Includes bibliographical references (p.331-345) and index.

Introduction p. xi I Setting the Scene 1 A Last Voyage p. 3 2 The Emperor's Ambassador p. 7 3 The Fleets are Prepared for the Voyage to the Barbarians p. 17 4 Zheng He's Navigators' Calculation of Latitude and Longitude p. 29 5 Voyage to the Red Sea p. 39 6 Cairo and the Red Sea-Nile Canal p. 49 II China Ignites the Renaissance 7 To The Venice of Niccolo Da Conti p. 63 8 Paolo Toscanelli's Florence p. 83 9 Toscanelli Meets the Chinese Ambassador p. 94 10 Columbus's and Magellan's World Maps p. 101 11 The World Maps of Johannes Schoner, Martin Waldseemuller, and Admiral Zheng He p. 110 12 Toscanelli's New Astronomy p. 132 13 The Florentine Mathematicians: Toscanelli, Nicholas of Cusa, and Regiomontanus p. 141 14 Leon Battista Alberti and Leonardo Da Vinci p. 155 15 Leonardo Da Vinci and Chinese Inventions p. 166 16 Leonardo, Di Giorgio, Taccola, and Alberti p. 177 17 Silk and Rice p. 197 18 Grand Canals: China and Lombardy p. 206 19 Firearms and Steel p. 216 20 Printing p. 231 21 China's Contribution to the Renaissance p. 238 III China's Legacy 22 Tragedy on the High Seas: Zheng He's Fleet Destroyed by a Tsunami p. 257 23 The Conquistadores' Inheritance: Our Lady of Victory p. 278 Acknowledgments p. 289 Notes p. 311 Bibliography p. 331 Permissions p. 347 Photograph Credits p. 351 Index.

The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation of the modern world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result of a rediscovery of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome. But now bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling argument that in the year 1434, China--then the worlds most technologically advanced civilization--provided the spark that set the European Renaissance ablaze. From that date onward, Europeans embraced Chinese intellectual ideas, discoveries, and inventions, all of which form the basis of western civilization today.