A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592-1598 (Campaigns and Commanders) Review

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A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592-1598 (Campaigns and Commanders) ReviewThe Imjin Wars was not as well known as other historic warring episodes and it is with the resurgence of nationalism in East Asia, Korea's in particular, that this War is now attracting more popular attention. It appears that the 3 tomes, from Turnbull, Hawley and now Swope, seem to reflect 3 perspectives - Japan's, Korea's and Ming China's. It is interesting how all 3 appear to support and contradict each other in various ways and a reading of all 3 cast the differences based on nationalistic and self-serving interests in sharp relief.
In the end, I would opine that Swope's account is the most nuanced of the three in offering greater circumspection and a more in-depth exploration of research materials. The Imjin Wars wasn't a milestone event in China's history which might have tampered the nationalism of Chinese accounts. Ming China was preoccupied with and distracted by other pressing challenges, internal uprisings, rebellion and the amassing Manchurian menace to the north. Swope's research, while depicting an arrogant and shrewdly calculating Ming China, nonetheless presents a less biased, more realistic and detailed bigger picture. The Chinese were also experienced and meticulous historians and the detailed accounts present a more comprehensive and deliberate political and military context. Turnbull's book, largely sourced from Japanese historic documents, is engrossing from a military strategic point of view, although it reflects the point of view of Japan being the superior fighting force. Hawley's account is sourced almost entirely from Korean records, and while it should be the most in-depth and accurate of the three, it reads more as a narrative from Korea's angle and interpretation of history, especially when held up against statistical, logistical and factual accounts from all three, eg. the numbers of generals and soldiers involved in the battles, the tabulation of losses, the political stalling back and forth, diplomacy, etc.
In the end, all three countries were assessing their political and war strategies from their respective interests - Japan to establish a foothold on the continent and assessing its political positioning at home as Hideyoshi passed on, Korea to expel and thoroughly annihilate all Japanese invaders and China to contain the threat of Japan without overextending its resources in Korea as it was distracted by other fronts and greater enemies within its borders and gathering to its north. Unfortunately, this reticence and political deliberation was interpreted from the perspective of the Koreans as shirking from the alliance, and worse, corruption and collusion with the enemy. Swope's book is a more objective overview of the strategic significance of the Imjin Wars, even though it is sourced from Chinese records, as it presents a more balanced and accurate description without excessive glorification.A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592-1598 (Campaigns and Commanders) Overview

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