This monograph is based upon the author's recent doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Indonesia in 2007. It may possibly be the first in the field of Southeast Asian studies to attain the distinction of being published almost simultaneously in English, Chinese and Bahasa Indonesia. Focusing on the singular but broad theme of cultural contact, it is driven by a desire to dispute Samuel Huntington's ‘clash-of-civilisations’ thesis which has been floated in 1993 and 1996 and made even more popular with the 11 September 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York. It rejects the Huntington thesis that civilisational and cultural differences, rather than ideological and politico-economic disagreements, are the root causes of prolonged and violent conflicts around the world. Instead it embraces the notion that cultural contact in Asia is providing a contrasting alternative of fusion through a peaceful process. Using the advent of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam into China and Southeast Asia as a case study, it argues that it ‘was a peaceful process through trade, religious activities and migrations, without undue civilisational confrontation’ and that ‘the incoming alien cultures were adapted, localised and transformed into a new syncretised culture/religion’ (p. 14). Therefore, a parallel central argument is that there is a striking East–West polarisation in the pattern of cultural contact in the sense that it was ‘generally conducted through peaceful means’ in the East while that in Europe ‘generally involved wars, invasion, colonisation and territorial occupation’ (p. 2). The framing in terms of an East–West binary and in favour of an Eastern worldview premised upon peace and harmony in politics, economics and society can thus be regarded as an extension or resonance of the ‘Asian values discourse’ as it has crystallised since the early 1980s.

While the monograph's title places extraordinary emphasis on Admiral Cheng Ho of the Chinese Ming dynasty and the impact of his seven maritime voyages on Islam in Southeast Asia, its chapter structure and content have followed the original doctoral dissertation. It features a dual focus on China and Southeast Asia and extends beyond Cheng Ho. Therefore, one disjointed element is that while the book title focuses on Southeast Asia, almost exactly half of its content is in providing a lengthy background about cultural contacts in China, summarising the general history of China and the spread of Buddhism and Islam into its body politic through the ages. The discussion on Cheng Ho formally constitutes only one of the nine chapters of the book and, similarly, the evolution of Islam in insular Southeast Asia after Cheng Ho is presented in a single chapter.

Nevertheless, these are indeed the two best chapters that provide much originality and insight. Garnering a wide range of published documents and examining a variety of architectural sites, the chapters contribute significantly towards settling the long-standing academic debate on the degree and manner in which the Islamisation of insular Southeast Asia had derived impetus from the ‘Third Wave’, that is, from China and Cheng Ho's voyages, rather than just from the other two waves of Arab and Indian influences. All the photographic illustrations of mosque architecture, tomb structure and localisation of cultural heritage are provided by the author and collected through his many years of field research. Moreover, in arguing for this ‘Third Wave’, the two chapters have appropriately elevated the role played by Malacca at high noon. They have also provided much insight into the traumatic impact of the withdrawal of Ming voyages on the localisation momentum of Chinese Muslim communities in Java and Sumatra.

The volume studiously avoids any mention of Gavin Menzies and his controversial book 1421: The year China discovered the world (2002). However, it engages and rejects Geoff Wade's revisionist hypothesis on viewing the Ming Admiral's voyages as part of an aggressive southern expansion to achieve a pax Ming in the Asian maritime realm (with Malacca, Palembang and Samudera as intended nodes of Chinese control). In rejecting Wade's view of ‘proto-colonialism’, it defends the few occasions of violence from Cheng Ho's men as either for a good cause or in self-defence and noted the absence of permanent territorial acquisition and colonial settlement. However, the elusive nature of the prefix ‘proto’ has not been tackled directly and this is the grey area which will allow the academic debate to continue and may even extend the current anxiety on whether we are witnessing today a ‘peaceful rise’ of China or otherwise.

A recasting of typeface for a few section headings and a reorganisation of some ideas are needed to bring about a sharper delineation and less repetition of analysis. A map of Southeast Asia, and especially of Indonesia, would also have been helpful to capture many of the old toponyms. Such minor amendments in the next edition will make the monograph even more appealing to both specialists and laymen in studying Sino-Southeast Asian interactions, the Islamisation process and the Cheng Ho factor in cultural contact.