Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of China

I just finished Jack Weatherford's new text about Kublai Khan, Emperor of the Seas. It was outstanding! I think it is my favorite of the trilogy he has written on the Mongols.As a world history teacher in a public high school, we paint broad sweeping pictures of dynastic change in China without really illustrating how the process played out at the ground level. Weatherford's masterful narrative and use of sources facilitated a clear picture of the overthrow of the Song Dynasty, the rise of the Yuan Dynasty and the birth of the Ming Dynasty.Weatherford uses water and the technological developments for rivers/ocean travel and warfare as a throughline to weave this enchanting tale. The author seamlessly connects the eastern periphery of Asia in Japan to the world of the Il-Khanate in the west. Weatherford constructs a mosaic of cross-cultural interactions through broad strokes in his final chapters. He paints a rich tapestry chronicling the rise of the "southern barbarians" and the reversal of fortunes as China implodes and Europeans take center stage. It seems the tides are turning again. The author's description of the Yuan and Ming ships that made their way through the strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean was fantastic. The imagery and description of the wares they traded when arriving at ports was so colorful, I felt I was on the beach experiencing it for myself.This is a must read for anyone who is interested in world history or folks just looking for an engaging storyline. From blood feuds and the power of women to battle strategies and technological advancements, the text is rich in history and rewarding as it contextualizes larger global processes in a succinct and engaging tale.

A must read for all to know about how China and the east were associated through time and about the fundamentals of power in the hands of incompetents and tyrants. A page turner and means of knowing through professional standards of research and writing. A wake up call in the Epilogue!

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My thanks go to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the review copy. You can buy this book now.If you’re going to read a single nonfiction book about the Mongols, this would be a fine choice. Jack Weatherford’s research is outstanding, including works in several non-English languages that most of us couldn’t hope to read on our own. His scholarship is so meticulous that he has been awarded both of Mongolia’s top national awards. And while this book is not written as narrative nonfiction, the tone is conversational, the language accessible.It began with Genghis, a young man whose family was left homeless, left to freeze or starve when his father and protector died. With desperation, talent, and ruthlessness that he learned well, he turned it around, and as he grew up he vanquished his enemies, brought the most talented and trustworthy elements to himself, and let the devil take the rest. His instinct for military strategy was a thing of pure genius. But this book is mostly not about him; it’s about his grandson, Kublai Khan, who expanded the empire Genghis began until his domain stretched from Baghdad to the far shores of China.Until Kublai arrived, Mongols were an inland people, but it was Kublai who realized that in order to expand and become a world power, he had to have ocean-going vessels and people that knew how to use them. The peoples of Southern China were tough to defeat, but once it was done, he was able to use their technologies in ways that were of immeasurable value.The progression looked like this (in a very simplified version): Genghis conquered, and took no prisoners, with a few rare exceptions. Kublai conquered, but also used diplomacy, highlighting the potential benefits of becoming a Mongol subject; he didn’t routinely kill everyone he defeated. And under Kublai’s son Temur, the Mongols segued from physical battle to economic dominance, making China’s ports the ideal destination of merchants from all over the world.One of the most interesting things I learned had to do with the authority that was vested in the women of the highest placed families. When the men rode off to conquer, it was women that looked after the business interests and saw to local governance. It worked out nicely; Europeans should have taken note.I can’t compare this book to others because I haven’t read any others on this topic cover to cover, but I wouldn’t let that stop you. If the Mongols are persuaded that Weatherford has done the work and done it well, who can argue? I learned a great deal and enjoyed it, and so I highly recommend it to you.

I am grateful to Bloomsbury USA for providing me with an ARC:of Jack Weatherford's "Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of Modern China." It is a revelation and an astounding bit of scholarship on a subject of great interest to all of us but one which has been badly neglected in traditional Western oriented historiography. The title is a bit misleading if it leads you to believe this is a study of naval history. Instead, naval developments in the Mongol Empire founded by Genghis Khan are traced through the reign of Kublai Khan as a kind of entry point to a much broader discussion of the history of the Chinese state and society. It is, quite frankly, simply riveting and is filled with little known or discussed facts about Chinese history from the Mongol conquest of the North to the ascension of the Ming Dynasty. If you want a better understanding of the off and on again Chinese development of a Blue Water Navy, this is a great starting point. In addition, the selection of the maritime elements of events as central ties it to modern perceptions and misconceptions about the nature of Chinese society and the internal stresses present throughout the evolution of the modern Chinese multicultural empire. Military events play an important role here, but they are only lightly glossed over in pursuit of the author's broader project of contextualizing Chinese attitudes towards trade and shipping as key to an understanding of Modern China. From Mongol foreign policy to the development of an economic and political infrastructure, there is a lot here to unpack. This text belongs in any academic library and merits serious consideration for even more general readers. It is truly fascinating.