212.The Past and Present of China’s Seas was compiled and revised by the Marine Development Strategy Institute of State Oceanic Administration. It is a volume in the serial China’s Maritime Development which is a publishing program sponsored by the National Publishing Fund as well as the Twelfth Five-year Guideline of National Important Books. This book depicts the physical features of China’s neighboring seas, sea bays, islands and seaports. It also introduces the history of China’s progress in knowing, developing, and utilizing seas as well as a struggle history of Chinese people defending national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests when modern China suffered from invasion of the imperialist powers from seas