649 replies to this topic

[vinceliang]

Improved Methanol Fuel Cells Leads to Technology Breakthroughs

Direct methanol fuel cell, a project initiated by the National 863 Program and jointly implemented by CAS Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, CAS Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Nanjing Normal University, and Nantong Haiyang Novel Materials, has led to the breakthroughs in a range of key technologies for manufacturing novel catalysts, and for improving the structures, performance, electrodes, and membrane-electrode integration of fuel cells.

Thanks to more than two-year efforts started from May 2007, scientists at the above-mentioned institutions have rolled out an array of catalysts with fine performance. Some of the catalysts have outperformed the one available in the marketplace. They also produced high performance membrane-electrode integrators, air-breathing cells, and realized the connectivity between air-breathing methanol fuel cells and notebook computers.

http://www.most.gov....90911_72729.htm

Edited by vinceliang, 23 September 2009 - 10:10 AM.

[vinceliang]

Early Qing court did not ban cannons at all.

The emperor of Qing Dynasty does not pay attention to the military development, do not allow the army to use guns. (In fact there were cannons and firelocks in Ming Dynasty. The army of Ming Dynasty once defeated the army of Qing Dynasty with the guns, so the emperor of Qing Dynasty disliked guns very much.)

http://www.mysteriou...9-qing-dynasty/

I'm not sure what you meant by Chinese sailing to Venice in the middle ages. The Suez Canal wasn't dug yet until much later. I have my doubts about Gavin Menzie's claims about Chinese discovering North America in 1421.

Infact the Suez Canal did exist. One of the lasted improvments of the canal occured in 1337. It was carried out by Sultan al-Malik an-Nasir who assigned no fewer than 100,000 men to the job. He also built the Nilometer to the south of Roda island, which can still be seen today. It measured the height of the river and thus served as a flood warning. This final canal was widened and dredged as stated by historian James Aldridge in his book,Cario: Biography of a City. The book was based on descriptions by the 15th century Egyptian historian al-Madkrizi.

Edited by vinceliang, 27 September 2009 - 05:10 AM.

[vinceliang]

Zheng He's Fleet Reached Florence and His Ambassador Met Paolo Toscanelli

On June 25th 1474, Paolo Toscanelli wrote a letter, in Florence, to Canon Fernan Martins. From his letter it says "That country has many inhabitant, provinces, kingdoms and innumerable cites all of which are ruled by a prince know as the Grand Khan, which in our language means "The King of Kings," who mainly resides in the Province of Cathay (China). His forefathers greatly desired to make contact with the Christian world, and some 200 years ago they sent ambassadors to the Pope, asking him to send them many learned men who could instruct them in our faith; but these ambassadors [the Polos] met with difficulties on the way, and had to turn back without reaching Rome. In the days of Pope Eugenius [1431-1447], there came a Chinese ambassador to him, who told him of their great feeling of friendship to all the Christians, and I had a long converstion with the ambassador about many things: about the vast size of the royal buildings, about the amazing length and breadth of their rivers, and about the great number of cities on their banks, so great a number that along one river there were 200 cities with very long, wide bridges of marble that were adorned with many pillars."

A short while after the above letter Toscanelli wrote to Christopher Columbus. From this letter ite says "It pleases me much that I should be well understood: for the voyage is not only possible it is true, and certain to be honourable and to yield incalculable profit, and a very great fame amoung all Christians. But you cannot know this perfectly save through experience and practice as I have had in the form of the most copious and good and true information from distiguished men of great learning who have come here in the Court of Rome [Flourance at that time] from it said parts [China] and from others being merchants, who have had buisness for a long time in those parts, men of high authority."

From the 1st letter Tonscanelli states that the Pope met with the Chinese Ambassador and he himself met the Ambassador who described him how great the civilization of the Chinese Empire ever is. The 2nd letter states that Tonscanelli met the Chinese where he aquired valuable information about the world.

Edited by vinceliang, 02 October 2009 - 04:03 AM.

[Craig]

Hi Vince,

I just want to make a couple of quick comments. I applaud your enthusiasm and passion for China, although it might serve you better to be more critical.
That huge, gleaming technological marvel that is Three Gorges Dam has also permenently submerged two thousand five hundred archaeological sites. It has put four thousand villages underwater. It has displaced hundreds of thousands of families. What does it matter if China has the largest dam, highest bridge, fastest rocket...if in the process of striving for international primacy she finds herself in the same devils bargain as the United States. The largest mall in the world may not be what the world needs from China.
The myth of European exceptionalism need not be countered by Chinese ascendancy to the worlds greatest consumer of raw metals. The idea that everything is of Chinese origin and the future belongs to the Chinese is as myopic as Eurocentrism and as intellectually dishonest.
As for Gavin Menzies, 1421 made several obvious errors that showed it to be the work of a committee. It is what is known as a 'publishers compilation'. Menzies publisher had a research staff of almost one hundred who mined the internet. The errors Menzies makes would not have been made by anyone who knew and loved the subject of 'Asiatic influence in the Americas before Columbus'.
There is a solid body of research that examines just this question; scholars from Humboldt, to Needham, Heine Gildern, Gordon Ekholm, Paul Chou, Betty Meggars, Liu-shi shan, Joseph Campbell, Manuel Corravubias, Buckminster Fuller, Michael Coe and many many others...have been investigating the diffusion of fundamental intellectual ideas from China to Mesoamerica for many years.
Menzies does no service to these scholars. The evidence that speaks of a Chinese connection to the New World is not so much in plants or maps. It is in the cosmology, the myths, the shamanic underpinnings of Olmec, Toltec, and Maya. Menzies book gathers pieces of data (all of which have equal merit) about Chinese diffusion, and throws it all at the wall to see what sticks.
But the elements that are indicative of a Chinese origin or influence.....are elements that have been in Mesoamerica since the beginnings of Mexicos ancient high civilizations. Zheng He is off by three thousand years. That is worse than his assertion that jade was unknown in Mesoamerica.
My name is Duncan Craig, and if you open your copy of '1421' to the aknowledgements, you'll see my name. It pops up again in the appendix', notes and index...I'm also mentioned in '1434' and I wish that I wasn't.
If you are interested, there are many better books that are written by people who know and love the subject.

Edited by Craig, 27 September 2009 - 08:18 PM.

[JohnD]

Hi Vince,

I just want to make a couple of quick comments. I applaud your enthusiasm and passion for China, although it might serve you better to be more critical.
That huge, gleaming technological marvel that is Three Gorges Dam has also permenently submerged two thousand five hundred archaeological sites. It has put four thousand villages underwater. It has displaced hundreds of thousands of families. What does it matter if China has the largest dam, highest bridge, fastest rocket...if in the process of striving for international primacy she finds herself in the same devils bargain as the United States. The largest mall in the world may not be what the world needs from China.
The myth of European exceptionalism need not be countered by Chinese ascendancy to the worlds greatest consumer of raw metals. The idea that everything is of Chinese origin and the future belongs to the Chinese is as myopic as Eurocentrism and as intellectually dishonest.
As for Gavin Menzies, 1421 made several obvious errors that showed it to be the work of a committee. It is what is known as a 'publishers compilation'. Menzies publisher had a research staff of almost one hundred who mined the internet. The errors Menzies makes would not have been made by anyone who knew and loved the subject of 'Asiatic influence in the Americas before Columbus'.
There is a solid body of research that examines just this question; scholars from Humboldt, to Needham, Heine Gildern, Gordon Ekholm, Paul Chou, Betty Meggars, Liu-shi shan, Joseph Campbell, Manuel Corravubias, Buckminster Fuller, Michael Coe and many many others...have been investigating the diffusion of fundamental intellectual ideas from China to Mesoamerica for many years.
Menzies does no service to these scholars. The evidence that speaks of a Chinese connection to the New World is not so much in plants or maps. It is in the cosmology, the myths, the shamanic underpinnings of Olmec, Toltec, and Maya. Menzies book gathers pieces of data (all of which have equal merit) about Chinese diffusion, and throws it all at the wall to see what sticks.
But the elements that are indicative of a Chinese origin or influence.....are elements that have been in Mesoamerica since the beginnings of Mexicos ancient high civilizations. Zheng He is off by three thousand years. That is worse than his assertion that jade was unknown in Mesoamerica.
My name is Duncan Craig, and if you open your copy of '1421' to the aknowledgements, you'll see my name. It pops up again in the appendix', notes and index...I'm also mentioned in '1434' and I wish that I wasn't.
If you are interested, there are many better books that are written by people who know and love the subject.

Just curious: What was your involvement in '1421'?

[Craig]

Just curious: What was your involvement in '1421'?

My involvement was with the debates surrounding the peopling of the New World. I engaged in a number of online discussions (for the past twelve years) on the subject in diverse forums. When '1421' was in its formative stage I contributed research, but was disappointed upon reading '1421' It has been tough to defend what Joseph Needham called 'the insolube residuum of belief' of Chinese
imprint in Mesoamerica,....in the face of the academic refutation of '1421'.

[Gan]

Hi Craig,

I'm curious too. Which books would you recommend to read regarding Zheng He and the Trans-Pacific Naval Travel probability? I haven't open Menzies book for a while (I think he has two) but from what I could remember, I still have a hard time taking anything about it serious.

On a side note, there was another book (not Menzies) I skim through in the bookstore a while back as well that implied, but not directly refered, to the possibility of extensive Chinese Contacts with Native American Tribes but that happen nearly 2 centuries after Zheng He. I too have a hard time believing it, in the way as stated in the book, for several reasons.

Although I'm no historian but I appreciate knowledge from anywhere on almost every topic.

[Craig]

Hi Craig,

I'm curious too. Which books would you recommend to read regarding Zheng He and the Trans-Pacific Naval Travel probability? I haven't open Menzies book for a while (I think he has two) but from what I could remember, I still have a hard time taking anything about it serious.

On a side note, there was another book (not Menzies) I skim through in the bookstore a while back as well that implied, but not directly refered, to the possibility of extensive Chinese Contacts with Native American Tribes but that happen nearly 2 centuries after Zheng He. I too have a hard time believing it, in the way as stated in the book, for several reasons.

Although I'm no historian but I appreciate knowledge from anywhere on almost every topic.

Hello,
You're probably referring to the 'Zuni Enigma', although you probably meant two centuries BEFORE Zheng He. I can't recall the authors name. Louise Levanthes 'When China Ruled the Seas' is a good start. The idea of pre-Columbian contact has a long and checkered history. Because it is a fascinating subject, it has produced a wide range of popular works... of which Menzies is but the latest. There have been better including 'Fusang' by Leland )1886) Pale Ink by Mertz, Irwins 'Fair Gods and Pale Faces'. But there is also a corpus of more solid academic papers and works by Chou, Jett, Needham, Tolstoy, Ekhorn, Johansenn, Heine-Gildern, Meggars etc.

[Howard Fu]

I'm not an expert on this topic, but I personally feel the theory Mesoamerica had extensive contact with any people of the old world has a unsurpassable flaw. Why Mesoamericans didn't have immunity to diseases Conquisdors brought?

[vinceliang]

The True History of Christopher Columbus

As well all believe that Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered America because he was trying to find his route to China by sailing west. It seems that isn't the truth. Before his first voyage hes signed the "Privileges and Peroatives" with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

The Privileges and Peroatives states:
For as much as you, Christopher Columbus, are going by our command, with some of our vessels and men, to discover and subdue some islands and Continent in the ocean, and it is hoped tha by God's assistance some of the said islands and continenent in the ocean will be discovered and conquerd by your means and conduct, therfore it is but just and resonable that since you expose yourself to such danger to serve us, you should be rewarded for it. And we being willing to honour and favour you for the reason aforesaid; Our will is, that you, Christopher Columbus, after discovering and conquering the said islands and Continent in the said ocean, or any of them, shall be our Admiral of the said islands and Continent you shall discover and conquer; and that you be our Admiral, Viceroy, and Governor in them and that for the future you may call and style yourself Don Christopher Columbus and that your sons and successors in the said employment may call themselves Dons, Admiral, Viceroys and Governors of them; and that you may exercise the office of Admiral, with the charge of Viceroy and Governor of the said islands and Continent.

Form what the Privileges and Peroatives states, Columbus had aboundoned any thought of going to China. He was after the land in the American continent which the Chinese have already discovered. He didn't find any thing new for he had a map to take him there.

The evidence is in the Letter from Toscanelli to Columbus:
“. . . I notice your splendid and lofty desire to sail to the regions of the East by those of the West . . . as is shown by the chart which I send you . . .”

From Columbus account:
I should steer west-southwest to go there [to reach Antilia] . . . and in the sphere which I have seen and in the drawings and mappae mundi it is in this region. . .”

http://www.gavinmenz...p?EvidenceID=11

When he arrived to America he met Chinese miners. This was stated in his secret report.

Edited by vinceliang, 30 September 2009 - 04:50 AM.

[vinceliang]

Europeans Reached the New World with copies of Chinese Maps (They Discovered Nothing)

The Europeans set sail with accurate maps that showed their destinations:

Accounts of first European explorers to reach land it is claimed they discovered
• Columbus’ “discovery” of the Americas: Letter from Toscanelli to Columbus. “. . . I notice your splendid and lofty desire to sail to the regions of the East by those of the West [i.e. to sail to China westabout] . . . as is shown by the chart which I send you . . .” [chart is excerpt of Portuguese 1428 Master Chart of the world showing Antilia].

Letter from Toscanelli to King of Portugal. “[before Christopher Columbus set sail] ... from the island of Antilia known to you [Antilia is Puerto Rico discovered by Chinese in 1421] . . . to Cepangu [Japan] is...”

.Columbus’ log, Wednesday October 24th 1492 (when in W. Atlantic) “. . . I should steer west-southwest to go there [to reach Antilia] . . . and in the sphere which I have seen and in the drawings and mappae mundi it is in this region. . .”

Thus, according to Columbus, Caribbean islands appeared on Portuguese maps of the world (Mappa Mundae) before Columbus set sail.

• Cabral expedition to S. America. João de Barros arriving on the first expedition to S. America writes to King Manuel of Portugal: “ . . . The lands might the king see represented on the Mappa Mundi whom Pero daz Bisagudo has. . .” João continues that the only difference between Brazil the Portuguese have discovered in 1500 and Brazil shown on Bisagudo [da Cunha] 's earlier map was whether or not Brazil was inhabited.

Brazil had appeared on a Portuguese map before the first European expedition set forth.

• Dias and da Gama rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Dias’ chronicler describing their approach to the Cape of Good Hope. ". . . They came in sight of that Great and Famous Cape concealed for so many centuries. . ." This is the Cape drawn on Fra Mauro’s planisphere of 1459 (Fra Mauro was working for the Portuguese Government when making his planisphere).

Thus Southern Africa appeared on Fra Mauro's map prepared for the Portuguese before the first European expedition reached the Cape.

• Magellan, “First circumnavigation of the world”. On entering “Straits of Magellan” Magellan faced a mutiny - his sailors would not continue. Magellan quelled it by saying: “. . . The Captain General said there was another Strait which led out [to the Pacific] saying he knew it well and had seen it in a marine chart of the King of Portugal . . .” Later, Magellan, having crossed the Pacific, met the King of Limasarra. Note from Magellan’s chronicler: “. . . And he [Magellan] shows him the marine chart . . . telling him how he had found the Strait to come hither . . .”

Thus, according to Magellan’s official chronicler, the so-called Straits of Magellan appeared on a Portuguese chart before Magellan set sail, as did the Pacific.

• Cook’s investigation of Australia and New Zealand. The ‘Dauphin’ map (1536) showing Australia was owned by the First Lord of the British Admiralty, Edward Harley. Dr Joseph Banks, who travelled with Captain Cook, bought it. Since Henry VIII’s day the British Government had owned the Jean Rotz chart which also showed Australia.

Australia was thus known to the Admiralty from two sources before Captain Cook set sail.

• Australia appeared on (Father Ricci’s map (1589) and on Hessel Gerritsz chart (1618 – Seville) (M Righton)
• The Pacific from Vancouver to “the Straits of Magellan” appeared on the Waldseemueller (1507) before Balboa “discovered” the Pacific.
• The Amazon appeared on the Piri Reis (1513[1501]) before Orellana “discovered” the river
• The Atlantic coastline of South America appeared on the Andrea Bianco map of 1448 before Columbus "discovered the continent.

http://www.gavinmenz...p?EvidenceID=11

[vinceliang]

The World's Largest Cable Stay Bridge

The Sutong Bridge(simplified Chinese: 苏通大桥) over the Yangtze River in China has the largest span of any cable-stayed bridge at 1,088 meters (3,570 ft). While Hong Kong's Stonecutters Brige is the 2nd largest at 1,018 meters (3,340 ft).

The Sutong Bridge spans the Yangtze River between Nantong and Changshu, a satellite city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province. Its two side spans are 300 metres (984 ft) each, and there are also four small cable spans[1].

Two towers of the bridge are 306 metres (1,004 ft) high and thus second tallest in the world. The total bridge length is 8,206 metres (26,923 ft). Construction began in June 2003, and the bridge was linked up in June 2007 [2]. The bridge was opened to traffic on 25 May 2008[3] and was officially opened on 30 June 2008.[4] Construction has been estimated to cost about US$1.7 billion.

The completion of the bridge makes the commute between Shanghai and Nantong, originally completed through ferry route, shorten to about an hour. It brings Nantong one step closer to becoming an important part of the Yangtze River Delta economic zone, and has further attracted foreign investors into the city. The bridge is also pivotal in the development of poorer northern Jiangsu regions.

http://www.china.org...nt_18595118.htm
http://en.wikipedia....-stayed_bridges
http://en.wikipedia....i/Sutong_Bridge

Edited by vinceliang, 02 October 2009 - 09:46 AM.

[brightness]

The emperor of Qing Dynasty does not pay attention to the military development, do not allow the army to use guns. (In fact there were cannons and firelocks in Ming Dynasty. The army of Ming Dynasty once defeated the army of Qing Dynasty with the guns, so the emperor of Qing Dynasty disliked guns very much.)

http://www.mysteriou...9-qing-dynasty/

That's not a dependable source at all. It offers fragments of "mysterious" opinions built around myths associated with late Qing emperors. In the early years of Qing, importation of European cannons and hiring of Jesuits to cast cannons were the reason why Qing was able to subdue Zheng's Taiwan, the Three Feudatory Rebellion, and the Russians in Nurchinsk.

Infact the Suez Canal did exist. One of the lasted improvments of the canal occured in 1337. It was carried out by Sultan al-Malik an-Nasir who assigned no fewer than 100,000 men to the job. He also built the Nilometer to the south of Roda island, which can still be seen today. It measured the height of the river and thus served as a flood warning. This final canal was widened and dredged as stated by historian James Aldridge in his book,Cario: Biography of a City. The book was based on descriptions by the 15th century Egyptian historian al-Madkrizi.

That's certainly not correct. Ocean going sailing ships would require much deeper and wider canals than seasonal water irrigation ditches. Check this website for in-depth analysis:

http://www.1421expos...l/no_canal.html

[vinceliang]

That's certainly not correct. Ocean going sailing ships would require much deeper and wider canals than seasonal water irrigation ditches. Check this website for in-depth analysis:

http://www.1421expos...l/no_canal.html

I have read the so called in-deep analysis claiming there is no canal. One main quote from that article is "I am puzzled that from “hundreds of thousands of emails” which brought “new evidence” Menzies managed to extract only one apparently clear-cut statement about “a traveler who sailed the canal from Alexandria to Clysma on the Gulf of Suez” and that was dated from about 170 A.D."

Infact Menzies stated more than just that. One of the lasted improvments of the canal occured in 1337. It was carried out by Sultan al-Malik an-Nasir who assigned no fewer than 100,000 men to the job. He also built the Nilometer to the south of Roda island, which can still be seen today. It measured the height of the river and thus served as a flood warning. This final canal was widened and dredged as stated by historian James Aldridge in his book,Cario: Biography of a City. The book was based on descriptions by the 15th century Egyptian historian al-Madkrizi. This is definite proof of the Canal's existance.

Yet whether or not there is really a canal. It doesn't really matter. What really matters is did the Magnificant Chinese fleet reach Italy? The answer is yes. From Paolo Toscanelli's letter to Canon Fernan Martins which was written on June 25th 1474 it states "In the days of Pope Eugenius [1431-1447], there came a Chinese ambassador to him, who told him of their great feeling of friendship to all the Christians, and I had a long converstion with the ambassador about many things: about the vast size of the royal buildings, about the amazing length and breadth of their rivers, and about the great number of cities on their banks, so great a number that along one river there were 200 cities with very long, wide bridges of marble that were adorned with many pillars."

[vinceliang]

The 2nd Largest Cable Stayed Bridge

Stonecutters Bridge is a high level cable-stayed bridge which spans the Rambler Channel in Hong Kong, connecting Nam Wan Kok, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island. The bridge deck was completed on 7th April 2009.

The approaches at Tsing Yi and Stonecutters Island are located near Container Terminal 9 and Container Terminal 8, respectively. Construction commenced on 27 April 2004 and is expected to be completed in 2009 by Maeda–Hitachi–Yokogawa–Hsin Chong Joint Venture. It costs HK$ 2,760 million. It was reported to be overbudget.

The bridge is part of Hong Kong's Route 8, connecting Sha Tin, Cheung Sha Wan, Tsing Yi Island, Ma Wan and Lantau Island. Other major constructions along the route are Nam Wan Tunnel (completed in 2008), Eagle's Nest Tunnel (completed in 2008), Sha Tin Heights Tunnel (completed in 2008), Tsing Ma Bridge (completed in 1997) and Kap Shui Mun Bridge (completed in 1997).

As a result of the interesting challenges and extreme difficulty in constructing this bridge, the project was featured on the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering series in 2006.

The bridge spans 1.6 km, with 3 lanes in each direction. It is a cable-stayed bridge with two bridge towers, one on Tsing Yi Island and the other on Stonecutters Island.

With a main span of 1,018 m, Stonecutters Bridge has the second-longest cable-stayed span in the world, after the Sutong Bridge.

The design concept for the bridge was procured by Highways Department in Hong Kong through an international design competition and the winning scheme by Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute was selected as the Reference Scheme for the further design development.

The concept is for a cable-stayed bridge with a twin aerodynamic deck suspended from two 295m-high single pole towers. These towers will have bases measuring 24m x 18m tapering to 7m diameter at the top, and the deck will allow a navigation clearance of 73.5m over the full entrance to the Container Port.

The two towers will be in concrete until level +175m and in composite construction consisting of an inner concrete ring with a stainless steel skin for the top 120m. The original concept had a conventional steel structure above level +175m but Arup found that this configuration would be too lively and lead to unacceptable vibrations of the stay cables. Using a heavier composite section instead of a pure steel structure solved this problem. For reasons of durability and to enhance the appearance, further studies concluded that the tower skin should be fabricated from a duplex stainless steel (grade 1.4462 to BSEN10088) with a shot peened surface finish. The deck itself will be made of steel in the main span and of concrete in the side spans.

The tower foundations will be located within 10m of the seawall on either side of the Rambler Channel, close to the back-up land next to CT8 and CT9. Their proximity to the channel necessitated ship impact testing and modeling. Geotechnical centrifuge testing was conducted using a 1:200 scale model of a vessel bow section and seawall within a container.

http://en.wikipedia....-stayed_bridges
http://en.wikipedia....ecutters_Bridge

Edited by vinceliang, 02 October 2009 - 06:14 AM.