This is a theory put forward by gavin menzies, a British scholar, who claimed that Zheng He's fleet in Ming Dynasty in China might reach the American continent before Columbus and sail the world before Magellan.

Menzies Zheng He's theory of discovering America is based on the following points:

One is a map of the world drawn by Europeans at the end of 15 and the beginning of 16. Menzies found a plan of the earth drawn in 1459 in Venice, with South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope painted on it, and a Chinese sailboat painted next to it.

The Cape of Good Hope was discovered by da Gama in 1479. To this end, menzies concluded that the nautical chart of Europe may come from China. According to their own sailing experience, the crew of Zheng He's fleet drew 24 nautical charts, including Zheng He's Nautical Chart and Xing Cha Sheng Lan. It is Zheng He's nautical chart that European navigators carry out maritime exploration activities.

Second, China's ancient ships, stone anchors, fishing gear and other relics were found at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. Menzies used his knowledge of wind direction and tide to infer that nine ocean-going sailboats in Zheng He's fleet sank to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea in142165438+February.

However, the materials and shapes of ancient sunken ships and stones scattered on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea are the same as those of the ancient China ships salvaged from Philippine waters. This shows that the ships of Zheng He's fleet have been there and sunk there.

Thirdly, shipbuilding and navigation in China developed in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, many shipyards along the southeast coast of China were able to build ocean-going sailboats. 1405 Since June, Zheng He's fleet has made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, reaching more than 30 countries. Zheng He's treasure ship, with a length of150m, has excellent navigation performance, can sail around the world and reach America first.

Hua, a professor of historical geography at Renmin University of China, strongly opposes Zheng He's theory of discovering America.

He said that there is a consensus among historians that Zheng He's fleet reached Kenya as far as possible. Menzies's statement is novel, but "speculation cannot replace facts". He even advised menzies not to waste time on this kind of research. It is more meaningful to study Ming history than Zheng He.

1, chart error.

Mao Peiqi, deputy director of the History Department of Renmin University, said that scholars of Ming history in China have not acknowledged this statement. "For example, menzies said that there was longitude on the map drawn by Zheng He when he was sailing, which is impossible. It may be a map drawn by Arabs. The remains recently discovered in Canada are not conclusive evidence. "

He said that "bold hypothesis and careful verification" is the usual research method of many historians. Although menzies made bold assumptions, he still needs to do a lot of verification work.

2. Need more historical proof.

Huang Pumin, director of the Department of History at Renmin University, said that this book is innovative and "can give great inspiration to domestic historians, and the conclusions and vision of the research also give great encouragement to China people." Menzies's opinion on this book is self-evident, but whether it can stand the test of history needs more historical materials to prove it.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Zheng He's Discovery of America

People's Daily Online-Zheng He found that the United States was severely criticized.