“The resource gathering and logistics planning was truly amazing,” said J. Travis Schutz, a history professor at California State University, Los Angeles. He is not affiliated with this book.
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A treasure trove of porcelain fragments recovered from a shipwreck more than 700 years old in China’s coastal waters
A treasure trove of porcelain fragments recovered from a shipwreck more than 700 years old in China’s coastal waters
After the emperor who sponsored the first six voyages passed away, the new emperor decided that the seventh voyage would be the last.
At the end of the voyage, many ships, equipment, maps and other records were destroyed by the Ming regime, “resulting in later Chinese people losing their knowledge of world geography,” Wang wrote. There is.
How does the amazing world of underwater archeology work?
How does the amazing world of underwater archeology work?
One of those people was British submarine commander Gavin Menzies, who believed that the Chinese reached the Americas in 1421. He wrote a controversial book on the subject in 2002. 1421: Year when China discovered the worldhistorians rejected it as “pseudo-history”.
But in his book, Wang guides readers through a rethinking of China’s exploration history, analyzing major world maps published a quarter of a century before He’s maps, and helps them understand the academic world. It suggests that we have gone much further than the consensus.
“Even the most rigorous scholars admit that there is a very puzzling phenomenon in ancient Western maps. Many of the areas considered ‘unknown’ were already mapped before the Age of Exploration. ” she wrote in the book’s foreword.
Wang began to wonder if someone else had driven Europeans to these places, and if the lost original maps could explain their origins.
However, it is a Chinese map published by Italian priest Matteo Ricci in 1602 while he was living in China. Qunu Wanguo Quangtu (KWQ), the pieces of a historic puzzle were starting to fall into place for Wang.
“[The KWQ is] “This is the first world map written entirely in Chinese,” Wang said.
A rare six-sheep chariot unearthed near the tomb of China’s first emperor
A rare six-sheep chariot unearthed near the tomb of China’s first emperor
However, after comparing the KWQ with European maps published throughout the 16th century, Wang concluded that it could not be created solely from maps from European sources.
Her theory was that many of the maps may have been destroyed after the voyage ended, but some may have survived and the Lich may have taken possession of them.
She suggested that Rich edit the Chinese source maps and incorporate some Western elements from the European maps he was familiar with to create the KWQ.
Throughout the book, Wang compares the KWQ to four major maps of Europe from the 16th century. Along with her analysis, she also presented archaeological evidence discovered by people she came into contact with after she began investigating KWQ.
In the first chapter, Wang discusses Cape Breton Island, located in Nova Scotia, Canada.
She began researching the area when she noticed that the KWQ depicts a canal that divides the island in two, a canal that does not exist on European maps.
And in fact, a canal existed in the village of St. Peters on the island.
Archaeological site breakthrough offers window into early Chinese civilization
Archaeological site breakthrough offers window into early Chinese civilization
Wang contacted architect Paul Chiasson and surveyor TC Bell, who had discovered ruins in the area that had “Chinese characteristics.” These ruins were unaccountable because the local indigenous peoples did not claim them as their own.
Chiasson believed the ancient canal, later rebuilt by the Canadian government, was actually built by Chinese explorers.
Wang added that while the canal may have been built by Ming sailors, it’s also possible that it was built by Chinese explorers from an even earlier era.
Seeking further evidence that this was done by Chinese explorers, Mr. Wang asked Mr. Bell to examine his discovery photos for evidence of black residue on the cut rocks.
In ancient times, the Chinese used chemicals to break stones, Wang said, leaving behind a black residue.
Bell eventually discovered an image in which this residue was present.
Evidence obtained on the island and accurate depictions of the KWQ’s canals led Wang to conclude that Chinese explorers had indeed reached the island by 1433.
More recently, many scholars have come to believe that the Vikings also crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the Americas before European explorers arrived.
How Xi’s nods to ancient Chinese ruins strengthen Beijing’s historical narrative
How Xi’s nods to ancient Chinese ruins strengthen Beijing’s historical narrative
In fact, Bell found two Viking stone grave markers on the island. “This is the first and only one ever discovered in North America,” Wang wrote.
However, the marker was discovered at the bottom of the “Chinese Road” and Wang said he believed it pre-dates the Vikings, suggesting potential Chinese exploration in the area before 1000 AD. He said that this is proof. This claim runs contrary to what Canadian government archaeologists who examined the marker concluded.
In the final chapter of the book, Wang continued his analysis of the Americas as depicted in the KWQ. At the time the map was published, “vast areas of North America had not yet been reached by Europeans,” Wang writes.
Nevertheless, there were annotations on the map that suggested someone was actually there.
KWQ had 17 annotations about the Americas describing aspects of the land such as natural environment, geography, living conditions, flora and fauna. In the maps of Europe analyzed by Wang, only one of them was found.
KWQ also shows the Mississippi River, which is not shown on other maps.
The KWQ does not depict the Great Lakes, which Wang believed the sailors reached during their last voyage in the 1430s, but the KWQ depiction is a map drawn during their sixth voyage in the 1420s. I thought it came from.
There are many studies reexamining ancient history, but the focus is often on quantity rather than quality, Wang said.
Half a century after its first discovery, the Terracotta Warriors added only 20 soldiers
Half a century after its first discovery, the Terracotta Warriors added only 20 soldiers
Regarding maps, she said: “Most cartographers only emphasize the geographic aspects of maps, but I think maps can actually provide much more information.” [than] It’s just geography. ”
The first and most important thing drawn on a map is location, she said. The second factor is time, which can be interpreted by the presence of borders, countries, and place names. The third aspect is historical events.
And fourth, the characteristics of the place are described through annotations of the geography, animals, plants, and people present. Throughout his research, Wang examined his KWQ with these four aspects in mind.