<!--QuoteBegin-Suraknar+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Suraknar)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Well,
true Zheng He was working for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he was the Admiral in Chief, part of the Expansionist Movement in China of that time.
Wither he was Mongol or not I do not know for sure, however lets not confuse the present political `China-Mongolia` maps with those of the time.
Because back in those times Mongols were even Emperors of China, and after the Mongol Invasion and Conquest of almost all Asia of Gengis Khan.
As for his goal, it maybe many, just like Colombus presented his case to the Queeen of Spain promissing Riches and Gold, I supose the same incentive they gave to the Emperor too.
These Fleets were Huge and the Ships as we see impressive.
The Voyages themselves did circomvent the Globe, the proof is the Maps that we now found that were drawn before Columbus's time.
Zheng He Himself went as far as Africa, but the Fleets under the command of the other Admirals did go all the way to America from different directions.
The Only place they did not go, "possibly in purpose" was Europe.
And you can see the complete Voyages here.
<a href="http://www.1421.tv/pages/maps/voyages.htm" target="_blank">http://www.1421.tv/pages/maps/voyages.htm</a>
Enjoy!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Those Chinese fleets and ships certainly were very very impressive. China was without a doubt the most advanced nation in the world culturally and technologically right up until the seventeenth century when the Euros finally started to surpass them. However, i own Menzies' book (that's his website you pointed me to) and find much of his evidence for a circumnavigation very... sketchy. This is not to say that such a feat was impossible (which it certainly was not), just that there doesn't seem to be any hard evidence (yet?) that it actually occoured, only circumstantial bits like the maps you mentioned, which are hardly conclusive imo. Now don't get the idea that i'm trying to defend Columus' claim to fame; he was a scumbag and i'd love to see him deposed as "discoverer of the New World"... but i just don't find the Zheng He's fleet theory terribly convincing. I'll keep watching for new and better evidence though...
As for the Mongol thing (again), YES the Mongols conquered China (and much or the rest of Eurasia) in the thirteenth century and set up the Yuan dynasty, but by Zheng's time a native Chinese uprising had already overthown the Mongols and established the (Han Chinese) Ming.
Cheers
Phil