Understand human history with "The Sea and Civilization"

Written by American historian Lincoln Paine, the book "The Sea and Civilization" tells us how the rise and fall of civilization could link to the sea. [Cover: Courtesy of Hinabook]

Oceans and seas, lakes and rivers, are bodies of water that cover almost two-thirds of the Earth's surface. For centuries, they have captivated mankind by their mysteries, waves, and their effects on people's imaginations. 

In fact, former US president John F. Kennedy once described our everlasting commitment to the sea like this:"…in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins that exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea- whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came."

Lincoln Paine is the author of five books and more than fifty articles, reviews, and lectures on maritime history. [Photo: Courtesy of Hinabook]

But maritime historian Lincoln Paine is determined to go further and dig deeper into our intertwined relation with these masses of water. 

In his over 700-page tome, "The Sea and Civilization", this American researcher peels away the cobwebs of history and charts a rather impressive panorama of human seafaring activities from the earliest days to date. 

Around 1125, Chinese painter Zhang Zeduan created his masterpiece, Along the River during the Qingming Festival.This picture showcases one of the passenger-carrying ferries that the artist depicted. [Picture: Courtesy of Hinabook]

Recently Shiyu sat down with Mr Paine to talk about his book "The Sea and Civilization", how it challenges the traditional Eurocentric view of history, and why focusing on the water may change the way we see the world. 

This painted pottery plate features a papyrus raft in ancient Egypt. Founded in eastern Cyprus,the plate is a vivid evidence of the connection and exchange in the  Mediterranean region three thousand years ago. [Photo: Courtesy of Hinabook]

The Q&A covers the following subjects, such as:

• The roles that the River Nile plays in the maritime history;
  

• Why Chinese are often mistakenly regarded as continental people;

• Mogolian's quest for the ocean during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368);

• How the non-euroeccentric stories affect the development of human civilization;

• Why maritime enterprise seems to vanish from our horizons;

• And much, much more!

Singapore has been one of the busiest ports around the world during the past two decades. Due to the rise of cargo transportation, you cannot find any workers in this photo since cranes are responsible for stacking containers on ships.[Photo: Courtesy of Hinabook]

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