Pirates of the South China coast, 1790-1810 /

From a broad perspective, Murray's work is a contribution to a more complete understanding of the complicated process of dynastic decline in Confucian China, in this case the Ch'ing dynasty, 1644-1912. The author focuses on the loss of local control by Ch'ing officials to pirates on the South China coast, 1790-1810. Beginning the account with a useful and detailed description of varieties of human existence in the ``Water World'' in and near Canton, Murray examines the chronological development of piratical activities. His treatment starts with the emergence of scattered assemblies of part-time pirates, consisting of underemployed fishermen and other economically deprived groups, and moves to the peak of pirate strength in about 1810. By that time pirate leaders, through superior leadership and organizational skills, had supplanted Ch'ing authority on the sea and were in the process of undermining it in some coastal towns. Unsuccessful in forcefully subduing the great pirate fleets, the emperor's officials finally convinced the major pirate leaders that financial rewards and other inducements were preferable to continued piracy. Murray's account is a delightful tale of war, intrigue, sex, and crime, made even more appealing by the author's astute analyses, clear prose, and excellent research. Index, a very useful bibliographic essay, and first-rate illustrations. Upper-division undergraduates and above.-J.C. Cooley Jr., University of North Carolina at Greensboro