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When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-33
by: Louis Levathes

List Price: £10.99

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Used Price: £5.57
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 951.02092
EAN: 9780195112078
ISBN: 0195112075
Label: Oxford Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Oxford Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: March 13, 1997
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
Studio: Oxford Paperbacks
Sales Rank: 56133

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- History & cultural lessons
While the West was still dragging itself out of the Dark Ages, China had a thriving sea trade with India and Africa, and arguably with places as far off as South America and Australia, not to be beaten for hundreds of years.

There is an incredible amount of history here, most of it unknown in the West, which sets the scene for the building of a massive trading fleet by the eunuch Admiral Zheng He, and his subsequent voyages of exploration. At least one type of ship was 400 feet long, at the time when Columbus's ships were under 100 - about 50 times the capacity.

So what went wrong? What could stop such a powerful naval nation in its tracks? An Imperial Decree - forbidding sea voyages, considering them unproductive, uneconomic ... Read More:

Rating:

- A well-researched, lively look at a great seafaring nation
An excellent and gripping story that most people have never heard of, I loved the book and have shared it with many friends. This book covers everything from the emporers to the laborers with amazing tales, often reconstructed from archives, that will have you turning the pages too quickly. More than just a look at the ships, the book sheds light on why they were built and later disbanded as well as the impact of those decisions. To imagine what could have been...

Rating:

- Ill researched, author unfamiliar with technical details
This is, of course, a fascinating subject, but one I fear ill served by the present volume.

Of the treasure ships and voyages there is the most meagre of outlines, and too often the author reveals a lack of familiarity with the techniques involved (e.g. the hull was built, and then covered in planks....) Mere conjecture often takes the place of research (the ships must have carried.....) and while a pleasant, if somewhat chaotic introduction to the subject, this volume is far far from a definitive work.

Rating:

- A fascinating book I keep re-reading and re-reading
When Europe discovered East Africa they arrived with 3 battered ships about 80 feet long - when the chinese discovered it 300 years EARLIER they brought an armadda of 300 ships, some over 400 feet long, and over 28,000 men. With fascinating tales like these the writer holds your attention on a remarkable civilization that traded with half the world - and then suddenly stopped. This book explains why and covers the history of China over 1000 years, focusing on their trade and the shifting political landscapes of each dynasty. This is one of the most interesting books I've ever read.

Rating:

- Fascinating & Thought-Provoking
China --- both the modern state and especially its imperial predecessor --- is usually portrayed as being isolationist, looking inward, shunning contact with other lands. There is undoubtedly a great deal of accuracy in that view. But China also has a tradition of seafaring and exploration of the outside world that goes back at least 4000 years. These two opposing philosophies --- on the one hand, the Confucian attitude of keeping China self-sufficient and isolated; on the other a desire to reach out for trade, profit, or mere curiosity --- have sometimes clashed throughout Chinese history.

Louise Levathes' book When China Ruled the Seas documents one such clash. Shortly after Emperor Zhu Di seized the throne from his young nephew, ... Read More:

Books : When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-33