A fascinating thesis, but a half-baked defense
In his 2002 book entitled 1421, Gavin Menzies tries to make the case that in the year in question, 71 years before Columbus discovered America, the Chinese not only discovered America but also navigated, charted, and to some extent colonized the entire world, with the exception of Europe. At that time, the Ming Dynasty emperor Zhu Di sent out a fleet of treasure ships to explore the unknown reaches of the earth and establish trade connections with the nations they encountered. The fleet, under the direction of Admiral Zheng He, split into four smaller units led by four intrepid admirals: Hong Bao, Zhou Man, Zhou Wen, and Yang Qing. Menzies traces the itineraries of these four Chinese fleets and catalogs the discoveries they made. He bases his argument on a detailed study of pre-Colombian world maps, asserting that the entire world was already mapped before Columbus set sail. He supports this theory with excerpts from diaries and letters, archaeological findings, and other scientific evidence.I am not at all uncomfortable with the idea of pre-Colombian intercontinental travel. If we already accept that the Vikings reached North American shores in the year 1000, then the idea that a relatively advanced seafaring civilization like the Chinese might have traversed the world four centuries later is not such an incredible stretch. Yet, even though in my case Menzies is preaching to the choir, his writing is far from convincing. Almost every paragraph in the book contains some kind of qualifier like “it is entirely feasible that,” “it is highly probable that,” “it seems likely that,” or a disclaimer that the research is still out on a particular subject, and the results will be posted to his web site when they come in. Another favorite tactic is the use of the process of elimination in lieu of hard evidence, as in “Who else but the Chinese could have . . .?” or “It must have been the Chinese who. . .”, when in fact, as they say, it ain’t necessarily so. Menzies makes hundreds of claims in this book—Chinese colonies in Peru, Mexico, and Rhode Island; Chinese discovery of the North Pole; the Portuguese colonization of Puerto Rico in the 1430s; Chinese intercontinental distribution of various plant and animal species, including living mylodons (prehistoric giant ground sloths); and more. Each one of these claims would take a full-length scholarly monograph to defend, yet Menzies glosses over many of them in a paragraph or two.
Menzies asserts that his experience as a former submarine captain in the Royal Navy gives him an insight into the Chinese expeditions that a library-bound historian would not possess. There may be some truth to that, but the more he brings himself into the narrative, explaining his research methods, the less he furthers his case. He jumps to hasty conclusions based on sketchy logic, which only draws attention to the fact that he is not an academic historian or scientist. I’d like to think that there’s some truth to Menzies’ hypothesis, but he doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Menzies is at his best when he’s writing about the past, describing life in the Forbidden City, for example, or conditions aboard the ships of the Chinese treasure fleet. Even then, he’s prone to exaggeration and speculation, but at least he makes the past come to life. If he really wants to further this theory, he should express it in the form of a Da Vinci Code-style historical novel. He’s as good a researcher as Dan Brown and certainly a better prose stylist (faint praise, indeed). Until then, 1421 will have to do. It’s a fascinating ride, an entertaining read, and a smorgasbord of food for thought, but best swallowed with a grain of salt.
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