Chapter 4 Chapter Four: The Formative Period of Ancient Navigation

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were the formation period of my country's ancient navigation industry.During this period, maritime powers—Qi, Wu, and Yue—emerged successively in maritime exploration, large-scale maritime transportation, overseas trade and frequent naval battles. In the middle of the seventh century BC, Duke Huan of Qi appointed Guan Zhong as his prime minister to reform the internal affairs.He took advantage of the geographical advantage of Qi State being located in Shandong and being close to the sea, and the benefits of great fishing and salt, which gave it a great economic advantage, and finally wiped out more than 30 vassal states one after another.In 651 BC, Duke Huan of Qi convened a meeting of many princes in Kuiqiu (now east of Lankao, Henan), and King Zhou also sent representatives to attend. Since then, his supremacy has been recognized.Qi became a maritime power that could directly control navigation around the Shandong Peninsula and the Bohai Sea, and its power even reached as far as the East China Sea and the mouth of the Qiantang River.

In 496 BC, King Yunchang of Yue died, and his son Goujian succeeded him.King Helu of Wu took the opportunity to attack Yue, but the Wu army was defeated. Helu was injured and died on the way back to his army.After his son Fu Chai succeeded to the throne, he did not forget the humiliation of the past. In 494 BC, he worshiped Wu Zixu and Bo Pi (pi pi) as generals, and personally led the navy to attack Yue from Taihu Lake.Gou Jian did not listen to the advice of the doctor Fan Li and Wen Zhong, and fought against Wu when his strength was far inferior to that of Wu. After the fall, Goujian led 5,000 remnant soldiers to retreat to Kuaiji Mountain (now south of Shaoxing, Zhejiang).Gou Jian had no choice but to send a doctor, Wen Zhong, to bribe Bo Pi to seek peace and surrender.

Afterwards, Fu Chai, king of Wu, planned to march northward to compete with Qi for supremacy, so in 486 BC he dug the Han (han Han) River (Hangou) to divert the Yangtze River from the south to Huai'an, and enter the Huaihe River from the north to connect the Yangtze River with the Xuxi River of Taihu Lake. .It is said that the Wuhan River is the earliest canal in my country. Gou Jian, the king of Yue, served Wu humblely and never forgot to restore the country. Yue people have been good at sailing since ancient times, and they have the custom of "cutting their hair and tattooing". It may be because they are often in the water and long hair is inconvenient, so they cut it short and have tattoos (tattoos) on their bodies, which symbolizes the son of the dragon. Nature is also superstitious.Yue people often dive and swim, and are more skilled in shipbuilding and navigation.The ships they built ranged from Ge boats suitable for naval warfare to flat boats, light boats, and 舲 (lingling) for civilian use.Under the leadership of Goujian, the Yue Kingdom gradually became stronger after ten years of reunion and ten years of lessons.In 482 B.C., Goujian took advantage of the opportunity of Fuchai, the king of Wu, to lead elite troops north to Huangchi (southwest of Fengqiu, Henan Province) to join the alliance. (Chariot soldiers) 1,000 people attacked Wu, captured Wu's capital Gusu (now Suzhou, Jiangsu) in one fell swoop, and captured Prince You.Fu Chai was forced to ask Yue for peace with generous gifts.In 473 BC, Yue finally destroyed Wu.Wu Wang Fuchai committed suicide.

After Yue destroyed Wu, in 468 B.C., Yue followed Wu’s route to the north and moved from Kuaiji to Langxie (yaya)” ("Journal of the Bamboo Books". Langye, now northwest of Langyatai in Jiaonan, Shandong. At this time , Yue and Langya, Kuaiji two counties).At that time, there were "8,000 dead men and 300 spear boats", which made the bronze mirror with the pattern of "2,800 people cutting bamboo cabinets into bamboo cabinets" made by the soldiers of the building and boats.In 379 BC (the 33rd year of King Yi of Yue), he "moved the capital to Wu".Wu is now Suzhou, Jiangsu.At this time, the state of Qi on the coast of Shandong was strong and prosperous, while the state of Yue was declining day by day. There was no room for development in Shandong, so they had to move back to Wu from the sea again.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the sea navigation capability was already very strong.The people of Wu regard "boats as horses" and "huge seas as barbarians".The Yue State has always used boats as chariots and oars as horses.The two relocations of the capital of Yue State also illustrate its sailing ability. The development of shipbuilding and navigation reflects the pioneering and adventurous spirit of our people, and also strengthens the friendly exchanges and economic and cultural exchanges between our country and the people of Korea, Japan and other countries.

North Korea and China are friendly neighbors who depend on each other.In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Jizi, an aristocrat of the Shang Dynasty, was entrusted to North Korea.During the Warring States period, the people of Yan and Qi who were adjacent to North Korea could not bear the brutal rule, and they migrated to North Korea in batches.At the same time, it brought a lot of advanced production technology and production tools.Bronze bells and bronze swords were also unearthed in the Korean peninsula. According to textual research, some of them are cultural relics from the Warring States Period.These show that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the working people of our country were able to sail in the Yellow Sea.There are also many Chinese who crossed the Korean Peninsula and crossed the sea to Japan to avoid the disaster of war.They brought bronze and iron production tools, and rice planting technology.Metal tools and farming culture are the two major characteristics of Japan. Since then, Japan has transitioned from the original to the Yayoi culture (from 200 BC to 300 AD), and the Yayoi culture is the culture from China.Especially cultures from the northern coast of China.In Japan, Chinese bronze swords from the Warring States period and Mingdao coins, the currency of Yan State, have also been found.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Yue people in the southeast coast of my country often carried out sailing activities in the South China Sea and traded through Panyu Port.Panyu was established by Yang Yue, a branch of Yue people. "Jiuyi, those from the south of Cangwu to Dan'er, have the same customs as those in the south of the Yangtze River, and the more they grow, Panyu is also one of the cities. Pearls, rhinoceros, tortoise shells, fruits, and cloth are combined." ("Historical Records Huozhi Biography." 》) At the same time, the gold, pearls, and rhinoceros obtained by Baiyue's overseas voyages were also used as tributes to the Chu State.

The practice of sailing expanded people's geographical knowledge during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.People divide the sea into several sea areas such as the East China Sea and the North Sea.People have been well aware of the importance of marine meteorology, especially wind direction, to navigation safety.As mentioned earlier, in the Shang Dynasty, winds from east, south, west, and north were known.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was known that there were eight winds and twelve winds. With the development of production, there were many achievements in astronomy during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. "Lu has Zishen, Jin has Buyan, Zheng has Bizhan, Song has Wei, Qi (or Chu or Lu) has Gande, Chu has Tang Mei, Zhao has Yingao, and Wei has Shishenfu. Astronomy, each discusses map classics." ("Book of Jin · Tianwenzhi 1") Gan De and Shi Shenfu each conducted astronomical observations in their own countries, and each published their works in the world.Gan De's book is called "Astronomy and Astrology", and Shi Shenfu's book is called "Astronomy", both in eight volumes.During the Han Dynasty, these two works were published separately.Later generations combined these two works and named them "Gan and Shi Xing Jing".Gan De and Shi Shenfu had systematically observed the movement of the five planets, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, and initially grasped the laws of the movement of these planets, recorded the names of 800 stars, and determined the identities of 121 stars. position.Later generations called Gan De and Shi Shenfu's records of star determination "Gan and Shi Star Catalog" (also known as "Gan and Shi Celestial Book").It is the earliest star catalog in the world, about 200 years earlier than the first European stellar catalog compiled by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in the second century BC. "Gan and Shi Xingjing" was lost in the Song Dynasty, and some fragments were preserved in the "Kaiyuan Zhanjing" in the Tang Dynasty, and its outline was preserved in the bibliography of "Junzhai Shuzhi" by Chao Gongwu in the Southern Song Dynasty.

The development of astronomy plays an important role in navigation for the orientation and positioning of navigation.

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