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Feng Shui | Home » » 1421: The Year China Discovered America | | | | | | | Description: | | On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was "to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas" and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. When it returned in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in China's long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. Also concealed was how the Chinese colonized America before the Europeans and transplanted in America and other countries the principal economic crops that have fed and clothed the world. Unveiling incontrovertible evidence of these astonishing voyages, 1421 rewrites our understanding of history. Our knowledge of world exploration as it has been commonly accepted for centuries must now be reconceived due to this landmark work of historical investigation. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Gavin Menzies | | Paperback:
| 656 pages | | Publisher:
| Harper Perennial | | Publication Date:
| January 01, 2004 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 006054094X | | Package Length:
| 8.8 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.1 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.65 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 275 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 1421Feb 17, 2010
I grew up in North China and lived in South China, in Chang Le, the departure point for the Ming Dynasty treasure ships, from 1947 to 1949. But I heard nothing about Admiral Zheng He until Gavin Menzies enlightened me with his revelations. His books are delightful, introducing us to an achievement of the Ming Dynasty that a subsequent emperor stopped cold and tried to erase from history. I wish I had known about all this when I was living in Chang Le.
China, oh why do you deny it?Feb 07, 2010
Great, alternative perspective on new world discovery ad travel. Must read! Decide for yourself.
extrordinary book... changed my thinking about world historyFeb 06, 2010
This book made sense of our misguided world history.... a life changing book for me.
 Not a Scholarly workFeb 03, 2010
I won't say much, because most of the negative reviews are right on. As a History major and one interested in things of this sort, I believe I can provide a good review. This book is absolutely absurd. He makes his claims based on speculations, false evidence, and speculates some more. He uses a fake map to present his claims, he talks of statues erected in Africa (not America), and he says he knows about these things because he was a military sub person. WHAT?! All in all, I would say stay away from this book. Don't waste your time. If you are interested in nonwestern or Asian exploration and discovery, there are plenty of scholarly works out there: When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405-1433 by Levathes,The Making of the Chinese State: Ethnicity and Expansion on the Ming Borderlands by Leo Shin, and The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty by Henry Shih-shan Tsai to name a few. Just please, stay away from THIS junk!!!!!!!!
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Not even good fictionDec 27, 2009
As has been noted by many reviewers and commentaters Menzie's book is full of fabrications and falsehoods. It would be time consuming to go through all of them and the intelligent reader can easily discern them. In fact it is an insult to the serios student of history. One of the more ridiculous assertions he makes, for instance, is on page 248 where he refers to all the Pre-Colombian advanced cultures of Mexico as Maya. One could go on and on. Fortunately I did not purchase this but was given to me by someone who had lost a book which I had lent her (a good book incidently). After "reading" it I cut out the photos (good by the way) and trashed it, as I would have been ashamed if anyone had seen it in my library. I do not understand Mr.Menzies point in writing this book, is it to seek fame late in life, to make money or is he overly obsessed with Chinese culture? I can't help respecting him as he is a retired naval officer and I'm a retired mrchantman. I'm an ardent student of all history, esp. that of travel and exploration of which Amazon has a great selection!. Paul Dukel, San Jose, Costa Rica
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