Flashermac Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Nobody else does. << Rowan Gavin Paton Menzies (born 1937) is a retired British submarine commander and amateur historian best known as the author of the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, which asserts that ships from the Chinese fleet of admiral Zheng He traveled to the Americas prior to Christopher Columbus' arrival in 1492 and circumnavigated the globe a century before Ferdinand Magellan as part of the era of Chinese exploration. This thesis has been discounted "as nonsense" by professional historians. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Menzies << 1421: The Year the Chinese DID NOT Discover America A Tabulation of the Evidence Against Gvin Menzies >> http://www.kenspy.com/Menzies/ http://www.1421exposed.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Me thinks a lot of jealous professors that realize they overlooked a credible theory...after reading the book and watching the video, it sold me and the video was quite unbiased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 There are so many inaccuracies in Menzie's hypothesis. . He is not an historian -> thus his "work" doesn't respect any basic historian's procedure. (obviously heuristic and hermeneutics mean nothing to him) -> hence things as basic as comparative study of documents contemporary to the period studied is nonexistent. As well as messing up chronology... -> a correct historical hypothesis is based on a study which also takes in consideration the arguments which could dismiss the said hypothesis...instead of that, he just uses the documents: - serving his hypothesis - using documents proven as unreliable . His nautical "expertise" has been dismissed by naval historians -> to explore the world the "treasure ships" are a big joke, would have sunk in high sea without even a small storm . His anthropological thesis is absolutely ridiculous thanks to anthropology and genetic sciences . His thesis is corroborated by nothing and especially no contemporary sources...Strange that a fleet which visited the world and stopped everywhere (except Europe, what a surprise) didn't leave any trace, archeologicaln written, oral tradition etc... and so on..... It is a nice story, the exploit of exploring a large part of Asia is already a big one in itself, it also makes the Chinese very proud but is a fiction, not even an historical hypothesis....until some solid proofs/sources appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Proofs... DNA testing, already done showing a specific DNA gene in peoples of South America. That gene only exists in Asia/China. Chinese livestock, found in South America...it didn't fly there but was taken by the Chinese in their ships. Stone tablets, left at all the places the Chinese visited and carbon dated to prove their age. Ships, having water tight multi-bulkheads, making them difficult to sink. Ship wrecks, found in Australia...one possible one in the river near San Francisco, now requested to be examined/recovered. Maps, used by Columbus and others...came from where? and very accurate maps, which would require a fleet of ships to produce such accurate maps. His experience as a navigator and applying his "hands-on" experience to his theory is plausible, more so then some professor sitting behind a desk that has never sailed! About a 480 page book, well documented. The two part PBS video can be downloaded via bittorrent, please take a look and then make an opinion. Yes, a lot of theories but for me, very plausible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 How do you carbon date stone tablets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldFun Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 hmm so another highly popolus country India & Indonesia does periodic meltdowns too do they? some interesting 'stories' - would be nice with a few more factual details/links - I'm not gonna spend my time on the bittorrent for ages to see the 'proof' - caverni? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 I have a lot of knowledge about his so called frasier island ship wreck - many old locals now gone remember for what it was - a european boat going down - that said - I do believe a lot he claimed is likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 His "Chinese anchors" found off the California coast proved to be just that ... only from 19th century Chinese. The Gympie Pyramid? Yeah, right. Lots of similar "evidence" offered by him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gympie_Pyramid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 The earliest known Ship Wreck off the California coast is/was supposedly in the 1500's, a Spanish Galleon returning from Manila. Every so often, a new wreck is found All sorts of cool shit in the water... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 The suspected Chinese wreck in the river is another matter. Wikipedia...me thinks not the best source or the best credibility. Read the book, watch the PBS video, then I would suggest to make an opinion. His charts of the Chinese ships' routes based on the winds and current are impressive and this is documented by a licensed marine navigator (captain) which, to me, carries far more weight then some desk jockey academic....but only my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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