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Matteo Ricci’s world map reveals - Chinese surveyed America before Columbus

Author: SL Lee
Date: 07-04-10 19:55

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Matteo Ricci’s world map reveals - Chinese surveyed America before Columbus

Melaka, July 5, 2010

Matteo Ricci’s 1602 world map offers the definitive proof that Chinese not only visited and surveyed America, they circumnavigated the world 60 years before Christopher Columbus, pointed out by Dr. Siu-Leung Lee at the First International Zheng He Conference in Melaka, Malaysia.

After examining more than 300 maps published from 14th century to 19th century, Dr. Lee presents the solid evidence including in Ricci’s own words, that Ricci’s 1602 world map is in fact mostly based on Chinese information and maps drawn 160 years before Ricci’s time and 70 years before Columbus’s first voyage to America.

Matteo Ricci’s 1602 map is all written in Chinese. In Ricci’s own words on the map, he has consulted Chinese sources to add hundreds of names and corrected the geography. Almost 50% of the 1114 names, including those on the American continents, do not have equivalents in European maps of its time. The most important dating clue is a note on the map above Spain clearly stating that the map was drawn “70 some years” after the first official contact of China and Europe. This refers to Pope Benedict XII sending a legation of 50 to Beijing (1342-47). Seventy some years later would date the map to 1410s-1420s when Zheng He was active in his voyages, which is 160 years before Ricci and 70 years before Columbus.

The absence of Papal State and important names in Renaissance on Ricci’s map is inconsistent with Ricci’s status as a Jesuit commissioned to evangelize China. An Italian map without the Papal State and Florence in the 16th century is equivalent to an American map today without Washington DC and New York City. If the Europe on Ricci’s map is not drawn by European cartographers, the rest of the map would be even less likely. Major cities founded in the Great Discovery Age such as Santa Cruz, Acapulco, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires are notably absent.

Ricci’s map is consistent with the naming of major oceans with cardinal directions using China as the center of reference, while European maps were inconsistent and confused even 200 years later. This mistake is seen on a globe commissioned by the Pope and a map by Ricci’s successor Giulio Aleni. This shows the Chinese knew about the relative size of the three largest oceans.

The shape of Cape of Good Hope, South America, Hudson Bay and the California peninsula are far more accurate on Ricci’s map than the contemporaneous European world maps. The west of Mississippi explored by Lewis and Clark 200 years later is shown with many names. Names and features that should be on the map are not there, while those shouldn’t are found. That is why Ricci’s 1602 map has been characterized as “impossible”.

The 1602 map was completed one year after Ricci was allowed to roam in the Forbidden City where he likely had access to a copy of Zheng He’s map in the imperial archive.

For Ming Chinese to know the comparative size of the three largest oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) and draw the map, they must have circumnavigated and returned safely. It is thus beyond reasonable doubt that Ricci actually uncovered and redrew a Chinese world map of Zheng He’s era (1405-1433), proving that Chinese were the first to start the Great Discovery Age.

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SL Lee

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Re: Matteo Ricci’s world map reveals - Chinese surveyed America before Columbus

Author: SL Lee
Date: 07-29-10 19:19

News from Chicago Sing Tao Daily:

http://ny.stgloballink.com/chicago/201007/t20100728_1383359.html

Corrections:

1. There is an error on the picture.
2. The proof of Ming Chinese circumnavigating is in no other than the Matteo Ricci map, not an ancient map.
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SL Lee

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Re: Matteo Ricci’s world map reveals - Chinese surveyed America before Columbus

Author: tom Dragon
Date: 07-30-10 04:09

Not only that, Ming Chinese also surveyed both the north and south poles, clearly illustraded on the Ricci map. on the small maps on the corners. Amazing.

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中文: Matteo Ricci’s world map reveals - Chinese surveyed America before Columbus

Author: SL Lee
Date: 07-30-10 08:27

利瑪竇的坤輿萬國全圖提供了鄭和艦隊環球航行的有力證據。美國俄亥俄州哥倫布市的李兆良博士指出,坤輿萬國全圖蘊藏著幾百宗證據,但需要認眞硏究才被發現。這是經過詳細審察三百多張十四到十九世紀的地圖得出的結論,在馬六甲第一屆國際鄭和會議上宣讀論文。

2010年是利瑪竇逝世400周年紀念。1582年,三十歲的利瑪竇到達澳門,直到他1610年去世,沒有離開中國。利瑪竇的主要貢獻被認為是把西方科技帶來中國,包括繪製一份名為“坤輿萬國全圖”的世界地圖,完成於1602年。地圖高五英尺(152 厘米),寬十二英尺(366厘米),印在普通書上,除了輪廓,無法細讀。

利瑪竇在地圖上自稱參考了中國的通志諸書,更正了錯誤的“度數”和“譯名”,又增加了幾百個地名,而地圖上的美洲有一半的地名在當時的歐繪地圖上沒有相對的譯名。利瑪竇肯定沒有到過美洲,他地圖上美洲的中文地名,不是來自西方,只能來自中國。

坤輿萬國全圖上海洋的命名有系統,有全盤觀念,以中國為中心。歐繪地圖上,無法正確標示大西洋與大東洋,因為歐洲的方位與中國不同。1542年敎廷官方銅鑄地球儀和利瑪竇的後人艾儒略(1582-1649)繪制的萬國全圖,兩者均把大東洋與大西洋混為一體,這是當時歐洲認識的世界。類似的錯誤有些延續到 200年以後。證明東西兩大洋並非歐洲繪圖者的命名,而是得自中國人的定名。利瑪竇並非討好中國人,是因為只有按照中國的原地圖,才能正確標示東南西北。

製圖者最熟悉的應該是自己國家和家鄉鄰近地區。坤輿萬國全圖沒有敎宗領地,也沒有文藝復興時期最重要的佛羅倫薩(Florence)和托斯卡納 (Tuscany),與利氏的時代和作為敎宗派遣來華傳敎的耶穌會會員的身份根本不符。利氏的地圖相當於今天的中國地圖沒有北京,上海;或者美國地圖沒有華盛頓,紐約,是完全不合理的。坤輿萬國全圖上歐洲部分有一段說明:“此歐邏巴州有三十餘國…去中國八萬里,自古不通,今相通七十餘載雲。”以利氏來華上推七十年,明代尙是海禁時期,與歐洲不通,與此不符。中西最重要的一次官方溝通應指敎廷于1342-1347年間派遣五十位敎士來元大都,以此下推七十餘年,即鄭和下西洋時代成圖。
如果坤輿萬國全圖歐洲部分非歐人所繪,那其他地理更無可能出自歐人之手。如果說鄭和到達美洲沒有文獻證據, 那16世紀Ortelius與Mercator的世界地圖上美洲西部的地理更缺乏第一手文獻。地圖抄本是永遠無法比測繪原本更眞確的。對照衛星攝影,坤輿萬國全圖的非洲好望角,南美洲西岸,北美加利福尼亞半島和的地形比當時最先進的歐繪地圖都準確,利氏地圖不可能抄自歐圖。英國建立美洲第一個殖民地 Jamestown五年以前利氏地圖就有革利國。加拿大的赫德森灣(Hudson Bay)是利氏去世那年才被“發現”的。Lewis和Clark在二百年後才第一次勘探密西西比河以西地區,利氏地圖的美國中部西部已有許多地名,卻沒有西班牙和葡萄牙航海者建立命名的Veracruz,Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires等城市。類似證據,超過百宗,以上僅略舉一二,說明該地圖主要源自中國資料,利氏只加上個別地名。

1601年,利瑪竇御準進入紫禁城,翌年完成世界地圖,顯然他是從內府獲得中國資料。坤輿萬國全圖的中國東北與西南的地理與永樂事蹟有密切關係。成圖應為永樂以後和宣德初年,包括鄭和下西洋時代,比利瑪竇來華早約160年,比哥倫布到達美洲早約70 年,五大洲的輪廓卻超越最先進的歐繪世界地圖,三大洋按大小比例正確命名,這只有一個結論是明代中國不止環球航行,而且首先測繪了世界地圖,其零星資料為歐洲航海者獲得,引起後來的地理大發現。

坤輿萬國全圖同時推翻了世界史上三大經典定論:鄭和下西洋止於東非洲,哥倫布發現美洲新大陸,利瑪竇世界地圖西學東漸。永樂時代能夠到達美洲,安全返回, 繪製地圖,接著在宣德時代再來就不難了。李兆良獲得在美國出土的宣德金牌及其他多項明代中國文化在美洲的痕跡,無疑是坤輿萬國全圖有力的互證。

歷史硏究是人類經驗的客觀記錄,要忠於事實,分析總結,不應為私人原因而有所偏袒和歧視,隱瞞和歪曲。中外學說同樣要求徹底的科學論證,隨時補闕正謬。替鄭和翻案只是硏究利瑪竇世界地圖的一項收獲,由此延伸,過去四百年中外交通史和外交關係,將會有更多、更大、更重要的課題値得重溫。

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SL Lee

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News:Matteo Ricci’s world map reveals - Chinese surveyed America before Columbus

Author: SL Lee
Date: 07-30-10 08:29

News coverage:

http://www.chinapressusa.com/2010-07/28/content_504946.htm
僑報網

http://big5.chinabroadcast.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/27824/2010/07/29/541s2937862.htm
中國國際廣播電台

http://www.cns.hk:89/hr/2010/07-29/2433216.shtml
中國新聞網

http://dailynews.sina.com/bg/news/usa/uslocal/chinanews/20100728/19511692649.html
新浪全球新聞

http://174.120.145.163:82/gate/big5/www.sinovision.net/index.php?module=news&act=details&col_id=613&news_id=142566
美國中文網

http://forum.dwnews.com/threadshow.php?tid=797798
多維論壇

http://www.worldjournal.com/view/full_eng/8854812/article-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E4%BA%BA%E7%99%BC%E7%8F%BE%E7%BE%8E%E6%B4%B2%E6%96%B0%E5%A4%A7%E9%99%B8%EF%BC%9F-%E5%8F%B2%E6%96%99%E5%8F%AF%E8%80%83
世界日報

http://ny.stgloballink.com/chicago/201007/t20100728_1383359.html
星島日報

http://www.ecjnet.com/PZBS/ECJ161/PZBS_100715_03.htm
伊利華報

http://chinesenewshome.com/chicago/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9324&Itemid=27
芝加哥時報
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SL Lee

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Re: Matteo Ricci’s world map reveals - Chinese surveyed America before Columbus

Author: SL Lee
Date: 08-19-10 11:40

It is interesting to note some comments about the impossible black tulip.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/post_91.html

Some already notice that the map is an impossible product of European cartographers:

"It's a fugazi. I would love to meet the person from the James Ford Bell Trust who bought this thing for a million dollars. I have a very ancient Commodore 64 from 1600's I would part with for a million dollars, too. Did you notice the level of modern day precision this map was drawn to? The best cartographers of that time made maps where the land masses appeared to be much larger due to certain mapping practices caused from the curvature of the earth. This map looks like someone was viewing the land masses from above. Much too accurate from a satellite perspective for its alleged date of origin of 1602. Lewis and Clark didn't even explore the Louisiana Purchase until over a hundred years later. How did this 1602 cartographer map the inland Mississippi River and mountainous inland of modern day USA, Cuba, and Mexico? Much of this area wasn't fully explored until much later by MANY different people of an extended period of time, NOT one person. It took Magellan a couple years to go around the world, yet alone map the entire coast lines of continents. The paper this map is written on isn't worth a nickel. There's a reason it's called "The Impossible Black Tulip", because no one wants to put this map up to the rigors of scientific proof because so many people have already been ripped off thinking it was real."

He calls it a fake. However, the map is authenticated by the Vatican which keeps two original copies, and a replica from the Vatican is now in exhibit in China in memory of the 400th anniversary of Ricci's death.

He notices Lewis and Clark only explored west of Mississippi 200 years later. He knows it takes a lot more than a few people to survey and draw the map.

The map is recorded in Matteo Ricci's letters and memoirs with his accurate dating right on the map.

The only thing is the commentator does not realize all the other information that is uniquely dated to Zheng He's time.

The map is genuine, it is drawn by Chinese during Zheng He's era.
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SL Lee

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