17 Oct 2006

The '1421' Myth exposed: Chinese admiral Zheng He did not discover the world in 1421
www.1421exposed.com, Singapore
Supplied note: "Considerable new material has been added to the www.1421exposed.com website, including: * Gavin Menzies Cartographic Fiction: The Case Of The Chinese 'Discovery' of Australia - Associate Professor W.A.R. (Bill) Richardson * Walrus Pitch & Other Novelties: Gavin Menzies & the Far North - Kirsten Seaver * 1421 and all that Junk - Emeritus Professor Victor Prescott * Fathoming the Unfathomable: Even Leviathans have Limits - Dr. Stephen Davies, Museum Director Hong Kong Maritime Museum * Did the Chinese Circumnavigate the World in 1421? or Why Menzies' 1421 Won't Sail - Captain P. J. Rivers, FRGS FNI MRIN ACII ACI Arb, Master Mariner 1418 Map a Fake - Dr. Geoff Wade PLUS - the full transcript of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's 4-Corners documentary 'Junk History' in which Menzies, his agent, and the publisher reveal that Menzies did not write the book! AND - an expose of Paul Chiasson's "The Island of Seven Cities" completely refuting his claims. This includes aerial photos from 1931, 1947, 1953, 1969, 1975, 1984, and 1993 which show the gradual development of the features identified in the book as fire, roads, and geological exploration take their toll on the area. Articles by Andrew Hanam, an expert on the area, and Lynn Baechler, who actually carried out the geological exploration, detail the events. 16 photos of specific features, showing their recent origin, provide clear supporting evidence."
Self-description: "The http://www.1421exposed.com and http://www.1421exposed.tv joint websites have been set up by an international group of academics and researchers who are greatly concerned about the myths being created and perpetuated by Gavin Menzies, his group and his publishers. In his book '1421: The Year China Discovered the World' Menzies claimed Chinese admiral Zheng He had circumnavigated the globe, in the process 'discovering' most of the world. Subsequent media coverage has failed to accurately present to the public the large body of evidence that Menzies' claim is a fabrication, without any basis in fact. The purpose of this website is to present that evidence, and ensure that history is not rewritten by publishers more interested in short-sighted marketing campaigns that ensure their financial security, rather than intellectual integrity and public enlightenment. Contributors: * Dr. Geoff Wade Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore; * Dr. Kirsten A. Seaver Independent Historical Researcher; * Captain Phil Rivers FRGS FNI MRIN ACII ACI Arb. Master Mariner, author; * Dr. Stephen Davies Museum Director, Hong Kong Maritime Museum; * Andrew Hannam; * Associate Professor W.A.R. (Bill) Richardson Adelaide University; * Emeritus Professor Victor Prescott Melbourne University; * Michael Ross President, Australian Map Circle"
Site contents: * Contents; * About; * 1421? (Claims, Fantasy, Heresy, NZ, Junk History, No Maori, No Science, Mystic Fires, Walrus Pitch, Alll that Junk, Fiction, Fathoming, Won't Sail); *1763 Map (Challenge, Liu Claim, Prof. Zhou, Carbon Date, Gang Map, Map Holes, Overall, First Claim, Fake Map, Xinhua, Fragment); * 7 Cities; * Zheng He (Some Sources for the Zheng He Voyages - Original Sources, Academic Studies, Popular Media representations, Eunuch-led Voyages to the Eastern and Western Oceans); * Menzies (Sell Sell, Congress, Singapore, Opposite); * Media; * Contacts; * Abuse; *Your 1421 (Petition, Discussion, Evidence, Site update); * User guide (Updates, Beginner's Guide, Zheng He, Discussion, Sites).
[Menzies' book '1421: The Year China Discovered America' is discussed and evaluated in a Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1421_hypothesis address - ed.]
URL http://www.1421exposed.com/
Internet Archive (web.archive.org) [The site was not archived at the time of this abstract]
Link reported by: Geoff Wade (arigpw--at--nus.edu.sg), forwarded by h-asia--at--h-net.msu.edu
* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]: Study/News/Documents
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library/museum - NGO - other]: Academic
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: V. Useful
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300 - under 100 - under 30]: under 300 [in fact, 160]