Overview

Despite its 3,000 kilometre coastline, few people see Vietnam as a maritime country. Here Li Tana presents a powerful new argument about Vietnamese history: that key political changes resulted from the impact, economic and otherwise, of the sea. This is a finely layered account covering the two millennia before colonisation that radically restructures how we understand the role of the maritime and trans-regional in Vietnam's early history. Drawing on exhaustive research of Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese sources, Li reveals that it is only when viewed against the background of the sea that Vietnam's past can be properly understood. In contrast to traditional perceptions of an inward-looking society dominated by Chinese cultural influence, Vietnam was shaped by dynamic littoral economic and cultural contact.

Full Product Details

Author:   Tana Li (Australian National University, Canberra)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Weight:   0.512kg
ISBN:  

9781009237642

ISBN 10:   1009237640
Pages:   354
Publication Date:   01 February 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Maritime formations; 2. Aromatics, Buddhism and the making of a south seas emporium; 3. Aromatic forests, sea trade, and the rise of Linyi, 200–700 CE; 4. Maritime resurgence and the rise of Dai Viet; 5. Winds of trade from the Middle East: 6. Muslim trade and the conquest of the coast: the mystery of the Topkapi vase; 7. Silks and society: Tongking in the age of commerce; 8. Seventeenth century Dang Trong: a maritime entity; 9. The rise and fall of the water frontier; 10. Ships and the problem of political integration: the cost of Tao Van and shipbuilding; Conclusion: some reflections on a maritime Vietnam.

Reviews

'In assiduity and breadth, this book surpasses even Prof. Li's now classic Nguyen Cochinchina. As a meticulous analysis of the intersection between external and domestic economies, A Maritime Vietnam provides not only for Vietnam, but for the region a model  longitudinal inquiry into a fundamental but substantially neglected theme. It will enhance Prof. Li's reputation as one of the most  original scholars ever to have worked in pre-colonial Southeast Asia history.' Victor Lieberman, University of Michigan

Author Information

Li Tana is Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and Pacific Studies, ANU.

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