DEFENDING HEAVEN: China's Mongol Wars 1209-1370

Combining powerful and accessible narrative with illuminating judgement, James Waterson brings together for the first time in one volume a complete history of the Jin, Song and Ming dynasties wars fought against the Mongols. Lasting nearly two centuries, these wars fought to defend Chinese civilisation against a brutal and unrelenting foe, pitted personal heroics against the inexorable Mongol war machine, and involved every part of the Chinese state. The resistance of the Chinese dynasties to the Khans is a complex and rich story of shifting alliances and political scheming, vast armies and navies, bloody battles and an astonishing technological revolution. Setting the conflict in the wider context of China's ancient and almost perpetual conflict with the northern nomads, it sheds intriguing new light on the evolution of China's military society and the management, command and control of the army by the Chinese state. The way Waterson explains events in China comparing them with similar developments in other parts of the world are very helpful. From the incessant intrigue of the court in Kaifeng and Hangchow, through the many battles and sieges across the country with various generals, emperors and warriors holding on to power, ultimately the Mongol Yuan dynasty prevailed. This was short lived due to corruption and misrule, resulting in the collapse of Mongol power in the 1360s. A superb introduction for the general reader and supported by 16 pages of mono illus. plus maps and notes. 236pp, paperback.