Chinese discover the world?
Stern stuff there from the ComfortmeisterBut not unwarranted, I reckon.
On to matters cartographic: The Economist reports that a supposed ancient map suggests that the Chinese were first to explore the new world (not New World supermarkets dummy, the new world as opposed to the old world).
I was staggered by this statement:
"(though cartographers no longer doubt that Australia and New Zealand were discovered by Chinese seamen centuries before Captain Cook arrived on the scene)"
Er hello?
Get your facts correct Economist, this is absolutely not the case. I would have expected better from you!
The only possible explanation I can imagine for this outrageous statement is the book 1421, about which Michael King had this to say " ....his New Zealand section exhibits more false information and a more dishonest manipulation of evidence than any that I have encountered in a book issued by a reputable publisher. The book is, in short, a disgrace."
So there!
The MapGuy
posted by Mapguy @ 12:16 PM
2 Comments:
On ya Mapguy. Is good this sort of crap is exposed.
And it's not the first time I've heard of factual mistakes in the Economist. Editorial standards there are getting similar to the Press apparently.
Cripes! It gets better. Check this out from the http://www.1421.tv web site Evidence section (do a search for the word zealand):
"8. Zhou Man’s Fleet was hit by a resultant tsunami, and was hurled north to New Zealand and north-west to Australia. The wrecks of 44 of Zhou Man’s Fleet have been located on New Zealand, South Island - work of Cedric Bell.
9. Zhou Man’s Fleet was coming to revive the Chinese settlement on New Zealand, which had been established in the Han Dynasty (c.150 BC) - Cedric Bell’s work.
10. The Chinese had occupied New Zealand, South Island for 2000 years before Captain Cook arrived. This accounts for Maori’s MtDNA being Taiwanese - work of Dr Geoffrey Chambers.
11. New Zealand was a Chinese colony founded for the extraction of gold and minerals."
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