The 1512 Stone Inscription stated: This religion (Judaism), during the Han Dynasty, entered and stayed in China (原教自汉时, 入居中国).

Roman coins with several different emperors minted on the surface were discovered in Shanxi Province; Jewish merchants who travelled to Luoyang to purchase woven silk from the East may have been the reason for this discovery.

Professor Tiberiu Weisz, a specialist in cross-cultural issues linking China and Judaism and author of the book, The Kaifeng Stone Inscriptions, believes that based on the rituals and prayers of the Kaifeng Jews, the ancient Jews who entered China traced their history to the destruction of the First Temple.

A group of them travelled eastward and settled down in the northwest region of India. Sometime before 108 BCE, they migrated to Ferghana (费尔干纳) in Central Asia where they were spotted by the Chinese General Li Guang-li (?–88 BCE). After a Chinese victory in a war a few years later, the region became a puppet state to the Imperial Court and the Jews were incorporated into the Chinese Empire.

Based on information from Father Matteo Ricci (利玛窦, 1552–1610) and Father Giulio Aleni (艾儒略, 1582–1649) — that the Jews of Kaifeng “have no knowledge of Christ at all” — Father Alvare de Semedo (1585–1658) concluded that the Kaifeng Jews "entered China before He (Jesus Christ) came into this world." There was no other reasonable justification for a Jewish community never to have even heard of Christianity, given the size and reach of the Christian religion at the time.

In 1642, Father Semedo brought this idea to the attention of his contemporaries.

It is possible that, although never explicitly written, Father Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) and Father Giulio Aleni (1582–1649) also believed that the Jews reached China before the birth of Christ because, after all, it was the information partially provided by them that prompted Father Alvare de Semedo to draw such a conclusion.

Consul James Finn was an English diplomat and author of the book, The Orphan Colony of Jews in China (孤悬中国的犹太移民). The Kaifeng Jews hailed Ezra as the "Second Law Giver" in their commemorative tablets; under his inspired leadership, the Second Temple was built in the 5th century BCE. However, the Kaifeng Jews did not know Jesus Christ. James Finn, therefore, suggested that Jewish arrival in China likely took place between 5th BCE and the birth, or rise to prevalence, of Jesus Christ.

In March 1723, Father Antoine Gaubil (宋君荣, 1689–1759) visited Kaifeng.

The local Jews told him that they had been "in China for 1650 years." This puts their arrival in 73 CE, shortly after destroying the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Roman Emperor Titus. This means the Jews fled from Rome to China during the Han Dynasty.

Consul James Finn later commented that this would form the basis of more advanced theories about Jewish arrival in Han China.

On March 23rd and 24th of 1723, when Father Gaubil visited the Kaifeng Jewish community, the Jews told him that they had lived in China for 1,650 years; this would mean they arrived in China in 73 CE.

In letters dated 25th October 1723 and 20th December 1724 to Father Etienne Souciet, Father Domenge put the time of Jewish arrival in China to the period when China was ruled by Emperor Ming-di (汉明帝, reign 57–75 CE).

Both Father Jerome Tobar (1855–1917) and Professor Paul Eugene Pelliot (1878–1945) agreed with Father Domenge’s theory that the Jews arrived in China during the reign of Emperor Ming-di (汉明帝, reign 57–75 CE).