Lecture questions claims that China discovered the world . . .

Nov 01, 2006

A lecture held at the University of Wollongong (UOW) on Tuesday 31 October focussed on debunking claims that Chinese fleets could have discovered the whole world in the period 1421-1423.

The lecture, 1421 and All That Junk, by Professor Victor Prescott from the University of Melbourne was part of the commemoration of the visit to Wollongong on Saturday 28 October of the 16th century replica Dutch sailing ship the Duyfken.

Professor Prescott is a political geographer who came to Australia from Nigeria in 1956. He has written 15 books varying from 'Antarctica: Last of lands', with John Lovering to 'Map of Mainland Asia by Treaty'. Last year, with Dr Clive Schofield of UOW’s Centre for Maritime Policy he published 'International Maritime Boundary of the World'.

Professor Prescott’s wife, Dorothy, is an eminent historical cartographer. She was Map Curator at the National Library in Canberra and belongs to a group that has been drawing attention to what they say are the ridiculous claims by Gavin Menzies that four or five huge Chinese fleets discovered the whole world in the period 1421-1423.

The title of Professor Prescott's lecture referred to the historical study by Gavin Menzies, 1421: The Year China Discovered America (2004). This work was examined in July on the ABC's Four Corners under the title, Junk History. Among other claims, Menzies traces the purported voyages of Mong Bao, Zhoh Man, and the Chinese Admiral Zheng He to the Antarctic, Australia (including the Barrier Reef) and the Spice Islands (Indonesia), all in the early 15th century. These pre-date the Duyfken (1606), and bring into question the present celebration of 400 years of Australian coastal mapping.