"Zhou Man and the Blue Comet"

by Michael Boss
Gouache on Rag Board
10" X 14"
From the Collection of Cedric and Patricia Bell,
Penrith, Cumbria, England

After corresponding with Cedric Bell and reading his research on Zhou Man's fleet and its subsquent destruction from a comet strike c.1422, I wanted to paint "something." After a rather long conversation with a good friend, Dr. Eric Craine who has a PHD in stellar physics, I soon realized the cataclysmic "real time" images are better left to the special effects people in the movie and television realm!

I decided on an allegorical, or after the fact style painting. Lightning, a stormy sky, flotsam, jetsam, and a large burning treasure ship might better convey the remnants of the comet's devastation.

For those interested in Cedric's research of this event, please follow the links below to Gavin Menzies' site, How China Changed the World.

http://www.gavinmenzies.net/?taxonomy=1434&s=cedric+bell