1421: Chapter 6

As we have already discussed in class, the Chinese people as a whole are relentless in their strive for advancement and new knowledge. With each passing chapter, this fact becomes more and more apparent in this book as well. After discovering South America (along with Magellan's Strait), an Admiral by the name of Hong Bao set sail to explore along the coast of Antarctica. Keeping in mind that the Chinese have dealt with icy waters for centuries, this was still a bold undertaking. Again, the Chinese displayed a knowledge of the stars well beyond that of Europeans at the time, as the used Polaris to calibrate their latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere with Canopus. I was really surprised when they accomplished this. Also, with new locations comes new troubles to overcome. Scurvy had become a problem onboard the ships, and to counter it they found local cabbages that somehow countered the disease. With each new map, I am amazed at the detail the Chinese used so many years before any European exploration even came close to what they had accomplished. The author is almost completely certain, and I agree with him, that most European explorers (including the great Magellan), used maps already created by the Chinese. With the completion of the journey along Antarctica, the ships ventured to Australia and then home to China. However, the great exploration is not over. There is so much left to be told.