Monday, August 27, 2007
Zheng He led seven expeditions to what the Chinese called "the Western Ocean" (Indian Ocean). He brought back to China many trophies and envoys from more than thirty kingdoms — including King Alagonakkara of Ceylon, who came to China to apologize to the Emperor.
The records of Zheng He’s last two voyages, which is believed to be his farthest, were unfortunately destroyed by the Ming emperor. Therefore it is never certain where Zheng has sailed in these two expeditions. The traditional view is that he went as far as to Persia. It is now the widely accepted view that his expeditions went as far as the Mozambique Channel in East Africa, from the Chinese ancient artifact discovered there. The latest view, advanced by Gavin Menzies (see below) suggested Zheng's fleet has travelled every part of the world. However, virtually every authority in the field denounces Menzies' claims as speculation.
(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.)
There are speculations that some of Zheng's ships may have traveled beyond the Cape of Good Hope. In particular, the Venetian monk and cartographer Fra Mauro describes in his 1457 Fra Mauro map the travels of a huge "junk from India" 2,000 miles into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420 .
Zheng himself wrote of his travels:
We have traversed more than 100,000 li (50,000 kilometers) of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course [as rapidly] as a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare…
— (Tablet erected by Zheng He, Changle, Fujian, 1432. Louise Levathes
His voyages, records, and maps are suggested to be the sources of some of the other Ancient world maps, which are claimed by Menzies to have depicted the Americas, Antarctica, and the tip of Africa before the (European) official discovery and drawings of the Fra Mauro map or the De Virga world map.
The top: according to modern North-South orientation
The Bottom: The Fra Mauro map at its normal orientation-south at the top.
Links: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/FraMauroDetailedMapInverted.jpg
for the left view (N-S orientation)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/FraMauroDetailedMap.jpg
for the right view (normal orientation)
The De Virga world map (1411-1415).
Links: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/DeVirgaDetail.jpg
The full De Virga world map; with calendar plates.
Link: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/DeVirgaWorldMap.jpg
Former submarine commander Gavin Menzies in his book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World claims that several parts of Zheng's fleet explored virtually the entire globe, discovering West Africa, North and South America, Greenland, Iceland, Antarctica and Australia (except visiting Europe). Menzies also claimed that Zheng's wooden fleet passed the Arctic Ocean. However none of the citations in 1421 are from Chinese sources and scholars in China do not share Menzies's assertions.
A related book, The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When They Discovered America by Paul Chiasson maintains that a nation of native peoples known as the Mi'kmaq on the east coast of Canada are descendants of Chinese explorers, offering evidence in the form of archaeological remains, customs, costume, artwork, etc. It is worth noting that several advocates of these theories believe that Zheng He also discovered modern day New Zealand on either his sixth or seventh expedition.
Trades Along the Silk Road
(Rolls of Chinese silk; Chinese silk has been a popular community for at least since ancient Roman times, when it was favored by the rich and fashionable and traded by merchants of many different religions along the well-known Silk Road.)
(Pictures of famous Chinese silk embroidery; when peach blossoms, dragons and phoenixes designs were very popular in China.)
(An example of an item made of silk; a silk pouch)
(Examples of ancient Chinese porcelain traded by merchants; bowls, pots and ‘containers’ pottery made of porcelain)
as told by us;
12:32 AM