- Hui Shen
Hui Shen or Hoei Shin (zh-stp|s=慧深|t=慧深|p=hùi shēn; literally: "intelligent profound") was a legendary Chinese
Buddhist monk . According to legend, after a voyage into the Pacific, he reached a land he namedFusang after a plant growing there.Fusang is about twenty thousand Chinese miles in an easterly direction from Tahan, and east of the Middle Kingdoms [China] . Many fusang trees grow there, whose leaves resemble the "Dryanda cordifolia"; the sprouts, on the contrary, resemble those of the bamboo tree, and are eaten by the inhabitants of the land. The fruit is like a pear in form but is red. From the bark they prepare a sort of linen which they use for clothing... The houses are built of wooden beams; fortified and walled places there unknown... They have written characters in this land and prepare paper from the bark of the Fusang.3
It has been claimed that he taught Buddhism to the natives of central America, and was even responsible for naming
Guatemala in honour ofGautama Buddha [ [http://www.carnaval.com/columbus/diffusion.htm Diffusion: Celebrate our History of Diversity ] ] . Such claims are given no credence by modern historians.ee also
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Chinese Buddhism External links
* [http://terra.msrc.sunysb.edu/~dmyers/engines/fusang]
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