The Blue Frontier: Maritime Vision and Power in the Qing Empire (Cambridge Oceanic Histories) - Softcover

Po, Ronald C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 110844072X ISBN 13: 9781108440721

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2019

Synopsis

In this revisionist history of the eighteenth-century Qing Empire from a maritime perspective, Ronald C. Po argues that it is reductive to view China over this period exclusively as a continental power with little interest in the sea. With a coastline of almost 14,500 kilometers, the Qing was not a landlocked state. Although it came to be known as an inward-looking empire, Po suggests that the Qing was integrated into the maritime world through its naval development and customs institutionalization. In contrast to our orthodox perception, the Manchu court, in fact, deliberately engaged with the ocean politically, militarily, and even conceptually. The Blue Frontier offers a much broader picture of the Qing as an Asian giant responding flexibly to challenges and extensive interaction on all frontiers - both land and sea - in the long eighteenth century.

About this title

About the Author

Ronald C. Po is Assistant Professor in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 110844072X
• ISBN 13: 9781108440721
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 308