1421 hypothesis
The 1421 theory is a term to describe a theory from former British Royal Navy submarine commander Gavin Menzies. In his book 1421: The Year China Discovered The World Menzies suggests that fleets by the Chinese captains Zhou Wen, Zhou Man, Yang Qing and Hong Bao, in the fleet of Emperor Zhu Di's Admiral Zheng He , travelled to many parts of the world during the Ming Dynasty era from 1421 to 1423, before the Europeans 'discovered' these places. According to Menzies, the discoveries include Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Antarctica, and the northern coast of Greenland. The knowledge of these discoveries has been lost, Menzies argues, because the Mandarins (administrators) of the Emperor's court took a strict line on new adventures after lightning (which was considered a sign of divine anger) burnt down the newly constructed Forbidden City. A year later, his successor (son), the Hongxi Emperor, then forbade making new voyages, and his advisors destroyed all accounts of Zheng He's voyages.
Menzies bases his theory on Chinese shipwrecks, old maps, surviving Chinese literature from the time, and accounts written by navigators like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan. Menzies also believes that controversial structures like the Newport Tower and the Bimini Seatrack are constructed by Zheng He's men.
Among his specific evidence are DNA studies showing "recent" DNA flow from China, maps which apparently show foreign lands before the Europeans discovered them, and a drawing of an armadillo in a book published in China in 1430, along with veritable mountains of circumstantial evidence.
His book is considered by many experts to not be founded in fact. One Chinese expert pronounced the theory "pure fiction". However, some academicists, like Dr. Sir John Elliot (Oxford University) do believe the theory.
Menzies modifies his theory from time to time based on newly discovered evidence. His new findings are usually bigger, bolder, and much less traditional than his previous ones. For example, he now claims some of Zheng He's ships travelled as far as Spain. He also now alleges that the Chinese records of the voyages were never, in fact, destroyed, and are waiting to be found.
Further Reading
- Gavin Menzies, '1421, The Year China Discovered The World', Morrow/Avon, 2003, hardcover 576 pages, ISBN 0060537639