Rating: 
Summary: An excellent companion volume to Menzie's 1421
Review: I bought this book to read after I finished Menzie's wonderful study of the Chinese exploration of the world's oceans and I have not been disappointed. I don't know why other commentators are so hard on this book-its not as if we are bombarded by books dealing with the subject of Chinese maritime history and can afford to be snooty about our perceptions of the author's outcomes. As someone with a modest background in Chinese history I thought that Levathes completed a much needed examination about a subject that doesn't sit comfortably with many self proclaimed intellectuals who don't like to have their comfortable conceptions about the organization of world history upset by a new history that challenges their comfortable mind-set.I believe there is an all to apparent racial motive working in some commentaries regarding the immensity of the entire topic of Chinese maritime history. As Levathes describes so well the Chinese, back as far as the Han Dynasty, were sailing ships far larger to far more distant destinations than anything matched by the Europeans for centuries and yet the general Western reader fumbles in the dark for any information that counters the West's disinformation. What is going on? I live on the west coast of Australia and here in Fremantle a replica of Cook's Endeavour was built some years ago and more recently a replica of the Duyfken or Little Dove-the first European ship to chart a portion of the Australian continent was completed. But was there even a hint in any of the local or national news at the time that the English and the Dutch were simply sailing in the path of decades of previous Chinese occupation-of course not! Levathes final chapter recounts numerous examples of Chinese presence in the Northern Territory long before the Duyfken and Cook's south eastern exploration. Many readers seem to nit-pic this book as well as the Menzie's book to death-rather than dealing with the extraordinary ramifications of the import of each book's substance-we're left with a few niggling little bits of argument that simply detract from the greater story being told. If you have even a passing interest in Chinese history then you owe it to yourself to read this wonderful, enlightening examination of Chinese maritime history and it's impack throughout Asia and beyond.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent companion volume to Menzie's 1421
Review: I bought this book to read after I finished Menzie's wonderful study of the Chinese exploration of the world's oceans and I have not been disappointed. I don't know why other commentators are so hard on this book-its not as if we are bombarded by books dealing with the subject of Chinese maritime history and can afford to be snooty about our perceptions of the author's outcomes. As someone with a modest background in Chinese history I thought that Levathes completed a much needed examination about a subject that doesn't sit comfortably with many self proclaimed intellectuals who don't like to have their comfortable conceptions about the organization of world history upset by a new history that challenges their comfortable mind-set. I believe there is an all to apparent racial motive working in some commentaries regarding the immensity of the entire topic of Chinese maritime history. As Levathes describes so well the Chinese, back as far as the Han Dynasty, were sailing ships far larger to far more distant destinations than anything matched by the Europeans for centuries and yet the general Western reader fumbles in the dark for any information that counters the West's disinformation. What is going on? I live on the west coast of Australia and here in Fremantle a replica of Cook's Endeavour was built some years ago and more recently a replica of the Duyfken or Little Dove-the first European ship to chart a portion of the Australian continent was completed. But was there even a hint in any of the local or national news at the time that the English and the Dutch were simply sailing in the path of decades of previous Chinese occupation-of course not! Levathes final chapter recounts numerous examples of Chinese presence in the Northern Territory long before the Duyfken and Cook's south eastern exploration. Many readers seem to nit-pic this book as well as the Menzie's book to death-rather than dealing with the extraordinary ramifications of the import of each book's substance-we're left with a few niggling little bits of argument that simply detract from the greater story being told. If you have even a passing interest in Chinese history then you owe it to yourself to read this wonderful, enlightening examination of Chinese maritime history and it's impack throughout Asia and beyond.
Rating: 
Summary: No shipbuilding detail?
Review: I was disappointed by the lack of detail this book provided on the actual construction of Cheng Ho's (or Zheng He's) seagoing junks. In particular, the dimensions given for the largest (400 feet long!) seem improbable. Ancient historians routinely exaggerated numbers and sizes (size did matter to the ancients -- the bigger, the more impressive.) For example, Thucydides almost certainly exaggerated the size of the Persian forces in the Persian/Greek wars, and the Bible almost certainly exaggerates the numbers involved in the Exodus. The reason I'm skeptical of the 400-foot size is that there's no explanation of how the Chinese solved the problem of "hogging" -- that is, the tendency of wooden vessels to sag at the ends because their center of buoyancy is amidships. The larger the vessel, the greater this problem, and the more likely this sagging will cause the seams of the ship to split and leak. The hogging problem acted as an upper limit on the size of ships until iron ships were developed. In our desire to undo years of unbalanced Western history, are we being too eager, perhaps, to accept at face value accounts that we would view more skeptically if they came from other sources?
Rating:
Summary: No shipbuilding detail?
Review: I was disappointed by the lack of detail this book provided on the actual construction of Cheng Ho's (or Zheng He's) seagoing junks. In particular, the dimensions given for the largest (400 feet long!) seem improbable. Ancient historians routinely exaggerated numbers and sizes (size did matter to the ancients -- the bigger, the more impressive.) For example, Thucydides almost certainly exaggerated the size of the Persian forces in the Persian/Greek wars, and the Bible almost certainly exaggerates the numbers involved in the Exodus. The reason I'm skeptical of the 400-foot size is that there's no explanation of how the Chinese solved the problem of "hogging" -- that is, the tendency of wooden vessels to sag at the ends because their center of buoyancy is amidships. The larger the vessel, the greater this problem, and the more likely this sagging will cause the seams of the ship to split and leak. The hogging problem acted as an upper limit on the size of ships until iron ships were developed. In our desire to undo years of unbalanced Western history, are we being too eager, perhaps, to accept at face value accounts that we would view more skeptically if they came from other sources?
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I was disappointed in the book. I was hoping to find more firm detail and less (for lack of a better word) salacious details. Unfortunately, I have to place this book alongside other so-called "knowledgeable" books about China, such as Iron and Silk. These are books written as if the person really knows China and will reveal all about this "mysterious" place, but in fact the author places before the reader more "aren't these cool" titillating "facts" rather than hard-and-fast explanations. I call this raising the jade-colored mist. For example, most China scholars would give their eye teeth to be able to explain why China didn't "advance" into the modern technological era. Many scholars spend their whole lives teasing out the details to discover the answer to this question. This author purports to do so definitively in a few hundred pages. Also, perhaps she (and others) might consider that there may be another direction of advancement? Is the West, with America at it's tip, the apex of civilization? Or is it a flash in the pan? China after all has been here much, much longer. I would wait another few hundred years before making the judgement of who failed to "advance." More, many of the "facts" in the book are so broadly painted, so glossed and unsteadily founded (for example, the explanation for the origin of foot binding) that I found it impossible to trust ANYTHING that I read in the book. The book could have been organized better, as well, instead of listing (often) "fact" upon "fact". I found the book therefore a danger to any real understanding of China.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not enough
Review: I was excited when I heard of this book. Books dealing with Admiral Zhang He's sea adventures are in short supply and those in existence are not thorough enough. A lot of studies and research have been done to write this book. However, I am still not satisfied. Details are still lacking with particular to all seven voyages. Hopefully, another book will come.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not enough
Review: I was excited when I heard of this book. Books dealing with Admiral Zhang He's sea adventures are in short supply and those in existence are not thorough enough. A lot of studies and research have been done to write this book. However, I am still not satisfied. Details are still lacking with particular to all seven voyages. Hopefully, another book will come.
Rating:
Summary: Is China time change or continuation
Review: Reading the Treasure fleet of L.Levathes one can only wonder:
1/is the same forces on duty now in 20 th century
2/did any thing change
3/China build again mighty High sea fleet
4/Do Peoples Republic of China have a another Great Admiral
5/If it does what will he do?
6/What is the paths on the expansion?
7/How long expansion will last
Reading the Sun Tzu- Art of War and When China ruled the Seas one can only ask it self did any thing change in world and China.Sun Tzu explain victory without war fare , L. Levathes explain how it was done , are we going to see results of evolution in our life time. 6000 years of history of one Country seems to be long enough to learn and fulfill plans of Ancient ones.If China have learn any thing in 6000 years , that is to time do not have any meaning,whatever have been started will finish , on one way or other , and is not important to be accomplished now.Most important is to be acomplished. That is a victory , and victory make Tao strong, When Taois strong than is a victory.
600 years ago China was able to build ships and send invasion fleet acros the Ocean, they populated or visited areas of Australia , Pacific Islands,India,East Africa, and I believe west Coast of USA.
Is the time in stand still or we as humans always do same things in different shapes.
Once again to beter understand L.Levathes book I think it is nececity to read SUN TZU Art of War . They idealy complement each other.
Rating:
Summary: Is China time change or continuation
Review: Reading the Treasure fleet of L.Levathes one can only wonder:
1/is the same forces on duty now in 20 th century
2/did any thing change
3/China build again mighty High sea fleet
4/Do Peoples Republic of China have a another Great Admiral
5/If it does what will he do?
6/What is the paths on the expansion?
7/How long expansion will last
Reading the Sun Tzu- Art of War and When China ruled the Seas one can only ask it self did any thing change in world and China.Sun Tzu explain victory without war fare , L. Levathes explain how it was done , are we going to see results of evolution in our life time. 6000 years of history of one Country seems to be long enough to learn and fulfill plans of Ancient ones.If China have learn any thing in 6000 years , that is to time do not have any meaning,whatever have been started will finish , on one way or other , and is not important to be accomplished now.Most important is to be acomplished. That is a victory , and victory make Tao strong, When Taois strong than is a victory.
600 years ago China was able to build ships and send invasion fleet acros the Ocean, they populated or visited areas of Australia , Pacific Islands,India,East Africa, and I believe west Coast of USA.
Is the time in stand still or we as humans always do same things in different shapes.
Once again to beter understand L.Levathes book I think it is nececity to read SUN TZU Art of War . They idealy complement each other.
Rating: 
Summary: Numismatic evidence was lacking
Review: This is an entertaining book for the layman. As one who worked in a nautical library, I was wondering why Chinese numismatic evidence from the Persian Gulf was omitted. Otherwise, it is a well documented book.
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