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Chinese treasure ship

A Chinese treasure ship (simplified Chinese: 宝船; traditional Chinese: 寶船; pinyin: bǎochuán, literally "gem ship"[14]) is a type of large wooden ship in the fleet of admiral Zheng He, who led seven voyages during the early 15th-century Ming dynasty. The size of the largest Chinese treasure ships has been a subject of controversy, with some Chinese records mentioning the size of 44 zhang or 44.4 zhang, which has been interpreted by some as over 100 m (330 ft) in length, while others have stated that Zheng He's largest ship was 70 m (230 ft) or less in length.[15]

Sketch of four-masted Zheng He's ship
History
Ming dynasty
Name2,000 liao da bo (lit. large ship), hai po, hai chuan (lit. sea going ship)
Ordered1403
BuilderLongjiang shipyards, Ming dynasty
In service1405
Out of service1433
NotesParticipated in:
  • First voyage of Zheng He (1405–1407)
  • Second voyage of Zheng He (1407–1409)
  • Third voyage of Zheng He (1409–1411)
  • Fourth voyage of Zheng He (1412–1415)
  • Fifth voyage of Zheng He (1416–1419)
  • Sixth voyage of Zheng He (1421–1422)
  • Seventh voyage of Zheng He (1431–1433)
General characteristics
Class and typeArmed merchant ship[2]
Displacement800 tons
Tons burthen500 tons
Length166 ft (50.60 m)
Beam24.3 ft (7.41 m)
Draught8.1 ft (2.47 m)
Propulsion4 masts[1]
Sail planJunk rig
Complement200–300 person[3]
Armament24 cannons[4]
NotesReferences: Tonnages,[5] dimensions[6]
Early 17th century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships. The ships are depicted with 7 masts, but only 4 sails used.
History
Ming dynasty
Name5,000 liao ju bo (lit. giant ship), baochuan (lit. gem ship)
OrderedBefore 1412
BuilderLongjiang shipyards, Ming dynasty
In service1412
Out of service1433
NotesParticipated in:
  • Fourth voyage of Zheng He (1412–1415)
  • Fifth voyage of Zheng He (1416–1419)
  • Sixth voyage of Zheng He (1421–1422)
  • Seventh voyage of Zheng He (1431–1433)
General characteristics
Class and typeArmed merchant ship[2]
Displacement3100 tons
Tons burthen1860 tons
Length71.1 m (233.3 ft)
Beam14.05 m (46.1 ft)
Draught6.1 m (20.0 ft)
Propulsion6–7 masts[7][8]
Sail planJunk rig
Complement500–600 person[9][10]
Armament24 cannons[4]
NotesReferences: Voyages,[11] tonnages,[12] dimensions[13]

Accounts edit

Chinese edit

 
The Ming treasure voyages alongside Yishiha's expeditions to the northeast and Chen Cheng's embassy to the Timurids.

According to the Guoque [zh] (1658), the first voyage consisted of 63 treasure ships crewed by 27,870 men.[16]

The History of Ming (1739) credits the first voyage with 62 treasure ships crewed by 27,800 men.[16] A Zheng He era inscription in the Jinghai Temple in Nanjing gave the size of Zheng He ships in 1405 as 2,000 liao (500 tons), but did not give the number of ships.[17]

Alongside the treasures were also another 255 ships according to the Shuyu Zhouzilu [zh] (1520), giving the combined fleet of the first voyage a total of 317 ships. However, the addition of 255 ships is a case of double accounting according to Edward L. Dreyer, who notes that the Taizong Shilu does not distinguish the order of 250 ships from the treasure ships. As such the first fleet would have been around 250 ships including the treasure ships.[16]

The second voyage consisted of 249 ships.[18] The Jinghai Temple inscription gave the ship dimensions in 1409 as 1500 liao (375 tons).[16]

According to the Xingcha Shenglan (1436), the third voyage consisted of 48 treasure ships, not including other ships.[16]

The Xingcha Shenglan states that the fourth voyage consisted of 63 treasure ships crewed by 27,670 men.[19]

There are no sources for number of ships or men for the fifth and sixth voyages.[19]

According to the Liujiagang and Changle Inscriptions, the seventh voyage had "more than a hundred large ships".[19]

Yemen edit

The most contemporary non-Chinese record of the expeditions is an untitled and anonymous annalistic account of the then-ruling Rasūlid dynasty of Yemen, compiled in the years 1439–1440. It reports the arrival of Chinese ships in 1419, 1423, and 1432, which approximately correspond to Zheng He's fifth, sixth, and seventh voyages. The 1419 arrival is described thus:

Arrival of Dragon-ships [marākib al-zank] in the protected harbour city [of Aden] and with them the messengers of the ruler of China with brilliant gifts for his Majesty, the Sultan al-Malik al-Nāsir in the month of l’Hijja in the year 821 [January 1419]. His Majesty, the Sultan al-Malik al-Nāsiṛ’s in the Protected Dār al-Jund send the victorious al-Mahaṭṭa to accept the brilliant gifts of the ruler of China. It was a splendid present consisting of all manner of rarities [tuhaf], splendid Chinese silk cloth woven with gold [al-thiyāb al-kamkhāt al-mudhahhabah], top quality musk, storax [al-ʾūd al-ratḅ] and many kinds of chinaware vessels, the present being valued at twenty thousand Chinese mithqāl [93.6 kg gold]. It was accompanied by the Qādi Wajīh al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Rahman b. Jumay. And this was on 26 Muharram in the year 822 [March 19, 1419]. His majesty, the Sultan al-Malik al-Nāsir ordered that the Envoy of the ruler of China [rusul sāhib al-Sị̄n] returned with gifts of his own, including many rare, with frankincense-wrapped coral trees, wild animals such as orynx, wild ass, thousands of wild lion and tame cheetahs. And they travelled in the company of Qādi Wajīh al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Rahman b. Jumay out of the sheltered harbour of Aden in the month of Safar of the year 822 [March 1419].[20][21]

The later Yemeni historian, Ibn al-Daybaʿ (1461–1537), writes:

[The Chinese arrived at Aden in 1420 on] great vessels containing precious gifts, the value of which was twenty lacs [sic; lakhs] of gold... (The sultan) dispatched to him wild animals and splendid sultanic robes, an abundant quality, and ordered him to be escorted to the city of Aden.[21][22]

Mamluks edit

Mamluk historian Ibn Taghribirdi (1411–1470) writes:

Shawwāl 22 [21 June 1432 CE]. A report came from Mecca the Honored that a number of junks had come from China to the seaports of India, and two of them had anchored in the port of Aden, but their goods, chinaware, silk, musk, and the like, were not disposed of there because of the disorder of the state of Yemen. The captains of these two junks wrote to the Sharīf Barakāt ibn Hasan ibn ʿAjlān, emir of Mecca, and to Saʾd al-Dīn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Marra, controller of Judda [Jeddah], asking permission to come to Judda. The two wrote to the Sultan about this, and made him eager for the large amount [of money] that would result if they came. The Sultan wrote to them to let them come to Judda, and to show them honor.[23]

Niccolò de' Conti edit

Niccolò de' Conti (c. 1395–1469), a contemporary of Zheng He, was also an eyewitness of Chinese ships in Southeast Asia, claiming to have seen five-masted junks of about 2000 tons* burthen:[24]

They doe make bigger Shippes than wee do, that is to say, of 2000 tons, with five sayles, and so many mastes'.[25]

— Niccolò Da Conti
  • Other translations of the passage give the size as a 2000 butts,[26] which would be around a 1000 tons, a butt being half a ton.[note 1] Christopher Wake noted that the transcription of the unit is actually vegetes, that is Venetian butt, and estimated a burthen of 1300 tons.[27]

Song and Yuan junks edit

 
Sir Henry Yule's 1871 illustration of Yuan dynasty war junk used in the Mongol invasion of Java (1293 CE).
 
A model of a treasure ship from Admiral Zheng He's fleet.

Although active prior to the treasure voyages, both Marco Polo (1254–1325) and Ibn Battuta (1304–1369) attest to large multi-masted ships carrying 500 to 1000 passengers in Chinese waters.[28] The large ships (up to 5,000 liao or 1520–1860 tons burden) would carry 500–600 men, and the second class (1,000–2,000 liao) would carry 200–300 men.[14] Unlike Ming treasure ships, Song and Yuan great junks were propelled by oars, and had with them smaller junks, probably for help in maneuvering.[29] The largest junks (5,000 liao) may have had a hull length twice that of a Quanzhou ship (1,000 liao),[30] Liuhe, Taicang is 68 m (223.1 ft).[14] However, the usual Chinese trading junks pre-1500 was around 20–30 m (65.6–98.4 ft) long, with the length of 30 m (98.4 ft) only becoming the norm after 1500 CE. Large size could be a disadvantage for shallow harbors of southern seas, and the presence of numerous reefs exacerbates this.[31]

Marco Polo edit

I tell you that they are mostly built of the wood which is called fir or pine.

They have one floor, which with us is called a deck, one for each, and on this deck there are commonly in all the greater number quite 60 little rooms or cabins, and in some, more, and in some, fewer, according as the ships are larger and smaller, where, in each, a merchant can stay comfortably.

They have one good sweep or helm, which in the vulgar tongue is called a rudder.

And four masts and four sails, and they often add to them two masts more, which are raised and put away every time they wish, with two sails, according to the state of the weather.

Some ships, namely those which are larger, have besides quite 13 holds, that is, divisions, on the inside, made with strong planks fitted together, so that if by accident that the ship is staved in any place, namely that either it strikes on a rock, or a whale-fish striking against it in search of food staves it in... And then the water entering through the hole runs to the bilge, which never remains occupied with any things. And then the sailors find out where the ship is staved, and then the hold which answers to the break is emptied into others, for the water cannot pass from one hold to another, so strongly are they shut in; and then they repair the ship there, and put back there the goods which had been taken out.

They are indeed nailed in such a way; for they are all lined, that is, that they have two boards above the other.

And the boards of the ship, inside and outside, are thus fitted together, that is, they are, in the common speech of our sailors, caulked both outside and inside, and they are well nailed inside and outside with iron pins. They are not pitched with pitch, because they have none of it in those regions, but they oil them in such a way as I shall tell you, because they have another thing which seems to them to be better than pitch. For I tell you that they take lime, and hemp chopped small, and they pound it all together, mixed with an oil from a tree. And after they have pounded them well, these three things together, I tell you that it becomes sticky and holds like birdlime. And with this thing they smear their ships, and this is worth quite as much as pitch.

Moreover I tell you that these ships want some 300 sailors, some 200, some 150, some more, some fewer, according as the ships are larger and smaller.

They also carry a much greater burden than ours.[32]

— Marco Polo

Ibn Battuta edit

 
Ships of the Fra Mauro map (1460).

People sail on the China seas only in Chinese ships, so let us mention the order observed upon them.

There are three kinds: the greatest is called 'jonouq', or, in the singular, 'jonq' (certainly chuan); the middling sized is a 'zaw' (probably sao); and the least a 'kakam'.

A single one of the greater ships carries 12 sails, and the smaller ones only three. The sails of these vessels are made of strips of bamboo, woven into the form of matting. The sailors never lower them (while sailing, but simply) change the direction of them according to whether the wind is blowing from one side or the other. When the ships cast anchor, the sails are left standing in the wind...

These vessels are nowhere made except in the city of Zaytong (Quanzhou) in China, or at Sin-Kilan, which is the same as Sin al-Sin (Guangdong).

This is the manner after which they are made; two (parallel) walls of very thick wooden (planking) are raised, and across the space between them are placed very thick planks (the bulkheads) secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails, each three ells in length. When these walls have thus been built, the lower deck is fitted in, and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished.

The pieces of wood, and those parts of the hull, near the water (-line) serve for the crew to wash and to accomplish their natural necessities.

On the sides of these pieces of wood also the oars are found; they are as big as masts, and are worked by 10 to 15 men (each), who row standing up.
The vessels have four decks, upon which there are cabins and saloons for merchants. Several of these 'misriya' contain cupboards and other conveniences; they have doors which can be locked, and keys for their occupiers. (The merchants) take with them their wives and concubines. It often happens that a man can be in his cabin without others on board realising it, and they do not see him until the vessel has arrived in some port.

The sailors also have their children in such cabins; and (in some parts of the ship) they sow garden herbs, vegetables, and ginger in wooden tubs.

The Commander of such a vessel is a great Emir; when he lands, the archers and the Ethiops march before him bearing javelins and swords, with drums beating and trumpets blowing. When he arrives at the guesthouse where he is to stay, they set up their lances on each side of the gate, and mount guard throughout his visit.

Among the inhabitants of China there are those who own numerous ships, on which they send their agents to foreign places. For nowhere in the world are there to be found people richer than the Chinese.[33]

— Ibn Battuta

Description edit

 
A stationary full-size model of a treasure ship (63.25 m long) at the Treasure Ship Shipyard site in Nanjing. It was built c. 2005 from concrete and wooden planking

Taizong Shilu edit

The most contemporary accounts of the treasure ships come from the Taizong Shilu, which contains 24 notices from 1403 to 1419 for the construction of ships at several locations.[34]

On 4 September 1403, 200 "seagoing transport ships" were ordered from the Capital Guards in Nanjing.[35]

On 1 March 1404, 50 "seagoing ships" were ordered from the Capital Guards.[35]

In 1407, 249 vessels were ordered "to be prepared for embassies to the several countries of the Western Ocean".[34]

On 14 February 1408, 48 treasure ships were ordered from the Ministry of Works in Nanjing. This is the only contemporary account containing references to both treasure ships and a specific place of construction. Coincidentally, the only physical evidence of treasure ships comes from Nanjing.[36]

On 2 October 1419, 41 treasure ships were ordered without disclosing the specific builders involved.[34]

Longjiang Chuanchang Zhi edit

Li Zhaoxiang [zh]'s Longjiang Chuanchang Zhi (1553), also known as the Record of the Dragon River Shipyard, notes that the plans for the treasure ships had vanished from the ship yard in which they were built.[37]

Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi edit

According to Luo Maodeng [zh]'s 1597 novel Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi (Eunuch Sanbao Western Records Popular Romance), the treasure fleet consisted of five distinct classes of ships:[38][34][39]

  • Treasure ships (宝船, Bǎo Chuán) nine-masted, 44.4 by 18 zhang, about 127 metres (417 feet) long and 52 metres (171 feet) wide.
  • Equine ships (馬船, Mǎ Chuán), carrying horses and tribute goods and repair material for the fleet, eight-masted, 37 by 15 zhang, about 103 m (338 ft) long and 42 m (138 ft) wide.
  • Supply ships (粮船, Liáng Chuán), containing staple for the crew, seven-masted, 28 by 12 zhang, about 78 m (256 ft) long and 35 m (115 ft) wide.
  • Transport ships (坐船, Zuò Chuán), six-masted, 24 by 9.4 zhang, about 67 m (220 ft) long and 25 m (82 ft) wide.
  • Warships (战船, Zhàn Chuán), five-masted, 18 by 6.8 zhang, about 50 m (160 ft) long.

Edward L. Dreyer claims that Luo Maodeng's novel is unsuitable as historical evidence.[34] The novel contains a number of fantasy elements; for example the ships were "constructed with divine help by the immortal Lu Ban".[40] Scholars have worked, however, to distinguish the fictional elements from those that the author had access to but have subsequently been lost, including both written and oral sources.[41]

 
An old anchor discovered at the Treasure Boat Shipyard in 2004.

Dimensions edit

Contemporary descriptions edit

The contemporary inscription of Zheng He's ships in the Jinghai temple (靜海寺—Jìng hǎi sì) inscription in Nanjing gives sizes of 2,000 liao (500 tons) and 1,500 liao (275 tons),[17] which are far too low than would be implied by a ship of 444 chi (450 ft) given by the History of Ming. In addition, in the contemporary account of Zheng He's 7th voyage by Gong Zhen, he said it took 200 to 300 men to handle Zheng He's ships. Ming minister Song Li indicated a ratio of 1 man per 2.5 tons of cargo, which would imply Zheng He's ships were 500 to 750 tons.[3]

The inscription on the tomb of Hong Bao, an official in Zheng He's fleet, mentions the construction of a 5,000 liao displacement ship.[42]

44 zhang ship edit

History of Ming edit

According to the History of Ming (Ming shi—明史), completed in 1739, the treasure ships were 44 zhang, 4 chi, i.e. 444 chi in length, and had a beam of 18 zhang. The dimensions of ships are no coincidence. The number "4" has numerological significance as a symbol of the 4 cardinal directions, 4 seasons, and 4 virtues. The number 4 was an auspicious association for treasure ships.[43] These dimensions first appeared in a novel published in 1597, more than a century and a half after Zheng He's voyages. The 3 contemporary accounts of Zheng He's voyages do not have the ship dimensions.[44]

The zhang was fixed at 141 inches in the 19th century, making the chi 14.1 inches. However the common Ming value for chi was 12.2 inches and the value fluctuated depending on region. The Ministry of Works used a chi of 12.1 inches while the Jiangsu builders used a chi of 13.3 inches. Some of the ships in the treasure fleet, but not the treasure ships, were built in Fujian, where the chi was 10.4 to 11 inches. Assuming a range of 10.5 to 12 inches for each chi, the dimensions of the treasure ships as recorded by the History of Ming would have been between 385 by 157.5 feet and 440 by 180 feet (117.5 by 48 metres, and 134 by 55 metres).[45] Louise Levathes estimates that it had a maximum size of 110–124 m (390–408 feet) long and 49–51 m (160–166 feet) wide instead, taking 1 chi as 10.53–11.037 inches.[43]

According to British scientist, historian and sinologist Joseph Needham, the dimensions of the largest of these ships were 135 metres (440 ft) by 55 metres (180 ft).[46] American historian Edward L. Dreyer is in broad agreement with Needham's views.[47]

Modern estimates edit

Modern scholars have argued on engineering grounds that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was 450 feet (137 m) in length. Guan Jincheng (1947) proposed a much more modest size of 20 zhang long by 2.4 zhang wide (204 ft by 25.5 ft or 62.2 m by 7.8 m).[48] Xin Yuan'ou, a shipbuilding engineer and professor of the history of science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, argues on engineering grounds that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's treasure ships were 450 ft long, and suggests that they were probably closer to 200–250 ft (61–76 m) in length.[49][5] Hsu Yun-Ts'iao does not agree with Xin Yuan'ou: Estimating the size of a 2,000 liao ship with the Treatise of the Longjiang shipyard (龙江船厂志—lóng jiāng chuánchǎng zhì) at Nanjing, the size is as follows: LOA 166 ft (50.60 m), bottom's hull length 102.6 ft (31.27 m), overhanging "tail" length 23.4 ft (7.13 m), front depth 6.9 ft (2.10 m), front width 19.5 ft (5.94 m), mid-hull depth 8.1 ft (2.47 m), mid-hull width 24.3 ft (7.41 m), tail depth 12 ft (3.66 m), tail width 21.6 ft (6.58 m), and the length to width ratio is 7:1.[6] Dionisius A. Agius (2008) estimated a size of 200–250 ft (60.96 m–76.2 m) and maximum weight of 700 tons.[50] Tang Zhiba, Xin Yuan'ou, and Zheng Ming have calculated the dimensions of the 2,000 liao ship, obtaining a length of 61.2 m (200.79 ft), width of 13.8 m (45.28 ft), and draught of 3.9 m (12.80 ft).[51] Zheng Ming believes that the "Heavenly Princess Classics" depict 2,000 liao ships.[13]

 
A four masted junk from the Treatise of the Longjiang shipyard, 1553

André Wegener Sleeswyk extrapolated the size of liao (料 — material) by deducing the data from mid-16th century Chinese river junks. He suggested that the 2,000 liao ships were bao chuan (treasure ship), while the 1,500 liao ships were ma chuan (horse ship). In his calculations, the treasure ships would have had a length of 52.5 m, a width of 9.89 m, and a height of 4.71 m. The horse ships would have a length of 46.63 m, a width of 8.8 m, and a height of 4.19 m.[52] Richard Barker estimated that the treasure ships would have a length of 230 ft (70.10 m), a width of 65 ft (19.81 m), and a draught of 20 ft (6.10 m). He estimated it using an assumed displacement of 3100 tons.[53]

One explanation for the colossal size of the 44 zhang treasure ships, if in fact built, was that they were only for a display of imperial power by the emperor and imperial bureaucrats on the Yangtze River when on court business, including when reviewing Zheng He's actual expedition fleet. The Yangtze River, with its calmer waters, may have been navigable for such large but unseaworthy ships. Zheng He would not have had the privilege in rank to command the largest of these ships. Some of the largest ships of Zheng He's fleet were the 6 masted 2000-liao ships. This would give burthen of 500 tons and a displacement tonnage of about 800 tons.[5][54] Because they were built and based in Nanjing, and repeatedly sailed along the Yangtze river (including in winter, when the water is low), their draught cannot exceed 7–7.5 m. It is also known that Zheng He's fleet visited Palembang in Sumatra, where they needed to cross the Musi river. It is unknown whether Zheng He's ships sailed as far as Palembang, or whether they waited on the shore in the Bangka Strait while the smaller ships sailed at Musi; but at least the draught of the ship that reaches Palembang should not be more than 6 m.[55]

 
A restored copy of the illustration of Zheng He's visits to the West on the flyleaf of the book "Heavenly Princess Classics" in 1420. This invaluable picture is the earliest pictorial record of Zheng He treasure-ships. The ships are depicted with 6 masts, but only 3 sails used.

Xin Yuan'ou, a naval engineer and historian, has argued that Zheng He's ships could not have been as large as recorded in the History of Ming.[49] based on the following reasons:

  1. Ships of the dimensions given in the Ming shi would have been 15,000–20,000 tons according to his calculations, exceeding a natural limit to the size of a wooden ocean-going ship of about 7,000 tons displacement.[56]
  2. With the benefit of modern technology it would be difficult to manufacture a wooden ship of 10,000 tons, let alone one that was 1.5–2 times that size. It was only when ships began to be built of iron in the 1860s that they could exceed 10,000 tons.[56]
  3. Watertight compartments characteristic of traditional Chinese ships tended to make the vessels transversely strong but longitudinally weak.[56][57]
  4. A ship of these dimensions would need masts that were 100 metres tall. Several timbers would have to be joined vertically. As a single tree trunk would not be large enough in diameter to support such mast, multiple timbers would need to be combined at the base as well. No evidence that China had the type of joining materials necessary to accomplish these tasks.[57][56]
  5. A ship with 9 masts would be unable to resist the combined strength and force of such huge sails, she would not be able to cope with strong wind and would break.[58]
  6. It took four centuries (from the Renaissance to the modern era) for Western ships to increase in size from 1500 to 5000 tons displacement. For Chinese ships to have reached three or four times this size in just two years (from Emperor Yongle's accession in 1403 to the launch of the first expedition in 1405) was unlikely.[56]
  7. The 200 to 300 sailors as mentioned by Gong Zhen could not have managed a 20,000 ton ship. According to Xin, a ship of such size would have had to have a complement of 8,000 men.[59]

From the comments of modern scholars on Medieval Chinese accounts and reports, it is apparent that a ship had a natural limit to her size, going beyond, would have made her structurally unsafe as well as causing a considerable loss of maneuverability, something the Spanish Armada ships famously experienced.[60] Beyond a certain size (about 300 feet or 91.44 m in length) a wooden ship is structurally unsafe.[61] It was not until the mid to late 19th century that the length of the largest western wooden ship began to exceed 100 meters, even this was done using modern industrial tools and iron parts.[62][63][64]

Measurement conversion edit

It is also possible that the measure of zhang (丈) used in the conversions was mistaken. Seventeenth-century Ming records state that the European East Indiamen and galleons were 30, 40, 50, and 60 zhang (90, 120, 150, and 180 m) in length.[65] The length of a Dutch ship recorded in the History of Ming was 30 zhang. If the zhang is taken to be 3.2 m, the Dutch ship would be 96 m long. Also, the Dutch Hongyi cannon was recorded to be more than 2 zhang (6.4 m) long. A comparative study by Hu Xiaowei (2018) concluded that 1 zhang would be equal to 1.5–1.6 m, this means the Dutch ship would be 45–48 m long and the cannon would be 3–3.2 m long.[66] Taking 1.6 m for 1 zhang, Zheng He's 44 zhang treasure ship would be 70.4 m (230.97 ft) long and 28.8 m (94.49 ft) wide, or 22 zhang long and 9 zhang wide if the zhang is taken to be 3.2 m.[67] It is known that the measuring unit during the Ming era was not unified: A measurement of East and West Pagoda in Quanzhou resulted in a zhang unit of 2.5–2.56 m.[68] According to Chen Cunren, one zhang in the Ming Dynasty is only half a zhang in modern times.[69]

5,000 liao ship edit

In June 2010, a new inscription was found in Hong Bao's tomb, confirming the existence of the Ming dynasty's 5,000 liao ship.[70][42] Taking the liao to be 500 lb (226.80 kg) burthen, that would be 1,250 tons burthen.[54] Sleeswyk argued that the term liao refers to the displacement and not cargo weight, one liao would be equivalent to 500 kg (1,102.31 lb) of displacement.[71] According to Zheng Ming, the 5,000 liao ship would have a dimension of 71.1 m (233.27 ft), width of 14.05 m (46.10 ft), with 6.1 m (20.01 ft) draught, and the displacement would reach more than 2,700 tons. The 5,000 liao ship may have been used as the flagship but the number of ships was relatively small.[13] Wake argued that the 5,000 liao ships were not used until after the 3rd voyage, when the voyages were extended beyond India.[11] Xi Longfei identified that the word "treasure ship", which would refer to the 44 zhang ship, appeared for the first time in the 6th year of Yongle. This large ship was too late to be used for the third voyage, so it appeared for the first time during the 4th voyage, and was recorded by Ma Huan.[72] Judging from the three images from the Ming era, the largest ships had 3–4 main masts and 2–3 auxiliary masts.[51]

Structure edit

 
Section of the Zheng He's treasure ship (mock-up in the Maritime Experiential Museum, Sentosa island, Singapore)
 
Inside the display ship in Nanjing

The keel consisted of wooden beams bound together with iron hoops. In stormy weather, holes in the prow would partially fill with water when the ship pitched forward, thus lessening the violent turbulence caused by waves. Treasure ships also used floating anchors cast off the sides of the ship in order to increase stability. The stern had two 2.5 m (8 foot) iron anchors weighing over a thousand pounds each, used for mooring offshore. Like many Chinese anchors, these had four flukes set at a sharp angle against the main shaft. Watertight compartments were also used to add strength to the treasure ships. The ships also had a balanced rudder which could be raised and lowered, creating additional stability like an extra keel. The balanced rudder placed as much of the rudder forward of the stern post as behind it, making such large ships easier to steer. Unlike a typical fuchuan warship, the treasure ships had nine staggered masts and twelve square sails, increasing its speed. Treasure ships also had 24 cast-bronze cannons with a maximum range of 240 to 275 m (800–900 feet). However, treasure ships were considered luxury ships rather than warships. As such, they lacked the fuchuan's raised platforms or extended planks used for battle.[4]

Non-gunpowder weapons on Zheng He's vessels seems to be bows. For gunpowder weapons, they carried bombards (albeit shorter than Portuguese bombards) and various kind of hand cannons, such as can be found on early 15th century Bakau shipwreck.[73][74] Comparing with Penglai wrecks, the fleet may have carried cannons with bowl-shaped muzzle (which dates back to late Yuan dynasty), and iron cannons with several rings on their muzzle (in the wrecks they are 76 and 73 cm long, weighing 110 and 74 kg), which according to Tang Zhiba, a typical of early Ming iron cannon. They may also carry incendiary bombs (quicklime bottles).[75] Girolamo Sernigi (1499) gives an account of the armament of what possibly the Chinese vessels:

It is now about 80 years since there arrived in this city of Chalicut certain vessels of white Christians, who wore their hair long like Germans, and had no beards except around the mouth, such as are worn at Constantinople by cavaliers and courtiers. They landed, wearing a cuirass, helmet, and visor, and carrying a certain weapon [sword] attached to a spear. Their vessels are armed with bombards, shorter than those in use with us. Once every two years they return with 20 or 25 vessels. They are unable to tell what people they are, nor what merchandise they bring to this city, save that it includes very fine linen-cloth and brass-ware. They load spices. Their vessels have four masts like those of Spain. If they were Germans it seems to me that we should have had some notice about them; possibly they may be Russians if they have a port there. On the arrival of the captain we may learn who these people are, for the Italian-speaking pilot, who was given him by the Moorish king, and whom he took away contrary to his inclinations, is with him, and may be able to tell.
Girolamo Sernigi (1499) about the then-unknown Chinese visitors [76]

Physical evidence edit

 
A stone tortoise overlooking the former 4th working pool of the Longjiang Shipyard (now a park), where treasure ships were built 600 years ago

From 2003 to 2004, the Treasure Shipyard was excavated in northwestern Nanjing (the former capital of the Ming Dynasty), near the Yangtze River. Despite the site being referred to as the "Longjiang Treasure Shipyard" (龍江寶船廠—lóng jiāng bǎo chuánchǎng) in the official names, the site is distinct from the actual Longjiang Shipyard, which was located on a different site and produced different types of ships. The Treasure Shipyard, where Zheng He's fleet were believed to have been built in the Ming Dynasty, once consisted of thirteen basins (based on a 1944 map), most of which have now been covered by the construction of buildings in the 20th century. The basins are believed to have been connected to the Yangtze via a series of gates. Three long basins survive, each with wooden structures inside them that were interpreted to be frames for the ships to be built on. The largest basin extends for a length of 421 metres (1,381 ft). While they were long enough to accommodate the largest claimed Zheng He treasure ship, they were not wide enough to fit even a ship half the claimed size. The basin was only 41 metres (135 ft) wide at most, with only a 10 metres (33 ft) width area of it showing evidence of structures. They were also not deep enough, being only 4 metres (13 ft) deep. Other remains of ships in the site indicate that the ships were only slightly larger than the frames that supported them. Moreover, the basin structures were grouped into clusters with large gaps between them, if each cluster was interpreted as a ship framework, then the largest ship would not exceed 75 metres (246 ft) at most, probably less.[77]

In 1957, a large 11-meter-long rudder shaft was discovered during excavations at the Treasure shipyards. The rudder blade, which did not survive, was attached to a 6-meter section of the axis. According to Chinese archaeologists, the area of the rudder was approximately 42.5 m², and the length of the ship to which it belonged was estimated at 149–166 meters.[78][79][note 2] However, such use of this piece of archeological evidence rests upon supposing proportions between the rudder and the length of the ship, which have also been the object of intense contestation: That length was estimated using steel, engine-driven ship as the reference. By comparing the rudder shaft to the Quanzhou ship, Church estimated that the ship was 150 ft (45.72 m) long.[81]

 
A large tiller discovered at the Treasure Boat Shipyard in 2004.

Speed edit

The treasure ships were different in size, but not in speed. Under favorable conditions, such as sailing with the winter monsoon from Fujian to Southeast Asia, Zheng He's fleet developed an average speed of about 2.5 knots (4.63 km/h); on many other segments of his route, a significantly lower average speed was recorded, of the order of 1.4–1.8 knots (2.59–3.33 km/h).[82]

As historians note, these speeds were relatively low by the standards of later European sailing fleets, even in comparison with ship of the line, which were built with an emphasis on armament rather than speed. For example, in 1809, Admiral Nelson's squadron, consisting of 10 ships of the line, crossed the Atlantic Ocean at an average speed of 4.9 knots (9.07 km/h).[83]

Replica edit

A 71.1-metre (233.3 ft) copy of a treasure ship was announced in 2006 to be completed in time for the 2008 Olympic Games.[84] However, the copy was still under construction in Nanjing in 2010.[85] A new date of completion was set for 2013;[86] when this dateline failed to be met in 2014, the project was built for 4 years.[87]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ See definition of butt https://gizmodo.com/butt-is-an-actual-unit-of-measurement-1622427091. Until the 17th century, ton referred to both the unit of weight and the unit of volume — see https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/ton. A tun is 252 gallons, which weighs 2092 lbs, which is around a ton.
  2. ^ Dreyer estimated the length of between 538 and 600 feet (163.98 and 182.88 m) for the ship.[80]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Wake, June 2004: 63, quoting Guan Jincheng, 15 January 1947: 49
  2. ^ a b Lo 2012, p. 114.
  3. ^ a b Church 2005, p. 16.
  4. ^ a b c Levathes 1994, p. 81-82.
  5. ^ a b c Xin Yuan'ou (2002). Guanyu Zheng He baochuan chidu de jishu fenxi [A Technical Analysis of the Size of Zheng He's Ships]. Shanghai. p. 8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ a b Suryadinata 2005, p. 135.
  7. ^ Depiction on the 天妃经 (Tian Fei Jing) or "Heavenly Princess Classics" from ca. 1420, which depicted ships with six masts.
  8. ^ Depiction on the 17th century woodblock print
  9. ^ Mills 1970, p. 2.
  10. ^ Finlay 1992, p. 227.
  11. ^ a b Wake 2004, p. 74.
  12. ^ Wake 2004, p. 64, 75.
  13. ^ a b c Ming 2011, p. 15.
  14. ^ a b c Wake 2004, p. 75.
  15. ^ Ling, Xue (July 12, 2022). Li, Ma; Limin, Wu; Xiuling, Pei (eds.). "郑和大号宝船到底有多大? (How big was Zheng He's large treasure ship?)" (PDF). 扬子晚报 (Yangtze Evening News).
  16. ^ a b c d e Dreyer 2007, p. 123.
  17. ^ a b Church 2005, p. 10.
  18. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 124.
  19. ^ a b c Dreyer 2007, p. 126.
  20. ^ Sen 2016, p. 619.
  21. ^ a b Hikoichi Yajima (1974). A Facet of the Commercial Interactions in the Indian Ocean during the 15th Century: On the Visit of a Division from Zheng He's Expedition to Yemen.
  22. ^ Sen 2016, p. 620.
  23. ^ Yūsuf Ibn Taġrībardī (1954–1963). History of Egypt 1382–1469. Translated by William Popper. Berkeley: University of California Press, translated from the Arabic annals of Abu l-Maḥāsin Ibn Taghrī Birdī.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  24. ^ Needham 1971, p. 452.
  25. ^ Needham 1971, p. 468.
  26. ^ Major, R. H., ed. (1857), "The travels of Niccolo Conti", India in the Fifteenth Century, Hakluyt Society, p. 27
  27. ^ Wake 1997, p. 58.
  28. ^ Needham 1971, pp. 460–470.
  29. ^ Wake 1997, pp. 57, 67.
  30. ^ Wake 1997, pp. 66–67.
  31. ^ Bowring 2019, p. 128-129.
  32. ^ Needham 1971, p. 466.
  33. ^ Needham 1971, pp. 469–470.
  34. ^ a b c d e Dreyer 2007, p. 104.
  35. ^ a b Dreyer 2007, p. 105.
  36. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 104-105.
  37. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 220.
  38. ^ Church 2005, p. 6.
  39. ^ 京 (Jing), 安 (An) (2012). 海疆开发史话 (History of Coastal Development). 社会科学文献出版社 (Social Science Literature Press). p. 98. ISBN 978-7-5097-3196-3. OCLC 886189859.
  40. ^ Church 2005, p. 7.
  41. ^ Barbara Witt, "Introduction: Sanbao Taijian Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi:: An Annotated Bibliography," Crossroads 12 (2015): 151-155.
  42. ^ a b Sophia (October 19, 2018). "Old tomb sheds light on Ming dynasty's voyages". Life of Guangzhou.
  43. ^ a b Levathes 1994, p. 80.
  44. ^ Church 2005, p. 5.
  45. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 102.
  46. ^ Needham 1971, p. 480.
  47. ^ Dreyer 2007.
  48. ^ "Zheng He xia Xiyang de chuan” ["The Ships with which Zheng He Went to the Western Ocean"] 鄭和下西洋的船, Dongfang zazhi 東方雜誌 43 (15 January 1947) 1, pp. 47-51, reprinted in Zheng He yanjiu ziliao huibian 鄭和研究資料匯編 (1985), pp. 268-272.
  49. ^ a b Church 2005, pp. 1–2.
  50. ^ Agius 2008, p. 250.
  51. ^ a b Ming 2011, p. 14.
  52. ^ Sleeswyk 2004, p. 305, 307.
  53. ^ Barker, Richard (1989). "The size of the 'treasure ships' and other Chinese vessels". Mariner's Mirror. 75 (3): 273–275.
  54. ^ a b Needham 1971, p. 481.
  55. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 111.
  56. ^ a b c d e Church 2005, p. 3.
  57. ^ a b Agius 2008, p. 223.
  58. ^ Agius 2008, p. 222.
  59. ^ Church 2005, p. 23.
  60. ^ Howarth, David (1981). The Voyage of the Armada: The Spanish Story. New York, NY: The Viking Press. Page 209–10; he asserts that the Spanish ships were “over-masted for Atlantic weather and had rigging which was too light”.
  61. ^ Church 2005, p. 36.
  62. ^ Howard 1979, pp. 229–232.
  63. ^ Church 2005, p. 3, 37.
  64. ^ Murray 2014, p. 173.
  65. ^ Naiming 2016, p. 56-57.
  66. ^ Xiaowei 2018, p. 111-112.
  67. ^ Xiaowei 2018, p. 113.
  68. ^ Xiaowei 2018, p. 110.
  69. ^ Cunren 2008, p. 60.
  70. ^ Zhengning 2015, p. 231.
  71. ^ Sleeswyk 1996, p. 11-12.
  72. ^ Longfei 2015, p. 377.
  73. ^ Papelitzky 2019, p. 217-219.
  74. ^ Miksic 2019, p. 1642.
  75. ^ Papelitzky 2019, p. 212-213.
  76. ^ Sernigi, Girolamo (1499). Translation in Ravenstein, E. G., ed. (1898). A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama, 1497–1499. London: Hakluyt Society. p. 131. See also Finlay (1992), 225.
  77. ^ Sally K., Church (2010). "Two Ming Dynasty Shipyards in Nanjing and their Infrastructure" (PDF). In Kimura, Jun (ed.). Shipwreck ASIA: Thematic Studies in East Asian Maritime Archaeology. Adelaide: Maritime Archaeology Program, Flinders University. pp. 32–49. ISBN 9780646548265.
  78. ^ Wake 2004, pp. 65–66.
  79. ^ Church 2005, p. 29.
  80. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 103-104.
  81. ^ Church 2005, p. 30.
  82. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 152-153.
  83. ^ Dreyer 2007, p. 162.
  84. ^ "China To Revive Zheng He's Legend". China Daily. September 4, 2006. from the original on 2016-03-03.
  85. ^ . Want China Times. October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  86. ^ 南京复建"郑和宝船" 2013年再下西洋 [Nanking is building a "Treasure ship" again; to sail again to the Western Ocean in 2013] (in Chinese), October 21, 2010
  87. ^ Cang Wei; Song Wenwei (June 16, 2014). "Construction of ship replica put on hold". China Daily.

Sources edit

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Further reading edit

  • Traditions and Encounters - A Global Perspective on the Past by Bentley and Ziegler.

chinese, treasure, ship, baochuan, redirects, here, city, korea, pocheon, simplified, chinese, 宝船, traditional, chinese, 寶船, pinyin, bǎochuán, literally, ship, type, large, wooden, ship, fleet, admiral, zheng, seven, voyages, during, early, 15th, century, ming. Baochuan redirects here For the city in Korea see Pocheon A Chinese treasure ship simplified Chinese 宝船 traditional Chinese 寶船 pinyin bǎochuan literally gem ship 14 is a type of large wooden ship in the fleet of admiral Zheng He who led seven voyages during the early 15th century Ming dynasty The size of the largest Chinese treasure ships has been a subject of controversy with some Chinese records mentioning the size of 44 zhang or 44 4 zhang which has been interpreted by some as over 100 m 330 ft in length while others have stated that Zheng He s largest ship was 70 m 230 ft or less in length 15 Sketch of four masted Zheng He s shipHistoryMing dynastyName2 000 liao da bo lit large ship hai po hai chuan lit sea going ship Ordered1403BuilderLongjiang shipyards Ming dynastyIn service1405Out of service1433NotesParticipated in First voyage of Zheng He 1405 1407 Second voyage of Zheng He 1407 1409 Third voyage of Zheng He 1409 1411 Fourth voyage of Zheng He 1412 1415 Fifth voyage of Zheng He 1416 1419 Sixth voyage of Zheng He 1421 1422 Seventh voyage of Zheng He 1431 1433 General characteristicsClass and typeArmed merchant ship 2 Displacement800 tonsTons burthen500 tonsLength166 ft 50 60 m Beam24 3 ft 7 41 m Draught8 1 ft 2 47 m Propulsion4 masts 1 Sail planJunk rigComplement200 300 person 3 Armament24 cannons 4 NotesReferences Tonnages 5 dimensions 6 Early 17th century Chinese woodblock print thought to represent Zheng He s ships The ships are depicted with 7 masts but only 4 sails used HistoryMing dynastyName5 000 liao ju bo lit giant ship baochuan lit gem ship OrderedBefore 1412BuilderLongjiang shipyards Ming dynastyIn service1412Out of service1433NotesParticipated in Fourth voyage of Zheng He 1412 1415 Fifth voyage of Zheng He 1416 1419 Sixth voyage of Zheng He 1421 1422 Seventh voyage of Zheng He 1431 1433 General characteristicsClass and typeArmed merchant ship 2 Displacement3100 tonsTons burthen1860 tonsLength71 1 m 233 3 ft Beam14 05 m 46 1 ft Draught6 1 m 20 0 ft Propulsion6 7 masts 7 8 Sail planJunk rigComplement500 600 person 9 10 Armament24 cannons 4 NotesReferences Voyages 11 tonnages 12 dimensions 13 Contents 1 Accounts 1 1 Chinese 1 2 Yemen 1 3 Mamluks 1 4 Niccolo de Conti 2 Song and Yuan junks 2 1 Marco Polo 2 2 Ibn Battuta 3 Description 3 1 Taizong Shilu 3 2 Longjiang Chuanchang Zhi 3 3 Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi 4 Dimensions 4 1 Contemporary descriptions 4 2 44 zhang ship 4 2 1 History of Ming 4 2 2 Modern estimates 4 2 3 Measurement conversion 4 3 5 000 liao ship 5 Structure 6 Physical evidence 7 Speed 8 Replica 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 11 1 Citations 11 2 Sources 12 Further readingAccounts editChinese edit nbsp The Ming treasure voyages alongside Yishiha s expeditions to the northeast and Chen Cheng s embassy to the Timurids According to the Guoque zh 1658 the first voyage consisted of 63 treasure ships crewed by 27 870 men 16 The History of Ming 1739 credits the first voyage with 62 treasure ships crewed by 27 800 men 16 A Zheng He era inscription in the Jinghai Temple in Nanjing gave the size of Zheng He ships in 1405 as 2 000 liao 500 tons but did not give the number of ships 17 Alongside the treasures were also another 255 ships according to the Shuyu Zhouzilu zh 1520 giving the combined fleet of the first voyage a total of 317 ships However the addition of 255 ships is a case of double accounting according to Edward L Dreyer who notes that the Taizong Shilu does not distinguish the order of 250 ships from the treasure ships As such the first fleet would have been around 250 ships including the treasure ships 16 The second voyage consisted of 249 ships 18 The Jinghai Temple inscription gave the ship dimensions in 1409 as 1500 liao 375 tons 16 According to the Xingcha Shenglan 1436 the third voyage consisted of 48 treasure ships not including other ships 16 The Xingcha Shenglan states that the fourth voyage consisted of 63 treasure ships crewed by 27 670 men 19 There are no sources for number of ships or men for the fifth and sixth voyages 19 According to the Liujiagang and Changle Inscriptions the seventh voyage had more than a hundred large ships 19 Yemen edit The most contemporary non Chinese record of the expeditions is an untitled and anonymous annalistic account of the then ruling Rasulid dynasty of Yemen compiled in the years 1439 1440 It reports the arrival of Chinese ships in 1419 1423 and 1432 which approximately correspond to Zheng He s fifth sixth and seventh voyages The 1419 arrival is described thus Arrival of Dragon ships marakib al zank in the protected harbour city of Aden and with them the messengers of the ruler of China with brilliant gifts for his Majesty the Sultan al Malik al Nasir in the month of l Hijja in the year 821 January 1419 His Majesty the Sultan al Malik al Nasiṛ s in the Protected Dar al Jund send the victorious al Mahaṭṭa to accept the brilliant gifts of the ruler of China It was a splendid present consisting of all manner of rarities tuhaf splendid Chinese silk cloth woven with gold al thiyab al kamkhat al mudhahhabah top quality musk storax al ʾud al ratḅ and many kinds of chinaware vessels the present being valued at twenty thousand Chinese mithqal 93 6 kg gold It was accompanied by the Qadi Wajih al Din ʿAbd al Rahman b Jumay And this was on 26 Muharram in the year 822 March 19 1419 His majesty the Sultan al Malik al Nasir ordered that the Envoy of the ruler of China rusul sahib al Sị n returned with gifts of his own including many rare with frankincense wrapped coral trees wild animals such as orynx wild ass thousands of wild lion and tame cheetahs And they travelled in the company of Qadi Wajih al Din ʿAbd al Rahman b Jumay out of the sheltered harbour of Aden in the month of Safar of the year 822 March 1419 20 21 The later Yemeni historian Ibn al Daybaʿ 1461 1537 writes The Chinese arrived at Aden in 1420 on great vessels containing precious gifts the value of which was twenty lacs sic lakhs of gold The sultan dispatched to him wild animals and splendid sultanic robes an abundant quality and ordered him to be escorted to the city of Aden 21 22 Mamluks edit Mamluk historian Ibn Taghribirdi 1411 1470 writes Shawwal 22 21 June 1432 CE A report came from Mecca the Honored that a number of junks had come from China to the seaports of India and two of them had anchored in the port of Aden but their goods chinaware silk musk and the like were not disposed of there because of the disorder of the state of Yemen The captains of these two junks wrote to the Sharif Barakat ibn Hasan ibn ʿAjlan emir of Mecca and to Saʾd al Din Ibrahim ibn al Marra controller of Judda Jeddah asking permission to come to Judda The two wrote to the Sultan about this and made him eager for the large amount of money that would result if they came The Sultan wrote to them to let them come to Judda and to show them honor 23 Niccolo de Conti edit Niccolo de Conti c 1395 1469 a contemporary of Zheng He was also an eyewitness of Chinese ships in Southeast Asia claiming to have seen five masted junks of about 2000 tons burthen 24 They doe make bigger Shippes than wee do that is to say of 2000 tons with five sayles and so many mastes 25 Niccolo Da Conti Other translations of the passage give the size as a 2000 butts 26 which would be around a 1000 tons a butt being half a ton note 1 Christopher Wake noted that the transcription of the unit is actually vegetes that is Venetian butt and estimated a burthen of 1300 tons 27 Song and Yuan junks edit nbsp Sir Henry Yule s 1871 illustration of Yuan dynasty war junk used in the Mongol invasion of Java 1293 CE nbsp A model of a treasure ship from Admiral Zheng He s fleet Although active prior to the treasure voyages both Marco Polo 1254 1325 and Ibn Battuta 1304 1369 attest to large multi masted ships carrying 500 to 1000 passengers in Chinese waters 28 The large ships up to 5 000 liao or 1520 1860 tons burden would carry 500 600 men and the second class 1 000 2 000 liao would carry 200 300 men 14 Unlike Ming treasure ships Song and Yuan great junks were propelled by oars and had with them smaller junks probably for help in maneuvering 29 The largest junks 5 000 liao may have had a hull length twice that of a Quanzhou ship 1 000 liao 30 Liuhe Taicang is 68 m 223 1 ft 14 However the usual Chinese trading junks pre 1500 was around 20 30 m 65 6 98 4 ft long with the length of 30 m 98 4 ft only becoming the norm after 1500 CE Large size could be a disadvantage for shallow harbors of southern seas and the presence of numerous reefs exacerbates this 31 Marco Polo edit I tell you that they are mostly built of the wood which is called fir or pine They have one floor which with us is called a deck one for each and on this deck there are commonly in all the greater number quite 60 little rooms or cabins and in some more and in some fewer according as the ships are larger and smaller where in each a merchant can stay comfortably They have one good sweep or helm which in the vulgar tongue is called a rudder And four masts and four sails and they often add to them two masts more which are raised and put away every time they wish with two sails according to the state of the weather Some ships namely those which are larger have besides quite 13 holds that is divisions on the inside made with strong planks fitted together so that if by accident that the ship is staved in any place namely that either it strikes on a rock or a whale fish striking against it in search of food staves it in And then the water entering through the hole runs to the bilge which never remains occupied with any things And then the sailors find out where the ship is staved and then the hold which answers to the break is emptied into others for the water cannot pass from one hold to another so strongly are they shut in and then they repair the ship there and put back there the goods which had been taken out They are indeed nailed in such a way for they are all lined that is that they have two boards above the other And the boards of the ship inside and outside are thus fitted together that is they are in the common speech of our sailors caulked both outside and inside and they are well nailed inside and outside with iron pins They are not pitched with pitch because they have none of it in those regions but they oil them in such a way as I shall tell you because they have another thing which seems to them to be better than pitch For I tell you that they take lime and hemp chopped small and they pound it all together mixed with an oil from a tree And after they have pounded them well these three things together I tell you that it becomes sticky and holds like birdlime And with this thing they smear their ships and this is worth quite as much as pitch Moreover I tell you that these ships want some 300 sailors some 200 some 150 some more some fewer according as the ships are larger and smaller They also carry a much greater burden than ours 32 Marco Polo Ibn Battuta edit nbsp Ships of the Fra Mauro map 1460 People sail on the China seas only in Chinese ships so let us mention the order observed upon them There are three kinds the greatest is called jonouq or in the singular jonq certainly chuan the middling sized is a zaw probably sao and the least a kakam A single one of the greater ships carries 12 sails and the smaller ones only three The sails of these vessels are made of strips of bamboo woven into the form of matting The sailors never lower them while sailing but simply change the direction of them according to whether the wind is blowing from one side or the other When the ships cast anchor the sails are left standing in the wind These vessels are nowhere made except in the city of Zaytong Quanzhou in China or at Sin Kilan which is the same as Sin al Sin Guangdong This is the manner after which they are made two parallel walls of very thick wooden planking are raised and across the space between them are placed very thick planks the bulkheads secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails each three ells in length When these walls have thus been built the lower deck is fitted in and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished The pieces of wood and those parts of the hull near the water line serve for the crew to wash and to accomplish their natural necessities On the sides of these pieces of wood also the oars are found they are as big as masts and are worked by 10 to 15 men each who row standing up The vessels have four decks upon which there are cabins and saloons for merchants Several of these misriya contain cupboards and other conveniences they have doors which can be locked and keys for their occupiers The merchants take with them their wives and concubines It often happens that a man can be in his cabin without others on board realising it and they do not see him until the vessel has arrived in some port The sailors also have their children in such cabins and in some parts of the ship they sow garden herbs vegetables and ginger in wooden tubs The Commander of such a vessel is a great Emir when he lands the archers and the Ethiops march before him bearing javelins and swords with drums beating and trumpets blowing When he arrives at the guesthouse where he is to stay they set up their lances on each side of the gate and mount guard throughout his visit Among the inhabitants of China there are those who own numerous ships on which they send their agents to foreign places For nowhere in the world are there to be found people richer than the Chinese 33 Ibn BattutaDescription edit nbsp A stationary full size model of a treasure ship 63 25 m long at the Treasure Ship Shipyard site in Nanjing It was built c 2005 from concrete and wooden plankingTaizong Shilu edit The most contemporary accounts of the treasure ships come from the Taizong Shilu which contains 24 notices from 1403 to 1419 for the construction of ships at several locations 34 On 4 September 1403 200 seagoing transport ships were ordered from the Capital Guards in Nanjing 35 On 1 March 1404 50 seagoing ships were ordered from the Capital Guards 35 In 1407 249 vessels were ordered to be prepared for embassies to the several countries of the Western Ocean 34 On 14 February 1408 48 treasure ships were ordered from the Ministry of Works in Nanjing This is the only contemporary account containing references to both treasure ships and a specific place of construction Coincidentally the only physical evidence of treasure ships comes from Nanjing 36 On 2 October 1419 41 treasure ships were ordered without disclosing the specific builders involved 34 Longjiang Chuanchang Zhi edit Li Zhaoxiang zh s Longjiang Chuanchang Zhi 1553 also known as the Record of the Dragon River Shipyard notes that the plans for the treasure ships had vanished from the ship yard in which they were built 37 Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi edit According to Luo Maodeng zh s 1597 novel Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi Eunuch Sanbao Western Records Popular Romance the treasure fleet consisted of five distinct classes of ships 38 34 39 Treasure ships 宝船 Bǎo Chuan nine masted 44 4 by 18 zhang about 127 metres 417 feet long and 52 metres 171 feet wide Equine ships 馬船 Mǎ Chuan carrying horses and tribute goods and repair material for the fleet eight masted 37 by 15 zhang about 103 m 338 ft long and 42 m 138 ft wide Supply ships 粮船 Liang Chuan containing staple for the crew seven masted 28 by 12 zhang about 78 m 256 ft long and 35 m 115 ft wide Transport ships 坐船 Zuo Chuan six masted 24 by 9 4 zhang about 67 m 220 ft long and 25 m 82 ft wide Warships 战船 Zhan Chuan five masted 18 by 6 8 zhang about 50 m 160 ft long Edward L Dreyer claims that Luo Maodeng s novel is unsuitable as historical evidence 34 The novel contains a number of fantasy elements for example the ships were constructed with divine help by the immortal Lu Ban 40 Scholars have worked however to distinguish the fictional elements from those that the author had access to but have subsequently been lost including both written and oral sources 41 nbsp An old anchor discovered at the Treasure Boat Shipyard in 2004 Dimensions editContemporary descriptions edit The contemporary inscription of Zheng He s ships in the Jinghai temple 靜海寺 Jing hǎi si inscription in Nanjing gives sizes of 2 000 liao 500 tons and 1 500 liao 275 tons 17 which are far too low than would be implied by a ship of 444 chi 450 ft given by the History of Ming In addition in the contemporary account of Zheng He s 7th voyage by Gong Zhen he said it took 200 to 300 men to handle Zheng He s ships Ming minister Song Li indicated a ratio of 1 man per 2 5 tons of cargo which would imply Zheng He s ships were 500 to 750 tons 3 The inscription on the tomb of Hong Bao an official in Zheng He s fleet mentions the construction of a 5 000 liao displacement ship 42 44 zhang ship edit History of Ming edit According to the History of Ming Ming shi 明史 completed in 1739 the treasure ships were 44 zhang 4 chi i e 444 chi in length and had a beam of 18 zhang The dimensions of ships are no coincidence The number 4 has numerological significance as a symbol of the 4 cardinal directions 4 seasons and 4 virtues The number 4 was an auspicious association for treasure ships 43 These dimensions first appeared in a novel published in 1597 more than a century and a half after Zheng He s voyages The 3 contemporary accounts of Zheng He s voyages do not have the ship dimensions 44 The zhang was fixed at 141 inches in the 19th century making the chi 14 1 inches However the common Ming value for chi was 12 2 inches and the value fluctuated depending on region The Ministry of Works used a chi of 12 1 inches while the Jiangsu builders used a chi of 13 3 inches Some of the ships in the treasure fleet but not the treasure ships were built in Fujian where the chi was 10 4 to 11 inches Assuming a range of 10 5 to 12 inches for each chi the dimensions of the treasure ships as recorded by the History of Ming would have been between 385 by 157 5 feet and 440 by 180 feet 117 5 by 48 metres and 134 by 55 metres 45 Louise Levathes estimates that it had a maximum size of 110 124 m 390 408 feet long and 49 51 m 160 166 feet wide instead taking 1 chi as 10 53 11 037 inches 43 According to British scientist historian and sinologist Joseph Needham the dimensions of the largest of these ships were 135 metres 440 ft by 55 metres 180 ft 46 American historian Edward L Dreyer is in broad agreement with Needham s views 47 Modern estimates edit Modern scholars have argued on engineering grounds that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He s ship was 450 feet 137 m in length Guan Jincheng 1947 proposed a much more modest size of 20 zhang long by 2 4 zhang wide 204 ft by 25 5 ft or 62 2 m by 7 8 m 48 Xin Yuan ou a shipbuilding engineer and professor of the history of science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University argues on engineering grounds that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He s treasure ships were 450 ft long and suggests that they were probably closer to 200 250 ft 61 76 m in length 49 5 Hsu Yun Ts iao does not agree with Xin Yuan ou Estimating the size of a 2 000 liao ship with the Treatise of the Longjiang shipyard 龙江船厂志 long jiang chuanchǎng zhi at Nanjing the size is as follows LOA 166 ft 50 60 m bottom s hull length 102 6 ft 31 27 m overhanging tail length 23 4 ft 7 13 m front depth 6 9 ft 2 10 m front width 19 5 ft 5 94 m mid hull depth 8 1 ft 2 47 m mid hull width 24 3 ft 7 41 m tail depth 12 ft 3 66 m tail width 21 6 ft 6 58 m and the length to width ratio is 7 1 6 Dionisius A Agius 2008 estimated a size of 200 250 ft 60 96 m 76 2 m and maximum weight of 700 tons 50 Tang Zhiba Xin Yuan ou and Zheng Ming have calculated the dimensions of the 2 000 liao ship obtaining a length of 61 2 m 200 79 ft width of 13 8 m 45 28 ft and draught of 3 9 m 12 80 ft 51 Zheng Ming believes that the Heavenly Princess Classics depict 2 000 liao ships 13 nbsp A four masted junk from the Treatise of the Longjiang shipyard 1553Andre Wegener Sleeswyk extrapolated the size of liao 料 material by deducing the data from mid 16th century Chinese river junks He suggested that the 2 000 liao ships were bao chuan treasure ship while the 1 500 liao ships were ma chuan horse ship In his calculations the treasure ships would have had a length of 52 5 m a width of 9 89 m and a height of 4 71 m The horse ships would have a length of 46 63 m a width of 8 8 m and a height of 4 19 m 52 Richard Barker estimated that the treasure ships would have a length of 230 ft 70 10 m a width of 65 ft 19 81 m and a draught of 20 ft 6 10 m He estimated it using an assumed displacement of 3100 tons 53 One explanation for the colossal size of the 44 zhang treasure ships if in fact built was that they were only for a display of imperial power by the emperor and imperial bureaucrats on the Yangtze River when on court business including when reviewing Zheng He s actual expedition fleet The Yangtze River with its calmer waters may have been navigable for such large but unseaworthy ships Zheng He would not have had the privilege in rank to command the largest of these ships Some of the largest ships of Zheng He s fleet were the 6 masted 2000 liao ships This would give burthen of 500 tons and a displacement tonnage of about 800 tons 5 54 Because they were built and based in Nanjing and repeatedly sailed along the Yangtze river including in winter when the water is low their draught cannot exceed 7 7 5 m It is also known that Zheng He s fleet visited Palembang in Sumatra where they needed to cross the Musi river It is unknown whether Zheng He s ships sailed as far as Palembang or whether they waited on the shore in the Bangka Strait while the smaller ships sailed at Musi but at least the draught of the ship that reaches Palembang should not be more than 6 m 55 nbsp A restored copy of the illustration of Zheng He s visits to the West on the flyleaf of the book Heavenly Princess Classics in 1420 This invaluable picture is the earliest pictorial record of Zheng He treasure ships The ships are depicted with 6 masts but only 3 sails used Xin Yuan ou a naval engineer and historian has argued that Zheng He s ships could not have been as large as recorded in the History of Ming 49 based on the following reasons Ships of the dimensions given in the Ming shi would have been 15 000 20 000 tons according to his calculations exceeding a natural limit to the size of a wooden ocean going ship of about 7 000 tons displacement 56 With the benefit of modern technology it would be difficult to manufacture a wooden ship of 10 000 tons let alone one that was 1 5 2 times that size It was only when ships began to be built of iron in the 1860s that they could exceed 10 000 tons 56 Watertight compartments characteristic of traditional Chinese ships tended to make the vessels transversely strong but longitudinally weak 56 57 A ship of these dimensions would need masts that were 100 metres tall Several timbers would have to be joined vertically As a single tree trunk would not be large enough in diameter to support such mast multiple timbers would need to be combined at the base as well No evidence that China had the type of joining materials necessary to accomplish these tasks 57 56 A ship with 9 masts would be unable to resist the combined strength and force of such huge sails she would not be able to cope with strong wind and would break 58 It took four centuries from the Renaissance to the modern era for Western ships to increase in size from 1500 to 5000 tons displacement For Chinese ships to have reached three or four times this size in just two years from Emperor Yongle s accession in 1403 to the launch of the first expedition in 1405 was unlikely 56 The 200 to 300 sailors as mentioned by Gong Zhen could not have managed a 20 000 ton ship According to Xin a ship of such size would have had to have a complement of 8 000 men 59 From the comments of modern scholars on Medieval Chinese accounts and reports it is apparent that a ship had a natural limit to her size going beyond would have made her structurally unsafe as well as causing a considerable loss of maneuverability something the Spanish Armada ships famously experienced 60 Beyond a certain size about 300 feet or 91 44 m in length a wooden ship is structurally unsafe 61 It was not until the mid to late 19th century that the length of the largest western wooden ship began to exceed 100 meters even this was done using modern industrial tools and iron parts 62 63 64 Measurement conversion edit It is also possible that the measure of zhang 丈 used in the conversions was mistaken Seventeenth century Ming records state that the European East Indiamen and galleons were 30 40 50 and 60 zhang 90 120 150 and 180 m in length 65 The length of a Dutch ship recorded in the History of Ming was 30 zhang If the zhang is taken to be 3 2 m the Dutch ship would be 96 m long Also the Dutch Hongyi cannon was recorded to be more than 2 zhang 6 4 m long A comparative study by Hu Xiaowei 2018 concluded that 1 zhang would be equal to 1 5 1 6 m this means the Dutch ship would be 45 48 m long and the cannon would be 3 3 2 m long 66 Taking 1 6 m for 1 zhang Zheng He s 44 zhang treasure ship would be 70 4 m 230 97 ft long and 28 8 m 94 49 ft wide or 22 zhang long and 9 zhang wide if the zhang is taken to be 3 2 m 67 It is known that the measuring unit during the Ming era was not unified A measurement of East and West Pagoda in Quanzhou resulted in a zhang unit of 2 5 2 56 m 68 According to Chen Cunren one zhang in the Ming Dynasty is only half a zhang in modern times 69 5 000 liao ship edit In June 2010 a new inscription was found in Hong Bao s tomb confirming the existence of the Ming dynasty s 5 000 liao ship 70 42 Taking the liao to be 500 lb 226 80 kg burthen that would be 1 250 tons burthen 54 Sleeswyk argued that the term liao refers to the displacement and not cargo weight one liao would be equivalent to 500 kg 1 102 31 lb of displacement 71 According to Zheng Ming the 5 000 liao ship would have a dimension of 71 1 m 233 27 ft width of 14 05 m 46 10 ft with 6 1 m 20 01 ft draught and the displacement would reach more than 2 700 tons The 5 000 liao ship may have been used as the flagship but the number of ships was relatively small 13 Wake argued that the 5 000 liao ships were not used until after the 3rd voyage when the voyages were extended beyond India 11 Xi Longfei identified that the word treasure ship which would refer to the 44 zhang ship appeared for the first time in the 6th year of Yongle This large ship was too late to be used for the third voyage so it appeared for the first time during the 4th voyage and was recorded by Ma Huan 72 Judging from the three images from the Ming era the largest ships had 3 4 main masts and 2 3 auxiliary masts 51 Structure edit nbsp Section of the Zheng He s treasure ship mock up in the Maritime Experiential Museum Sentosa island Singapore nbsp Inside the display ship in NanjingThe keel consisted of wooden beams bound together with iron hoops In stormy weather holes in the prow would partially fill with water when the ship pitched forward thus lessening the violent turbulence caused by waves Treasure ships also used floating anchors cast off the sides of the ship in order to increase stability The stern had two 2 5 m 8 foot iron anchors weighing over a thousand pounds each used for mooring offshore Like many Chinese anchors these had four flukes set at a sharp angle against the main shaft Watertight compartments were also used to add strength to the treasure ships The ships also had a balanced rudder which could be raised and lowered creating additional stability like an extra keel The balanced rudder placed as much of the rudder forward of the stern post as behind it making such large ships easier to steer Unlike a typical fuchuan warship the treasure ships had nine staggered masts and twelve square sails increasing its speed Treasure ships also had 24 cast bronze cannons with a maximum range of 240 to 275 m 800 900 feet However treasure ships were considered luxury ships rather than warships As such they lacked the fuchuan s raised platforms or extended planks used for battle 4 Non gunpowder weapons on Zheng He s vessels seems to be bows For gunpowder weapons they carried bombards albeit shorter than Portuguese bombards and various kind of hand cannons such as can be found on early 15th century Bakau shipwreck 73 74 Comparing with Penglai wrecks the fleet may have carried cannons with bowl shaped muzzle which dates back to late Yuan dynasty and iron cannons with several rings on their muzzle in the wrecks they are 76 and 73 cm long weighing 110 and 74 kg which according to Tang Zhiba a typical of early Ming iron cannon They may also carry incendiary bombs quicklime bottles 75 Girolamo Sernigi 1499 gives an account of the armament of what possibly the Chinese vessels It is now about 80 years since there arrived in this city of Chalicut certain vessels of white Christians who wore their hair long like Germans and had no beards except around the mouth such as are worn at Constantinople by cavaliers and courtiers They landed wearing a cuirass helmet and visor and carrying a certain weapon sword attached to a spear Their vessels are armed with bombards shorter than those in use with us Once every two years they return with 20 or 25 vessels They are unable to tell what people they are nor what merchandise they bring to this city save that it includes very fine linen cloth and brass ware They load spices Their vessels have four masts like those of Spain If they were Germans it seems to me that we should have had some notice about them possibly they may be Russians if they have a port there On the arrival of the captain we may learn who these people are for the Italian speaking pilot who was given him by the Moorish king and whom he took away contrary to his inclinations is with him and may be able to tell Girolamo Sernigi 1499 about the then unknown Chinese visitors 76 Physical evidence edit nbsp A stone tortoise overlooking the former 4th working pool of the Longjiang Shipyard now a park where treasure ships were built 600 years agoFrom 2003 to 2004 the Treasure Shipyard was excavated in northwestern Nanjing the former capital of the Ming Dynasty near the Yangtze River Despite the site being referred to as the Longjiang Treasure Shipyard 龍江寶船廠 long jiang bǎo chuanchǎng in the official names the site is distinct from the actual Longjiang Shipyard which was located on a different site and produced different types of ships The Treasure Shipyard where Zheng He s fleet were believed to have been built in the Ming Dynasty once consisted of thirteen basins based on a 1944 map most of which have now been covered by the construction of buildings in the 20th century The basins are believed to have been connected to the Yangtze via a series of gates Three long basins survive each with wooden structures inside them that were interpreted to be frames for the ships to be built on The largest basin extends for a length of 421 metres 1 381 ft While they were long enough to accommodate the largest claimed Zheng He treasure ship they were not wide enough to fit even a ship half the claimed size The basin was only 41 metres 135 ft wide at most with only a 10 metres 33 ft width area of it showing evidence of structures They were also not deep enough being only 4 metres 13 ft deep Other remains of ships in the site indicate that the ships were only slightly larger than the frames that supported them Moreover the basin structures were grouped into clusters with large gaps between them if each cluster was interpreted as a ship framework then the largest ship would not exceed 75 metres 246 ft at most probably less 77 In 1957 a large 11 meter long rudder shaft was discovered during excavations at the Treasure shipyards The rudder blade which did not survive was attached to a 6 meter section of the axis According to Chinese archaeologists the area of the rudder was approximately 42 5 m and the length of the ship to which it belonged was estimated at 149 166 meters 78 79 note 2 However such use of this piece of archeological evidence rests upon supposing proportions between the rudder and the length of the ship which have also been the object of intense contestation That length was estimated using steel engine driven ship as the reference By comparing the rudder shaft to the Quanzhou ship Church estimated that the ship was 150 ft 45 72 m long 81 nbsp A large tiller discovered at the Treasure Boat Shipyard in 2004 Speed editThe treasure ships were different in size but not in speed Under favorable conditions such as sailing with the winter monsoon from Fujian to Southeast Asia Zheng He s fleet developed an average speed of about 2 5 knots 4 63 km h on many other segments of his route a significantly lower average speed was recorded of the order of 1 4 1 8 knots 2 59 3 33 km h 82 As historians note these speeds were relatively low by the standards of later European sailing fleets even in comparison with ship of the line which were built with an emphasis on armament rather than speed For example in 1809 Admiral Nelson s squadron consisting of 10 ships of the line crossed the Atlantic Ocean at an average speed of 4 9 knots 9 07 km h 83 Replica editA 71 1 metre 233 3 ft copy of a treasure ship was announced in 2006 to be completed in time for the 2008 Olympic Games 84 However the copy was still under construction in Nanjing in 2010 85 A new date of completion was set for 2013 86 when this dateline failed to be met in 2014 the project was built for 4 years 87 See also editList of world s largest wooden ships Grace Dieu ship English flagship of Henry V about the same size as baochuan Ancient Chinese wooden architecture Pagoda of Fogong TempleNotes edit See definition of butt https gizmodo com butt is an actual unit of measurement 1622427091 Until the 17th century ton referred to both the unit of weight and the unit of volume see https en oxforddictionaries com definition ton A tun is 252 gallons which weighs 2092 lbs which is around a ton Dreyer estimated the length of between 538 and 600 feet 163 98 and 182 88 m for the ship 80 References editCitations edit Wake June 2004 63 quoting Guan Jincheng 15 January 1947 49 a b Lo 2012 p 114 a b Church 2005 p 16 a b c Levathes 1994 p 81 82 a b c Xin Yuan ou 2002 Guanyu Zheng He baochuan chidu de jishu fenxi A Technical Analysis of the Size of Zheng He s Ships Shanghai p 8 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link a b Suryadinata 2005 p 135 Depiction on the 天妃经 Tian Fei Jing or Heavenly Princess Classics from ca 1420 which depicted ships with six masts Depiction on the 17th century woodblock print Mills 1970 p 2 Finlay 1992 p 227 a b Wake 2004 p 74 Wake 2004 p 64 75 a b c Ming 2011 p 15 a b c Wake 2004 p 75 Ling Xue July 12 2022 Li Ma Limin Wu Xiuling Pei eds 郑和大号宝船到底有多大 How big was Zheng He s large treasure ship PDF 扬子晚报 Yangtze Evening News a b c d e Dreyer 2007 p 123 a b Church 2005 p 10 Dreyer 2007 p 124 a b c Dreyer 2007 p 126 Sen 2016 p 619 a b Hikoichi Yajima 1974 A Facet of the Commercial Interactions in the Indian Ocean during the 15th Century On the Visit of a Division from Zheng He s Expedition to Yemen Sen 2016 p 620 Yusuf Ibn Taġribardi 1954 1963 History of Egypt 1382 1469 Translated by William Popper Berkeley University of California Press translated from the Arabic annals of Abu l Maḥasin Ibn Taghri Birdi a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint postscript link Needham 1971 p 452 Needham 1971 p 468 Major R H ed 1857 The travels of Niccolo Conti India in the Fifteenth Century Hakluyt Society p 27 Wake 1997 p 58 Needham 1971 pp 460 470 Wake 1997 pp 57 67 Wake 1997 pp 66 67 Bowring 2019 p 128 129 Needham 1971 p 466 Needham 1971 pp 469 470 a b c d e Dreyer 2007 p 104 a b Dreyer 2007 p 105 Dreyer 2007 p 104 105 Dreyer 2007 p 220 Church 2005 p 6 京 Jing 安 An 2012 海疆开发史话 History of Coastal Development 社会科学文献出版社 Social Science Literature Press p 98 ISBN 978 7 5097 3196 3 OCLC 886189859 Church 2005 p 7 Barbara Witt Introduction Sanbao Taijian Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi An Annotated Bibliography Crossroads 12 2015 151 155 a b Sophia October 19 2018 Old tomb sheds light on Ming dynasty s voyages Life of Guangzhou a b Levathes 1994 p 80 Church 2005 p 5 Dreyer 2007 p 102 Needham 1971 p 480 Dreyer 2007 Zheng He xia Xiyang de chuan The Ships with which Zheng He Went to the Western Ocean 鄭和下西洋的船 Dongfang zazhi 東方雜誌 43 15 January 1947 1 pp 47 51 reprinted in Zheng He yanjiu ziliao huibian 鄭和研究資料匯編 1985 pp 268 272 a b Church 2005 pp 1 2 Agius 2008 p 250 a b Ming 2011 p 14 Sleeswyk 2004 p 305 307 Barker Richard 1989 The size of the treasure ships and other Chinese vessels Mariner s Mirror 75 3 273 275 a b Needham 1971 p 481 Dreyer 2007 p 111 a b c d e Church 2005 p 3 a b Agius 2008 p 223 Agius 2008 p 222 Church 2005 p 23 Howarth David 1981 The Voyage of the Armada The Spanish Story New York NY The Viking Press Page 209 10 he asserts that the Spanish ships were over masted for Atlantic weather and had rigging which was too light Church 2005 p 36 Howard 1979 pp 229 232 Church 2005 p 3 37 Murray 2014 p 173 Naiming 2016 p 56 57 Xiaowei 2018 p 111 112 Xiaowei 2018 p 113 Xiaowei 2018 p 110 Cunren 2008 p 60 Zhengning 2015 p 231 Sleeswyk 1996 p 11 12 Longfei 2015 p 377 Papelitzky 2019 p 217 219 Miksic 2019 p 1642 Papelitzky 2019 p 212 213 Sernigi Girolamo 1499 Translation in Ravenstein E G ed 1898 A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497 1499 London Hakluyt Society p 131 See also Finlay 1992 225 Sally K Church 2010 Two Ming Dynasty Shipyards in Nanjing and their Infrastructure PDF In Kimura Jun ed Shipwreck ASIA Thematic Studies in East Asian Maritime Archaeology Adelaide Maritime Archaeology Program Flinders University pp 32 49 ISBN 9780646548265 Wake 2004 pp 65 66 Church 2005 p 29 Dreyer 2007 p 103 104 Church 2005 p 30 Dreyer 2007 p 152 153 Dreyer 2007 p 162 China To Revive Zheng He s Legend China Daily September 4 2006 Archived from the original on 2016 03 03 East China to Rebuild Ship from Ancient Navigator Zheng He Want China Times October 24 2010 Archived from the original on 2012 03 14 Retrieved 2011 03 25 南京复建 郑和宝船 2013年再下西洋 Nanking is building a Treasure ship again to sail again to the Western Ocean in 2013 in Chinese October 21 2010 Cang Wei Song Wenwei June 16 2014 Construction of ship replica put on hold China Daily Sources edit Agius Dionisius A 2008 Classic Ships of Islam From Mesopotamia to the Indian Ocean Leiden Brill Bowring Philip 2019 Empire of the Winds The Global Role of Asia s Great Archipelago London New York I B Tauris amp Co Ltd ISBN 9781788314466 Church Sally K 2005 Zheng He An Investigation into the Plausibility of 450 ft Treasure Ships PDF Monumenta Serica Institute 53 1 43 doi 10 1179 mon 2005 53 1 001 S2CID 161434221 Cunren Chen 2008 被误读的远行 郑和下西洋与马哥孛罗来华考 The Misunderstood Journey Zheng He s Voyages to the West and Marco Polo s Visit to China 广西师范大学出版社 Guangxi Normal University Press ISBN 9787563370764 Dreyer Edward L 2007 Zheng He China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty 1405 1433 New York Pearson Longman ISBN 978 0 321 08443 9 OCLC 64592164 Finlay Robert 1992 Portuguese and Chinese Maritime Imperialism Camoes s Lusiads and Luo Maodeng s Voyage of the San Bao Eunuch Comparative Studies in Society and History 34 2 225 241 doi 10 1017 S0010417500017667 JSTOR 178944 S2CID 144362957 Jincheng Guan January 15 1947 鄭和下西洋的船 Zheng He xia Xiyang de chuan The Ships with which Zheng He Went to the Western Ocean 東方雜誌 Dong Fang Za Zhi 43 47 51 Howard Frank 1979 Sailing ships of war 1400 1860 Conway Maritime Press Levathes Louise 1994 When China Ruled the Seas The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405 1433 Simon amp Schuster Lewis Archibald December 1973 Maritime Skills in the Indian Ocean 1368 1500 Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 16 2 3 238 264 doi 10 2307 3596216 JSTOR 3596216 Lo Jung pang 2012 1957 Elleman Bruce A ed China as Sea Power 1127 1368 A Preliminary Survey of the Maritime Expansion and Naval Exploits of the Chinese People During the Southern Song and Yuan Periods Singapore NUS Press Longfei Xi 2015 中国古代造船史 History of Ancient Chinese Shipbuilding Wuhan Wuhan University Press Miksic John M November 25 2019 The Bakau or Maranei shipwreck a Chinese smuggling vessel and its context Current Science 117 10 1640 1646 doi 10 18520 cs v117 i10 1640 1646 Mills J V G 1970 Ying yai Sheng lan The Overall Survey of the Ocean s Shores 1433 Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 01032 2 Ming Zheng 2011 再议明代宝船尺度 洪保墓寿藏铭记五千料巨舶的思考 Re discussion on the Scale of Treasure Ships in the Ming Dynasty Reflections on the Five Thousand Ships Remembered in the Life Collection of Hong Bao s Tomb 郑和研究 Zheng He Research 2 13 15 Murray William Michael 2014 The Age of Titans The Rise and Fall of the Great Hellenistic Navies Oxford University Press ISBN 9780199382255 Naiming Pang 2016 船坚炮利 一个明代已有的欧洲印象 Ship and Guns An Existing European Impression of the Ming Dynasty 史学月刊 History Monthly 2 51 65 Needham Joseph 1971 Science and Civilization in China Volume 4 Part 3 Cambridge England Cambridge University Press Papelitzky Elke December 2019 Weapons Used Aboard Ming Chinese Ships and Some Thoughts on the Armament of Zheng He s Fleet China and Asia 1 2 192 224 doi 10 1163 2589465X 00102004 S2CID 213253271 Sen Tansen 2016 The impact of Zheng He s expeditions on Indian Ocean interactions Sleeswyk Andre Wegener 1996 The Liao and the Displacement of Ships in the Ming Navy Mariner s Mirror 82 1 3 13 doi 10 1080 00253359 1996 10656579 Sleeswyk Andre Wegener 2004 Notes on the overall dimensions of Cheng Ho s largest ships Mariner s Mirror 90 305 308 doi 10 1080 00253359 2004 10656907 S2CID 220325919 Suryadinata Leo 2005 Admiral Zheng He and Southeast Asia Singapore Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Wake Christopher December 1997 The Great Ocean Going Ships of Southern China in the Age of Chinese Maritime Voyaging to India Twelfth to Fifteenth Centuries International Journal of Maritime History 9 2 51 81 doi 10 1177 084387149700900205 S2CID 130906334 Wake Christopher June 2004 The Myth of Zheng He s Great Treasure Ships International Journal of Maritime History 16 59 76 doi 10 1177 084387140401600105 S2CID 162302303 Xiaowei Hu 2018 郑和宝船尺度新考 从泉州东西塔的尺度谈起 A New Research on the Scale of Zheng He s Treasure Ship From the Scale of Quanzhou East West Pagoda 海交史研究 Journal of Maritime History Studies 2 107 116 Zhengning Hu 2015 郑和下西洋研究二题 基于洪保 寿藏铭 的考察 Two topics on Zheng He s voyages to the West Based on the investigation of Hong Bao s Shou Zang Inscription 江苏社会科 Jiangsu Social Sciences 5 231 235Further reading edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zheng He Fleet Traditions and Encounters A Global Perspective on the Past by Bentley and Ziegler Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chinese treasure ship amp oldid 1215635837, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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