Did Zheng He mariners explore the Americas before Columbus? A Chinese-based map reveals the truth
As children, we all learn about who discovered America. However, all those figures are Europeans. In this paper, Dr Wang analysis the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu《坤輿萬國全圖》or Complete Geographical Map of All the Kingdoms of the World published by Matteo Ricci in 1602. What she found is that contrary to popular belief, the Americas shown are not the result of European information, but Chinese sourced from Pre-Columbian times. Moreover, it shows the political landscape of the Americas in the 1420s and evidence for much earlier Chinese voyages.