Ok and they only got one they bought off a street in shanghai. Ok it's real, you got me, The chinese were here first. You got your justification for the invasion. Have at it.
Goodness, and I thought they had 'Xerox Machines' way back then.
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.