Hong Kong University Press
Imagined Geographies
About this book
Imagined Geographies is a pioneering work in the study of history and geography of the pre-1800 world. In this book, Gunn argues that different regions astride the maritime silk roads were not only interconnected but can also be construed as “imagined geographies.” Taking a grand civilizational perspective, five such geographic imaginaries are examined across respective chapters, namely Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and European including an imagined Great South Land. Drawing upon an array of marine and other archaeological examples, the author offers compelling evidence of the intertwining of political, cultural, and economic regions across the sea silk roads from ancient times until the seventeenth century. Through a thorough analysis of these five geographic imaginaries, the author sets aside purely national history and looks at the maritime realm from a broader spatial perspective. He challenges the Eurocentric concept of center and periphery and establishes a revisionist view on a decentered world regional history. This book will definitely interest history lovers from all around the world who wants to know more about how their forebears viewed their respective region and how their region fits into world history with local uniqueness.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
v -
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Acknowledgments
viii -
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Plates
xi -
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Introduction
1 - Part I: Writings
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1. Writing a Decentered World Regional History
13 - Part II: Imaginaries
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2. An Indian Imaginary
37 -
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3. Arab Geographic Imaginaries
63 -
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4. Geographic Imaginaries from the Chinese Tradition
85 -
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5. Japanese Geographic Imaginaries: The Tokugawa Invention of a Japan-Centered International Order
113 -
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6. Geographic Imaginaries of an Austral Land
132 - Part III: Evidence
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7. Connecting Up the Dots on Global Port Cities
153 -
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8. The Evidence from Marine Archaeology
177 - Part IV: Examples/Alternative Realms
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9. The Ryukyu Trade Networks Revisited
197 -
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10. Configuring Macau on the World Map
212 -
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Afterword
233 -
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References
243 -
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Index
274