It's pretty obvious why the Beeb fell for this - it's classic Po-Mo stuff, Columbus wasn't so great after all, and a NON-WESTERN!!! culture did what we did earlier and without giving everyone the clap. Just like the Rather memo's fake-but-too-good-not-to-be-true.

The news reports have phrased things poorly. The map was copied in 1783 - along with many other cartographs - to make the complete map shown. The interest in this copy comes from the annotation (the big blocks of characters floating in the middle of the Pacific), which indicates what was copied from where; the 1418 map being copied had details of the western coast of the US. Nobody's claimed that Zheng He had mapped the whole of the Pacific and N and S America in 1418; all that stuff came from European maps. It's the existence of a note claiming that the 1418 map matched later cartography that's spurred the reporting. The BBC (and others) have done a crappy job of making this clear; can't blame you for your interpretation.

I'm a big Zheng He fan myself, and it is one of the tragedies of history that such an incredible guy was in the service of such a crappy empire, that took the tribute money from his voyages but didn't have the vision to see the potentials that were unveiled.

I have my own post about the whole map thing - with what is the biggest objection to the he-did-more-than-history-records theme - here.

Don't be too hard on the BBC. It could happen to any huge news gathering corporation. CBS and Dan Rather once fell prey to documents of questionable origins--it happens.

Seems like the BBC wants this one to be true too much to take the time to do a better job making the case. On the otherhand, it does at least provoke interesting research by being quesionable. Still, the map appears to be at least as accurate and up to date as the ones you get with your airport rental car.

Another Two Things Wrong With This Map

Antarctica and the Islands of the Arctic (Z. must have been the greatest explorer of all time.)

Augurwell

One problem I have with Zheng fans is they want him to discover South America and so on. Given the Ocean currents and the trades it is far more likely that he dscovered Alaska and BC, perhaps even Washngton state, that is to say if he made it to the new world. That might explain why it wasn't such a big deal to him, the natives of the pacific northwest have very oriental features and might been seen as primative orientals (with very little of value) to his men.

The advantage to my scenario is that he can sail using dead reckoning and food and water would not have been a big problem. Having sailed parts of the South Pacific in a J-boat I just don't see him making the west to east trip without knowing where the islands are.

Just as a side note, all of his known trips are possible by dead reckoning. After discovery he could than take his trips by leaving sight of land as he knows where he is going.

On the other hand maybe I am just being a spoil-sport.

BROWN PEOPLE GOOD, WHITE PEOPLE BAD!

There are many in the US today who want to mirror the Xuande Emperor's policy, turn inward and ignore China.

So, America was discovered by a Moslem eunuch in the service of a Chinese emperor.

Does this mean we are obligated by history to be Moslems, Maoists, imperialists or metrosexuals? Makes a difference when I visit the barber. Please advise.

The voyages of Zheng He illustrate the fact that exploration voyages alone, if not followed up, are of little long-term significance. If you like alternate histories, check out Kim Stanley Robinson, _Years of Rice and Salt_. His basic premise is that the Black Death of 1348-50 wipes out Europe, leaving the world to China and Islam. An interesting take, I think.

Stephen, good analysis.

> A map due to be unveiled in Beijing and
> London next week may lend weight to a
> theory a Chinese admiral discovered
> America before Christopher Columbus.

Hmmm. Before this Chinese guy, Leif Ericsson discovered America (New Foundland). Before him, the ... native Americans. Does it count? No. It doesn't count since their "discovery" didn't make the slightest difference. The rest of the world got to know about the existence of the Americas because of Columbus' travels. Therefore, he is the discoverer of America. The rest is irrelevant. We know of America because of Columbus and not because of this Chinese hero. He didn't make the difference (thanks to his country's future emperors), so he doesn't count. Sorry.

Vilmos

Does this now mean the incorrect name for native americans, "indians", is now "chinks"?

All this is making me begin to doubt the authenticity of my Rolex that I bought in Hong Kong last year for $110. That and my green wrist.

The more or less accurate narrowness of Central America and the apparent inclusion of the Yucatan peninsula are somewhat problematic as well. Or did he also sail around Tierra del Fuego and up to the Carribean?

So, we latecomers (westerners) are supposed to believe (based on the schematic comparison with the Santa Maria) that in the early 15th century, Zhang He had a ship (fleet of ships?) of 400 feet at the waterline, sporting multiple 200-foot masts? I am filled with doubts about the technology. What sort of cordage would they have used to brace a 200 foot mast...?

I'm with Soti. Saying Zheng He discovered America is like saying the guy who first saw mold discovered Penicillin.

And as David points out, coming here from the Asia isn't necessarily any great accomplishment.

Read the book "1423, The Year the Chinese Discovered America," written by a former Royal Navy submarine commander and published about ten years ago. It's about the voyages of the Chinese and the fleets they sent out that circumnavigated the globe along several routes. Don't know if it's true, but it is an interesting read.

RCB III, I think you mean "1421: The Year China Discovered the World", by Gavin Menzies? Excellent, somewhat controversial book, well worth the read. Among other things, claims the Chinese made it to Australia and Antarctica, and the east coast of the Americas, IIRC.

Steve

It is a good book. I read it last year and came away thinking it was sort of mixed, though. There was compelling information in the book along with a bunch of what seemed to me to be overreaching with limited evidence.

Still, an intriguing idea. I'm definitely open to being convinced.

One problem I had with "1421" was its claim that the shorelines had changed tremendously since because of global warming. I don't think so.
This goes back to the whole controversy about the Piri Reis map - also "copied from ancient charts" - in that case portolans. Fascinating speculation, but, as VS says, irrelevant to actual history. When we discover Atlantis buried under the Antarctic ice, I may re-read Velikovsky.

"So, we latecomers (westerners) are supposed to believe (based on the schematic comparison with the Santa Maria) that in the early 15th century, Zhang He had a ship (fleet of ships?) of 400 feet at the waterline, sporting multiple 200-foot masts? I am filled with doubts about the technology. What sort of cordage would they have used to brace a 200 foot mast...?"

Amen, brother.

I'm sure that the good admiral got around and had big ships *for* *the* *time* but a 400ft wooden boat is a monster LOT of ship.

It IS possible to make such a craft (especially with modern "wood based" polymer technology.) but lets get real:

In the 1800's, Europeans, with access to the entire world for woods, with a multi-hundred year tradition of building wooden ships, and a enormous military and mercantile need to build the biggest/fastest ships inthe world - as gun platforms, to move armies, to capture the worlds trade - could and would not build ships greater than 250ft or so long, (e.g. HMS Victory: 230 ft long, cost in modern pounds about 50 millions)

The Victory, and her sisters, were the 800 lb gorilla's of the seas of their time. The state of the technological art, the product of the one of the most wealthy and navally oriented societies EVER, competing with all it's might and brains and money against multiple enemies -from whom they were perfectly willing to steal and borrow every new idea.

That 250 ft length did not substantially increase until the advent of iron braced or hulled ships and steel cordage. And they often needed motor tugs in harbours to usefully moor.

And you want me to believe that a empire with little maritime tradition suddenly invented ships like that, as if springing formed like from the forehead of Zeus?

Bull feathers.

That is not to say he didn't do marvelous things and go to far places, in for the time time, large ships.

Let us not exaggerate.

I suppose Zheng and his fleet of 400-foot boats mapped Italy and the Mediterannean coast at night while all those Europeans were sleeping. Sneaky devil.

And he must have had some ancient Confusion sonar in order to distinguish land contours under Arctic ice cover. And what's with the randomly distributed rivers and mountains?

Didn't an Irish Monk show up here, too? Long time before Columbus, but after Erikson?

The Irish monk that allegedly discovered North America was St. Brendan, and it was in the 6th century AD, long before Columbus or Erikson. You can read a Kon-Tiki style account of a guy building and then sailing a leather boat (!) across the North Atlantic in "The Brendan Voyage" by Tim Severin. Excellent read. Of course, nothing came of St. Brendan's discovery, if it even happened at all, but it's well-written.