下西洋与渡美洲的航海术比较

郑和船队和哥伦布船队的航海术,包括测定船位术、天体导航术、气象识风术、操帆驶风术、罗盘罗经术、海图地图术、计程测速术、航道探察术等等,都达到了帆船时代迄当时为止最高的水平。由于哥伦布的远航比郑和远航晚了八十多年,故哥伦布的航海术较之郑和又前进了一步。但因郑和船队的规模大得很多很多,郑和宝船也比哥伦布航船大得很多很多,故郑和远航体现的航海术亦比哥伦布的复杂困难一些。所以,他们的航海术各有千秋,难分轩轾。

Comparison between Nautical Techniques of Sailing to Western Ocean and to America

The nautical techniques of Zheng He's fleet and Columbus' fleet, including their taking a ship's bearings, celestial navigation, meteorology and knowing wind, manipulating sail and using wind, compass and it's rose, nautical chart and map, log and measuring speed, sounding channel and so on, had reached the highest level in the sail time. Owing to Columbus' voyage later than Zheng He's for more than eighty years, hence Columbus' nautical techniques had made a little progress over Zheng He's. But due to both of the fleet and the capital ships of Zheng He's were bigger than Columbus' very much and much, for this reason the nautical techniques embodied in Zheng He's voyage were more complex and difficult than those in Columbus'. Therefore, their nautical techniques had both strong points and weak points.