[Sca-cooks] 1421

[Terry Decker]

I haven't read it or heard of it, but from the date, the author is
extrapolating from the great trade fleets of Admiral Zheng under the Emperor
Zhu Di.  There is a possibility that some Chinese explorers made it to North
America and there is a scholarly argument over whether the chronicle of the
voyage to Fushan (IIRC) is an account of a voyage to the New World.

There is some archeological evidence including some pottery comparisons, but
it is open to interpretation.  There is no irrefutable  evidence of a
Chinese presence in the New World.  The Chinese records don't seem to
support the Chinese diffusion theory.

The trade fleets were abandoned in 1433 and China became isolationist until
the Portuguese arrived in the next Century.

I think what you may have here is the new Barry Fell.  A lot of speculation
and hype in a pretty package based on some very sketchy evidence.  Frankly,
Zheng's trade with India, Africa and the Spice Islands is far more
fascinating than the highly speculative voyage to the New World.

Bear


>I've just become aware of a book called " 1421: The YearChina Discovered
>America".
>
>The gentleman who is reviewing it for me for Serve it Forth! says that:
>" The author presents a pretty compelling case, with evidence from a
>wide range of sources.  He also posits that it was the Chinese who were
>initially responsible for the dissemination of many New World crops,
>such as hot peppers and maize.  It will force a radical rethinking of
>early-modern history in all the textbooks (in my opinion)."
>
>One review on amazon calls it "lightly footnoted, heavily speculative".
> Another says:  "why we weren't told earlier-why did I spend so many
>years drinking at the fountain of English, Spanish, Dutch and Portugese
>'discovery'?"
>
>Has anyone else heard of this or read it?
>
>Elaina