It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into 1421: The Year China Discovered the World. (Discuss)

This Chinese map, produced in 1763 and claimed by the unidentified author to be based on a 1418 Chinese map, has produced much controversy as to how much knowledge Medieval China had of the Americas and Antarctica even though the map uses European place names that had not yet been assigned in 1418.^[1]

The 1421 hypothesis claims that during the Ming Dynasty of China from 1421 to 1423, ships in the fleet of Emperor Zhu Di (朱棣) and Admiral Zheng He (鄭和) and commanded by the Chinese captains Zhou Wen (周聞), Zhou Man (周滿), Yang Qing (楊慶) and Hong Bao (洪保) travelled to many parts of the world that were unknown to Europeans at that time. This claim was put forward by former British Royal Navy submarine commander Gavin Menzies in his 2002 book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World. Image File history File links Merge-arrow. ... (Redirected from 1421: The Year China Discovered The World) The 1421 theory is a term to describe a theory from former British Royal Navy submarine commander Gavin Menzies. ... Image File history File links Zhenghemap. ... Image File history File links Zhenghemap. ... A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist. ... For other uses, see Ming. ... For the controversial hypothesis advanced by Gavin Menzies, see: 1421 hypothesis. ... Events July 31 - Hundred Years War: Battle of Cravant - The French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. ... For other uses, see Ship (disambiguation). ... An emperorrefers to Nick Herringshaw, a title, empress may only indicate the wife of an emperor (empress consort. ... The Yongle Emperor (May 2, 1360 – August 12, 1424), born Zhu Di (Chu Ti) , was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. ... For other uses, see Admiral (disambiguation). ... A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist. ... For other uses, see Captain (disambiguation). ... Zhou Man, 15th century Chinese admiral and explorer, was born into a wealthy merchant family in the year 1378. ... A red packet or hong bao (紅包) is a monetary gift which is given in Chinese society. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... Gavin Menzies Gavin Menzies (b. ... (Redirected from 1421: The Year China Discovered The World) The 1421 theory is a term to describe a theory from former British Royal Navy submarine commander Gavin Menzies. ...

The 1421 hypothesis contends that the Chinese discovered Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Antarctica, the northern coast of Greenland, and the Northeast Passage . Knowledge of these discoveries was subsequently lost because the Mandarin bureaucrats of the Imperial court feared that the costs of further voyages would ruin the Chinese economy. According to Menzies, when Zhu Di died in 1424 the new Hongxi Emperor forbade further expeditions, and the Mandarins hid or destroyed the records of previous exploration to discourage further voyages. World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas in an equal-area projection The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... The Northern Sea Route (Russian Северный морской путь) is a shipping lane from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean along the Siberian coast of Russia. ... A Mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China. ... The Hongxi Emperor (August 16, 1378–May 29, 1425) was an Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. ...

The 1421 hypothesis is moderately popular among the general public, but has been dismissed by sinologists and professional historians.^[2][3][4][5] Menzies has been criticized for his "reckless manner of dealing with evidence" that led him to propose hypotheses "without a shred of proof".^[5] Critics have also questioned the extent of Menzies' nautical knowledge.^[6] Sinology is the study of China, and things related to China, using a combination of Western and traditional Chinese methodologies, concepts, and theories. ...

Method

The hypothesis is based on interpretations of evidence from shipwrecks, old Chinese and European maps, a translation of an inscription set up by Zheng He, Chinese literature that survives from the time, DNA evidence and accounts written by navigators such as Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan. The hypothesis also includes claims that allegedly unexplained structures such as the Newport Tower and the Bimini Road were constructed by Zheng He's men. Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... For the Presidential railcar named Ferdinand Magellan, see Ferdinand Magellan Railcar. ... The Newport Tower. ... The Bimini Road The Bimini Road is an underwater rock formation near North Bimini island in the Bahamas. ...

Maps

The Kangnido map describes the entirety of the Old World, from Europe and Africa in the west, to Korea and Japan in the east, with a greatly oversized China in the middle.

One of the inscriptions on the Fra Mauro map relates the travels of an Asian junk deep into the Atlantic Ocean around 1420.

Detail of the Fra Mauro map relating the travels of a junk into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. The ship also is illustrated above the text.

Several maps were used by Menzies in creating this hypothesis: Download high resolution version (1739x1615, 2623 KB)The Korean Kangnido map (1402). ... Download high resolution version (1739x1615, 2623 KB)The Korean Kangnido map (1402). ... The Kangnido map (Integrated Historical Map of Countries and Cities), was made in Korea from Chinese source material in 1402, by Kim Sa-hyeong (김사형:金士衡), Yi Mu (이무:李茂) and Yi Hoe (이회). The map depicts the totality of the Old World, from Europe and Africa in the west, to Korea and Japan in... For other uses, see Old World (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1062x1107, 1015 KB) The Fra Mauro map. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1062x1107, 1015 KB) The Fra Mauro map. ... The Fra Mauro map (1459) in Venice (inverted, South is normally at the top). ... The Junk is a Chinese sailing vessel. ... Events May 21 - Treaty of Troyes. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 478 pixelsFull resolution (1286 × 768 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 478 pixelsFull resolution (1286 × 768 pixel, file size: 2. ... The Fra Mauro map (1459) in Venice (inverted, South is normally at the top). ... The Junk is a Chinese sailing vessel. ...

• The Kangnido map (混一疆理歷代國都之圖 or 疆理圖) (1402), used to demonstrate an extensive geographical knowledge of the Old World (and particularly of the shape of the African continent but without the western bulge and with a large inland sea) by Eastern Asian countries, even before the time of Zheng He's expeditions.
• The Pizzigano map (1424)
• The Fra Mauro map (1459), showing a general knowledge of Africa and Asia that predated European circumnavigation of Africa. Menzies believes that the coasts had already been charted by Arab or Chinese sailors. The Fra Mauro map also relates an expedition by an "Indian" ship into the Atlantic Ocean around 1420. To 15th century Europeans, "India" referred to the entire continent of Asia, and Menzies suggests that the ship, called a "junk" (Zoncho in the original), was Chinese:

"About the year of Our Lord 1420 a ship, what is called an Indian junk (lit. "Zoncho de India", "India" meaning Asia in 15th century Europe), on a crossing of the Sea of India towards the Isle of Men and Women (close to Socotra), was diverted beyond the Cape of Diab (Cape of Good Hope), through the Green Isles, out into the Sea of Darkness (Atlantic Ocean) on a way west and southwest. Nothing but air and water was seen for 40 days and by their reckoning they ran 2,000 miles and fortune deserted them. When the stress of the weather had subsided they made the return to the said Cape of Diab in 70 days and drawing near to the shore to supply their wants the sailors saw the egg of a bird called roc."^[7]

• The Cantino map (1502)
• The Waldeseemüller map (1507)
• The Piri Reis map (1513). Menzies believes the Piri Reis map is proof that Admiral Hong Bao charted the coast of the southern landmass (said to be Antarctica) 70 years before Columbus as part of a larger expedition under Zheng He to bring the world under China's tribute system.
• The Johannes Schöner globe (One was made in 1515 and another in 1520)
• The Jean Rotz map (1542)
• The Wu Pei Chi (Wu Bei Zhi; 武備志) map (redrawn after Zheng He's maps in 1628)
• The Vinland map, redrawn in 15th Century from a 13th century original.
• Also presented on Menzies’ website is the De Virga world map (1411-1415), as evidence of the propagation of eastern cartographic knowledge before the European Age of Discovery.

The Kangnido map (Integrated Historical Map of Countries and Cities), was made in Korea from Chinese source material in 1402, by Kim Sa-hyeong (김사형:金士衡), Yi Mu (이무:李茂) and Yi Hoe (이회). The map depicts the totality of the Old World, from Europe and Africa in the west, to Korea and Japan in... Events September 14 - Battle of Homildon Hill. ... The Pizzigano map is an Italian portulan chart. ... August 17 - Battle of Verneuil - An English force under John, Duke of Bedford defeats a larger French army under the Duke of Alençon, John Stewart, and Earl Archibald of Douglas. ... The Fra Mauro map (1459) in Venice (inverted, South is normally at the top). ... Events September 23 - Battle of Blore Heath. ... The Junk is a Chinese sailing vessel. ... Map of the Socotra archipelago Socotra or Soqotra (Arabic سقطرى ; ) is a small archipelago of four islands and islets in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the Horm Africa some 350 km south of the Arabian peninsula. ... For other uses, see Cape of Good Hope (disambiguation). ... The Cantino planisphere is the earliest surviving map showing Portuguese discoveries in the east and west. ... 1502 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Waldseemüller map was drawn by Martin Waldseemüller (c. ... Year 1507 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... The Piri Reis map The Piri Reis map is a famous premodern world map created by 16th century Ottoman-Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis. ... 1513 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Piri Reis map The Piri Reis map is a famous premodern world map created by 16th century Ottoman-Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis. ... A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist. ... German astronomer and cartographer Johannes Schöner (1477-1547) made some of the oldest globes. ... 1515 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1520 (MDXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ... 1628 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Vinland map. ... The De Virga world map (1411-1415). ... See also: Age of Sail and Afro-Asiatic age of discovery For the computer wargame, Age of Discovery, see Global Diplomacy. ...

Detailed claims

Claims made by Menzies (and contested by scholars) include:

1. Eruption of Soufrière, La Citerne and L'Echelle volcanoes on Pizzigano map, twice between 1400 and 1440 (1424 chart) See Gavin Menzies' cartographic fiction: the case of the Chinese 'discovery' of Australia for a discussion of how Menzies decided that this map depicts Guadeloupe and volcanoes.
2. Wrecks with gilded sterns: Chinese junks in Mississippi near Quivira (Coronado 1550) and in Caribbean (Mafeo) and North Atlantic (Menendez);gilt does not last, so junks were wrecked relatively recently.
3. Chinese people not intermarried seen in California, Mexico, Texas and Florida by Coronado, Acosta, Menendez and Mafeo (1550s) The Acosta and Coronado claims relate to their meeting Mazatec Indians. Menzies claims DNA shows they are Chinese, but this is not born out by the genetic studies ^[8] None of these writers mention meeting Chinese.
4. Ming porcelain dated either by Cobalt or by Zhu Di's stamp — 1403 to 1421 — found in Americas, Africa, Australia - but not, at least in the Americas and Australia, in a 15th century context.
5. Hull wood of junks carbon dated: Pandanan 1410, Nanjing 1406, Sacramento 1410, Turiang early 15th century, Bakau c.1410, Santa Cruz (Philippines) 15th century, Byron's Bay [sic] (Australia) 1410 — But the evidence for these is thin to nonexistent, e.g., the Sacramento 'junk' dating is simply of some wood with no evidence that it was ever part of anything ^[9]
6. Jade figurine at Darwin, Australia dated by shape of Canopus head to early Ming, between 1008 and 1523 (Professor Wei's evidence)
7. Zheng He states '3,000 countries large and small' visited; Liu Shia Chang, Chian Su (unveiled 1431) — Duyvendak first translation
8. Pope's letter, 1448, about Chinese/Asians (the letter actually says 'barbarian heathens' from nearby coasts) in Greenland 'about 30 years ago', viz. c.1421/2; Chinese DNA in Greenland people of Hvalsey ^[10]
9. Fra Mauro's map, 'about the year 1420', ship or junk from India
10. Zhu Di coins (1403-24) found in wrecks dated by hull wood, for example Pandanan
11. Chinese star charts (Wu Pei Chi) dated by precession of Polaris to 1420± 20 years
12. Mao Kun map Chinese dated 1422, shows Australia (Sun Shuyun)
13. Chinese records give dates fleet set sail, dates returned, and ambassadors brought — Ming Shi (MS), Ming Shi W (MSL); Hsi Yang Fan Kuo Chih (HYFKC); Kio Ch'veh; Hsu Chiao Min Tung; Chein (MTC), all early Ming Dynasty ...
14. Illustrated Record of Strange Countries published 1430 featuring animals from across the world
15. Chinese official records (Qing) listing countries visited by Zheng He's fleet are interpreted as including America and Australia
16. Newport Tower mortar (post 1409) The mortar has also been used to argue that the tower is colonial.
17. Bimini hull ballast (after last 600 years) (evidence of Admiral Zheng Ming) ^[11]
18. Dating of Pizzigano, Piri Reis, Jean Rotz, Waldseemüller, Cantino charts, and Vinland map (2002 radiocarbon dating); Portuguese master chart of world dated 1428; Brazilian delegation setting sail for China in 1501/02 with map showing route (this last is based on the mistaken identification of the word Ba-la-xi (Parsi) with Brazil^[12] (1501).

La Soufrière is a volcano and the highest peak on the island of Saint Vincent in the West Indies. ... The Pizzigano map is an Italian portulan chart. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... // The Origin of the Legend Quivira is one of two fantastic cities existing only in a myth that originated around the year 1150 when the Moors conquered Mérida, Spain. ... Coronado Sets Out to the North, by Frederic Remington, 1861-1909 Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (c. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... West Indies redirects here. ... Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (February 15, 1519 - September 17, 1574), was a sixteenth century Spanish admiral and pirate hunter, known most notably for his founding of St. ... The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following: A person who resides in and holds citizenship of the Peoples Republic of China (including Hong Kong and Macau) or the Republic of China (Taiwan). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... Acosta is a Spanish and Portuguese surname. ... Front View, Nantoyōsō Collection, Japan Reverse View Ming presentation porcelain was a variety of high quality Chinese porcelain items included among the gifts exchanged in foreign relations during the Ming Dynasty. ... For other uses, see Cobalt (disambiguation). ... The Yongle Emperor (May 2, 1360–August 12, 1424), born Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. ... Radiocarbon dating is the use of the naturally occurring isotope of carbon-14 in radiometric dating to determine the age of organic materials, up to ca. ... For other uses, see Nanjing (disambiguation). ... Sacramento is a Spanish- and Portuguese-language word meaning sacrament; it is a common toponym in parts of the world where those tongues were or are spoken. ... Bakau is a town on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Gambia, lying west of Banjul. ... Santa Cruz, Spanish and Portuguese for Holy Cross, is the name of several cities, regions, and other geographical features around the world: Argentina Puerto Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz province Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Bolivia Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz Department Brazil Santa Cruz, Espírito Santo Santa Cruz... Cape Byron Lighthouse Tallow Beach looking south from the lighthouse Byron Bay (, ) is a town in the state of New South Wales on the eastern most point of the mainland of Australia. ... A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jade (jadeite) buttons Unworked Jade Jade is used as an ornamental stone, the term jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals. ... Port Darwin redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Ming. ... A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal map spelling: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... The church ruin of Hvalsey Hvalsey (Danish Hvalsø, Greenlandic Qaqortukukooq) is a location near Qaqortoq, Greenland and the site of a number of Greenlands best preserved Norse ruins in what was known by the Norse as the Eastern Settlement, all of which were abandoned after 1408 AD, after approximately... The 1459 Fra Mauro map (south is at the top). ... The Yongle Emperor (May 2, 1360–August 12, 1424), born Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. ... China has a long history of observing stars and recording them. ... -1... China has a long history of observing stars and recording them. ... Ming is a common personal name in China, It may also mean: Ming Dynasty, the ruling dynasty in China from 1368 to 1644 Ming class submarine, a class of diesel-electric submarines built by China Motorola MING, a smartphone released by Motorola Ming library, a C library with PHP bindings... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the... A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist. ... Newport Tower can refer to: Newport Tower in Newport, Rhode Island Newport Tower in Jersey City, New Jersey This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Bimini Island from space, June 1998 Map of the Bahamas with the Biminis positioned center left (click to enlarge). ... The Pizzigano map is an Italian portulan chart. ... Piri Reis (originally Hadji Muhammad) was an Ottoman admiral born around 1465, in Gallipoli on the Dardanelles. ... Universalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller wall map dated 1507, depicts the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean separating Asia from the Americas The Waldseemüller map, Universalis Cosmographia, is a wall map of the world drawn by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller and originally published in April 1507. ... The Cantino planisphere is the earliest surviving map showing Portuguese discoveries in the east and west. ... The Vinland map. ... Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring isotope carbon-14 (14C) to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years. ...

Other evidence

Additional claims made by Menzies and on the 1421 website without any accompanying evidence (and contested by scholars) include:

• DNA studies showing "recent" DNA flow from China to indigenous people of the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and other explored land masses. Dr Annabel Arends and her colleagues are continuing the pioneering work begun by her father, Dr Tulio Arends, and Dr Gallengo into the DNA (transferrins) of the Indians of Northern Brazil, Venezuela, Surinam and Guyana, proving that these tranferrins are otherwise unique to natives of Kwantung province in China.^{[13][14][15][16][17]} None of which seem to back up this claim.
• A drawing of an animal in a book published in China in 1430 showing what Menzies claims is an armadillo, an animal found only in the New World.^{[citation needed]}
• Hundreds of plant species, e.g. bananas, plantations of rice — a crop foreign to the Americas — seen along the banks of the Amazon by Francisco de Orellana, 1541,^{[citation needed]} and cotton genetically identical to species from the Americas found on Cape Verde Islands by the first Europeans, long before Columbus.^{[citation needed]} No evidence for this provided by Menzies or 1421 website.
• Horses, flightless ducks and Asiatic melanotic chickens and pigs in the New World prior to Columbus's arrival.^{[citation needed]} No evidence provided.
• Carved stones with Asian writing found in places such as the Cape Verde islands, South America and New Zealand.^{[citation needed]} No evidence provided.
• Artifacts such as Chinese porcelain and jade found in the Americas which Menzies claims predate the arrival of Europeans.^{[citation needed]}
• Diseases such as smallpox appearing before the arrival of Europeans.^{[citation needed]} No evidence provided. All scholars agree these diseases appeared in the Americas only after 1492.
• Place names in Peru and Chile bearing linguistic similarities with Chinese, e.g. "Peru" means "white mist" and Chile ("Ch-Li") means "dependent territory" in Chinese.^{[citation needed]}
• Accounts of European explorers such as Sir Francis Drake, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and João Rodrigues Cabrilho indicating Chinese settlements.^{[citation needed]} No evidence provided.
• Wrecks of Chinese junks were present in the New World before European explorers.^{[citation needed]} No such junks have been found.
• The accounts of Bartolomé de las Casas of two dead bodies resembling Indians on Flores in the Azores. De las Casas said he found that fact in Columbus' notes, and it was one of the reasons that led Columbus to assume India was on the other side of the ocean.^{[citation needed]} The bodies were call 'Indians', no one knows that this meant and at least one person speculates they were Finns.
• A 7-cm diameter plain brass medal found in North America with an inscription reading "Authorized and awarded by Xuan De of Great Ming"^[18] No evidence that this medal arrived in America before 1492.
• A carving at Tikal depicts a man with a Chinese-style hat with what appears to be an Asian-style hoe in his hands.

The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... Transferrin is a plasma protein for iron ion delivery. ... The Republic of Suriname, more commonly known as Suriname or Surinam, (formerly known as Netherlands Guiana and Dutch Guiana) is a country in northern South America, in between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. ... Kwantung (Simplified Chinese: 关东; Traditional Chinese: 關東; pinyin: Guāndōng; Wade-Giles: Kuan-tung) is a coastal area of northeastern China which is remembered most for its connection to Japans Kwantung Army. ... // Events May 23 - Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne The Ottoman Empire captures Thessalonica from the Venetians First use of optical methods in the creation of Art A map of Europe in 1430. ... For other uses, see Armadillo (disambiguation). ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... A Spanish postal stamp featuring Orellana Francisco de Orellana (c1500-c1549) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... “Fine China” redirects here. ... A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jade (jadeite) buttons Unworked Jade Jade is used as an ornamental stone, the term jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals. ... This article is about the disease. ... Sir Francis Drake, c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (February 15, 1519 - September 17, 1574), was a sixteenth century Spanish admiral and pirate hunter, known most notably for his founding of St. ... The Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, CA João Rodrigues Cabrilho, (ca 1499 – January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese explorer noted for his exploration of the west coast of North America while sailing for Spain. ... Bartolomé de las Casas This article is about a Spanish priest in the 16th century. ... Flores Island (pron. ... Motto:  (Portuguese for Rather die free than in peace subjugated) Anthem:  (national)  (local) Capital Ponta Delgada1 Angra do Heroísmo2 Horta3 Largest city Ponta Delgada Official languages Portuguese Ethnic groups  Portuguese Government Autonomous region  -  President Carlos César Establishment  -  Settled 1439   -  Autonomy 1976  Area  -  Total 2,346 km² (n/a... For other uses, see Tikal (disambiguation). ...

Criticism

Menzies' methodology has been criticised on many grounds. Robert Finlay writes:^[5]

Unfortunately, this reckless manner of dealing with evidence is typical of 1421, vitiating all its extraordinary claims: the voyages it describes never took place, Chinese information never reached Prince Henry and Columbus, and there is no evidence of the Ming fleets in newly discovered lands. The fundamental assumption of the book—that Zhu Di dispatched the Ming fleets because he had a “grand plan,” a vision of charting the world and creating a maritime empire spanning the oceans (pp. 19–43)—is simply asserted by Menzies without a shred of proof. It represents the author’s own grandiosity projected back onto the emperor, providing the latter with an ambition commensurate with the global events that Menzies presumes 1421 uniquely has revealed, an account that provides evidence “to overturn the long-accepted history of the Western world” (p. 400). It is clear, however, that textbooks on that history need not be rewritten. The reasoning of 1421 is inexorably circular, its evidence spurious, its research derisory, its borrowings unacknowledged, its citations slipshod, and its assertions preposterous. Still, it may have some pedagogical value in world history courses. Assigning selections from the book to high-schoolers and undergraduates, it might serve as an outstanding example of how not to (re)write world history.

The historians who have responded to Menzies' hypotheses have been strongly critical:

"Examination of the book's central claims reveals they are uniformly without substance."^[5]

The 1421 hypothesis is based on some documents of debatable provenance (e.g., the Vinland map^[19]) and on novel interpretations of already accepted documents (such as the Fra Mauro map, de las Casas) as well as uncategorized archaeological findings. The Vinland map. ... The Fra Mauro map (1459) in Venice (inverted, South is normally at the top). ...

Some critics focus their skepticism on the conspicuous absence of an explanation of why these Chinese fleets seemed to touch every coastline of the world except that of Europe.^{[citation needed]} The absence of any European records corroborating such an exploration is glaringly absent. Such a record, if it existed, would certainly have been handed down. On the other hand it is a given fact that Chinese-European contact existed as early as 100 CE. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Silk Road (disambiguation). ...

While it represents a minor part of Menzies' argument, some critics also maintain that the linguistic evidence cited by Menzies is itself questionable. It is inevitable that similarities between words taken from any pair of languages will exist-- even if only by pure chance. Thus, the short lists provided by Menzies are considered by some to represent unsatisfactory evidence. Furthermore, none of the alleged Chinese words listed by Menzies as similar to words of the same meaning in the Squamish language of British Columbia are actual Chinese words. Similarly, the presence of Chinese-speaking people in various locations in the Americas could be explained by immigration after Columbus, yet Menzies cites no evidence that these communities existed prior to Columbus.^[20] A squamish is a strong and often violent wind occurring in many of the fjord of British Columbia, akin to the Williwaw of the Alaska Panhandle. ...

Menzies' critics note that throughout the book he displays a lack of chronological control e.g. p138 with a story of a map dated to 120 years before 1528; Menzies dates the map to 1428 not 1408. Critics also claim many true but irrelevant facts are included presumably to confuse the reader. In other cases, they say supposed relevant facts are due to mistranscriptions.

Another criticism is that Menzies did not consult the most obvious source of information on the Zheng He voyages, namely the Chinese records from the period themselves. Menzies asserts that most Chinese documents relating to the travels of Zheng He were destroyed by the same Mandarins responsible for the closing of China's borders in the years following 1421. While it can be supposed that most of the records have been destroyed, other records remain in extensive form, including the account by Ma Huan published in 1433 and other information in the Ming dynastic histories. These records have even served as the basis for previous historical accounts of the Zheng He voyages, such as that by Louise Levathes.^[21] A page from Ming dynasty woodcut printed edtion of Ying-yai Sheng-lan by Ma Huan Ma Huan(Chinese 马欢),courtesy name Chung-dao宗道, pen name Mountain-woodcutter, born in Hui Ji county of Zhejiang province. ...

Some critics have also questioned whether Menzies has the nautical knowledge he claims.^[22] Some feel that his unsubstantiated claim to have actually sailed the same seas is suspect, particularly while commanding HMS Rorqual. Menzies and his publisher have also been criticized for misrepresenting his background as an expert on China. HMS Rorqual (S02) was a Porpoise-class submarine launched in 1956. ...

Menzies makes another argument both in his book and also in a PBS program ^[23] based on similarities between appearance of Native Americans and Chinese. Menzies claims that Columbus believed until he died that he had reached China because he saw Chinese people (who were actually Native Americans) in the New World and not because he thought the globe was much smaller than it actually was. Menzies uses this statement to claim that Columbus saw the previously settled Chinese "colonizers" from Zheng He's voyage. Columbus actually believed he had reached India and he thought the people he saw were Indians. This attack is not without its own flaws, though, for in Columbus' time China was referred to as "India" by Europeans.

An additional problem posed by the theory of Chinese-Native American contact is that of the lack of Native American immunity to Eurasian diseases. According to Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, advanced agricultural societies living in populations with livestock carry and develop immunities to diseases not found in the populations of the New World, where there were fewer domesticated animals. There are no indications of any die-out consistent with Eurasian-American contact prior to Columbus's landing. Should the Native Americans have been exposed to such a catastrophe prior to 1492, they would have been prepared for it with immunities and not suffered such hideous losses. Jared Mason Diamond (b. ... Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies is a 1997 book by Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at UCLA. In 1998 it won a Pulitzer Prize and the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book. ...

Australia

Menzies cites several stone structures in and around Sydney and Newcastle as evidence of pre-European contact with Australia by the Chinese. On page 203 of his book, Menzies writes of the 'Chinese' ruins in Bittangabee Bay. However significant research on this site has been conducted by Michael Pearson, former Historian for the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service ^[24] which has identified the ruins as having been built in the early 1840s as a store house by the Imlay brothers, early European inhabitants, who had whaling and pastoral interests in the area. On page 220 there is the claim that "A beautiful carved stone head of the goddess Ma Tsu...is now in the Kedumba Nature Museum in Katoomba." In fact no such museum currently exists. There once was a curio stand in Katoomba called "Kedumba Nature Display" but it closed down in the 1980s. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is part of the Department of Environment and Climate Change - the main government conservation agency in New South Wales, Australia. ...

Later on in the book, Menzies recruits "a local researcher", Rex Gilroy, for his valuable discovery of a Chinese pyramid in Queensland: the Gympie Pyramid. Menzies claims that the Gympie pyramid is "the most direct and persuasive evidence of the Chinese visits to Australia". However, this is the same Rex Gilroy who at one time ran the "Kedumba Museum" and purportedly found the Chinese carved goddess Ma Tsu from the Chinese Fleets, a connection which Menzies fails to mention. The Gympie Pyramid has been researched independently and found to be part of a retaining wall built by an Italian farmer to stop erosion on a natural mesa on his property.^[25] Rex Gilroy is an Australian who has published books and articles on cryptids and unexplained or speculative phenomena. ... The Gympie Pyramid located in the outskirts of Gympie in Queensland, Australia is a terraced structure that some claim was built by ancient Egyptians long before whites came to Australia, while others say it was built by an Italian vineyard owner in the 1950s. ... The Gympie Pyramid located in the outskirts of Gympie in Queensland, Australia is a terraced structure that some claim was built by ancient Egyptians long before whites came to Australia, while others say it was built by an Italian vineyard owner in the 1950s. ...

Footnotes

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) is a U.S. nonprofit organization whose stated purpose is to encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and... The Journal of World History is the official journal of the World History Association. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Language Log is a popular collaborative language blog maintained by University of Pennsylvania phonetician Mark Liberman. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Levathes, Louise, When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433, Oxford University Press, 1997, trade paperback, ISBN 0-19-511207-5
• Ma Huan,Ying-yai Sheng-lan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores (1433), translated from the Chinese text edited by Feng Ch'eng Chun with introduction, notes and appendices by J.V.G.Mills. White Lotus Press, reprint. 1970, 1997.
• Menzies, Gavin (2002). 1421, The Year China Discovered the World. London: Bantam Press. ISBN 0593050789. 

A page from Ming dynasty woodcut printed edtion of Ying-yai Sheng-lan by Ma Huan Ma Huan(Chinese 马欢),courtesy name Chung-dao宗道, pen name Mountain-woodcutter, born in Hui Ji county of Zhejiang province. ...

See also

• 1421: The Year China Discovered the World
• Kangnido map
• Pre-Columbian Islamic contact theories
• Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
• Chinese exploration

(Redirected from 1421: The Year China Discovered The World) The 1421 theory is a term to describe a theory from former British Royal Navy submarine commander Gavin Menzies. ... The Kangnido map (Integrated Historical Map of Countries and Cities), was made in Korea from Chinese source material in 1402, by Kim Sa-hyeong (김사형:金士衡), Yi Mu (이무:李茂) and Yi Hoe (이회). The map depicts the totality of the Old World, from Europe and Africa in the west, to Korea and Japan in... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contacts were interactions between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and peoples of other continents – Europe, Africa, Asia, or Oceania – before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. ... Chinese exploration was an age of exploratory Chinese travels abroad, on land and by sea, from the 2nd century BC until the 15th century. ...

External links

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• 1421 official website.
• ABC television Page with numerous transcripts and sub-pages criticizing the 1421 hypothesis.
• L1 and Alu insertions in Native Americans and East Asians Dienekes' Anthropology Blog, Friday, March 11, 2005
• Phylogenetic information in polymorphic L1 and Alu insertions from East Asians and Native American populations L.H. Mateus Pereira, et alia
• Diversity at eight polymorphic Alu insertion loci in Chinese populations shows evidence for European admixture in an ethnic minority population from Northwest China Human Biology, Aug 2002 by Xiao, Feng-Xia, Yang, Jun-Fang, Cassiman, Jean-Jacques, Decorte, Ronny

Criticisms Image File history File links Acap. ...

• 1421 exposed, an academic website criticising Menzies' theories
• Wong, Sidney 黃振翔: 《1421》的大謊言
• 1421: The Year the Chinese DID NOT Discover America: A Tabulation of the Evidence Against Gavin Menzies
• Gavin's Fantasy Land
• Critique of linguistic claims, including an update
• General criticism of numerous points in 1421, retrieved December 17, 2006
• Review of 1421 by a science editor at the New York Times (login required)
• Robert Finlay: How (not) to rewrite World History. Gavin Menzies and the Chinese Discovery of America Journal of World History, Vol. 15, No. 2 (2004), S.229–242
• Colavito, Jason. 2003. “The China Syndrome” http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/id28.html
• da Silva, Manuel Luciano. 1987. “The True Antilles are in Canada: Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward.” http://www.apol.net/dightonrock/true_antilles_newfoundland.htm
• da Silva, Manuel Luciano. 2003. “The Discovery of America by the Chinese in 1421 is a Big Lie!” http://www.apol.net/dightonrock/thediscoveryofamericabychineseis.htm
• Danford, Natalie. 2003. “The Chinese discovered America -- Or did They?” in Salon.com on January 7 http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2003/01/07/menzies/
• Hitt, Jack. 2003. “Goodbye, Columbus!” The New York Times Magazine, January 5. Section 6, Page 18 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20D14FB3F5B0C768CDDA80894DB404482
• Josephy, Jr. Alvin M. 1955. “Was America Discovered Before Columbus?” American Heritage, April http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/art/COLOMBO.HTML
• Paulson, Amanda. 2003. “The Pinta, Santa Maria And A Chinese Junk?” Christian Science Monitor, January 29.
• University of Minnesota. 2001. “Unsolved Mysteries—The 1424 Islands, Armando Cortesão and Island Names” http://bell.lib.umn.edu/map/PORTO/MYS/cort.html
• Wilford, John Noble. 2002. “A New Theory Puts Chinese Fleet Ahead of Columbus,” New York Times. Section 1, Page 8, March 17. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A1FF83D5C0C748DDDAA0894DA404482
• Wilford, John Noble. 2003. “A New Theory Puts Chinese Fleet Ahead of Columbus,” New York Times. February 2. http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2003/vol7n10/Pacific-en.shtml

News stories The Journal of World History is the official journal of the World History Association. ...

• BBC News article: 'China map lays claim to Americas'
• China beat Columbus to it, perhaps by The Economist, January 12, 2006
• "Speculation That Chinese Explorer Discovered America", Windows Audio from Public Radio International The World program, January 17, 2006
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners Program Transcript of "Junk History"
• "The Independent article: Hero of the Ming Dynasty: The man who mapped the world"