Where is the Sea of Cortes?

As far as I know, the Cortez Sea is adjacent to the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean Sea is the marginal sea in the western Atlantic Ocean. The west and south are adjacent to Central America and South America, and the north and east are bounded by the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. Its scope is defined as: from Cape Katosh in Yucatan Peninsula, clockwise, through Yucatan Strait to Cuba, then to Hispaniola Island (Haiti, Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, through Anega Passage to Lesser Antilles, and along the outer edges of these islands to Cape Baya in Venezuela. So I think it should be in the east of the Gulf of Mexico and the west of the Atlantic Ocean.

You'd better read the following article! !

/China/2003/0304/ Zheng.htm

Looking for the footsteps of the great navigator Zheng He

Text/Zhang Qun

600 years ago, during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty in China, the great navigator Zheng He shocked the world at that time with his feat of seven voyages to the West in 28 years (1405- 1433). That thrilling history has been silent for a long time in history textbooks. Today, with China's increasingly open and frequent international cultural exchanges, the navigator Zheng He, a pioneer of China's ancient opening to the outside world, a warrior of exploration and an emissary of peace, has regained his charm with his legendary sailing experience, which has attracted much attention at home and abroad.

Menzies made a surprising remark: Zheng He's fleet has been to America!

Not long ago, Mr menzies, a British historian, gave a speech at the symposium to welcome the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyage to the West. According to his research in 14, Zheng He, a navigator in China in the Ming Dynasty, set off from China with a huge fleet of hundreds of ships in 142 1 and completed the feat of sailing around the world in two years! He discovered the new continent of America 72 years earlier than Columbus, and sailed around the world a century earlier than Magellan! This assertion is shocking.

Menzies, the former submarine commander of the British Navy, began to study the history of navigation after his retirement. I'm going to write a book about Zheng He's voyages to the West. In his research, he accidentally found a Portuguese world nautical chart of 1842, which accurately marked the locations of Africa, Australia, South America and many islands, and also drew a China galleon. This chart has promoted the development of menzies's research. Menzies speculated that this chart may be based on the map or geographical knowledge of China people. Menzies discovered the sky map and map of China earlier than Cook, Magellan, Da Gama and Columbus through his investigation and research in Venice, Spain and Portugal, and made clear the calculation method of latitude and longitude of China people in the southern hemisphere at that time. Then, according to his many years' practical experience in navigation, he consulted a large number of historical materials on navigation, inferred from astrology, cartography, ancient cultural relics and anthropological research, and drew Zheng He's navigation road map that year.

Menzies was convinced that Zheng He's fleet not only reached the coast of Africa, but also visited South America and Australia, and entered the Caribbean Sea and the Sea of Cortes. Menzies believed that Zheng He's global voyage was not only unprecedented in fleet scale, but also five times larger than Columbus's, which was invincible and unparalleled at that time. Zheng He took this mighty fleet across the Indian Ocean, bypassed the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and South America, and crossed the Pacific Ocean, some of which probably reached the Antarctic Circle.

Menzies also found some archaeological evidence that China chicken, China rice, China porcelain and jade were discovered by the first Europeans who arrived in America. At that time, these European explorers mistakenly thought that they had arrived in China.

After a series of studies, menzies concluded: "The earliest nautical chart in the world was drawn by people in China. Because drawing a large-scale sea map requires huge ships, at that time, only China people had the largest ships in the world. Later, the charts used by European explorers, including 1842 Portuguese World Navigation Chart, were all drawn according to the maps or navigation knowledge of China people. Specifically, Zheng He, a great navigator in China, and his entourage completed such a large-scale voyage and drew nautical charts. Zheng He's nautical charts were brought to Portugal around 1428 by Venetian businessman Nicola da Kong Di. He sailed with Zheng He's fleet for a period of time before being used by European maritime explorers.

Many people agree with menzies's assertion, while others disagree. However, this shows that the great historical relics of Zheng He's voyage to the West 600 years ago are attracting more attention and research interest in the world.

Fan Chunge, a female journalist, went back to Zheng He Road.

The British have made such amazing discoveries and made in-depth research on Zheng He, but what about China people? What do you think of this sailor and the ancestors of your own country? Fan Chunge, a female reporter of Wuhan Evening News, began to pay attention to and study Zheng He with keen vision and historical responsibility. And determined to follow Zheng He's footsteps and return to the West.

In July, 2000, Fan Chunge set out from Liujiagang, the port of Zheng He's voyage to the West in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, and visited Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and some countries in Africa, *** 18, which lasted for two years and visited the whole journey of Zheng He's voyage to the West. He became the first China man to find Zheng He's navigation route alone in 600 years.

Along the way, Fan Chunge overcame many difficulties and obstacles such as lack of funds, changeable climate and frequent wars with extraordinary courage and perseverance. She said, "As a native of China, I went to this remote interview. Such a trip can arouse people's attention to this special history of China, even if something happens to Lu Yu. " In KaRicart and Cochin in southern India, this is where Zheng He led a fleet of nearly 30,000 people to land. Fan Chunge found an English stone tablet engraved with the words "Chinese fishing net". 1405, after Zheng He's fleet came here, it brought China's advanced fishing methods to local residents, making the sea a local bank. Fan Chunge saw with his own eyes that the locals there were still using Chinese fishing nets handed down by Zheng He.

In the forest of steles in Sri Lankan Museum, Fan Chunge found a China stone tablet, which is the oldest and only China stone tablet in the forest of steles. The stone tablet is about two meters high and has two lifelike dragons carved on its head. The inscription consists of three languages: Chinese, Tamil and Persian. Most of the characters are illegible, but it can still be seen that the beginning of Chinese is "Emperor Daming sent eunuchs Zheng He and Wang Guitong to proclaim Buddha Day", and it also records the rich gifts such as gold, silver and jade that were given to Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka that year. This tablet is a "walking incense tablet" built by Zheng He on his way to the Western Ocean after giving alms in Sri Lanka at the order of the emperor. This is an important historical relic left by the achievements of the first large-scale voyage of mankind. Fan Chunge was very excited to witness this precious relic.

At Sambo Temple in Indonesia, Fan Chunge saw a huge iron anchor wrapped in red silk. Legend has it that Zheng He's fleet was shipwrecked here, leaving a big iron anchor. There are also coffins dedicated to the crew members of Zheng He's fleet who died at sea, and there are hundreds of couplets praising Zheng He, covering almost every beam and column of this magnificent temple, which constitute the wonders of overseas couplets. What surprised Fan Chunge most was the six giant red candles erected in the hall, which were the highest in the world, with a height of 3 meters and a thickness as big as a water tank. This has gone beyond the candle in the general concept, but is like a towering pillar. Managers told Fan Chunge that each giant candle can burn continuously for 300 days and nights, and they shine the whole temple together with hundreds of ever-burning lamps.

Fan Chunge thinks that the Sanbao Temple is more like the Zheng He's Memorial Hall for the West built by overseas Chinese. What is enshrined here is a spirit, a belief and an expectation.

Someone asked Fan Chunge, as a reporter who recorded reality, why he paid so much attention to history and embarked on a road full of historical vicissitudes? Fan Chunge said that I was shocked again and again in the interview of Tracing Zheng He Road! Not only for the magnificent momentum and amazing feat of Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, but also for the civilization and peace spread on this long sea road, and even more for the endless strong spirit of overseas Chinese who miss their ancestors wherever they go! I personally touched that history and re-examined it with today's eyes. I want to express the dignity thinking of a modern China people.

Weng Yi Xuan sailed around the world alone.

At the Nanjing seminar, there was another person with dark skin who was particularly worth mentioning. He is Chinese-American Weng Yi Xuan. Inspired by the spirit of Zheng He's voyage to the West, he sailed the Albatross alone, passing through four continents, three oceans and 26 countries, with a journey of more than 3 1200 nautical miles, which lasted for three and a half years. He completed the feat of sailing around the world, set a new record for China people to sail around the world, and added new glory to the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyage to the West.

Weng Yi Xuan, 42, grew up in Beijing and his ancestral home is Changshu, Jiangsu. 1980 went to the United States to study computer. After graduation, I worked in Texas to develop computer software, then in Boston, and then in Silicon Valley, California. Just as he was getting better and better on the road of software development, he suddenly and unexpectedly announced: I'm going sailing!

1998 65438+February 14, Weng Yi Xuan left San Francisco, USA, and set foot on a voyage around the world on his own albatross. Of course, the sea and ocean will not comfort Weng Yi Xuan, but the stormy waves will meet him.

In the eyes of navigators, the most challenging thing is to cross the five most difficult cape in the world (Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape of Louvain, southwest corner of Tus Megner and southwest corner of Stewart), especially Cape Horn, Chile, which is the southernmost tip of South America, and is called the "graveyard" at sea by western navigators. The storm here is abnormal and the sea water is extremely cold. Before the navigation of the Panama Canal from 17 to 6544, when, At first, he was lucky, all the way to sail before the wind. Unexpectedly, only five days after the expedition, the stainless steel sail pole on the ship was blown off by the strong wind. But he had to give up and drive the albatross back to Wellington. The failure to conquer Cape Horn for the first time made him depressed and his confidence was hit.

But more than a month later, Weng Yi Xuan rallied and recruited Cape Horn. At this time, the weather is obviously getting worse, strong winds are coming from time to time, the sea is gloomy and dark clouds are rolling. When the wind was the strongest, he had to lower all the sails and let the ship bump in the wind and waves. Fortunately, there are no islands and reefs on this route, and Weng Yi Xuan just has a firm grasp of the course.

The most terrible thing is the "wild waves" that roll on the waves and collide with the hull like buffaloes. On several occasions, the Albatross almost capsized and the ship almost tilted 90 degrees. The mast is parallel to the sea surface, and the contents in the cabin are thrown everywhere. The most serious time, the windshield of the Albatross capsule was crushed by huge waves ... After a series of hard battles, Weng Yi Xuan gradually got used to fighting with the wind and waves. When the ship approached Cape Horn, he felt fearless.

When Weng Yi Xuan's sailboat arrived and bypassed Cape Horn, the sea suddenly became calm, and flocks of seabirds appeared in the estuary of the channel, flying like layers of white snow waves. In this quiet world, the sound of seabirds is so kind that he was moved to tears. Weng Yi Xuan thinks sailing can give people great happiness. "When you are in the unpredictable waves, you can feel the magical power of nature. When you overcome risks again and again, you can realize that there is no miracle that no one can't create as the spirit of all things; When you are embraced by the boundless blue sky and ocean, you can realize what is the real unity of heaven and man; When you are surrounded by groups of albatrosses, you really understand what is forgotten. "

Weng Yi Xuan was very emotional: "600 years ago, Zheng He's fleet was in an absolute leading position in the world and reached its peak. Even the Portuguese sailboats that followed did not reach the scale and superb shipbuilding technology of Zheng He's voyages to the West. But now, it is difficult to see China's sailboats on the seashore of China, and most of them are imported ships. "

Weng Yi Xuan is now back in China, hoping to do something related to sailing. "In particular, to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas, I want to publicize China's brilliant achievements in navigation in the past and enhance China people's interest in the ocean and navigation. I am very satisfied. "