Defending Heaven: China’s Mongol Wars, 1209-1370 by James Waterson (PDF)

Description

Defending Heaven 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 civilization 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. The great events of China’s Mongol war are described and analyzed, detailing their immediate and later implications for Chinese history.In this excellent new book, James Waterson tackles this fascinating subject with characteristic verve and skill. Setting the Mongol war in the wider context of China’s ancient and almost perpetual conflict with the northern nomads, it sheds light on the evolution of China’s military society and the management, command and control of the army by the Chinese state.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Waterson’s treatment is clear, a considerable achievement considering the often very complex ways in which events unfolded. He links the events in China to contemporary developments in the rest of the world, sometimes in startling ways (e.g., the “movements” of the trebuchet). Waterson often explains events in China by comparing them with similar developments in other parts of the world, which is a considerable help for anyone who is a novice to Chinese history. And Waterson is not shy about criticizing Western perceptions of China (e.g., just how familiar were Chinese generals with Sun-Tzu?). Defending Heaven is a good read for such novices, but also will satisfy the more seasoned student of Chinese history.”StrategyPage About the Author James Waterson was born into a London family of Royal Marines and Paratroopers. Fatherly advice however steered him away from a military career and into academia and teaching. He is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and received his Masters degree from Dundee University. He worked and taught in the United States and China for a number of years and now divides his time between the Middle East and Italy whilst trying to makes ends meet. The Ismaili Assassins is his second book and grew out of his travels in Iran. His first book, The Knights of Islam, a history of the slave soldiers of Islam, was published in 2007 by Greenhill Books. He continues to work at producing a life of the Crusader Bohemond of Taranto but knows it will never be finished.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I have read multiple books about the Mongol Invasion of China. This is the first to go beyond battles, soldier counts, and lists of generals moving into why the Mongols took so lomg to defeat China and why their rule was so short lived.I look forward to reading more works written by James Waterson.

⭐Waterson is clearly interested in the Song Dynasty, and this book mostly focused on them. I just wished Waterson did a more diligent job researching and double-checking his sources for the Mongols because a lot of what he writes about them is wrong. The mistakes regarding the Mongols make me concerned about the research he conducted for the rest of his book since the research he conducted for the Mongols was, I feel sad to say it, terrible.The one glaring mistake that troubles me the most is his claim that Borte was the empire’s regent after Chinggis’ death (Loc 1167 in Kindle). First and foremost, it is fundamental—and I mean very basic—Mongol historical knowledge that Tolui, the Otchigin/hearth prince, was regent after Chinggis’ death. There are no qualms about this fact. Not only that, but due to Tolui inheriting Chinggis’ land at his death, we can conclude that Borte predeceased her husband. Tolui would never come to his inheritance had his mother been alive. The opposite occurred for his hearth prince Ariq Boke. After Tolui’s death, Ariq Boke did not inherit his father’s land. Instead, the territories went to the management of Sorqoqtani, Ariq Boke’s mother. Not until his mother’s death did Ariq Boke finally inherit his father’s territories. Another annoying point is that the footnote for the above information of this “wife of Chinggis” who was regent, does not explain where in the world this information came from. Please cite sources. It really is unbelievable that the above mistake can occur. Tolui as regent is super basic knowledge.After looking at enough mistakes, I took a quick peek at the bibliography and was extremely concerned about what I saw regarding the Mongol sources. I feel really sorry for Waterson because this book was a lot of work, and you can see how hard he worked on it. However, he sadly used some shystie sources that had no business being cited in dedicated academic work. Defending Heaven has an overreliance on books and not enough on primary sources and academic journals. Truly groundbreaking research relies on primary sources and not on other historians’ interpretation of those primary sources. This book is a good start for jumping into learning about the Song Dynasty. However, it should not be used to gain any knowledge on the Mongols because much of what this book presents is wrong.

⭐This seems to me to be an excellent book, particularly if looking for an introduction to these conflicts, and also Song . The narrative is structured as an “overview”, drawing lines from the beginning of the Song dynasty throughout its war with the Jin and how its intellectual and political inheritance from its own history (particularly the trauma from losing Northern China to the Jin) served to partially cause its downfall as well as the Mongol conquerors. Otherwise, the main political and military figures of both sides are introduced in some detail; however the book focuses on describing and making sense of military events, and very little space is given to fleshing out the different characters and their motives. Additionally, very little space is given to describe Chinese or Mongol society in detail.If you’re looking for a detailed account or history of Song China or the Mongols you’re s*** out of luck. This is a book focusing its narrative on the overarching events and players related to Song history and the wars against the Mongols (as well a bit on the general political and military history of the Song for context). Thus it serves excellently as an introduction to the subject.All in all, 5/5 for what it’s trying to do, however as indicated, not necessarily fit for all purposes.

⭐Most of the books written in English concerning the Mongol Empire approach it from the perspective of the Mongols. Some of the better books are : Subotai the Valiant: Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, and the The Tartar Khan’s Englishman. Defending Heaven gives the reader a better understanding of the historical, cultural, and political events within China at the time of Mongol invasion. As good as those books are, they give most off the credit to the Mongols. Defending Heaven details the divide between the Song Dynasty’s Emperor and his inner circle and that of the Song Dynasty’s field commanders, thus describing the Song decision making that lead to their downfall. The book covers the initial invasion of Song Dynasty and concludes with the expulsion of the Mongols ( or the Yuan Dynasty ) by the first Ming Emperor. It also documents the amazing technological advancements of the Song Dynasty, and the importance of the change in terrain ( steppe vs river valleys ) played in the war. A very interesting note is the effect that the Mongol Wars had on Chinese culture. I highly recommend this book.

⭐I bought this kindle-format ebook for quite a long time ago and was afraid of starting it lest I could not finish the reading. But the book is very readable and interesting. I could not help but keep turning page after page on my android Kindle App until I finished it in only 2 days! It vastly broadened my knowledge of Song-Yuan conflicts which was rarely mentioned in detail in other books. And I found this very fascinating no less than other important periods in China History. Thank you Mr.Waterson for this wonderful work!

⭐It is hard to cover hundreds of years of history in one book. This book tells the tale with both large scale descriptions of empires at war together with personal takes of the people who led armies and ruled kingdoms. Many of these generals and rulers deserve a large place in history for controlling armies larger than any contemporary army i.e European and for issues of grand strategy that affected Asia and Europe to this day.

⭐I was really looking forward to this book,I even had it on pre-order and I have waited a while before posting feedback as I love the subject and would wish to encourage books on this subject.To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.Mr.Waterson comes up with some astonishing statements ,”Chinngis Khan was not a great general or warrior” Pardon! Other mistakes show the authors lack of basic knowledge such as stating the Mongol bow was made of yak horn ,sinew and Bamboo,not a lot of bamboo on the steppes.He makes a point of thanking a lady at the Freer gallery for help with the Illustrations.They are a mixture of tourist photos and some interesting paintings with virtually no references or information.As a result if some are of interest ,as some were ,you can not carry out any further research.Indeed when details are given ,as on the cover illustration ,I find it is not correct .I did attempt to contact the publishers to raise these points but they didn’t reply.Nowhere in the bibliography is mention of the classic work by H.Desmond Martin,Chingis Khan and his Conquest of North China.Do yourself a favour,don’t buy Waterson’s book but track down a second hand copy of Martin.

⭐Excellent read. This book tells the story of the Song, Jin and the Mongols as they struggle to fight for the domination of China in the Middle Ages. It explains how the native Song dynasty ruled China as they try to hold onto their empire through diplomacy, war and determination. From the incessant intrigue of the court in Kaifeng and Hangchow, through the many battles and sieges that raged across the country and how the various individuals such as generals, emperors and others who had the starring roles fought to dominate and hold onto power. I always assumed that the Mongols swept all before then but James tells a different version of how technology, planning, intrigue and sheer will enabled the Song to fight back against first the Jin and then the Mongols for decades before ultimately the Mongol Yuan dynasty prevailed. Saying this however their tenure of the dragon throne was short lived due to corruption and misrule and the Chinese who under the Ming would succeed in driving the hated occupiers out of China and restoring a native dynasty to power. Gripping stuff as the story unfolds.

⭐This is the extraordinary account of the Mongol wars waged to conquer China in the 13th and 14th centuries AD and of the collapse of Mongol power in the 1360s. It is well-researched and tells a gripping story extremely well. More please!

⭐Still reading this book. Excellent so far

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