1421: The Year China Discovered America

January 31, 2006

What is the meaning of the word “discovery”?

Regarding the book and documentary about 1421: The Year China Discovered America:

“His voyage marked the beginning of the European colonization of the Americas.”

“While Columbus had always given the conversion of non-believers as one reason for his explorations, he grew increasingly religious in his later years.”

Now, according to the 1421 documentary, Zheng He, the admiral that supposedly discovered America in 1421, travelled to bring back culture to China, NOT to colonize the world and NOT to convert non-believers to his own religion.

Here’s another link to a Chinese world map, very much mired in controversy:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3543104a10,00.html

Because of what Columbus did, “colonization” of the world and “discovery” of the world went hand-in-hand. Colonization (the taking over of other lands and its people) was an acceptable thing.

Would Zheng He have redefined the “discovery” of the world to mean “to find other lands and trade with them, understand their culture and ask them to understand ours, and be mutually respectful of each other?”

Or would Zheng He and China have done the same as Columbus and Spain?

I’m very interested to see where this goes, whether the Chinese map was actually made in 1418.

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