Did Chinese Explore the World First?
by Charles Coughlin
A recent article claimed that the discovery of the New World and the first circumnavigation of the world was not done by Columbus and Magellan, but by a Chinese navigator, Zheng He (also Cheng Ho). The reason for this claim is a Chinese map that reportedly dates back to 1418 showing a fairly accurate map of the world. A gigantic wooden rudder was found in a Chinese port which supports a claim that the Chinese built giant wooden ships as much as 500 feet long and one island off Africa has a population with Chinese artifacts and the population itself appears to have mixed-Oriental ancestry.
One website notes “In 1999, New York Times journalist Nicholas D. Kristof reported a surprising encounter on a tiny African island called Pate, just off the coast of Kenya. Here, in a village of stone huts set amongst dense mangrove trees, Kristof met a number of elderly men who told him that they were descendants of Chinese sailors, shipwrecked on Pate many centuries ago. Their ancestors had traded with the local Africans, who had given them giraffes to take back to China; then their boat was driven onto the nearby reef. Kristof noted many clues that seemed to confirm the islanders’ tale, including their vaguely Asian appearance and the presence of antique porcelain heirlooms in their homes. If Kristof’s supposition is correct, then this remote African outpost retains an echo of one of history’s most astonishing episodes of maritime exploration.”
Part of the Chinese exploration story is true. The Chinese did briefly go through a phase of exploration and they did make it as far as east Africa. The claim that the Chinese explored the entire planet first appears to be nothing but multi-cultural propaganda.
While the alleged Chinese map of the world shows most of Europe, there is no historical record of Chinese ships arriving in Europe. There is also considerable detail of arctic regions even though there is a lack of evidence the Chinese ever traveled near arctic ice flows. The Chinese appeared afraid of the Japanese and were preyed on by Japanese pirates. The Chinese exploration of the Indian Ocean went on in very slow deliberate stages as shown in the map below. The routes were relatively close to land with none of the boldness of the cross-ocean voyage of Columbus.
Perhaps the most damning bit of evidence is the fact that the so-called Chinese world map of 1418 is not the original. The map was drawn in 1763. It is said to be a copy of a Chinese map from 1418. Curiously a map from Europe in the year 1699 shows how much detail was available by then. The mistaken representation of California as an island in early Spanish maps appears to have been copied onto the Chinese map.
Traditionally the Chinese have suffered from bureaucracy and stagnation. The fact that they gave up exploration after a very brief period shows that the Chinese emperor did not appreciate the importance of trade with distant lands by sea.
While it’s no surprise to think of the Chinese government as bureaucratic, lethargic and devoid of the spirit of exploration, our two party system grows more like the Chinese government every day. Exploration and innovation is being rapidly replaced with petty interests, corruption and bureaucracy. Just one generation ago, America sent men out to explore space. Twelve Americans walked on the moon from 1969 to 1972. Our multi-cultural government has apparently lost the will and desire for exploration. Political correctness has replaced the pioneer spirit which helped make America great.