Seminar: Pierre-Yves MANGUIN
21 JUNE 17
Speaker:Prof. Pierre-Yves Manguin
(Emeritus professor, EFEO)
Title:Innovations in North-South Sailing across the South China Sea
Date : Wednesday, 21 june 2017, at 3pm
Venue: Room 703, Research Building, IHP, Academia Sinica, Taipei City
Abstract:
Two major economic nodes in Asian history have lied at the Northern and Southern ends of the South China Sea for more than two millennia: China and the Straits area of Insular Southeast Asia. How did one sail along this major thoroughfare of East Asian traffic? I will show that, until the second half of the 17th century, only a route closely following the coasts of Campa and Vietnam was in use. For centuries, the impossibility to assess the precise position of the Paracels and Macclesfield islands and banks and the dangers they present forced navigators of all nations to keep in sight of the coast until they had sailed away from their presumed position and extent. Some direct crossings appear to have taken place during the second half of the 17th century, however, but only when longitude reckoning was discovered at the end of the 18th century did navigators sail directly between the Singapore Strait and Guangdong.
Organiser:
- IHP, Academia Sinica
- EFEO Taipei Center
This seminar will be chaired by Prof. Chen Kuo-tung (IHP) Academia Sinica
The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
lecture
(Emeritus professor, EFEO)
Title:Innovations in North-South Sailing across the South China Sea
Date : Wednesday, 21 june 2017, at 3pm
Venue: Room 703, Research Building, IHP, Academia Sinica, Taipei City
Abstract:
Two major economic nodes in Asian history have lied at the Northern and Southern ends of the South China Sea for more than two millennia: China and the Straits area of Insular Southeast Asia. How did one sail along this major thoroughfare of East Asian traffic? I will show that, until the second half of the 17th century, only a route closely following the coasts of Campa and Vietnam was in use. For centuries, the impossibility to assess the precise position of the Paracels and Macclesfield islands and banks and the dangers they present forced navigators of all nations to keep in sight of the coast until they had sailed away from their presumed position and extent. Some direct crossings appear to have taken place during the second half of the 17th century, however, but only when longitude reckoning was discovered at the end of the 18th century did navigators sail directly between the Singapore Strait and Guangdong.
Organiser:
- IHP, Academia Sinica
- EFEO Taipei Center
This seminar will be chaired by Prof. Chen Kuo-tung (IHP) Academia Sinica
The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
lecture