Echoes of Harbin: Reflections on Space and Time of a Vanished Community in Manchuria

Echoes of Harbin: Reflections on Space and Time of a Vanished Community in Manchuria deals with Harbin, a Chinese city that was established by Russians in 1898 and was a home for 38 different national ethnic communities for more than 60 years. Among the communities, and second in size, was the Jewish community. This book exposes several areas that have contributed to the Jewish experience in China, particularly in Harbin, and paints a revealing picture of what a Jewish community in an alien land was and how it functioned in a space that was shared with other communities. While it starts with a unique space called Manchuria that had its mark on the town of Harbin, it uncovers the active and productive life of a community that wished for a haven but found unrest and hostilities and had to look for it elsewhere.

Table of Contents:
Part One - Genesis Preface Chapter 1. Space and Time Part Two – Little Big Boxes Chapter 2. Streets Chapter 3. Buildings Chapter 4. The Harbin Censuses: Population – Employment – Politics and Manipulation Part Three - Journeys Chapter 5. Chronology of Jewish Life in Harbin 1898-1985 Chapter 6. Jewish Culture in Harbin Chapter 7. The Synagogues Chapter 8. Music, Theatre, Arts, Literature, and Films Chapter 9. A Quest for a Peaceful Resting Place Chapter 10. Harbin’s Underworld Chapter 11. Neighbors

About the Author :
Dan Ben-Canaan is professor emeritus of research and academic writing methodologies at Heilongjiang University School of Western Studies and Northeast Forestry University School of Postgraduate Studies and founder of the Sino-Israel Research and Study Center in Harbin.

Review :
While much international attention has been focused in recent years on China’s northwest (Xinjiang and the Uyghurs), the study of modern northeast China, which was a considerably more important historical and strategic arena, has been somewhat marginalized. Focusing on Harbin, this volume provides a vertical and horizontal analysis of northeast China since the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, within the context of contemporary international events, while covering the lives and interrelations of the regional ethnic and religious communities, underlying the role of Jews, in comprehensive, virtually encyclopedic, details never discussed before, let alone in one volume. As such, it is an outstanding lifelong achievement.