Posted on 01/13/2006 9:05:19 PM PST by tbird5
An ancient map that strongly suggests Chinese seamen were first round the world
THE brave seamen whose great voyages of exploration opened up the world are iconic figures in European history. Columbus found the New World in 1492; Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488; and Magellan set off to circumnavigate the world in 1519. However, there is one difficulty with this confident assertion of European mastery: it may not be true.
It seems more likely that the world and all its continents were discovered by a Chinese admiral named Zheng He, whose fleets roamed the oceans between 1405 and 1435. His exploits, which are well documented in Chinese historical records, were written about in a book which appeared in China around 1418 called “The Marvellous Visions of the Star Raft”.
Next week, in Beijing and London, fresh and dramatic evidence is to be revealed to bolster Zheng He's case. It is a copy, made in 1763, of a map, dated 1418, which contains notes that substantially match the descriptions in the book. “It will revolutionise our thinking about 15th-century world history,” says Gunnar Thompson, a student of ancient maps and early explorers.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
This is a rewrite or embellishment of history in direct proportion and relation to their emergence as a world megapower. A history to match--and a history worthy of-- their present, in other words.
"It is a copy, made in 1763, of a map, dated 1418"
Hmmm...
Dan Rather has a copy, made in 2004, of a memo, dated 1972...
And we know all about that... The Chinese learn fast... We'll not so fast...
To use a commonly misused term, they were Mongoloid as well. :)
They may have even arrived during the Upper Paleolithic, at around 37,000 years ago (based on some interesting finds in south America - very strong debates on this, so for now it is best to go with the "short chronology" picture of migration between 11,000 and 14,000 years ago, during the last ice age, and not the one before that). So yes, Columbus, as well as the Ming Dynasty Chinese were beaten by at least 10,000 years.
Though, at the end of the day, Team Columbus wins the prize of real value.
I just looked at the map. The shape of India, which is adjacent to China, and has been well known for millenia, is incorrect. If these Chinese geniuses could not get the shape of India right in 1418, who will believe they actually got as far as America to get the shape of America relatively correct? Also, the Red Sea is too far from the Meditteranean. It looks very suspicious.
They want war.
Admittedly no expert, but this sounds suspiciously like a lot of multi-culti wishful thinking. If the Chinese navy couldn't handle the trips to Japan in 1274 and 1281, it's unlikely they'd be sailing across the wide Pacific to North America a scant 150 years later.
My memory of grade school history class says that the NW passage was an Indian legend that got passed to the white explorers.
It's all Geo. W.'s fault you know.
Hmmmm. Must be an impressive collection of stuff you have. I can't even name an American television manufacturer or mobile phone maker for that matter (I really like my Nokia). I didn't even realise it was possible to buy 100% American any longer if you owned any electronics/computer equipment.
While I am convinced that various ancient mariners arrived in the New World before Columbus (Vikings, Japanese fishing vessels blown across the Pacific by storms, etc.), there is a key piece of evidence missing. If Old World ships came to the Americas on any kind of regular basis where are the non-native crops and livestock? Pigs and horses thrived in the wild after introduction by the Europeans. Crops from the New World (corn, tobacco, potatoes) would have found their way back to the Old World. Therefore, I conclude that voyages were very limited in number. The Chinese map has too much detail and would have required multiple voyages.
If I can't find it made by Americans, I make my own stuff, you should see my tv and the chip in this PC.
It's a fake.
I am not advocating it is real. The article does not mention any Imperial certification on the map to indicate it was done by an official reproducer in 1763. All it indicated was the type of paper, ink and etc to indicate the map was done in 1763. No other markings were mentioned thus the map is hard to authenticate. Finally even if it is true, the Ming Dynasty expeditions were to find worthy civilizations to establish trade and form alliances with. The Chinese did contact with the peoples of Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa. The expeditions cost more to the empire than it produced in profit. When the king died, the project was cancelled. China never claimed any of the lands they discovered for themselves. China today cannot even imply they have ownership of the lands.
Uh, it's a BUSINESS man that owns the map. No one is making claims of America --if anything, native Americans should own America.
http://www.chinapage.org/chengh2v.gif
This is a comparison of Zheng He's ship versus Christopher columbus.
http://www.chinapage.org/zhenghe.html
http://www.chinavoc.com/history/ming/zh.htm
The Neanderthals actually had first dibs on discovering America (a skull and map etched on a piece of shale "prove" it.)
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