Eminent anthropologists are coming to the conclusion that Buddhist missionaries visited the American continent as early as the fifth century. Chinese histories mention a foreign country Fusang, and this is believed to be the Mexico of today. Dr. Edward Sapir, noted Canadian anthropologist, reports that his research work on American Indian linguistics has convinced him of the identity of certain Indian tribes with that of the primitive Chinese. He has traced the same peculiarities of phonetics, vocabulary and grammatical structure on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

The records left by the early Buddhist missionaries bear witness to the fact that these intrepid travellers were familiar with the American continent from Alaska to Mexico, and their writings cover the religious beliefs, traditions and antiquities of that section of the world.