The morning call., 1893-03-24
AHEAD OF COLUMBUS.
Chinese Records Show Probable Visit
to Mexico in A5S AD.


to Mexico in 45S AID.
R, Seymour Long in the Leisure Hour
There is abundant evidence to show the
accurate knowledge possessed by the Chi
nese Of the coasts of the Northern Pacific as
FAR as Kamchatka. of which country very
lull accounts are given by their writers in
the sixth and seventh centuries.
The distance from Kamchatka from China
Is given with great exactness and mention is
made OF the Aleutian Isles to the east OF it,
and the custom of painting their bodies
practlced by the iDha bitants If the e islands.
II Is not such a very long step from tile
Aleutlan Isles to the peninsula OF Alaska,
ana tins, too. appears to be clearly in
dicated in the Chinese lecords of that early
date.
Further, at the end of the fifth century
the Chinese discovered a country lying a
great distance to the southeast Of Alaska,
which there seems to be good reason for
placing in Mexico or Central America. The
evidence for this discovery is based on the
report of Buddhist priest named H0ei
Shln which was ordered on the official
annals OF the empire Hoei Shin had re-
turned To China from long journey TO the
east in \. d. 499, and ne states that he had
visited country which he hau named Fu-
sang, after Chinese plantwhich resembled
one that grew in the newly discovered land
ana which the inhabitants made use of for
lars about the country and says he had
been preceded by five mendicant Buddhist
monks from some Asiatic kingdom. who
mad introduced the religion of Budda
into fusang IN 45S A. d. An embassy from
this distant land is recorded on one occa-
sion, but there is no record of any subse-
ouent visit of the Chinese to it. The evil
dence consequently rests on the veracity of
HOel SHIN. Attempts have been made to
throw uoubt on the statements. 1t remains
ha Il .i,afI ~
particulars mentioned accord with what we
know of these countries before their Occu-
patton by Europeans 1t was certainly not
with the Aztec monarchy that Hoei Shin
came in contact; not even with the Toll
tees. those somewhat mysterious and appar-
entity more highly civilized predecessors of
the AZtecs. His Journey was made in the
dim pre-1Oltec period, of which only the
faintest outlines survive, Yet this age was
in all probability one Of higher stage of
culture than succeeding periods, if il was
then, as appears likely, that the vast cities
whose ruins still astOnish that trav-
eler In Central America were the abOdes
OF teeming population and the seat of a
mighty empire. 1t is obvious therefore,
that we have no right TO expect anv perfect
resemblance Of the Mexican of the fifth CEN
tury TO the Mexico of thousand years later,
while, II any points of coincidence exist,
the fact must be Of great value az evidence.
Now, it is astonishing how many OF the
particulars III lHt NHHIb>e TtcOIu 10 agree
very closely with the well-knOwn facts about
the inhabitants of the district of America in
question. HOei-Shin tells us that the peo
pie of Fusang had a monaTchical govern
ment. with different orders Of nobility. He
speaks of their reckoning time by cycles of
years. He mentions also the custom of ac-
companylng royal professions with the
sounds of horns and uumpets. He says
that the houses were built of wood, that iron
was unknown, that copper, gold and silver
were known, but not used in exchange nor
much valued.