1421 Gavin Menzies | 1434 | the year China discovered America | Chinese Voyages | When was China discovered | 1421 Menzies

1421

1421 The Year China Discovered the World
Gavin Menzies
Published by Bantam Press, London

"...On the 8th of March, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen sailed from its base in China. The ships, huge junks nearly five hundred feet long and built from the finest teak, were under the command of Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was 'to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas' and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. The journey would last over two years and circle the globe.

When they returned Zhu Di lost control and China was beginning its long, self-imposed isolation from the world it had so recently embraced. The great ships rotted at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. They had also discovered Antarctica, reached Australia three hundred and fifty years before Cook and solved the problem of longitude three hundred years before the Europeans..."



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1421 DVD now available!

Did a daring Chinese Admiral sailing the world's largest wooden armada beat Columbus to America by 71 years? 1421 The Year China Discovered America? is a fascinating two part documentary that investigates this possibility, delving deep into historical archives and exploring the theories of best selling author Gavin Menzies.

Using location photography and beautifully crafted dramatic reconstruction, the two part documentary begins by telling the story of the known voyages of Zheng He. In the second part, the programme examines Menzies's evidence that he claims is proof that the Chinese discovered America long before Columbus.

We present his theory and put it to the test, visiting locations to search for clues, draw together contemporary historical accounts, and disclose a wealth of evidence from scholars. The results are fascinating, often dramatic and make for gripping television.

A Penguin Television co-production with Paladin Invision and PBS.

The DVD is now available to buy online from Amazon.co.uk.