The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-23
WERE CHINESE HERE FIRST?
THE THEORY THiT HWUI SHAN Was
THB DiSCOyERhR or AMERICA.
His story Of Travel Told Fourteen Hundred
Years AEo-EYidences In hsKico ana
Central America That chinese NcTc There.
From the 81 Louis Giob,-DcmocroL

y. - w We HhS az VI WV "
Shan. who In that year returned to nina Will
IN" statement that he had come from a countrl
lying a great distance to the east. His story II
excited the Interest Of the Government that III,
Imperial hlstoriographer WAS commanded I,
enter II upon his Cfloial records. Although
tho Chinese and Japanes- both are thoroughly
familiar withthe story oil Ilwui SlHn's discovery
the celebrated Chinese scholar. Ma TWan-lin,
searched the original records and made Il copy
Of the imperial historiogrlpher's original digest
that 1t might be proven beyond the shadow O.
o doubt.
Hwui shan was a Buddhist missionary priest,
With five brother missionaries he left China.
sailing north by the peninsula OF Kamchatka,
T. ihe Aleutian Islands. EAST to Alaska,
uGd thence 20 flsang which IL Inc name Of tTe
country hr tells the most about lie Describes
We people h" encountered on his voyage. The
Aleutlah Islanders, lac said, were II happy
Joyous p"Olls, having the custom Of tattOuihg
u!rif bodies, ana they received the stranger
WIN great show Of hospitality. East OF these
Islands vas The country lac called the Great
ian whose Inhabitants had no implements
o. war. nor carried on "a war with any one,
Gqt were content to live 10y hunting and fishing
Liis dssGtipiioa ot a people applies truly TO tie
Inhabitants ~ Alaska, the EsQuimauX, who arc
. pcAceuble people, never having been known
10 have had wars Of any Kind.
Fusanr, literally The lHni of the Mulberry
Tr"a, IL described a. being situated twice
10000 II to the east Of Great lIau.' Nv a glance
az the inaplt Will b" seen that an easterly course
from that part of Alaska nearest tie Alrutian
Islands woult hiring the navigator t. Rr,tIsh
Columbia, but then ths old Buddhist missionary
may have been careless Ia regard to his sailing
directions, or. tie iiul HrIal hiSturiugrapUer
may have Carolessll substituted east for SOUTH
east. Twice 10000 ii is figured y]ariously
ue,"ern ',VOo am .', miles. ami that distance
n s9uthcNslerIy direction from Alaska nearest
the AleItian Islands would bring the navigator
on the coast OF Mexico. Now. Hwui Shan's
account ~ Fusaug and IT. pc pie whore he
appears To nQEp tlTflA1 SOM. lima nnrliag IN
Mexico. His particular attention was called
20 the fact that the inhabitants Of the country
had no walled cities or tow rs, which would be-
We UrNt natural observation Of a Chinaman
arriving In a thickly populated country from
one where everything l. encompassed with a
HWui S.lau dascrlbes the houses Of FusanR
a. being constructed of adobe- or sun-dri"d
bricks, siuilnr to those Of the Pueblo Indians
o. the present day, and then he gives a faith
nj description uf the Mexican agaye. that
lnos' useful ~ all plants to the native Mexican.
he said they made cordagc and pancr from its
more and ATE tie tender sprouts 81 lis Young
Roots. tie speaks Of = milk which was probably
none other than the ferincntcd iuica ~ the
magley, the pulque ofthe pres, Mt dav. and calls
IN" tuna. the fruit Of the cactus. which we call
q priCkly pear, red pear, which. II not plucked,
remains on the tree throughout the season.
The people had no iron. but used coppar In n
variety OF WAYS, and gold was Of, no. value
Srrlki9g ofthc inhabitants he snid the children
m1hrr,ed ~ q very Young age, which is true Of
The religion ot .bnddha wa, founded In oan-
trial India about the beginning of tho Christian
era No Jcw Crock, Roman or Rrahman had
ever thought 81 converting any one TO his
religion. By them religion was considered
n private or national property with which
no outsider had any business 10 interfere. But
BIddha. the founder ~ Buddhism commanded
his proselvtes to 60 forth with his doctrines and.
preach thom IN every part o. the world. Thus
with religion Fast Indian arts we're carried into
China and Buddhism was eventually accepted
ne 0 religion by the Chinese. who preserve in
their records accounts Of Journeys made by
2S5 \. n. 3al 5ls and 62a. These accounts arc
al written by the. Ruddhists themselves
wherels the account = Hwul shan Is chronlclcd
by the imperial hlstnriograrher.
After The destruction of IN" dynasty ~ Tsin
n $50 China was divided into two empires.
, yaN q Cbt sh' = Roc cSl5 and ' bI.,o Of n the T south .-o II
m" history o. these two empires about the
beginning o. the seventh century. gives an
;ar99 IL rSachcd nv sailing oi"ns Kam"S,,Enn
the Aleu- tisn Island and the cost ~ North
America. BY this route the noyIEetor Is out
distance ~ 2nO miles. Tho Yuon Kin Iui Han
ne great, Chinese en"v:lor Hdia, gives an. ao-
count u The discoycy"f FuSanc by = BUDDHIST
on his return from n VOYAGE ~ Tint Kingdom.
Tho article Is Illustrated With a picture ~ a
n'l,y" ~ FGSags m,flns h.nd with Tlite
IN" picture is urohlhlv Imaginary. bit n IL
Cl-.ors to not" that mis- species Of deer Ia found
We have II that Hvul shan returned ~ china.
that 10 was \ missionary rrirst. who had boon
to some country far 10 the cast. whore he Ind
.%lnpsrv work commanded nv Buddha. tho
founder ~ th"i- ro'lslon Whatever became
~ these w., miS.i'9arl', 80 oaH only. con-
le.'ure 4 thnuso.1 voar- have messed s'ucN
Hvul shan Irrlyoi IN the Village W King chow
and related his ,word"r'ul ~ VERY. and the
,eon Sca and Msyican Gulr ThcvAn q reorlc
~ biting tae mainland possessing q clviliza-
pcaT'y equal to Their own The A2'o"'
rnr1-d. nd wrps. arf made rnncr from tho
fhra ~ he agtve Their advanced state of
q. PATTON was morr'I OILY by their abomi-
Tho Mayaa Of Yucatan had attained oven
q greater degree ~ civilization than the Aztecs
espGcl dlr T. arts and architectural science,
Tor tho yCathoiic laith,.' dcstroyye'dt nearly cyt sr1'.
showed Inc ciyili11ti,n n those people Whence
they cot ttis civilization has often been asked,
Tho TGltecs aprear to be the first Of the
. civilization They Inhabited the Valley ~
.Anahuar tfhe VALLEY Of NeNicol, built 81 ics
and temples and did not Indulge any nendlsh
fierce. warllk' tribe. came down from tie north
d~esolated m lr ,iiios. drove the Toltecs south,
u tbs ggalF va. s somr ~ t Ieh a ntS% and n9Ts, , riSs
So that we see the civilization OF the A2tec v-ns
that " the ToIteca Now We have the rem. :
r rol tec M Sn3 WIKI at d. iSg Ta ahd yN" were evidently
In tho National Museum NJ Madrid thorc
Il preserved one ~ the hoohs " the Mnyns
which eecRI.d the general nuto Ga rs of tho
Blshop Lapda, who burned these books wheu-
found. Tho paper resembles very much
he paper manufactured by the Chinese. and
II cOnsists - a long strip doubled I'm folds he
twaeu two board No their early books. Tho
consists ~ hlcroglvIhicz and picture writ
which Ia tie Only thing about II not re-
the Chinese. II Ia. indeed, a beau
!tul jiece 81 aboriginal book making.
In Mexico there existed traditions Of tie
'isit ~ a strange pcorlc 70 tho country who
5uldt. In lis "Nlews - the Cordillcras," mem
Ions a number - surprl-ing coincidenccs
,et ycen the Mexican and A.irtic civilizations. |
~ course, II old Hwui Slan'- account ~
ru,ang f correct, and that country l. really
.tIoxicO, his FIVE Buddhist missionaries lcft
here could not be eNur"icl 10 change the phys
charncteristica - the people, though
he eject 81 religion, oduCgtlon and training
: evident In n single GO. Grafton ~ our own
,eoule. Nevertheless, the Navas 81 Yucatan
losaly resnmbln tho Chinese. Some wears ago
English Companv, endeayorinR 10 start a
p~lantatl. n in the colony ~ British Hon
imported several hundred Cinnamon,
for a number ~ wears. 10 work their
plantation II was not long before these China
nen disaI prarcd. They had cen some 81 the
lava Indians. and discovering sons SINH
arity between them and themselves had taken
nhabl'ingthe lake city y Potan on the southern
Recovered u Chinaman whom he did not dis
from any ~ the natives. although he
rgS generally called the Cinnamon" 10
ma ~ tho survivor. 81 tho COplio traprr