The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-29
WERE CHINESE HERE FIRST.
THE THEORY THAT HWUI SEAN
WAS TIE FIRST IN AMERICA.

Hundred Years Ago-Evidences In
Mexico and Central America That
Chinese Were There.
If we follow down the official chrono-
logies to 400 A. D. we Will find an ac-
count of one Hwui Shan, who in that
year returned to China with the state
ment that he had come from country
lying a great distance to the east. His
story SO excited the interest Of the gov
eminent that the imperial historic
grapher was commanded to enter it
upon his official records. Although the
Chinese and japanese both are thor
oughly familiar with the story of Hwui
Shan's discovery, the celebrated Chi
nesee scholar, Ma Twan-lm, searched
the original records and made a copy
of the imperial historiographer's origi-
nal digest that it might be proven be-
yond the shadow of doubt.
Hwui Shan was a Buddhist missiona-
ry priest. With five brother missiona-
ries he left China, sailing north by the
peninsula of Kamchatla, to the Aleu-
tian Islands, eastward to Alaska, and
thence to Fusang, which Is the name of
the country he tells the most about.
He describes the people he encountered
on his voyage. The Aleutian Islanders,
he said, were a happy joyous people,
having the custom of tattooing their
bodies, and they received the stranger
with a great show of hospitality. East
of these islands was the country he
called the Great Han" whose inhabi
tants had no implements of war, nor
carried on war with any one, but
were content to live by hunting and
fishing. This description of a people
applies truly to the inhabitants of Alas
ka, the Esquimaux, who are peacea-
BILE people, never having been known to
have had wars of any kind,
Fusang, literally '"The Land of the
Mulberry Tree" is described as being
situated twice ten thousand Ii to the
east Of "Great Han" By glance at
the may it will be seen That an easterly
course from that part of Alaska nearest
the Aleutian Islands would bring the
navigator to British Columbia, but
then the old Buddhist missionary may
have been careless in regard to his sail
ing directions, or the imperial historic
grapher may have carelessly substitu-
ted east for southeast. Twice ten
thousand IL is figured variously be-
tween six and seven thousand miles,
and that distance in a southeasterly
direction from Alaska nearest the
Aleutian Islands would bring the navi-
gator off the coast of Mexico. Now,
Hwui Shans account of Fusang and its
people where he appears to have tar
ried some time, applies to Mexico His
particular attention was called to the
fact that the inhabitants of the country
had no walled cities or towns, which
would be the first natural observation
Of Chinaman arriving in a thickly
populated country from one where eve
rything is encompassed with a wall as
in China.
Hwui Shan describes the houses of
Fusang as being constructed of adobes
or sun-dried bricks, similar to those of
the Pueblo Indians of the present day,
and then he gives faithful description
of the Mexican agave, that most use
full of all plants to the native Mexican.
He said that they made cordage and
paper from its fibre and ate the tender
sprouts of it's young roots. He speaks
of a milk which was probably none
other than the fermented juice of the
maguey, the pulque of the present day.
and calls the tuna, the fruit Of the cac-
tus, which we call a prickly pear, a red
pear, which, If not plucked, remains on
the tree throughout the season. The
people had no iron, but used copper in
a variety of ways, and gold was of no
value. Speaking of the inhabitants, he
said the children married at very
young age, which is true of the aborigi-
nal tribes of Mexico.
The religion of Buddha was founded
In central India about the beginning Of
the Christian era. No Jew, Greek, Ro-
man or Brahman had ever thought of
any one to his religion, BY
them religion was considered private
or national property, with which no
outsider had any business to interfere.
But Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, |
commanded his proselytes to go forth |
with his doctrines and preach them in !
every part of the world. Thus with re- |
igion East Indian arts were carried |
INTO China and Buddhism was eventu- |
ally accepted as religion by the Chi |
lese, who preserve in their records ac-
counts of journeys made in 1856 A. D., |
1919, SIS and $40. These accounts are all |
written by the Buddhists themselves,
whereas the account of Hwui Shan is
,hronicled by the imperial hstorio-
yrapher
After the destruction of the dynasty |
# Tsin in APO China was divided into |
wo empires, that of the north and that
# the south. Ii Yen Chen, Chinese
historian, who wrote the history Of
hese two empires about the beginning
# the seventh century, gives an ac-
ount of Fusang, and describes how the
and is reached by sailing along KAN
hatka, the Aleutian Islands and the
oast of North America. By this route
he navigator is out of sight of land but
nee, and that but for a distance of
wo hundred miles The Yuen Kin Lui
Tan, the great Chinese encyclopaedia, |
ives an account Of the discovery Of |
rusang by Buddhist priest, who ar
lived in the village of King Chow on
lis return from a voyage to that king
ON. The article is illustrated with a
icture of a native of Fusang milking a
ind with white spots, it's young stand |
ng near, also spotted. The picture is
robably imagery, but it is curious to
ote that this species of deer is found In
Mexico.
We have it that Hwui Shan returned
, China, that he was q missionary
riact who had been TO some country |