When China Ruled the Seas The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433

by Levathes, Louise

• ISBN13: 9780195112078
• ISBN10: 0195112075
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-01-09
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This fascinating book takes an unprecedented look at the dynamic period in China's history--a hundred years before Columbus and his fellow Europeans began making their way to the New World--focusing on China's rise as a naval power that literally could have ruled the world. A 1994 New York Times Notable Book of the Year. 12 halftone illustrations. 21 linecuts.

Author Biography

Louise Levathes was a staff writer for National Geographic for ten years and writes for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. In 1990, she was a visiting scholar at The Johns Hopkins Center for Chinese and American Studies at Nanjing University, Jiangsu, China. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Pronunciation Guide to Major Figures	13	(2)
Chinese Dynasties	15	(4)
Prologue: Phantoms in Silk	19	(4)
1 The Yi Peoples	23	(10)
2 Confucians and Curiosities	33	(24)
3 The Prisoner and the Prince	57	(18)
4 The Treasure Fleet	75	(12)
5 Destination: Calicut	87	(20)
6 The Strange Kingdoms of Malacca and Ceylon	107	(16)
7 Emissaries of the Dragon Throne	123	(14)
8 The Auspicious Appearance of the Celestial Animals	137	(18)
9 Fires in the Forbidden City	155	(12)
10 The Last Voyage	167	(16)
11 The Sultan's Bride	183	(12)
Epilogue: A People Called Baijini	195	(10)
Notes	205	(28)
Acknowledgments	233	(4)
Index	237