Annex 25 – Evidence of the Chinese Fleets visiting Mexico
1. Maps and star charts
· Mexico appears on Waldseemueller chart (1507) before Europeans ‘discovery’
2. Chinese Records and Claims
· The land of Fusang, as visited by Buddhist priest Hoei- Shin in 499AD (see Bibliography in Needham, J. Science and Civilisation in China Vol. 4, Pt. 3, sec. 29, Cambridge UP, 1954, p. 542)
3. Accounts of contemporary European historians and Explorers
· Chinese body in tomb at Teotihuacan (NE of Mexico City) (Professor Niven)
· Chinese people and junks described by Europeans – Coronado, Acosta, Galvão
· Chinese merchants visited port of Quatulco before Europeans (Loayza).
· Father Luco account of official Spanish Inquiry (1573) into accounts of large white ships sailing to California.
· Sir Francis Drake captures ‘China pilots’ who have maps to take them back to China.
· Mendoza – “… desire for grain hath caused them [Chinese] to travel to Mexico…”
· Referring to Peter Tomkin’s book Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids it is said of Brasseur de Bourbourg that “… In searching through secret archives and collections, he found Mayan records of the arrival of 13 different expeditions that landed on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico before the time of Cortes. These landings are dated at the landing places known with relative accuracy…”
· Chichen Itza – A guidebook describes bearded man arriving in 10th century with tunic and sandals, jade artefacts etc. The Guidebook is written By Prof. Gualberto Zapata Alonzo Translated by Ms. Eta Trabing from Houston Texas – Kay Sumner/Willis
4. Accounts of Local People
· Nayarit legends “ships like houses” visited them before Europeans
· Montezuma – Aztec ancestors came from east by sea in company of a great lord (Ranking).
· Montezuma – people came from East on “floating trees” (Francis Chow evidence)
· A reader comments on the unusual physique and culture of Tarascans living in Mexico who had incredible lapidary skills and gold-working crafts – as though they had all the skills of the Chinese.
5. Linguistics and languages common to China and New World
· First Spanish found Mongol script written on paper (Ranking – Staenburg 325).
· Mongolian script – Phaspa – on wall of temple (R Wertz)
· Linguistics – Chiapas Tse-Tsal, Tso Tsil (R Banzo).
· Rafique Jairazabhoy’s work delineates Chinese influences in South America. Two recent books by Michael Coe and Douglas Peck about the Maya touch on comparisons of I Ching and certain aspects of Mayan astronomy. Quite separately, there are suggestions that I Ching and the Ife system of the Yorubas from Nigeria are also very comparable.(H. Bourne)
6. Shipwrecks, Chinese anchors and fishing gear found in the wake of the treasure fleet
· Chinese wreck – Playa La Ropa (Bahia de Zihuatanejo) and on coast (Acosta).
· Legend of wrecked Chinese Junk (Joel Fressa) · Part of ship wreck discovered in the Gulf of Mexico during the 1960’s close to Aranspass. It was dated at 1400 AD. (Charlie Daniel) Does anyone have any further information?
7. Chinese porcelain and ceramics found in the wake of the treasure fleet
· Chinese vase – Azacapotzaco
· Chinois tribe of Nayarit, Mexico – two locations in Nayarit close to the ocean where middens of oyster shells are reputed by the locals to have been placed in long bygone times by a tribe of Mexican “Indians” of Chinese origin. The two locations are separated about 8 miles apart, both on the ocean. In the area over the last few decades there have been found a variety of clay dolls and figurines that reputedly were dug up from the same locations as the oyster shell middens. The locals say that the middens are good places to dig for clay dolls or figurines. Located between the two sites where oyster shell middens have been found, is a prominent peak called Sierra Mono. Mono means “doll” according to the locals who believe that the peak had some ceremonial significance for the Chinese tribe of the area. The locals say that doll burying is a Chinese custom. There is also local reference to the “Chinois” (phonetic – spelling?) tribe. This used to be a somewhat isolated corner of Mexico, but in recent years the rate of influx from the rest of Mexico to this area has been rapidly accelerating.
8. Pre-Columbian Chinese jade found in the wake of the treasure fleet
· Chinese jade medallions and jade ear plugs – Teotihuacan (NE of Mexico City).
· At the great pyramid in Mexico, the jade in the eyes of the jaguar within the pyramid (the inner pyramid with the jaguar was older and the new pyramid was built on top of the older one) is Chinese jade. (Dr. Craig G. Johnson)
9. Artefacts, gems, votive offerings, coins and funerary urns
· Chinese figurine beside body in tomb at Teotihuacan (NE of Mexico City).
· A metal carving (bronze?) of a Chinese cart driven by a horse found in Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula in a small town called Bacalar. This same image has been seen in a number of works in the National Museum in Taipei – Leesie Mappes
· Reader recalls viewing a co-worker’s collection of artifacts from the state of Chiapas, Southern Mexico. He was shown two Chinescas – terracotta-looking figurines, 6 or 7 inches high with clear and distinctive Chinese facial features. He was told that that
Chinese junks had visited the west coast of Central America long before Columbus. The eyes of these figures were Chinese. (Dan Leigh)
10. Stone buildings, artefacts, canals and aqueducts
· Chinese statue – Teotitlan
· Chinese artefacts – Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Chiapas do Corzo, La Venta (L27; K094; M342C; L240; W269.
· Stone carvings Chichen Itza almost identical to Beijing – snake head fountains/drainage spouts (Zecharia Sitchin).
· Alexander von Wuthenau “pre-Columbian statues of Chinese at Tlapacoya, Guerro, La Venta (Fig 77 and p 210)
· The discovery is of a large stone and mortar ramp under the water off the beach north of Jalisco, Mexico. It is constructed in large blocks approximately 3 meters by 10 meters by one meter thick. The ramp is roughly 20 meters wide and 400 meters long. It begins in 5 meters of water and runs toward an extremely protected beach – more information to be provided soon.
· The site at Monte Alban (state of Qoxaca, Mexico) has some intriguing carvings not least some small stone slabs that appear to be quite unrelated to the other free-standing stones. The first: a carving of an elephant – quite clearly defined with tusks and trunk; the second: the profile of a man with a heavy beard, prominent jaw and a large protruding nose; the third: a bas-relief of a head which a reader considers to be Asian. The set of the face and the eyes was quite different to the Amerindian faces depicted in the other carvings. The headgear was also different, and the face was carved with a long thin beard appearing very much like the ones associated with the Chinese – Julian Byzantin
· Another reader has written to us about Monte Alban and has sent us a photo which can be viewed here. His tourguide was convinced that the carving was of a Chinaman. Any more information about this site would be appreciated.
11. Mining operations found by first Europeans when they reached the New World
A 1905 book on mining in Mexico that questions when and how the use of iron implements started in early Mexico. The Aztecs used hardened copper. From time to time tools have been found in what seem to be ancient workings, which support the idea of their knowledge of iron at the time (i.e. pre-European). ….”In the little mining town of Copala, Sinaloa, in a chamber in one of the old mines, a number of antique tools were found…The type is quite different to any now in use… That the tools were of Spanish origin may be supposed, but the Spaniards could hardly have commenced mining in remote western districts immediately on their occupation of the country from the Gulf side, nor for many years afterwards, if they did so at all. The chamber had evidently been filled with water at some time, and had dried out, as the encrustation on the tools indicated a long period of submersion. And again the implements may prove the Asian origin of the west coast population, and the importation of their arts from the Transpacific continent, in which case the instruments may possibly come from China or Japan, or the Malayan Archipelago, like so many of the customs and tribal languages of the Western Mexican Indians.” – Hans von Michaelis
12. Advanced technologies found by first Europeans on arrival in New World
· Chinese paper-making technology – similarities in bark paper production and usage in Mesoamerica and Asia, during the late Mayan period: http://muweb.millersv.edu/~columbus/data/art/TOLSTOY1.ART – Jason Patterson
· Chinese dyestuff technology practised by local people.
· Evidence that the Chinese could have introduced distillation of alcohol to Mexico before the Spaniards arrived: The stills used by today’s poorest Mexican peasants to produce their local alcoholic drink, mescal, are very different from the copper batch stills the Spaniards brought over in 1631 but are very similar to the Chinese still from Anhui Province pictured by Joseph Needham in his book Clerks and Craftsmen in China and the West. Also, the State of Oaxaca, which is far from Colima, had a local Mixtec language name for the act of distillation, in 1578. At that time, trade was only beginning and new technology could hardly have found its way hundreds of kilometers inland and been integrated into the culture so as to have a specific name. Perhaps the process had been introduced to Mexico by the Chinese before the Spanish arrived. (Catherine Illsley – Ethnobotanist)
· Article in the Scientific American Volume 15, Number 1 on “Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire”. Archaeologists discovered bark beaters for the manufacture of paper out of the bark of the wild fig tree in the town of Yautepec in modern Mexico. The article says: “The Aztecs used paper to make books of picture-writing and to burn in ritual offerings.” This happened in the 15th century before the European arrived there. This suggests that the Chinese must have been there some time earlier and settled there and taught the local people the technique of paper making. In addition, the Chinese used to and are still burning faked money and gold ingot made of paper in ritual offerings. (Wai Yeung)
13. Plants indigenous to one continent, found on another
· Chinese roses and hibiscus (Rosa sinensis) (Dr Tan Koolin).
· Chinese rice found by first Europeans.
· Mexican plants taken to China and Far East – maize, papaya, tobacco – before European voyages
· Export of tobacco, sweet potatoes, maize to Philippines (Magellan/Pigafetta) and tortora reeds, tomatoes, sweet potatoes to Easter Island and sweet potato to Hawaii.
· Leonorus Sibiricus (marijuana substitute) from China to Chiapas
· Creosote bush from Northern Argentina – there is no good explanation for its movement to central Mexico – could this have been the result of a Chinese voyage? (David Charlton)
· Datura metel – aka Devil’s trumpet and thorn apple. This is one of the most important hallucinogens of the old world and is noted in many early Chinese texts for its narcotic properties. In ancient China Datura Metel was considered sacred and was thought that when Buddha meditated, heaven sprinkled the plants with drops of rain or dew. The Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua sometimes add Datura inoxia to the fermented maize drink tesguino. (Antonia Bowen-Jones)
· From 1410, Sri Lanka was a tributary of China for many years. Prior to this, of course, there was regular intercourse between China and Sri Lanka. One extremely interesting link is revealed by Prof SR Kottegoda: ‘ it might be appropriate to make reference to the status of From 1410, Sri Lanka was a tributary of China for many years. Prior to this, of course, there was regular intercourse between China and Sri Lanka. One extremely interesting link is revealed by Prof SR Kottegoda:
‘ it might be appropriate to make reference to the status of plumeria (Frangi-panni), arguably the most widely distributed flowering tree in tropical Asia. One of the comely damsels in the wall painting of the famous 5th C. rock fortress, Sigiriya, in Sri Lanka, holds a 5-petalled flower in her right hand almost indistinguishable from plumeria, the original home of which is tropical America; it is hardly likely that during this period there was any intercourse between the New World and Sri Lanka. If the flower is indeed plumeria, the tree could have come to the island via China to which country it could have been introduced from tropical America. One of the comprehensive records of life in Sri Lanka was that of the Chinese Buddhist traveler, Fa-hsien, who spent two years in Sri Lanka in the early 5th C. Relevant to plumeria in the Chinese context is the fact that the Hindi name for Plumeria acuminata, which originated in Mexico, means “the Rose of China.” It is also of interest to find that Trimen, who visited
Java in 1892, has quoted authority for the involvement, at some unspecified period, of Chinese merchants in the introduction of plumeria to the Indonesian islands of Ternate and Amboya from Cambodia.’ Ref- Kottegoda, S R, Flowers of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Royal Asiatic Society
of Sri Lanka, 1994; pp xiii-xiv (Vinod Moonesinghe, Sri Lanka)
Reader Carlos Jimenez was puzzled to come across a sculpture of a pumpkin when visiting an exhibition of the famous Xi”An terracotta warriors from Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi”s burial complex. The objects in the exhibition are all dated to be from the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) or the Han Dynasty (206BC-220 AD). If, as most encyclopedias will tell you, pumpkins originated in the Americas, how did this sculpture come to be part of this fascinating collection? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. To view the sculpture please here.
14. Animals indigenous to one continent, found on another
· Jacutacato shroud depicting arrival of horseman and Chinese ship’s dogs.
· Chinese chickens and ship’s dogs (Acosta) (B. Chang).
· Pictures of horses (unknown in Americas prior to Columbus) Mayapan, Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan.
· Toy elephant, Jalapa
· Chinese pigs (Cuino).
· Manchurian dog (tai tai) is forebear of Mexican dog xoloitzcuintli.
15. Distinctive artwork carried from continent to continent
· Chinese lacquer technology
· Zecharia Sitchin’s website – extraordinary similarity between late Maya/Chinese art.
· Chinese bronzes – (R Hristov) (Ming – Mixtec Tomb, Oaxaca).
· Maya glyphs on w. wall of temple are Chinese (R Wertz).
· ‘Chinese totem figurines’ of W. Mexico (I B Remsen, Clay Ranger).
· Similarity late Mayan/Chinese art/Tao Tai (Karin and Alan Moks).
· Chinese pictographs on museum wall, Huitzapula (K Wells).
· Chinese art recovered from Chichen Itza Cenote (G Kernahan).
· Metal carving (bronze?) of a Chinese cart driven by a horse (Leesie Mappes)
· Campeche concentric circles – same design found in recently unearthed Ming site in Guangzhou (John Robinson)
· In “The Blood of Kings”. by Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller there are a few photographs of Mayan sculptures that a reader believes to be of Chinese people. The figures have Chinese features and sport Chinese dress and hair style in these terra cotta sculptures – Robert Hildebrand
16. Customs, games and musical instruments exported from China to New World
· Chinese butterfly fishing nets – Rio Balsas.
· Chinese musical instruments – more than 50% Central American instruments occur in Burma (Needham).
· Neck rest pillows and Chinese carrying pots (Needham).
· Identical fairy stories – “Rabbit in Moon” (Needham).
· First Spanish found rulers wearing silk (Ranking; Cortez to Charles V).
· Shamanic practices similar to those found in ancient China – the hallucinogen Datura – native to China, is also consumed here.
· The Piñata – An Ancient Tradition. A widespread opinion is that the Chinese may have been the first to use something like a piñata as part of their New Year’s celebration, which also marked the beginning of spring. They made figures of cows, oxen, and buffalo, covering them with coloured paper and filling them with five kinds of seeds. Coloured sticks were used to break the figures open. The decorative paper that covered the figures was burned and the ashes gathered and kept for good luck during the coming year. It is thought that in the 13th century, Venetian traveller Marco Polo took the “piñata” back with him from China to Italy. There, it acquired its present name from the Italian word pignatta, or fragile pot, and came to be filled with trinkets, jewellery, or candy instead of seeds. The tradition then spread to Spain. Breaking the piñata became a custom on the first Sunday of Lent. It seems that at the beginning of the 16th century, Spanish missionaries brought the piñata to Mexico. However, the missionaries may have been surprised to find that the native people of Mexico already had a similar tradition. The Aztecs celebrated the birthday of Huitzilopochtli, their god of the sun and war, by placing a clay pot on a pole in his temple at the end of the year. The pot was adorned with colourful feathers and filled with tiny treasures. It was then broken with a stick, and the treasures that spilled out became an offering to the god’s image. The Maya also played a game in which blindfolded participants hit a clay pot suspended by a string. As part of their strategy to evangelize the Indians, the Spanish missionaries ingeniously made use of the piñata to symbolize, among other things, the Christian’s struggle to conquer the Devil and sin. The traditional piñata was a clay pot covered with coloured paper and given a star shape with seven tasselled points. These points were said to represent the seven deadly sins. Striking the piñata while blindfolded represented blind faith and willpower overcoming temptation or evil. The treats inside the piñata were the reward. – Stephen Bacon.
•http://www.china.org.cn/ChinaToday/Today/ChinaToday/ct2000e/06/ct2000-6e/ct2000-6e-14.htm
This webpage discusses the Chinese Nuo opera masks which resemble the mask sculptures in Mexico. The opera dancers wear these masks and brandish weapons, portraying scenes of chasing and seizing. Within the story of the opera, each household makes offerings in order to honor their ancestors and their gods. For example, an offering of chicken blood is made. This is said to be China’s oldest dramatic form. (Henry Quinn)
• A reader watched a patient being treated by a shaman in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. He was administering an acupuncture treatment to a man who had some problems with his knee. As soon as he finished the treatment, when asked where he had learned the acupuncture technique he said it had been handed down from his Aztec ancestors and they had known and used this technique for at least 5 centuries. Does anybody have further information on the spread of acupuncture from China to the Americas? – Alessandro
• Sverre Fjermestad comments on the possible cultural and linguistic link between the Mayan concept of C’hi, and the Chinese concept of Qi ( Chi). It seems central in both cultures. Does anyone know of any studies carried out on this subject?
• Rafique Jairazabhoy’s work delineates Chinese influences in South America. Two recent books by Michael Coe and Douglas Peck about the Maya touch on comparisons of I Ching and certain aspects of Mayan astronomy. Quite separately, there are suggestions that I Ching and the Ife system of the Yorubas from Nigeria are also very comparable.(H. Bourne)
17. Armour, metal weapons and metal implements found in the New World
· Certain tribes worked in metal pre-Europeans (Gary Jennings, Howard Smith).
18. Trans-oceanic spread of diseases from one continent to another
· Diseases otherwise unique to Far East – roundworm, hookworm, lice and nits
19. DNA and physical comparisons
· H.L.A. Genes and the Origins of the Amerindians by Dr. Felipe Vilchis
“The results of the filogenetic analysis reported here support the idea that the autochthonous pueblos based in Meso-America and South America had common ancestors, with as many coming with the migratory wave from the north as those that took the transpacific route.” (GM’s emphasis) Allelic distribution amongst the Mazatecs showed a genotypic pattern that was very similar to that found amongst Asian peoples, that is to say, 23% of the population had an LL genotype. In addition there was detected an heterozygote transition G – A that replaced an alanine with a treonine…in eight individuals … which represents a very high incidence.”
· The Othomis tribe have very close physical resemblance to Chinese
· ‘Chinese’ DNA in Buctzozt Maya of Yucatan and Campeche Maya (Professor Novick and colleagues).
“…Close similarity between the Chinese and native Americans suggests recent gene flow from Asia…”
· “Amerindian mitochondrial DNAs have rare Asian mutations at high frequencies.” Investigated Maya, Ticuna (S America) and Pima (N America). Schurr T G and others – see Bibliography.
· Greenberg J H et al, The Settlement of the Americas (Curr. Anthropology, 1986: 27)
· A Arnaiz-Villena – refer to Bibliography.
· J Granados
20. Meteorological events and weather
Further research needed
21. Stars and navigation
Further research needed
View map: The Waldseemüller map
