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Alexander "Jacob" Zhao's Backstory


Alexander Yingcheng
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Clan History:

 

Before speaking of the story of Alexander, I must first explain the story of the Zhao clan and how it came to be. The story begins in the year 960 CE, during the Era of the Song Dynasty, when Jewish merchants from Persia arrived in Kaifeng after settling there for a while, bringing their language, known as Judeo-Persian. They would, during the Jin Dynasty era, be loyal to the Song Dynasty. And so, after the conflict remained at a stalemate, they moved back to Kaifeng, creating the first synagogue there. However, in 1420, during an era that labeled the Jews as barbarians due to not speaking Chinese, even though they were loyal and served, they won the fight against being named A Jew named An Shan exposed a plot by Governor Zhu Su, the nephew of the Yongle Emporer, to overthrow him. Zhu was punished by financing the rebuilding of the Kaifeng Synagogue. In turn, An Shan was given a proper Chinese name, which was Zhao Zheng, and so he began his service to the Chinese Court as an advisor, even taking the exam to serve in the Chinese Court. And so, the Zhao clan served as advisors and servants of the emporers of the Song Dynasty. It also ensured that Confucianism was thoroughly integrated into their Jewish lives. However, when the Qing took over, they were allowed to carry on their service to the emperor so long as they carried on work for the emperor.

 

However, when Li Wesha, who was a rabbi at the time, died, his son, Li Zhuo-Wu, attempted to do his best job as a rabbi but failed due to having no previous training in the profession, nor had anyone else taught it. During this time, Zhao Yingcheng, the ancestor of Zhao Zheng, served in the Chinese Court. However, after the flood, the synagogue was rebuilt again with the Zhao clan's assistance, where they could get finances from selling items they did not use. During the Ming Dynasty, they stayed as advisors to the emperor until the Ming were overthrown by the Qing. During the era of the Qing Dynasty, they were hailed as exemplary citizens: wealthy, educated, and valorous. During this time, they served in the Qing Dynasty as advisors for the emperors. However, in 1724, the Yongzheng emperor issued an edict banning most Westerners from China, which cut all ties between the Kaifeng Jews and their kin in Central Asia. In 1850, the whole synagogue, once the treasure of the people, was torn down and sold. Furthermore, from 1810 on, Hebrew and Persian literacy were lost, and intermarriage was happening. Due to this, the Jewish community was disappearing. Led by poverty, they became pawns in the city’s criminal underground and vanished from civil service and the military. During this time, failure came to revive the Jewish community, which led many to believe the Jewish community had died. More so, they secularized rather than assimilated. In the year 1870, the Zhang Clan left China for the United States to work there. The Zhao clan, which was still clinging to working for the Qing, was ordered to be executed. And so they escaped to Hong Kong and fit in with everyone. When the 20th century came, the Kaifeng Jewish population grew. At the time of the revolution, the Zhao clan, out for vengeance, joined the revolution with Sun Yat-sen and later, Chiang Kai-shek. During the Chinese Civil War, they served as soldiers for the army of the KMT. During the Sino-Japanese War, they fought against the Japanese. After the city was almost over, the great-grandfather of Alexander Zhao ordered the Kaifeng Jews to abandon it all and come with them to America. And so they left. First, I went to Taiwan to learn Taiwanese Mandarin, with Chinese Mandarin later after he moved to the USA, settling in Seattle, Washington.

Character Backstory:

 

Alexander "Jacob" Zhao was born to David Zhao and Mariam Zhou (a Jewish minority from Kaifeng whose family left China in the 19th century and became American citizens) born in Harborview Medical Center Seattle Hospital Seattle in the state of Washington on July 4, 1995, at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Hospital, Seattle in Washington state. His father is a physician and philosopher. His mother was a poet and teacher. His father's family settled in the U.S. after the Chinese Civil War, and his great-grandfather was a war veteran of the Nationalist Army. His mother's side of the family left China in 1870, and from an early age, his grandfather took him out into nature, taught him philosophy, and told him about his Jewish heritage, the Jewish community in Kaifeng, Tught about Zionism, and about the three principles of the people, ALWAYS to hate the Communists, the evil people. He also taught him about the origin of their family. And so they’d meet other Chinese and Taiwanese people in Washington's capital, Olympia. He'd learn Chinese Mandarin, Taiwanese Mandarin, Japanese, and some Hebrew, but never to a high level. On his 7th birthday, his parents would greet him with the news that he would have a younger brother, Jake, who would be born nine months later. Personality-wise, he’d usually be quiet and keep to himself but would talk to people, socialize from time to time with people, and be always respectful, as he learned to be. Also during this time, he learned to ride on horseback and play the cello, as well as do fencing, acrobatics, parkour, and kung fu.

 

On his 13th birthday, he’d have a bar mitzvah. And so, in his teen years, although he is Jewish and isn't ashamed, he is only spiritual, does his best in his studies, and gets good grades. From age 13, choosing to be able to defend himself, he learns martial arts like Taekwondo and Judo, which takes him time to be decent enough in them. And so, once he turned 16, he and his family would go to Israel to visit for religious reasons, and while there, they learned Hebrew but never applied for citizenship. And so, at age 17, he chose to return to Israel once he finished high school at the top of his class to become a soldier in the IDF, which he did and received citizenship. And so, once he finished high school, he moved to Israel with the Rabbi confirming he was Jewish. He’d start his service in the ground forces, joining the 933rd "Givati" Brigade. He was sent to be in the 432nd "Tzabar" (Cactus) Infantry Battalion, given the M16 Rifle. During his service, he participated in Operation Protective Edge, a fight against Hamas to destroy their tunnels. Once the war was over, he received the Medal of Courage, the Medal of Distinguished Service, and the Protective Edge Ribbon. Once he ends his services, he'll begin his new life by moving back to Seattle. After his service in the military, he began applying to Seattle University, where he began his studies in criminology, a subfield of Penology, and a major in medicine in the field of psychiatry. During that time, he’d also found the love of his life and met Jason Wilkinson and others, who became good friends during his second year and married soon after. Also during his studies, he had to write a thesis, which he had to think hard about, but he chose to write a thesis on Lizzie Borden, a woman who was accused of killing her father, which happened on August 4th, 1892, writing how she is the one responsible for their deaths, putting criminology and psychiatry views with the theory of mental instability, which is just his theory that was used for his criminology. Once they graduated, they bought a house and had their firstborn son, Joshua, at the age of 25. And so, at age 26, he had his second son, Solomon. His aunt told him of Los Santos, and so after consulting his wife, he decided to move to Los Santos while she lives with his parents for the time being until she too can come with him.

Edited by Alexander Yingcheng
Editing to work on certain issues from the character story.
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