1421: The Year China Discovered America?
The PBS documentary 1421: The Year China Discovered America investigates a theory that could turn the conventional view of world history on its head: the startling possibility that a daring Chinese admiral, commanding the largest wooden armada ever built, reached America 71 years before Columbus.
Member Reviews
1421: The Year China Discovered America? - TheWiz
A wonderful intruiging title that immediately caught my eye as a very amateur historian. the documentary is in 2 sections. the first section is an exploration of existing hard facts that the Chinese did indeed either have or were in thought of constructing a fleet which would seem to have been crewed for any event it may incur.
The second part of the documentary is all about an individual, as brilliant as a mind gets, either obsessed on his unproven beliefs or obsessed with selling his book and turning a dollar. There is value in the first half of the documentary, as repetitious as it is. There is value in the second half if you are studying the human condition.Interesting.... - themiddleseat
The story of how the Star Fleet, which was sent out by the Ming Emperor and lead by Admiral Zheng, expanded the known world for China is incredibly fascinating. The fact that is was a story that was really only know about by the Chinese people and not heard of in the Westerner world is even more amazing. How is it that such feats of nautical adventures were not really known about in an age where the sharing of information is paramount? The Chinese Star Fleet traveled to Malacca,Sumatra, Java, Sri Lanka, India, Arabia, Africa and perhaps Australia. The depictions of the journey and the archaeological evidence in stunning. The first part is absolutely worth the watch.
The second half of the documentary postulates the theory by Gavin Menzies, that the Star Fleet sailed beyond it's own waters to cross the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the Americas before Christopher Columbus. Personally, I don't find this theory far fetched at all. But it is the summary of evidence that makes this still just a theory. Interesting, but just a theory.Vindictive second half, strange pacing - Zinger
The first half of this production talks about the very interesting sea voyages made by the Chinese during the Ming dynasty. The so-called star fleet, a massive collection of large ships, has been documented to have made it as far as Africa. The tone of this first half leads you, the viewer, to believe that given the just-presented facts, there might be something to the theory that the Chinese made it to America in the 1400s. Certainly this first part shows Menzies, author of the book 1421, in a positive way.
The second half starts out by outlining Menzie's evidence for Chinese voyages beyond Africa, but then rather astonishingly changes gear, becoming more like an investigative journalism show bent on discrediting the man. The producers go so far as to subject him to an interview, where they point out the flaws in his theory one by one, and have the camera focus on his face as he struggles to respond.
While it's definitely the case that Menzie's central premise - that Chinese ships were travelling the Atlantic in the 1400s and that some Chinese even settled overseas - is based on very, very weak "evidence" and much speculation, I'd have figured that out without the ad hominem assault. Overall, the video felt manipulative and dishonest in its approach.
Indeed, it's treatments like this that 1) make supporters of such theories more convinced they are right because "the establishment" seems to have taken it personally and is against it 2) makes it impossible for anyone to do genuine scholarly and professional research into a subject for fear of being labelled a crackpot. And thus another whole generation (or more!) will come and go and we won't be any nearer to finding the truth of the matter.
My advice? Give this video a miss.
Member Reviews
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1421: The Year China Discovered America? - TheWiz
A wonderful intruiging title that immediately caught my eye as a very amateur historian. the documentary is in 2 sections. the first section is an exploration of existing hard facts that the Chinese did indeed either have or were in thought of constructing ...Interesting.... - themiddleseat
The story of how the Star Fleet, which was sent out by the Ming Emperor and lead by Admiral Zheng, expanded the known world for China is incredibly fascinating. The fact that is was a story that was really only know about by the Chinese people and not heard ...Vindictive second half, strange pacing - Zinger
The first half of this production talks about the very interesting sea voyages made by the Chinese during the Ming dynasty. The so-called star fleet, a massive collection of large ships, has been documented to have made it as far as Africa. The tone of this ...