Book Review: China as a Sea Power by Lo Jung-Pang

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China as a Sea Power 1127–1368: A Preliminary Survey of the Maritime Expansion and Naval Exploits of the Chinese People during the Southern Song and Yuan Periods a

Tansen Sen a

Baruch College, City University of New York Published online: 27 Nov 2014.

Click for updates To cite this article: Tansen Sen (2014): China as a Sea Power 1127–1368: A Preliminary Survey of the Maritime Expansion and Naval Exploits of the Chinese People during the Southern Song and Yuan Periods, Asian Studies Review, DOI: 10.1080/10357823.2014.979740 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2014.979740

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Book Review LO JUNG-PANG. China as a Sea Power 1127–1368: A Preliminary Survey of the Maritime Expansion and Naval Exploits of the Chinese People during the Southern Song and Yuan Periods, edited, and with commentary, by Bruce A. Elleman. Singapore and Hong Kong: NUS Press and HKU Press, 2012. 378 pp. US$35.00, paper. For over 50 years, Lo Jung-pang’s PhD dissertation on the ascendency of China’s naval power between the Song and early Ming periods was accessible to only a few scholars with inter-library loan facilities. The editor and publishers of the book under review must thus be thanked at the outset for making this ground-breaking study available to scholars and general readers around the world. Even half a century after it was first submitted to the University of California, Berkeley as a doctoral thesis, the work remains a pioneering contribution to the field of Chinese maritime history. The useful Introduction to the volume by Geoff Wade, a leading scholar of Ming China, places Lo’s work in the context of more recent scholarship on Chinese maritime history. In addition to the listing of Lo’s important essays, references to several other key secondary works on the development of the Chinese navy and China’s engagement with the maritime world are provided. Lo’s 10 chapters are divided into four parts. The first part focuses on China’s “1700 years of naval experience” (p. 57) up to the twelfth century. The discussions of the “shift” to an interest to the maritime world among the Chinese courts from the mideighth century onwards due to economic, demographic and socio-cultural changes and the technological advances that laid the “foundation” for the emergence of China as a sea power are insightful. The initial chapter covering the earlier period from Qin to Tang, however, is somewhat problematic. No clear distinction is provided between river-based warfare and that which took place in the maritime realm, and there is a lack of critical analysis of Chinese sources. Also absent are references to Chinese Buddhist works that have substantial notices on the maritime interactions prior to the Song period. Parts II and III that focus on the Southern Song and Yuan periods are the core sections of the book. Military histories that deal with Song China often emphasise land warfare and neglect the naval battles that took place in northeast Asia. One of the major contributions of Lo’s study is the detailed examination of the naval confrontations between the Song court and the Jurchens during the first half of the twelfth century. These confrontations seem to have triggered the subsequent expansion of the Song navy and the recognition of the sea as a strategic frontier. The expansion of the Song navy, as Lo explains, necessitated organisational changes with regard to personnel, bases and weapons. It also compelled the Southern Song court to work

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Book Review

closely with merchant communities in order to address the shortfall in the number of ships. The court, for example, chartered merchant ships in exchange for honorary titles and other inducements. The relationship between the Chinese court and those merchant communities engaged in maritime trade had, as Lo demonstrates, already become intimate during the Northern Song period. This not only added to the imperial coffers, but also resulted in a significant growth in overseas commerce. During the Yuan dynasty, naval warfare intensified as did the relationship between the court and merchant communities. There was also a rapid spread of diasporic communities. After developing their own naval forces over several decades, the Mongols eventually routed the Song navy in 1279. During the next 15 years, however, the powerful Yuan navy failed to expand its maritime frontiers. Expeditions to Japan and Southeast Asia were disastrous for reasons that included in-fighting among the Yuan officials, the lack of absolute commitment from local allies, and the failure to plan for supplies needed for protracted warfare. Lo’s discussion of the Yuan naval battles and the intricacies of the officers and commanders involved remains the most thorough examination of these events. In the short Part IV, the concluding chapter of the book, Lo makes several important points regarding the augmentation of Chinese sea power during the early Ming period. In addition to highlighting the Zheng He expeditions and their role in displaying the naval prowess of the Ming court, Lo underscores the contributions of overseas Chinese settlements in sustaining the links between the mainland and the maritime frontiers of China. A few quibbles about the editing of the book: Several new references have been added to Lo’s original manuscript. These seem random, confusing, and not very useful. Rather, a more extensive list could perhaps have been appended to Geoff Wade’s Introduction. The transcription system is also baffling as in the first instance Wade-Giles rendition is given and thereafter pinyin equivalents are provided. Using one system would have sufficed, especially because the equivalents appear in the index. Finally, the inclusion of a few maps would have made it easier to follow some of the battles detailed in the book. These are minor distractions from a book that is a valuable addition to the field of Chinese maritime history. TANSEN SEN Baruch College, City University of New York © 2014 Tansen Sen http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2014.979740