Foreword by Ramon H. Myers Preface Introduction Background: Environment and Maritime Activities Physical Environment Maritime-Activity Types Evolution of Chinese Maritime Technology Observations Development of China's Maritime Technology Comparison Supply of Ships Quantitative Estimation Ship Supply and Resource Scarcity Trade Types and Agents Maritime Trade Types Maritime Merchants Markets and Trade Patterns Markets and Returns Trade Patterns Aftermath of the Change Nature of the Change Interpretations of the Change Urbanization, Migration, and Technological Dissemination Urbanization of the Coastal Region Migration by Sea Technological Dissemination by Sea Conclusion: China's Performance and Path Dependency China's Overall Maritime Performance China's Paradoxes and Path Dependency Final Remarks Appendix A: Rare Illustrations of Chinese Traditional Ships Appendix B: Chinese Sea Merchants Trading with Japan, 1641-1772 Appendix C: Monetary Systems in Chinese History Appendix D: Densely Populated Prefectures in Ming-Qing Times Glossary References Index
This study of China's maritime activities proves that for 4,000 years the ancient and medieval Chinese were actively involved in seagoing operations.
GANG DENG is Lecturer in Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research interest is in long-term comparative economic development of world history. He is the author of Development versus Stagnation: Technology Continuity and Agricultural Progress in Premodern China (Greenwood, 1993).
"Deng succeeds admirably in suggesting the importance of maritime
activities of the overall development of China, a question
strangely under-researched in Western languages....Chinese Maritime
Activities is an intriguing and convenient introduction to Chinese
economic maritime history....[h]e deserves credit for posing and
important question of broad significance."-International Journal of
Martime History
"Gang Deng's sweeping monograph departs from this pattern,
successfully reassessing the place of the sea in Chinese history
over a period of three thousand years. ...[T]he book should
certainly compel a productive debate on the role of north and
south, steppe and sea in the historical development of China.
Deng's case for the importance of the sea in Chinese history is
arresting, cumulative, and in the end quite convincing. ...Deng has
written an impressive book with implications that extend well
beyond the central thesis. ...I found his work full of relevant
data and stimulating arguements about China's myriad
interconnections with a much wider world. In sum, this a serious
contribution to the ongoing effects to fathom the full extent and
consequences of commercial, cultural, and biological interchange in
the Old World, whether land-bound or seaborne."-The International
History Review
?Deng succeeds admirably in suggesting the importance of maritime
activities of the overall development of China, a question
strangely under-researched in Western languages....Chinese Maritime
Activities is an intriguing and convenient introduction to Chinese
economic maritime history....[h]e deserves credit for posing and
important question of broad significance.?-International Journal of
Martime History
?Gang Deng's sweeping monograph departs from this pattern,
successfully reassessing the place of the sea in Chinese history
over a period of three thousand years. ...[T]he book should
certainly compel a productive debate on the role of north and
south, steppe and sea in the historical development of China.
Deng's case for the importance of the sea in Chinese history is
arresting, cumulative, and in the end quite convincing. ...Deng has
written an impressive book with implications that extend well
beyond the central thesis. ...I found his work full of relevant
data and stimulating arguements about China's myriad
interconnections with a much wider world. In sum, this a serious
contribution to the ongoing effects to fathom the full extent and
consequences of commercial, cultural, and biological interchange in
the Old World, whether land-bound or seaborne.?-The International
History Review
?This study is of great value to China scholars because it provides
a detailed synthesis of the major topics in Chinese maritime
development over a long period of time. It includes excellent maps
of China's coastal contours, seasonal current and wind patterns,
and pan-Asian sea routes, as well as helpful illustrations of
coastal and ocean-going vessels. It also provides a carefully
selected, comprehensive, and up-to-date bibliography that includes
works by east Asian as well as Western scholars. Particularly
valuable are Deng's incisive explanations of unique features of
Chinese navigational technology, such as axial and movable rudders,
broad stem and stern constructions, multi-deck and multi-hold
structures, and sail and rigging configurations....This book
provides both the China scholar and the general reader with an
excellent, well-written treatment of the grand span of Chinese
maritime history.?-The American Neptune
"This study is of great value to China scholars because it provides
a detailed synthesis of the major topics in Chinese maritime
development over a long period of time. It includes excellent maps
of China's coastal contours, seasonal current and wind patterns,
and pan-Asian sea routes, as well as helpful illustrations of
coastal and ocean-going vessels. It also provides a carefully
selected, comprehensive, and up-to-date bibliography that includes
works by east Asian as well as Western scholars. Particularly
valuable are Deng's incisive explanations of unique features of
Chinese navigational technology, such as axial and movable rudders,
broad stem and stern constructions, multi-deck and multi-hold
structures, and sail and rigging configurations....This book
provides both the China scholar and the general reader with an
excellent, well-written treatment of the grand span of Chinese
maritime history."-The American Neptune
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