On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:00:26 -0700, Chuck Gould
wrote:

Of course there are two schools of thought on the author's theory.

More like four or five.

The Chinese were pretty nifty sailors. Whether they did or didn't do
what they said they did is subject to interpretation, but the devil is
in the details and the details tell a very interesting story.

While a lot of the early Dynasty's maps don't exist, there is a
written record of some of the earliest voyages and it's evident that
5th/6th Century Chinese sailors visited places like India, Siri Lanka
and Madagascar. The written record shows details of shore and harbors
that couldn't be made up.

So it's possible they very well could have visited places in the
Pacific, including the West Coast of the Americas - when you are
talking ships large enough to house and 1,000 people, anything is
possible.

However the point is moot. The Vikings were there first.