Louis levathes (28 risultati)

- Brossura
Da: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books (was SecondSale)
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Molto buono
EUR 3,97
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Paperback. Condizione: Very Good. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived.…

- Brossura
Da: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books (was SecondSale)
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Buono
EUR 3,97
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 12 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: Good. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived.…

- Brossura
Da: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books (was SecondSale)
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Discreto
EUR 3,97
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 5 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: Fair. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived.…

- Brossura
Da: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books Inc
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 4 stelleCondizione: Usato - Discreto
EUR 5,81
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 5 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: Fair. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived.…

- Brossura
Da: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books Inc
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 4 stelleCondizione: Usato - Buono
EUR 5,81
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 12 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: Good. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived.…

- Brossura
Da: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books Inc
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 4 stelleCondizione: Usato - Molto buono
EUR 5,81
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Paperback. Condizione: Very Good. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived.…

- Brossura
Da: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.GreatBookPrices
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Buono
EUR 11,74
EUR 2,35 spedizioneSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 5 disponibili
Condizione: good. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.…

- Brossura
Da: The Wild Muse, Granville, NY, U.S.A.The Wild Muse
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Quasi ottimo
EUR 11,01
EUR 6,19 spedizioneSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Soft cover. Condizione: Near Fine. Condizione sovraccoperta: No Jacket, As Issued. Trade softcover. Published NY: Oxford Univ Pr., 1997. 8vo. wrappers, 252pp., illustrated. Near fine.

- Brossura
Da: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.GreatBookPrices
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 18,68
EUR 2,35 spedizioneSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Condizione: New.

- Brossura
Da: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.GreatBookPrices
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Come nuovo
EUR 18,68
EUR 2,35 spedizioneSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Condizione: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

- Brossura
Da: Rarewaves USA, HEBRON, KY, U.S.A.Rarewaves USA
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 21,16
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: New. 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 suceeding 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 ghich 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 flowerin.…

- Brossura
Da: Rarewaves.com USA, London, LONDO, Regno UnitoRarewaves.com USA
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 26,13
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: New. 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 suceeding 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 ghich 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 flowerin.…

- Brossura
Da: Russell Books, Victoria, BC, CanadaRussell Books
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Buono
EUR 13,75
EUR 17,81 spedizioneSpedito da Canada a U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Paperback. Condizione: Good.

- Brossura
Da: GreatBookPricesUK, Woodford Green, Regno UnitoGreatBookPricesUK
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Buono
EUR 16,04
EUR 17,82 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: 5 disponibili
Condizione: good. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.…

- Brossura
Da: Kennys Bookshop and Art Galleries Ltd., Galway, GY, IrlandaKennys Bookshop and Art Galleries Ltd.
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 25,05
EUR 9,50 spedizioneSpedito da Irlanda a U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Condizione: New. 1997. Reprint. Paperback. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived. Num Pages: 256 pages, 8 pp halftones, line illustrations. BIC Classification: 1FPC; 3H; HBJF; HBLC; JFC. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 235 x 155 x 17. Weight in Grams: 342. . . . . .…

- Rilegato
- Prima edizione
Da: solisjbooks, Port Kembla, NSW, Australiasolisjbooks
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 2 stelleCondizione: Usato - Molto buono
EUR 9,17
EUR 28,42 spedizioneSpedito da Australia a U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. Condizione sovraccoperta: Very Good. 1st Edition. Some foxing to edges.

- Brossura
Da: THE SAINT BOOKSTORE, Southport, Regno UnitoTHE SAINT BOOKSTORE
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 20,46
EUR 18,29 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: 15 disponibili
Paperback / softback. Condizione: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days.

- Brossura
Da: Kennys Bookstore, Olney, MD, U.S.A.Kennys Bookstore
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 31,60
EUR 9,35 spedizioneSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Condizione: New. 1997. Reprint. Paperback. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab and Indian sources, this work shows readers the inside of China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. It sheds light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived. Num Pages: 256 pages, 8 pp halftones, line illustrations. BIC Classification: 1FPC; 3H; HBJF; HBLC; JFC. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 235 x 155 x 17. Weight in Grams: 342. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.…

- Brossura
Da: GreatBookPricesUK, Woodford Green, Regno UnitoGreatBookPricesUK
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 25,30
EUR 17,82 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Condizione: New.

- Brossura
Da: GreatBookPricesUK, Woodford Green, Regno UnitoGreatBookPricesUK
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Come nuovo
EUR 25,30
EUR 17,82 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Condizione: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

- Rilegato
Da: Encore Books, Montreal, QC, CanadaEncore Books
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Come nuovo
EUR 36,65
EUR 8,02 spedizioneSpedito da Canada a U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Cloth. Condizione: As New. As new, Perfect condition.

- Brossura
Da: Rarewaves USA United, HEBRON, KY, U.S.A.Rarewaves USA United
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 22,06
EUR 44,54 spedizioneSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: New. 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 suceeding 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 ghich 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 flowerin.…

- Brossura
Da: Rarewaves.com UK, London, Regno UnitoRarewaves.com UK
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 24,65
EUR 77,21 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Paperback. Condizione: New. 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 suceeding 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 ghich 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 flowerin.…

- Brossura
- Print on Demand
Da: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.Grand Eagle Retail
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 23,76
Spedizione gratuitaSpedito in U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. 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. InWhen 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 haveruled 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 beforeCaptain 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 sometimesnumbering 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 anextraordinary 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 suceeding 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 Indiansources, 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 whichthis 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. A hundred years before Columbus, fleets of giant Chinese 'treasure ships' commanded by the eunuch admiral Zheng He ventured to the edge of the world's 'four corners'. It was a time of exploration and conquest, but a century later, it was a crime to go to sea in a multimasted ship. Louise Levathes looks at this period in China's enigmatic history. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…

- Brossura
- Print on Demand
Da: PBShop.store UK, Fairford, GLOS, Regno UnitoPBShop.store UK
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 27,06
EUR 4,94 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
PAP. Condizione: New. New Book. Delivered from our UK warehouse in 4 to 14 business days. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000.

- Brossura
- Print on Demand
Da: THE SAINT BOOKSTORE, Southport, Regno UnitoTHE SAINT BOOKSTORE
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 24,14
EUR 18,29 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: Più di 20 disponibili
Paperback / softback. Condizione: New. This item is printed on demand. New copy - Usually dispatched within 5-9 working days.

- Brossura
- Print on Demand
Da: AussieBookSeller, Truganina, VIC, AustraliaAussieBookSeller
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 41,84
EUR 32,96 spedizioneSpedito da Australia a U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. 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. InWhen 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 haveruled 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 beforeCaptain 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 sometimesnumbering 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 anextraordinary 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 suceeding 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 Indiansources, 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 whichthis 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. A hundred years before Columbus, fleets of giant Chinese 'treasure ships' commanded by the eunuch admiral Zheng He ventured to the edge of the world's 'four corners'. It was a time of exploration and conquest, but a century later, it was a crime to go to sea in a multimasted ship. Louise Levathes looks at this period in China's enigmatic history. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.…

- Brossura
- Print on Demand
Da: CitiRetail, Stevenage, Regno UnitoCitiRetail
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Nuovo
EUR 31,18
EUR 43,95 spedizioneSpedito da Regno Unito a U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibile
Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. 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. InWhen 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 haveruled 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 beforeCaptain 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 sometimesnumbering 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 anextraordinary 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 suceeding 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 Indiansources, 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 whichthis 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. A hundred years before Columbus, fleets of giant Chinese 'treasure ships' commanded by the eunuch admiral Zheng He ventured to the edge of the world's 'four corners'. It was a time of exploration and conquest, but a century later, it was a crime to go to sea in a multimasted ship. Louise Levathes looks at this period in China's enigmatic history. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.…