & Technology, Special)

Even David Brin is will be getting into it as he notes on Daily Kos:

Watch your favorite Brin put down his pundit thing on the History Channel (again) on January 21, in a docu-future bit called Life After People… a fun look at what could happen to our cities… and animals… if humanity suddenly disappeared.

Would like to put a note via an RSS feed or something, but its unfortunately too far out on the History Channel’s website at this point, but so it goes.

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Ian Walsh at Firedoglake has a quick and interesting post on possible parallels about in his opinion how the US is declining similar to four various ways as defined by his points. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but thought to point out the interesting ideas that he’s laid out there (and really for something as bold of a point as that, should go into far more detail).

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