Based on years of research, this marvelous history by bestselling historian Gavin Menzies argues that in 1434 a Chinese fleet--official ambassadors of the emperor--arrived in Tuscany, where they were received by Pope Eugenius IV in Florence. The delegation presented the influential pope with a wealth of Chinese learning from a diverse range of fields: art, geography (including world maps that were passed on to Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan), astronomy, mathematics, printing, architecture, steel manufacturing, military weaponry, and more. This vast trove of knowledge spread across Europe, igniting the legendary inventiveness of the Renaissance, including the work of such geniuses as da Vinci, Copernicus, Galileo, and others.

Based on years of research, this marvelous history by bestselling historian Gavin Menzies argues that in 1434 a Chinese fleet--official ambassadors of the emperor--arrived in Tuscany, where they were received by Pope Eugenius IV in Florence. The delegation presented the influential pope with a wealth of Chinese learning from a diverse range of fields: art, geography (including world maps that were passed on to Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan), astronomy, mathematics, printing, architecture, steel manufacturing, military weaponry, and more. This vast trove of knowledge spread across Europe, igniting the legendary inventiveness of the Renaissance, including the work of such geniuses as da Vinci, Copernicus, Galileo, and others.

Erudite and brilliantly reasoned, 1434 will change the way we see ourselves, our history, and our world.

INTRODUCTION

Ⅰ  Setting the Scene

1 A LAST VOYAGE

2 THE EMPEROR’S AMBASSADOR

3 THE FLEETS ARE PREPARED FOR THE VOYAGE TO THE BARBARIANS

4 ZHENG HE’S NAVIGATORS’ CALCULATION OF LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

5 VOYAGE TO THE RED SEA

6 CAIRO AND THE RED SEA-NILE CANAL

Ⅱ  China Ignites the Renaissance

7 TO THE VENICE OF NICCOLO DA CONTI

8 PAOLO TOSCANELLI’S FLORENCE

9 TOSCANELLI MEETS THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR

10 COLUMBUS’S AND MAGELLAN’S WORLD MAPS

11 THE WORLD MAPS OF JOHANNES SCHONER, MARTIN WALDSEEMULLER, AND ADMIRAL ZHENG HE

12 TOSCANELLI’S NEW ASTRONOMY

13 THE FLORENTINE MATHEMATICIANS: TOSCANELLI, NICHOLAS OF CUSA, AND REGIOMONTANUS

14 LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI AND LEONARDO DA VINCI

15 LEONARDO DA VINCI AND CHINESE INVENTIONS

16 LEONARDO, DI G]ORG]O, TACCOLA, AND ALBERTI

17 SILK AND RICE

18 GRAND CANALS: CHINA AND LOMBARDy

19 FIREARMS AND STEEL

20 PRINTING

21 CHINA’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE RENAISSANCE

Ⅲ  China’s Legacy

22 TRAGEDY ON THE HIGH SEAS: ZHENG HE’S FLEET DESTROYED BY A TSUNAMI

23 THE CONQUISTADORES’ INHERITANCE: OUR LADY OF VICTORY

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Permissions

Photograph Credits

Index