Naval War College Review Volume 60 Article 14 Number 4 Autumn

2007 He: and the Oceans in the Early , 1405–1433 Benjamin Armstrong

Edward L. Dreyer

Follow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review

Recommended Citation Armstrong, Benjamin and Dreyer, Edward L. (2007) "Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405–1433," Naval War College Review: Vol. 60 : No. 4 , Article 14. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol60/iss4/14

This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen

140 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW Armstrong and Dreyer: Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405–14

no first use of nuclear weapons (NFU). The military history of China has be- Indeed, the authors demonstrate that, come a common element in the profes- alarmed at the prospect of a conven- sional reading of many American tional attack on its strategic infrastruc- military officers. Journals like this one ture, China’s military planners have have included an important focus on the recently revisited NFU. This, and lin- Chinese past and present, and Edward gering problems with military aviation Dreyer’s book contributes important (despite the catalyst of the 1991 Gulf new history and analysis to that under- War, subsequent Russian imports, and standing. Studying the Chinese foreign incremental domestic progress), have expeditionary armada of the early fif- caused to seek additional deter- teenth century, Dreyer outlines a - rence through a growing arsenal of con- nese strategy and set of naval tactics ventional missiles. that are familiar to today’s naval officer. Finally, the authors assess the degree to Starting in 1405 the Admiral which China’s military has met the stra- Zheng He led a series of seven voyages tegic imperatives of its ancient strate- from the shores of the Ming gists and modern leaders. They reach into the South China and Indian the sobering conclusion that despite Ocean. These voyages were made by China’s continuing difficulty in ap- fleets larger than any the world had ever proaching Western technological and seen; armadas of over two hundred ves- even organizational levels, Taiwan’s im- sels, the largest wooden vessels ever portance to Chinese identity, strategic constructed, carrying roughly thirty value, and position as a bellwether of thousand sailors and marine infantry. national territorial integrity justify ex- Scholars and Chinese government his- traordinary expenditure of blood and torians have characterized these expedi- treasure. Moreover, China’s military tions, which reached as far west as the planners appear to believe that by in- coast of Africa, as peaceful voyages of vesting selectively in asymmetric weap- discovery. Dreyer, however, disagrees. ons, they can reconcile these conflicting He writes instead, “After thoroughly re- realities without fueling an arms race viewing the primary Chinese sources, I and hence mutual insecurity. It is to be concluded that the purpose of the voy- hoped that a new generation in Beijing, ages was actually ‘power projection’... Taipei, and Washington, drawing on rather than mere . Zheng Lewis’s and Xue’s research, will find the He’s voyages were undertaken to force collective wisdom to avert conflict that the states of and the In- would devastate all parties involved. dian Ocean to acknowledge the power and majesty of Ming China and its ANDREW S. ERICKSON Naval War College emperor.” The book is structured in a straightfor- ward manner, chronologically moving from Zheng He’s personal biography and the background history of the voy- Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the ages to the voyages themselves. While Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405–1433. Old not a professional naval architect, Tappan, N.J.: Pearson Longman, 2006. 238pp. Dreyer has obviously done his research. $20.67

Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2007 1

C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn 2007.vp Thursday, September 13, 2007 3:41:49 PM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen

BOOK REVIEWS 141 Naval War College Review, Vol. 60 [2007], No. 4, Art. 14

He provides documentary and archaeo- exemplars of their own future naval logical evidence, as well as explanation strategy. Dreyer’s book offers a compel- of basic principles of naval architecture, ling revision of past views on the Ming to support his conclusion that the larg- fleets that can help guide future discus- est of the , the baochuan, or “trea- sion on China’s modern naval sure ships,” were at least three times ambitions. larger than Nelson’s flagship HMS BENJAMIN ARMSTRONG Victory. Pace, Florida While the book is not annotated, the level of academic rigor is evidenced by an impressive group of appendixes. The reader should expect nothing less from Dreyer, a leading sinologist who is well Bauer, Gretchen, and Scott D. Taylor, eds. Politics versed in not only the history but also in Southern Africa: State and Society in Transition. the language of the original Chinese Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 2005. 404pp. $26.50 source materials. Much of his history comes directly from contemporary pri- In the first few pages of this book it be- mary sources, and the appendixes in- comes clear that Gretchen Bauer and clude translations of the original Scott Taylor are not Afripessimists. In- historical material. This inspired inclu- deed, one rather suspects that they have sion allows readers to draw their own little tolerance for observers who look conclusions. There are also time lines, a at the African continent and see noth- valuable index, and a bibliographic es- ing but misery, defeat, and despair. say discussing previous interpretations Such a depiction, according to the edi- of Zheng He’s voyages from academic, tors, relies on far too broad an analyti- journalistic, and Chinese government cal brush. Bauer and Taylor warn, quite sources. reasonably, against treating Africa as some sort of political and cultural Conventional wisdom in the military- monolith and argue instead for a more history community holds that China’s regionally focused research approach. small naval heritage is of little value. Naval battles on the grand lakes and The editors defend with convincing rivers of the Middle Kingdom are not logic their choice to examine the region afforded the consideration or impor- of southern Africa. Southern Africa tance given to Admiral Matthew C. contains some of the strongest econo- Perry’s victory on Lake Erie or Rear Ad- mies on the continent and is more miral David Porter’s gunboat cam- closely intra-linked than other African paigns on the Mississippi. Dreyer’s regions. If, as Bauer and Taylor con- profile of Zheng He and the history of tend, regional success stories are being the voyages of the Foreign Expedition- submerged by Africa-wide studies, this ary Armada provide a new view of Chi- work should give those stories the ex- nese naval heritage, one that includes posure and credit they deserve. Politics interesting parallels to American naval in Southern Africa is certainly organized strategy important to today’s naval pro- to identify regional and local state suc- fessionals. The Chinese government has cess. Having made a convincing argu- held up the voyages of Zheng He as ment for a regional approach, they

https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol60/iss4/14 2

C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn 2007.vp Thursday, September 13, 2007 3:41:50 PM