Jakob the Messiah was a Jew from the ancient Chinese community of Kaifeng. He live approximatly from 900 to 950. According to a legend in this community, Jakob was a refugee from the Muslim invasion of Bahgdad who claimed ancestry from King David and that he was the messiah. The local rabbis were skeptical and after testing his knowledge in religous law and Talmud, found him lacking and rejected him. This led the entire community to follow suit. However, local Chineses soon became converted to Judiasm by Jakob and harrased those who would not accept him. The local rabbi, Moses Chi Hwih asked the Chinese govenor to intercede, on their behalf. Fearfull, of an uprising the govenor ordered Jakob and all his followers to be drowned.
The information for this article is from the book "Sefer Ha-Kaifungi Shell HaRav Shtien" published 1977
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