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When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433 | 
 enlarge | Author: Louise Levathes
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 40147
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0195112075
Dewey Decimal Number: 951.02092
EAN: 9780195112078
ASIN: 0195112075
Publication Date: January 9, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Cover has some scuff marks. Reading pages have some writing and under-lining. GG112908
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Product Description
A hundred years before Columbus and his fellow Europeans began making their way to the New World, fleets of giant Chinese junks commanded by the eunuch admiral Zheng He and filled with the empire's finest porcelains, lacquerware and silk ventured to the edge of the world's "four corners." It was a time of exploration and conquest, but it ended in a retrenchment so complete that less than a century later, it was a crime to go to sea in a multimasted ship. In When China Ruled the Seas, Louise Levathes takes a fascinating and unprecedented look at this dynamic period in China's enigmatic history, focusing on China's rise as a naval power that literally could have ruled the world and at its precipitious plunge into isolation when a new emperor ascended the Dragon Throne. During the brief period from 1405 to 1433, seven epic expeditions brought China's "treasure ships" across the China Seas and the Indian Ocean, from Taiwan to the spice islands of Indonesia and the Malabar coast of India, on to the rich ports of the Persian Gulf and down the African coast, China's "El Dorado," and perhaps even to Australia, three hundred years before Captain Cook was credited with its discovery. With over 300 ships--some measuring as much as 400 feet long and 160 feet wide, with upwards of nine masts and twelve sails, and combined crews sometimes numbering over 28,000 men--the emperor Zhu Di's fantastic fleet was a virtual floating city, a naval expression of his Forbidden City in Beijing. The largest wooden boats ever built, these extraordinary ships were the most technically superior vessels in the world with innovations such as balanced rudders and bulwarked compartments that predated European ships by centuries. For thirty years foreign goods, medicines, geographic knowledge, and cultural insights flowed into China at an extraordinary rate, and China extended its sphere of political power and influence throughout the Indian Ocean. Half the world was in China's grasp, and the rest could easily have been, had the emperor so wished. But instead, China turned inward, as succeeding emperors forbade overseas travel and stopped all building and repair of oceangoing junks. Disobedient merchants and seamen were killed, and within a hundred years the greatest navy the world had ever known willed itself into extinction. The period of China's greatest outward expansion was followed by the period of its greatest isolation. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab, and Indian sources, many translated for the first time, Levathes brings readers inside China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. She sheds new light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived, as well as the perception of other cultures toward this little understood empire at the time. Beautifully illustrated and engagingly written, When China Ruled the Seas is the fullest picture yet of the early Ming Dynasty--the last flowering of Chinese culture before the Manchu invasions.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 An excellent companion volume to Menzie's 1421 May 27, 2003
Tim Johnson (Fremantle, Australia)
91 out of 104 found this review helpful
I bought this book to read after I finished Menzie's wonderful study of the Chinese exploration of the world's oceans and I have not been disappointed. I don't know why other commentators are so hard on this book-its not as if we are bombarded by books dealing with the subject of Chinese maritime history and can afford to be snooty about our perceptions of the author's outcomes. As someone with a modest background in Chinese history I thought that Levathes completed a much needed examination about a subject that doesn't sit comfortably with many self proclaimed intellectuals who don't like to have their comfortable conceptions about the organization of world history upset by a new history that challenges their comfortable mind-set.
I believe there is an all to apparent racial motive working in some commentaries regarding the immensity of the entire topic of Chinese maritime history. As Levathes describes so well the Chinese, back as far as the Han Dynasty, were sailing ships far larger to far more distant destinations than anything matched by the Europeans for centuries and yet the general Western reader fumbles in the dark for any information that counters the West's disinformation.
What is going on? I live on the west coast of Australia and here in Fremantle a replica of Cook's Endeavour was built some years ago and more recently a replica of the Duyfken or Little Dove, the first European ship to chart a portion of the Australian continent was completed. But was there even a hint in any of the local or national news at the time that the English and the Dutch were simply sailing in the path of decades of previous Chinese occupation-of course not!
Levathes final chapter recounts numerous examples of Chinese presence in the Northern Territory long before the Duyfken and Cook's south eastern exploration. Many readers seem to nit-pic this book as well as the Menzie's book to death rather than dealing with the extraordinary ramifications of the import of each book's substance-we're left with a few niggling little bits of argument that simply detract from the greater story being told.
If you have even a passing interest in Chinese history then you owe it to yourself to read this wonderful, enlightening examination of Chinese maritime history and it's impack throughout Asia and beyond.
"When China First, at Heaven's Command ..." October 17, 2001
John D. Cofield
65 out of 68 found this review helpful
This is an entertaining look at the voyages of Zheng Ho, a eunuch in the service of the Ming Emperor of China, in the fifteenth century C.E. China's navy was then the most powerful in the world, and Levathes helps us recognize this with some skillfully drawn comparisons between Zheng Ho's treasure ships (the largest wooden vessels ever built) and the puny Santa Maria. China was unquestionably the most advanced civilization in the world during Zheng Ho's time, and had the voyages been allowed to continue, resulting in permanent Chinese influence on and control of the Indian Ocean, Africa, and possibly America and Europe, our world today would be very different indeed. Levathes does a good job of explaining why Ming China decided to stop the voyages and its international trade, and points out that while Westerners tend to see this as a failure, to the Chinese at the time it seemed a success. This is probably the most valuable insight of the book, the illustration of a very wide gap between the psychological makeup of East and West.
Great History of China Starter September 30, 1999
Benjamin J. Fobert (SAN LORENZO, CA United States)
60 out of 62 found this review helpful
While reading the book When China Ruled the Seas by Louise Levathes, I realized that my own knowledge of China has been slighted. This book chronicles the voyages of the Chinese people on the seas from the 7th century through the 15th century AD. Learning of the great naval feats and amazing voyages made by these competent sea-farers gives the reader a new perspective on the way the world could be today had China not scrapped their maritime industry. The book focuses much on the early 15th century AD. At a time when Europe was struggling to leave the Middle Ages behind them, the Chinese emperor was quickly building a large fleet of sea-worthy ships. The emperor Zhu Di commissioned his eunuch Zheng He to lead voyages reaching from India to Southeast Asia and from the Middle east to the Eastern Coast of Africa. This was a phenomenal accomplishment for humans in this period of time. By contrast the European countries didn't reach some of these places by boat until upwards of 300 years later. European ships were inferior to the European models, being less than the size of the large Chinese junks. Zheng He made seven voyages in all to various parts of the "Eastern" world. These voyages were made to collect tribute paid to the "Son of Heaven," the Chinese Emperor. By the height of China's maritime dominance, the dragon throne had built or refitted 1,681 ships. In 1433 Zheng He died, and the Emperor died as well. China's interests grew increasingly inward. Just a short 100 years after the great expeditions of Zheng He, it was a capital offense to trade abroad, or even to build ships worthy of sailing at sea. The book emphasizes that as China moved closer to the 19th century, and the Western world began its imperialism, China was kicked out of its position of World power. China still struggles today to regain the authority it feels it deserves. Great lengths were made to be historically accurate in this book. The author goes to great length to document and Index the events in the book. However, some critics of the book note that the author is hardly definitive in her effort to cover the topic of maritime China. No attention was paid to the detail of shipbuilding. The author does, however, use almost ten percent of the book to include notes, and full versions of some documents summarized in the book. Because the records of the Zheng He expeditions are lengthy, this book attempts to combine the accounts in one straightforward account. Ms. Levathes tells the story in an animated way, making the learning of this history an enjoyable one. However, When China Ruled the Seas poses some serious questions. After making my oral presentation on the book, the questions asked of me by the class and instructor were hard to answer. Why did these boats travel to the west? Why didn't the expeditions start earlier than the 15th century? Why did the expeditions end? In reading this book, one can speculate what the answers may be, but cannot find much discussion on these topics. In a way Ms. Levathes leaves these questions naked, and the reader wondering. In the beginning of the book Ms. Levathes names various motives for these voyages to take place. By the end of the book, these motives are not re-evaluated, and again the reader is left to his or her own discernment on the matter. Furthermore, she doesn't evaluate how these motives may have changed over the twenty-eight years over which they occurred. Readers also learn little about navigational methods that were used, an integral part of ocean-travel. The seasons would have affected the fleet and its voyages, and would determine how far these fleets could have, and would have traveled in each season. Reading this book from the Western viewpoint helps readers to understand China as it was when it was a major world power. Those from a Western tend to think of China as a backward country discovered and tamed by the civilized West. This book proves the opposite, and is effective in its approach to destroy old stereotypes. Many critics feel that the book lacks organization. I felt at times that the book was jumpy. Even though I learned a great deal from the book through illustrations, stories, and descriptions of the many ports visited by Zheng He on his expeditions, I have doubts of the importance of a text like this to a scholar. It seems that the book is more aimed towards the undergraduate who is beginning to learn about the inner workings of this ancient society and its reasons for a sudden boost in its maritime industry. Compared to other histories I have read, this history has been one of the easiest to read. I was pleased with the stories and narratives provided by the author, and the translators. Compared to other interpretations of a history of this subject, this book may be inferior, but has its place in curriculum in university studies. In pondering the superiority of Chinese ships and sea travel in the 15th century, I wonder how different the world would be if China would have discovered the American Continent from the east. Had the Chinese Empire maintained their maritime endeavors they may have. The fact that they may have discovered South America in the 7th century AD is quite possible. Learning about China's success in trading and travel has opened my mind to new ideas and concepts. Most interesting to me was the mention of Chinese influence in South America. The possibility of travel between the great Eastern Continent, and the great Western continents is intriguing to me. As I continue to learn more about the traditions of ancient civilizations, I understand the modern philosophies they presently maintain. China has come alive for me through reading this book, and the other texts I read in this class. Examples from the past are opening my mind to other viewpoints, and helping me understand new cultures, ideas and concepts.
History & cultural lessons June 16, 2002
A. J. Watson (Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK)
51 out of 54 found this review helpful
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 and, more importantly, un-Confucian - effectively shut the door on Chinese expansion and fostered the introversion that has only ceased in the last few years. Ms.Levathes has uncovered information hidden for years to present this highly informative and unusual subject in a very accessible form, although I did find the similarity of the Chinese names slightly confusing, which made for heavy reading at times. However, it still gets *****.
 No shipbuilding detail? June 3, 2003
Thomas Eastmond (Newport Beach, California, USA)
39 out of 62 found this review helpful
I was disappointed by the lack of detail this book provided on the actual construction of Cheng Ho's (or Zheng He's) seagoing junks. In particular, the dimensions given for the largest (400 feet long!) seem improbable. Ancient historians routinely exaggerated numbers and sizes (size did matter to the ancients -- the bigger, the more impressive.) For example, Thucydides almost certainly exaggerated the size of the Persian forces in the Persian/Greek wars, and the Bible almost certainly exaggerates the numbers involved in the Exodus. The reason I'm skeptical of the 400-foot size is that there's no explanation of how the Chinese solved the problem of "hogging" -- that is, the tendency of wooden vessels to sag at the ends because their center of buoyancy is amidships. The larger the vessel, the greater this problem, and the more likely this sagging will cause the seams of the ship to split and leak. The hogging problem acted as an upper limit on the size of ships until iron ships were developed. In our desire to undo years of unbalanced Western history, are we being too eager, perhaps, to accept at face value accounts that we would view more skeptically if they came from other sources?
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