Kenneth M. Swope

Bio: Kenneth M. Swope is an academic researcher from University of Southern Mississippi. The author has contributed to research in topics: China & Empire. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 19 publications receiving 376 citations. Previous affiliations of Kenneth M. Swope include Ball State University & Marist College.

Ancient China and its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History . By Nicola Di Cosmo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ix, 369 pp. $70.00 (cloth).

Abstract: Introduction Part I: 1. The Steppe Highway: the rise of pastoral nomadism as a Eurasian phenomenon 2. Bronze, iron and gold: the evolution of nomadic cultures on the northern frontier of China Part II: 3. Beasts and birds: the historical context of early Chinese perceptions of northern peoples 4. Walls and horses: the beginning of historical contacts between horse-riding Nomads and Chinese states Part III: 5. Those who draw the bow: the rise of the Hsiung-nu Nomadic Empire and the political unification of the Nomads 6. From peace to war: China's shift from appeasement to military engagement Part IV: 7. In search of grass and water: ethnography and history of the North in the Historian's Records 8. Taming the North: the rationalization of the nomads in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's historical thought Conclusion.

Crouching Tigers, Secret Weapons: Military Technology Employed During the Sino-Japanese-Korean War, 1592-1598

Abstract: The Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-98) has recently been called Asia's first "regional world war." It marked the first time in Asian history that massive armies equipped with modern weaponry faced one another on the field of battle. The Japanese armies com- manded by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi were arguably the most skilled in the world at the time, yet in the end the Japanese were defeated by a Sino-Korean alliance in tandem with Korean guerril- las. Looking at the primary documents of the war, it seems apparent that military technology was the single most important, but not the only, factor that shaped the direction and determined the outcome of the war. This article presents an overview of some of the major military technologies utilized by the belligerents and challenges con- ventional interpretations of the conflict, passed down through the centuries, that claim Japan's defeat was due to superior allied num- bers and Hideyoshi's death.

Deceit, Disguise, and Dependence: China, Japan, and the Future of the Tributary System, 1592–1596

Abstract: (2002). Deceit, Disguise, and Dependence: China, Japan, and the Future of the Tributary System, 1592–1596. The International History Review: Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 757-782.

Like Froth Floating on the Sea: The World of Pirates and Seafarers in Late Imperial South China

Abstract: One of the great advantages to studying and writing about Chinese history, as opposed to say Western European or American history, is that there are so many gaps in our basic knowledge that remain to be filled, even for relatively well known and better documented periods like the Ming and Qing dynasties. The advantage of this situation for scholars of China in the West is that almost every new monograph helps to fill in more gaps and contains at least something of relevance for anyone working in a particular era or specialty. Nevertheless, there are some drawbacks, as readers of this journal are certainly well aware. For while on the one hand this state of affairs provides researchers with ample opportunity to carve out their own niches in the field, it also sometimes means that there are often few monographs to which one can respond or build upon when writing a new work. The end result is often that we are forced to rely upon single works for in-depth knowledge of a particular topic or event, as the need to do something new outweighs the desire to engage in deeper study of something that has already been covered. Such is not the case with this book, which manages to both respond to and build upon earlier works in English, Chinese, and Japanese, while at the same time illuminating important aspects of late Qing social history which have so far gone understudied. For as the author himself puts it, \"Only by going beyond the Confucian-dominated stereotypes to examine the poor, marginalized, and criminalized elements in society can we understand more fully and accurately the social history of late imperial China\" (p. 164). In addition to presenting an often graphically detailed overview of the lives of pirates and seafarers in late imperial South China,

Evidence of traditional knowledge loss among a contemporary indigenous society

Abstract: article i nfo As biological and linguistic diversity, the world's cultural diversity is on decline. However, to date there are no estimates of the rate at which the specific cultural traits of a group disappear, mainly because we lack empirical data to assess how the cultural traits of a given population change over time. Here we estimate changes in cultural traits associated to the traditional knowledge of wild plant uses among an Amazonian indigenous society. We collected data among 1151 Tsimane' Amerindians at two periods of time. Results show that between 2000 and 2009, Tsimane' adults experienced a net decrease in the report of plant uses ranging from 9% (for the female subsample) to 26% (for the subsample of people living close to towns), equivalent to 1% to 3% per year. Results from a Monte Carlo simulation show that the observed changes were not the result of randomness. Changes were more acute for men than for women and for informants living in villages close to market towns than for informants settled in remote villages. The Tsimane' could be abandoning their traditional knowledge as they perceive that this form of knowledge does not equip them well to deal with the new socio-economic and cultural conditions they face nowadays.

The Worlds of the Indian Ocean: A Global History

Abstract: Europe's place in history is re-assessed in this first comprehensive history of the ancient world, centering on the Indian Ocean and its role in pre-modern globalization. Philippe Beaujard presents an ambitious and comprehensive global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 CE. Supported by a wealth of empirical data, full color maps, plates, and figures, he shows how Asia and Africa dominated the economic and cultural landscape and the flow of ideas in the pre-modern world. This led to a trans-regional division of labor and an Afro-Eurasian world economy. Beaujard questions the origins of capitalism and hints at how this world-system may evolve in the future. The result is a reorienting of world history, taking the Indian Ocean, rather than Europe, as the point of departure. Volume II provides in-depth coverage of the period from the seventh century CE to the fifteenth century CE.

A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe.

Abstract: Summary The Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region's population history. Here, we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.

Warfare and the Evolution of Social Complexity: A Multilevel-Selection Approach

Abstract: Multilevel selection is a powerful theoretical framework for understanding how complex hierarchical systems evolve by iteratively adding control levels. Here I apply this framework to a major transition in human social evolution, from small-scale egalitarian groups to large-scale hierarchical societies such as states and empires. A major mathematical result in multilevel selection, the Price equation, specifies the conditions concerning the structure of cultural variation and selective pressures that promote evolution of larger-scale societies. Specifically, large states should arise in regions where culturally very different people are in contact, and where interpolity competition – warfare – is particularly intense. For the period of human history from the Axial Age to the Age of Discovery (c.500 BCE–1500 CE), conditions particularly favorable for the rise of large empires obtained on steppe frontiers, contact regions between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturalists. An empirical investigation of warfare lethality, focusing on the fates of populations of conquered cities, indicates that genocide was an order of magnitude more frequent in steppe-frontier wars than in wars between culturally similar groups. An overall empirical test of the theory’s predictions shows that over ninety percent of largest historical empires arose in world regions classified as steppe frontiers.

五輪書 = The book of five rings

Abstract: Application of the Samurai Way is applied as a strategy for all areas of life here - the home, the battleground and the boardroom. The West is discovering what the Japanese have always known.