Vanguard Fighting Ships of the Far East (1) - China & Southeast Asia 202BC-1419AD Osprey Books

Following on from the two volumes on Siege Weapons of the Far East, this title adds enormously to the hitherto small corpus of knowledge about this fascinating and little known subject. Using detailed descriptions, accurate cutaway plates and reliable historical examples, this book covers in a unique way the history of Chinese ship design and naval warfare from the beginning of the Han dynasty to the first few years of the Ming dynasty, when a Ming naval force countered Sichuanese rebels, also covered Is the epic battle of Lake Poyanfg in in 1363, won by the man who was to become the first Ming Emperor. This is a period of over 1,500 years saw a great deal of development in Chinese ship architecture, but there was also a remarkable amount of consistency both in the architecture and the techniques of naval warfare. The connections between the Chinese dynasties and Southeast Asia are also explored, illustrated by both the strong technological links that existed and the major naval campaigns of the Yuan dynasty against Vietnam and Java.