1421. The Year China Discovered the World

Nach 15 Jahren Recherche, Forschung und zahlreichen Reisen legt Gavin Menzies eine ungeheuerliche These vor: Nicht die Europäer, sondern die Chinesen waren die erste große Seemacht, sie waren es, die Amerika entdeckten.

Zusatztext On 8 March 1421! the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail fromChina. The ships! some nearly five hundred feet long! were under the commandof Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was "to proceedall the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbariansbeyond the seas" and unite the world in Confucian harmony. Their journeywould last for over two years and take them around the globe. But by thetime the fleet returned home! Zhu Di had lost control and China was beginningits long! self-imposed isolation from the world it had so recently embraced.And so these great ships rotted at their moorings and the records of theirextraordinary journey were destroyed. And with them! the knowledge thatthe Chinese had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan! reachedAmerica seventy years before Columbus! and Australia three hundred andfifty years before Cook. Informationen zum Autor Gavin Menzies (Royal Navy Submarine Commanding Officer, retired) was born in 1937 in China, where he spent the first two years of his life. He joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and served in submarines from 1959 to 1970. As a junior officer he sailed the world in the wake of Columbus, Dias, Cabral and Vasco da Gama. When in command of HMS Rorqual (1968-1970), he sailed the routes pioneered by Magellan and Captain Cook. Since leaving the Royal Navy, he has returned to China and the Far East many times, and in the course of researching 1421 he has visited 120 countries, over 900 museums and libraries and every major sea port of the late Middle Ages. Gavin Menzies is married with two daughters and lives in North London. Klappentext An account of the voyage of Emperor Zhu Di's fleet and the remarkable discoveries they made. The result of 15 years of research, hardback sales have reached over 60,000. "... an intriguing and highly persuasive thesis, told with passion and energy" "Evening Standard" Zusammenfassung In 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China under the command of Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. But by the time they returned home, Zhu Di had lost control and China was turning inwards, leaving the records of their discoveries to be forgotten for centuries....

Autorentext

Gavin Menzies (Royal Navy Submarine Commanding Officer, retired) was born in 1937 in China, where he spent the first two years of his life. He joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and served in submarines from 1959 to 1970. As a junior officer he sailed the world in the wake of Columbus, Dias, Cabral and Vasco da Gama. When in command of HMS Rorqual (1968-1970), he sailed the routes pioneered by Magellan and Captain Cook. Since leaving the Royal Navy, he has returned to China and the Far East many times, and in the course of researching 1421 he has visited 120 countries, over 900 museums and libraries and every major sea port of the late Middle Ages.

Gavin Menzies is married with two daughters and lives in North London.

Zusammenfassung
Menzies has come up with something entirely new... it is a startling claim Guardian