![]() ![]() He backs his assumptions with arguments (circular really) and historical facts which are rather flimsy.įor example the fact that Zheng couldn’t be In Italy in 1434 because he was dead by then, but Menzies conveniently sidesteps this by resurrecting him.Īlthough Menzies narrative is engaging, his theory is still mere speculation because historical facts don’t sustain it. And it is these gifts that ‘ignited the renaissance’ in Europe. ![]() Menzies states that the Chinese landed in Italy and sent a delegation to the council of Venice where they passed on knowledge in the form of world maps, instruments, astronomical tables and technological treatises as gifts from the emperor Xuande (who ruled from 1426 to 1435). This proposition is based on seven voyages (historically undisputed) made by a large Chinese fleet between 1400 to 1433AD. ![]() Its review is as follows.Ī continuation of sorts of 1421 which puts forth the hypothesis that the Chinese fleet under Zheng He, discovered America, 1434 advances on with a controversial proposition that the renaissance was brought to Europe by the same Chinese fleet and not the classical Greek and roman ideals. The complete title of the book is 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance, published in 2008. ![]()
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