“Maritime prohibition, piracy and coastal defense during the Ming dynasty”

In the beginning of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) imperial authorities devoted much attention and effort to the strengthening of coastal defenses against invading Japanese and Sino-Japanese pirate groups, yet in the long course of the dynasty, except for a few crises, piratical raids rather remained a minor problem.The lecture provides a survey of the history of coastal defense works, focuses on the organizational aspects of coastal defense in Ming China and evaluates the effectiveness of this “Great Maritime Wall&”, also in light of the dynasty’s downfall towards the middle of the 17th century.

“Military logistics and food supply: health and hygiene in pre-modern and early modern Chinese armies”

In April 1661 Zheng Chenggong’s naval forces crossed the Taiwan Straits on their mission to expel the Dutch from the island. Due to adverse weather conditions the troops faced the danger of rapidly shrinking food supplies, which forced them to have recourse to rather scanty amounts of Penghu Islands crops such as sweet potatoes, barley, and millet. This insignificant incident within a much larger story of naval operations and shifting political realities, mirrors the cornerstone importance of adequate logistics in times of peace and all the more so during military campaigns. In this lecture I will provide a tentative survey of logistics and food supply techniques in pre-modern Chinese armies and navies and in addition explore traces of traditions of military medicine.