Annex 7 – Evidence of the Chinese visiting Brazil
1. Maps and star charts
- First European explorers to “discover” Brazil already made maps -See Para 3 report by João de Barros to King of Portugal.
- Brazil is shown on maps published before Columbus set sail (1492) and before Brazil was ‘discovered’ by Cabral (1500), viz:
– 1428 Master chart of world
– 1436 Andrea Bianco
– 1489 Martellus showing rivers
Columbia-Magdalena
Amazon – San Francisco
Paraguay – Paraguay and Panama
Argentina – Colorado, Negro, Chubut.
2. Chinese Records and Claims
- Professor Liu Manchum, “extremely far Beira” is Brazil.
- Professor Zhu-Jianqui – Zheng He’s fleet still at sea in 1425.
- Professor Bi Quanzhong – Brazilian delegation left for China in 1501 with map showing way. (Notebook of Wilderness – Ming dynasty writer Zu Sun Ming delegation from Balazi).
- Illustrated Record of Strange Countries (1430), showing armadillo (unique to S America).
- The Complete Herb Book of China (1530) shows herbs unique to South America – Zhong Guo Ben Cao Quan Shu.
3. Accounts of contemporary European historians and Explorers
- Cabral – “men with pale skins”.
- Francisco de Orellana as reported by Friar Gaspar de Carvajal, found bananas, rice fields and coconuts
- Maldonado reported sighting sugar cane (from India)
- José de Acosta – chickens, Chinese ship’s dogs (B Chang)
- Reports of Marajoara – pre-Columbian culture where people were tall or pale skinned, and made fine ceramics (Martin Tai evidence)
- The Treaty of Tordesillas (1474) only makes sense if Portuguese already knew of Brazil by then.
- Columbus – he should steer south “to enquire of the meaning of the King of Portugal who says land is there”.
4. Local peoples’ descriptions of Chinese or Asiatic peoples and their ancestors, who settled amongst them before Europeans arrived
- Guarani legend – their ancestors crossed great and wide ocean to settle in Amazonia (Sisyphus).
- A reader from Brazil wrote in to say that schoolchildren in Brazil are taught that the King of Portugal knew very well there was land here, so sent Cabral to “discover it”. No teacher ever explained how the King knew it.
5. Linguistics and languages common to China and New World
- Sampan = boat (Brazil)
Sampan = boat (China) - Balsa = raft (Brazil)
Balsa = raft (China) - Chickens = kik (Venezuela)
Chickens = kikh (India) - Sweet potato = kumar (Peru)
Sweet potato = kumara (Pacific) - Fulvous tree duck (which fly with difficulty) = irere (Brazil), irere (Guyana), Sarere (Burma) Sarari (India).
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The River Amazon means ‘Approaching’ in Chinese. This prominent arterial river stem, the ships can be lead to many tributaries.ORvia this approach through this main arterial river stem, a ship is lead to many of its tributaries.a pronounced as eye in Chinese; meaning approach or as one draws near the shore via a ship. ma pronounced as my in Chinese; meaning an artery, descriptive term for the prominent main river stem with its many tributaries. zon pronounced chuan in Chinese ; meaning river with uninterrupted water flow. Please note this is a non-expert interpretation – G. L. TAN
6. Shipwrecks, Chinese anchors and fishing gear found in the wake of the treasure fleet
Further research needed
7. Chinese porcelain and ceramics found in the wake of the treasure fleet
- Ceramics – Amazonia (Paul Yih and Beloit University, Wisconsin)
- In the late 1960’s at the Emilio Goeldi Museu, Belem, there was a display of large terracotta funeral urns from the Santarem area. They were of exceptional workmanship and looked Chinese or at least Oriental and not like the work of the Incas or other high South American civilizations – Jon Coe
- In The cruise of the “Alerte” by E.F.Knight.(a reprint by The Narrative Press in 2002, as Knight’s original voyage and book were in 1889,) on page 174, Knight describes the finding of a large cache of Chinese glazed pottery (described as “Blue Dragon” style) on the island of Trinidade, off the coast of Brazil in lat 20deg 30min South and 29deg 22min West – Capt. Rob Rae
8. Pre-Columbian Chinese jade found in the wake of the treasure fleet
- Found near Amazon/Tapajos River juncture (Barbosa Rodrigues) at Trombetas River, Lago Sapakua, Lago de Faro, Ilha Jacinta, Costa do Parvo, Villa de Faro, Rio Yamundá, Cujmuru.
- As a former dealer in tribal and ancient artifacts and an extensive traveler a reader often been surprised at how the dissemination of early objects hinted at trade routes ,lost to history. In the Rio museum there is a collection of jade ‘marakatas’ from the Amazon but excavated from pre-Columbian sites. Many of these carvings (of turtles or frogs) are in nephrite jade,as well as jadeite and emerald nexus. There are a number in one room in the Rio Museum, many of which have a distinctly Chinese look to them – Peter Stark
9. Artefacts, gems, votive offerings, coins and funerary urns
Brazil A Brazilian antique collector believes that he has in his collection an ancient navigational instrument, a compass, found in a bottom of a South American river closer to the Atlantic Ocean. The said compass is made of freeblown black glass, full of air bubbles, roundish/flat shape, measuring 8,5 x 3,5 cm, pontil scar at the bottom: 3,0 cm, weighs approx. one pound, circa: 1400s. Its intricate magnetic mechanism still works perfectly (it comprises of one needle with a higher end that points to the North pole and the lower to the South – the magnetic mechanism is inside of a tiny cone shape recipient built in the molten black glass). In 2002, he showed it to some scientists at the British Museum/Greenwich Observatory in London who told him that it was unique, ancient and that was the first time they have seen such a navigational instrument. They said that its origin could be China and that it was not European. Gavin Menzies is due to meet with this collector and we will hopefully put some photos of the instrument in the gallery section in the near future. (Elisio Domingues de Souza)
10. Stone buildings, artefacts, canals and aqueducts
- Upper Xingu – Archaeological evidence and satellite images show the area was densely settled long before Columbus and European settlers arrived, with towns featuring plazas, roads up to 50 metres wide, deep moats and bridges.
A report, published in the journal Science, suggests a society that was advanced and complex, and that found alternative ways to use the Amazon forest without destroying it.
Nineteen evenly spaced villages were linked by straight roads, and the cluster could have supported between 2,500 and 5,000 people, said the researchers, led by Michael Heckenberger of the University of Florida.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/967545.asp (Dave Bell) - Reader has sent in a picture of a stone located in Campeche island, close to Santa Catarina Island in the south of Brazil. The information you get from the Tourist Office in Santa Catarina is that this stone is similar to others found in Africa. (Fernando Gandara) To see a photo of the distinct carvings on this stone please visit the gallery section of the website or click here
11. Mining operations found by first Europeans when they reached the New World
Further research needed
12. Advanced technologies found by first Europeans on arrival in New World
Further research needed
13. Plants indigenous to one continent, found on another
- Rice from China (Orellana)
- Bananas from Pacific Islands (Orellana)
- Coconuts from originated South Pacific. (Orellana)
- Sugar cane from India (Maldonado)
14. Animals indigenous to one continent, found on another
- Horses – remains in Confins cave.
- Acosta describes Chinese ship’s dogs (B Chang)
- Fulvous Tree Duck
- Water buffalo – Marajoara island in Amazon delta (from S E Asia).
- Chinese pigs (canastrinho) in São Paulo and Minas Gerais
- José de Acosta describes chickens
(i) Frizzle fowl (China)
(ii) Black Melanotic (China/S E Asia)
(iii) Asian jungle fowl
15. Distinctive artwork carried from continent to continent
Further research needed
16. Customs and games exported from China to New World
Similarities in medicinal practices – A British doctor who was researching traditional and ritual medicine in aboriginal tribes around the world researched the Chinese and Japanese acupuncture and Reiki healing practices. However, while he was in South America he was visiting a tribe, possibly the Yanamani, and while there the medicine man of the tribe treated a patient using exactly the same methods as those of China, manipulating lung, kidney and heart pressure points, thus causing a flow of energy that stimulated pain release. Furthermore the peoples of China and South America give the same names to many of these acupuncture pressure points – John Buckley
• Professor Luiz Ernesto Wanke has found what he believes to be evidence from 1836 suggesting that some Brazilian indigenous groups were Taoist and, therefore, direct descendants of colonists brought in by Zheng He. He believes it is an indirect proof that the Chinese were the true discoverers of America. His paper will be published on our website in the “Independent research” section once it has been translated.
17. Armour, metal weapons and metal implements found in the New World
Further research needed
18. Trans-oceanic spread of diseases from one continent to another
- Tokelau and chimbere in Amazonian people – Tokelau a disease of S. E. Asia (Fonseca).
- Hookworm and roundworm amongst Lengua Indians (Fonseca).
- Lung fluke (Paragorimus westermani)
- Tokelau, hepatitis B and hookworm/roundworm could not be carried over Bering Straits on account of the cold. Heliobacta pylori (Dr Alan Leibowitz) ?
19. DNA studies and physical comparison
- Indian peoples living west of Arecibo have ‘Chinese’ DNA (Arends and Gallengo).
- Indian peoples of Guyana, Surinam and Venezuela have a similar ‘Chinese’ connection (Dr Annabel Arends).
- The Karitiana and Surui peoples of Amazonia have ‘Chinese’ DNA (post Bering Straits (Professor Novick and colleagues).
- The Quechua and Toba peoples of the Mato Grosso have ‘Chinese’ DNA (post Bering Straits) (Professor Novick and colleagues).
- Absence of Duffy blood groups in Indians of Mato Grosso.
- The Karayaba tribe have Chinese features, skin, hands.
- Reader traces his children’s blue Chinese spots (also called Mandarin spot or Mongol spot) from ancestors from North Eastern Brazil. He has also discovered that children in several Indian tribes in Surinam and Brazil also have these spots. Mayas also boast about being superior to neighbouring tribes as they have “Mandarin spots”. “1421” provides evidence for the Chinese fleets in all three of these places. (Wim van den Bosch)
20. Meteorological events and weather
Further research needed
21. Stars and navigation
Further research needed
View maps: The Waldseemüller map, The Piri Reis map, The Cantino world map
Related galleries: Miscellaneous artefacts
