St. Paul daily globe., 1893-05-22
AHEAD OF COLUMBUS.
Chinese Probably Visited Mexico
in 45S

Cn1nGSo IrOUdDly lSlLcu M0AlCO
in 45S.
R. Seymour Long, in the Leisure
Hour, says: There is abundant evil
dence to show that the accurate knowl-
edge possessed by the Chinese of the
coasts of the Northern Pacific as far as
Kamtchatka, of which country very full
accounts are given by their writer's in
the sixth and seventh centuries.
The distance ,from Kamtchatka from
China is given with great eXactnesS, and
mention Is made of the Aieutian isles to
the east of it,and the custom of painting
their bodies practiced by the inhab-
itants of these islands. 1t Is not such a
very long step from the Aleutian isles
to the peninsula of Alaska, and this,
too, appears to be clearly indicated in
the Chinese records of that early date.
Further. at the end of the fifth cent
ury, the Chinese discovered a country
lying a great distance to the southeast
reason for placing in Mexico or Cent? al
America. The evidence for this discov-
cry is based on the report of Buddhist
priest named HOei-Shin, which was en-
tered on the official annals of the en-
pire. HOei-Shin had returned to China
from long journey to the East in A. D..
499, and he states that he had visited a
country which he had named Fusang,
after a Chinese plant which resembled
one that grew in the newly-discOVered
land, and which the inhabitants made
use OF for various purposes.
He adds various particulars about the
country, and says he had been preceded
by five mendicant Buddhist monks from
some Asiatic kingdom who had intro
duced the religion Of Buddah into
FuSang in 45S A. ID. An embassy from
this distant land is recorded On one oc =
casion, but there is no record of any
subsequent visit Of the Chinese to it.
The evidence consequently rests on the
veracity of Hoel-Shin. Attempts have
been made to throw doubt on his state
ments. 1t remains to be considered,
therefore, whether the particulars men
toned accord with what we know of
these countries before their occupation
by Europeans.
1t was certainly not with the Aztec
monarchy that Hoe-Shin came In con-
tact; not even with the TOltecS, those
somewhat mysterious and apparently
more highly civilized predecessors OF
the AZtecs. His Journey was made in
tub utul PlC- LOilSC PNilNN1 VI
only the faintest outlines survive. Yet
this age was in all probability one of a
higher stage of culture than succeeding
periods, if it was then, as appears
likely. that the vast cities whose ruins
still astOnish the traveller in Central
America were the abodes of a teeming
population and the seat of mighty
empire. 1t is obvious, therefore, that
we have no right to expect any perfect
resemblance of the Mexico in the fifth
century to the Mexico of thousand
wears later, while, if any points of coin
d.nce exist, the fact must be OF great
value as evidence.
Now, it is astonishing how many of
the particulars in the Chinese record do
agree very closely with the we'll known
facts about the inhabitants of the dis
trIct of America in question. Hoei-
Shin tells us that the people of Fusang
had monarchial government with
different orders of nobility. He speaks
of their reckoning time by cycles of
years. He mentions also the custom
of accompanying royal professions with
the sound of horns and trumpets. He
says that the houses we're built Of wood,
that iron was unknown, that copper,
gold and silver were known, but not
used in exchange or much valued.
His description OF the Fusang tree
corresponds to the American aloe, which
is unknown in Asia. On the other hand,