Seven Voyages

December 1, 2020
A broad account of the Ming dynasty's maritime expeditions, led by a legendary admiral. A dramatized standoff between pirates in the Strait of Malacca and the Treasure Fleet commanded by Zheng He (1371-1433) launches this work. Referencing numerous sources, the choppy narrative alternately plunges into geopolitical depths and zigzags among points of view, inundating readers with details that are difficult to digest without guidance or visual aids such as comparative timelines. "China was a nation divided against itself....Ethnic Chinese, Mongols, and Uighur tribespeople fought," and similar declarations suggest an Orientalist-tinged lens on group identities, nationhood, and territoriality. The result: a hodgepodge of human geography mixed with economic calculations and strategic maneuvers in the name of Zhu Di (the self-styled Yongle emperor) that can be dizzying for readers navigating with no context or little prior knowledge. Certain chronicles, along with highlights of ship construction and nautical technologies, are vivid and engaging while scant maps, diagrams, and text panels do double duty in illustrating salient facts. In failing to center Zheng He--a multifaith diplomat of mixed ancestry who knew Arabic and prioritized linguistic and cultural knowledge--Bergreen and Fray sacrifice a cogent storytelling approach. Casting too wide a net, this volume flounders in its attempt to convey an intriguing chapter in anthropology and world history for young English-language readers. This ambitious effort reads like textbook excerpts striving to be docudrama segments. (bibliography, notes on sources, index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)

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December 1, 2020
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Children raised on Columbus' derring-do will be surprised to learn that, a century before he arrived in this country, the Chinese armada had ships four times bigger than European colonists' vessels. Bergreen and Fray (Over the Edge of the World, 2009) detail the life of Zheng He, a seven-foot-tall man whose destiny became intertwined with China's when he was captured and transformed into a royal eunuch (the procedure is matter-of-factly described). The rest of Zheng's life was devoted to making Emperor Zhu Di a fearsome leader, with Zheng helming a huge fleet--its needs stretched the emperor's vast resources to breaking point--that braved seven voyages to import riches and conquer surrounding lands. The research for this book must have been as formidable as the voyages, with the authors covering everything from Chinese daily life in the 1400s to shipbuilding and regional politics. It's never overwhelming, though, since as well as being fascinating on their own, these facts contextualize the swashbuckling drama. Independent readers interested in history or the military are the natural audience for this, but it would also be useful for a broad range of topics, from those on worldwide food and clothing to studies of the built environment.

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