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Was da Vinci A Fraud?

By: Rachel send a private message
London : United Kingdom | about 1 year ago  
Views: 97
  • Da Vinci Flying Machine
    Da Vinci Flying Machine
    Posted by: Rachel
    New book aims to set straight the credit for the ideas that sparked ...
Da Vinci Flying Machine

Amateur British historian, Gavin Menzies, incited headlines around the globe in 2002 with his claim that Columbus was beat to America by Chinese sailors 70 years before. Now, he has set out to clarify the nature of the multitude of drawings contributed by Leonardo da Vinci to the Renaissance.

In his newly published book, "1434: The Year A Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed To Italy and Ignited The Renaissance," Menzies notes the similarity between many of da Vinci's famed mechanical drawings and their original Chinese counterparts. He claims that the da Vinci drawings were undoubtedly derived from them, though drawn in three dimensions.

A retired Royal Navy submarine commander himself, Menzies claims that the Chinese fleet sailed to Italy toting encylocpedias of all their technological knowledge, bringing everything to Venice in 1430. From Venice, he says, an ambassador of the fleet ventured to Florence and presented the material to Pope Eugenius IV.

Menzies tells reporters, "I argue in the book that this was the spark that really ignited the renaissance and that Leonardo and (Italian astronomer) Galileo built on what was brought to them by the Chinese...Leonardo basically redrew everything in three dimensions, which made a vast improvement."

If accepted, the claim would force an "agonizing reappraisal of the Euro-centric view of history", Menzies says in his book. "This whole fantasy about Europe discovering the world is just nonsense," said Menzies.

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  • News Source: Xtra News | about 1 year ago
    Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of machines are uncannily similar to Chinese originals and were undoubtedly derived from them, a British amateur historian says in a newly-published book. Gavin Menzies sparked headlines across the globe in 2002 with the...
  • News Source: Uinta County News | about 1 year ago
    DeMille isn't around to film Gavin Menzies' "1434," a swashbuckling, overly detailed account — including copious speculation — of Chinese influence on the Renaissance. Check out the subtitle: "The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy...
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  • Posted By broteem broteem | 3 months ago
    Euro-centric views have skewed observation at times. Edward Said's works on 'Orientalism' are glaring examples of this.I have not read but have heard from friends of a "Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed To Italy".One more word. Why one should find anything agonizing reappraisal" if it is established after proper studies?
  • Reported by Rachel M
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