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

Jack Weatherford 魏泽福 (Author)
Published 26 Sep 2024
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 368
ISBN 9781399417730
Imprint Bloomsbury Continuum
Illustrations 5 mono maps and a plate section
Dimensions 234 x 153 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

作者简介

魏泽福(Jack Weatherford)被誉为「最会说故事的人类学家」,而且是说蒙古帝国的历史故事,以《成吉思汗:近代世界的创造者》、《成吉思汗的女儿们》等作享誉全球。2024 年他以Emperor of the Seas:Kublai Khan and the Making of China 一书,诉说成吉思汗的孙子忽必烈如何开启中国海洋史的故事,为前三部曲做了一个小总结。

成吉思汗是世界史的重要历史人物之一。魏泽福在《成吉思汗》里,描写成吉思汗在草原上的崛起与称霸,从出生到统一蒙古各部,建立蒙古帝国的历史。藉由商贸与外交,使中国与欧洲连成一气,构筑现代世界的基础。

在《成吉思汗的女儿们》中,魏泽福则拂开历史掩盖於女性身上的尘埃,还原蒙古女性对帝国的奉献。尤其是撑起大漠草原上辉煌功业,手握政经大全、复兴帝国威望的蒙古帝国皇室女性。透过《征服者与众神》的研究,魏泽福认为成吉思汗的宗教宽容政策,成为开创蒙古帝国盛世的关键。

这位在北方荒漠草原上一领风骚的大汗建立了巨大的陆上帝国,却未曾跨越至中国南方的水域。一二五九年,第四任蒙古大汗蒙哥猝死。成吉思汗之孙、拖雷的第四子忽必烈不仅要在军事上击败竞争者,还得创下巨大功业和财富,给蒙古帝国带来繁荣安定,才能在帝位权力竞争中胜出。征服南宋成为唯一办法,因为南宋拥有当时欧亚大陆最大的财富与人口。从北到南,忽必烈克服地理上的「陆上障壁」与「水的障壁」,挥军进入南宋首都杭州。但他没有摧毁此地,反而保持这个地方的繁华面貌,创造出更繁华的城市。

魏泽福新作叙述了这位成吉思汗的孙子消灭南宋残余势力的过程。更重要的是,蒙古帝国这个游牧民族征服中国并称霸海洋。元世祖忽必烈是最吸引人的历史人物之一。他将伊斯兰数学家带到朝廷,数学家们发明了近代地图绘制与天文历算技术;也将世界上最大的领土化为大一统、多元、纸币流通的经济成长型帝国。

经历初期的挫折,忽必烈的统治放眼海外,在统治中国末期,建造并供应了可观的船只,可以将武器、粮食与士兵运送至千里之外。元代时期的造船技术已达巅峰。这些船舰的灵活性与吨位是欧洲数百年间难以想像的。忽必烈有个明智的认知:制海者,得一切。他成功将中国的陆地史,移转至海洋史。

作为蒙古历史学者专家,魏泽福奠基於十年的研究与对蒙古文化的毕生浸淫(他本人目前就住在蒙古博格汗山的Tur Hurah),掌握丰富多元的蒙古史料,揭示中国海军霸权如何永久地改变世界,彻底革新世界贸易。[原文]

Jack Weatherford is an anthropologist and author of New York Times bestselling Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. He has spent over 25 years exploring Mongolia and its history, and his writing on the Mongol Empire has transformed our understanding of its long legacy. Jack Weatherford is the retired DeWitt Wallace Chair of Anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and he is the only foreigner ever inducted into the Order of Chinggis Khaan, Mongolia’s highest national honour. His other books include The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, Genghis Khan and the Quest for God, Indian Givers: How Native Americans Transformed the World and The History of Money.

Description
“Astonishing…Brings to life a thriving – and rather civilized – empire” – The Telegraph

“sparkles with energy, insight and passion… difficult to put down.” Nicholas Morton, BBC History Magazine

Control the sea, and you control everything…a gripping tale of dynastic rivalry and innovation, from the author of the classic work Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

Genghis Khan built a formidable land empire, but he never crossed the sea. Yet by the time his grandson Kublai Khan had defeated the last vestiges of the Song empire and established the Yuan dynasty in 1279, the Mongols controlled the most powerful navy in the world. How did a nomad come to conquer China and master the sea? Based on ten years of research and a lifetime of immersion in Mongol culture and tradition, Emperor of the Seas brings this little-known story vibrantly to life.

Kublai Khan is one of history’s most fascinating characters. He brought Islamic mathematicians to his court, where they invented modern cartography and celestial measurement. He transformed the world’s largest land mass into a unified, diverse and economically progressive empire, introducing paper money. And, after bitter early setbacks, he transformed China into an outward looking sea-faring empire.

By the end of his reign, the Chinese were building and supplying remarkable ships to transport men, grain, and weapons over vast distances, of a size and dexterity that would be inconceivable in Europe for hundreds of years. Khan had come to a brilliant realization: control the sea, and you control everything.

A master storyteller with an unparalleled grasp of Mongol sources, Jack Weatherford shows how Chinese naval hegemony changed the world forever – revolutionizing world commerce and transforming tastes as far away as England and France.

Table of Contents
CONTENTS

Preface: China’s Golden Age on the Sea

Introduction: The Travels of Marco Polo

I: KUBLAI: A PRINCE WITHOUT QUALITIES
1. The Mongols Descend on China
2. Left Standing in the Dust
3. Brothers on Two Continents
4. Möngke Becomes Great Khan and Restarts the Mongol Wars
5. War from the Pacific to the Mediterranean
6. Kublai Awakens

II: KUBLAI TURNS TO THE SEA
7. China’s Great Water Wall
8. An Arms Race Begins with Financing
9. Kublai Builds an Offensive Navy
10. Da Yuan, the Great Beginning
11. Chaos on the Sea of Japan
12. Decadence Before the Deluge
13. Grand Finale of the Great Song
14. Navy Without a Country

III: THE SILK ROAD OF THE SEA
15. Black Wind Over Japan
16. Markets, Money and Murder
17. Mongols Lost in the Jungle, Adrift at Sea
18. If Vietnam Fails, Attack Egypt
19. The Mongol Princess and her Tiger
20. Kublai Completes his Age

IV: THE CALM AFTER KUBLAI AND THE DECLINE
21. Iron Man and the Lotus
22. From Conquest to Commerce
23. Ports of Profit and Pleasure, Poetry and Pretence
24. Rotting Ships, Sinking Currency
25. China Retreats from the Sea
26. Wolves Come During Rain
27. The Empress of China Sets Sail

Epilogue: History Allows No Favourites
Research and Sources
Notes
Index

以下内容由ChatGPT翻译,未做核对,仅供参考:

简介
“令人惊叹……展现了一个繁荣且相当文明的帝国。”——《每日电讯报》

“充满能量、洞察力和激情……让人难以释卷。”——尼古拉斯·莫顿,《BBC历史杂志》

“控制海洋,就控制了一切……”
这是一个关于家族竞争与创新的引人入胜的故事,由经典作品《成吉思汗与现代世界的崛起》的作者倾情讲述。

成吉思汗建立了一个强大的陆地帝国,但他从未跨越海洋。然而,当他的孙子忽必烈击败南宋残余势力并于1279年建立元朝时,蒙古人已经掌控了世界上最强大的海军。一个游牧民族如何征服中国并主宰海洋?《海上霸主》基于十年的研究和作者对蒙古文化与传统的终身沉浸,生动地呈现了这一鲜为人知的故事。

忽必烈是历史上最引人注目的人物之一。他将伊斯兰数学家召至朝廷,他们在此发明了现代地图绘制和天体测量。他将世界上最大的陆地统一为一个多元化、经济进步的帝国,并引入纸币。在早期的惨痛挫折后,他将中国转变为一个向外看的海洋帝国。

在他统治的末期,中国已经能够建造并供给令人惊叹的船只,用来运输士兵、粮食和武器,航程之远、船只之大在数百年后的欧洲都难以想象。忽必烈实现了一个重要的洞见:控制海洋,就控制了一切。

杰出的故事讲述者魏泽福,凭借对蒙古文献的无与伦比的掌握,展示了中国的海军霸权如何永远改变了世界——革命性地推动了全球贸易,并影响到了远至英法的文化品味。


目录

序言:海洋上的中国黄金时代
导言:马可·波罗的旅行

第一部分:忽必烈:无名的王子

  1. 蒙古人降临中国
  2. 留在尘埃中的人
  3. 横跨两大洲的兄弟
  4. 蒙哥成为大汗,重启蒙古战争
  5. 战火从太平洋燃至地中海
  6. 忽必烈的觉醒

第二部分:忽必烈转向海洋
7. 中国的伟大水上长城
8. 武器竞赛与筹资开始
9. 忽必烈打造进攻性海军
10. 大元,伟大的开端
11. 日本海上的混乱
12. 洪水前的奢靡
13. 大宋的谢幕
14. 没有祖国的海军

第三部分:海上丝绸之路
15. 日本上空的黑风
16. 市场、货币与谋杀
17. 蒙古人在丛林中迷失,于海上漂流
18. 越南失败就攻打埃及
19. 蒙古公主与她的猛虎
20. 忽必烈完成了他的时代

第四部分:忽必烈之后的平静与衰退
21. 铁人与莲花
22. 从征服转向贸易
23. 盈利、享乐与伪饰的港口
24. 腐烂的船只与下沉的货币
25. 中国退出海洋
26. 狼来雨中
27. 中国女皇扬帆远航

尾声:历史没有偏爱
研究与来源
注释
索引

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