Customer Reviews

Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times

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OK, so maybe Morris Rossabi was right not to speak of this great Khan as "a most excellent barbarian" as if he emerged from some "sandal and Vandal" Hollywood epic. But, this historical figure lived amidst some of the most colorful, interesting times (not to mention extremely bloody ones). A little more pizzazz could have livened up the biography of an undoubtedly important character in world history. Rossabi's book is competent, it is scholarly, it is well-organized, it is impressively wide-reaching in its use of English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese sources (and the author seems to have some knowledge of Mongol and Tibetan too). Nobody could fault such a book for incompleteness. Certainly I am not qualified to spot any inaccuracies. We learn the antecedents of Khubilai Khan, how he emerged from the welter of contestants for the top job, how he organized the bureaucracy, picked his advisors, dealt with the various religions and their factions, how he conquered the Southern Sung (rulers of 50 million Chinese), how he became a patron of the arts, and how he tried and failed to conquer Burma, Vietnam, and Japan. On finishing the book, I felt sure that I had read most of the available information on Khubilai Khan. But....I would have liked some insights, which I believe Dr. Rossabi could have provided. Where can we place Khubilai Khan in the long history of struggle between nomad and sedentary farmer in North Asia ? How did he stack up against previous and later rulers ? What were the results of the various policies he followed and were they very different from what the Chinese had done ? And ? Well, I might not be able to come up with many more possible themes like this, but I would have enjoyed some questions and answers, to be shown a broader picture.

Still, if you need a book on the life of Khubilai Khan which is clearly written and avoids jargon---though the author does tend to insert a few too many Mongol and Chinese terms which are useless to lay readers---you could do worse than obtain this volume, probably the premier work on the subject in English.

Rossabi dispels the notions that the Mongol horsemen that conquered half the world were barbarians. He details Khubilai's life and how as a grandson of the great Genghis, he expected to someday be one of the ruling princes of the Mongol Empire. Khubilai's rule was not anticipated. He had to battle his brother for the throne. However, when he became a great Khan, he conquered most of China, and extended his influence over a large chunk of Asia. He was a consensus ruler, taking people from all ethnicities. He took the best ideas from all and used them in governing his empire. Other than some military setbacks in Japan and Java, his influence was great.

This is dry reading at times. The author is an academic, and this is a serious academic work. The author wrote an book detailing all the knowledge we have of Khubilai. However, this book is not for everyone.
A detailed read.

If you have ever been interested in learning about the amazing Khubilia Khan or the Mongols this is the book to read.

Morris Rossabi knows his stuff and it that is clearly evident in this book.

Rossabi does a great job explaining the man Marco Polo met in China. Rossabi does a great job explaining the Mongols, their Empire, and their leader Khubilia Khan.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about one of the largest empires to ever exist and their amazing leader.

It is great to read a book written by someone who knows his stuff. Rossabi knows his stuff!

Khubilai Khan was the first of the Mongol rulers to make the transition from nomadic conqueror of the steppes to effective ruler of a sedentary society. His reign in China witnessed the construction of a capital city, the development of a new legal code, and court patronage of the arts, science, and medicine. He expedited and encouraged travel in his territories: Asian goods reached Europe along the caravan trails, and the ensuing European demand for these products eventually inspired the search for the sea route to Asia.