Film Guide Questions for
1421: the Year China Discovered America?
Zheng He (1371-1435): the early Ming admiral who by the command of Zhudi (or Yongle, r.), the led the seven ocean voyages of the Star Fleet for the Chinese court between 1405 and 1433. Zheng He’s flotilla consisted of about 30,000 men and over 300 ships.
Columbus (1451-1506): Genoese merchant/navigator, who made four fabled voyages to the Caribbean. Columbus never abandoned his conviction that he had reached Asia in these travels.
Ferdinand de Magellan (ca. 1470- 1521): Portuguese nobleman, who gained Spanish patronage for a trip round the world in 1519. Magellan was killed in 1521 in the Philippines. His crew finished the voyage home to Europe.
Ma Huan (ca. 1380-1460): Ming official who accompanied Zhang He on three of the seven voyages. Expert in Arabic, Ma served as a translator. The book on his travels Yingyai shenglan (The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores) was published in about 1451. |
Sri Lanka: South Asian Island nation off the southern coast of India. The country became independent in 1948 as Ceylon, but changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972.
Calicut:, modern-day Kozhikode, which is a trading port located in the southernwestern coastal Indian state of Kerala.
Sohar (Oman): ancient Persian Gulf port city. Renowned as the legendary birthplace of “Sinbad the Sailor.” The Strait of Hormuz is located to the west of Sohar.
Pole Star (Polaris): northern Hemisphere star, around which all other stars appear to circle. Polaris long served the central point for celestial navigation in premodern times.
Malindi: West African coastal town located to the north of the Kenyan capital of Mombassa.
Qilin: the mythical Chinese unicorn.
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Disc Two: 1421: the Year China Discovered America?
Niccolo Da Conti (1395–1469): an Italian merchant and explorer, who traveled to India and Southeast Asia during the early 15th century.
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Fra Mauro (fl. 15th-century): Venetian monk, who in 1457 produced a highly accurate map of the Old World by drawing on the extant geographic data known to European society of his day.
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