Chapter 15 Chapter 15 The Prosperity of the Shipbuilding Industry in the Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) was a powerful country in the world at that time.It experienced the vigorous efforts of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty (reigned from 626 to 649 AD) in the early years, and a prosperous and stable situation of "the rule of Zhenguan" appeared, and the social economy developed rapidly.When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (reigned from 712 to 756 A.D.) appeared, the "Golden Age of Kaiyuan" appeared.The Tang Dynasty entered its heyday.On the basis of the development of agricultural and handicraft production, the country became prosperous and strong, science, technology and culture developed, trade with overseas Asian and African countries and other overseas exchanges of various natures were also strengthened, which promoted the further development of shipbuilding and navigation.

There were many shipbuilding bases in the Tang Dynasty.Such as Xuan (now Xuancheng, Anhui), Run (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), Chang (now Changzhou, Jiangsu), Su (now Suzhou, Jiangsu), Hu (now Huzhou, Zhejiang), Hang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang), Yue (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) , Tai (now Linhai, Zhejiang), Wu (wuwu) (now Jinhua, Zhejiang), Jiang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi), Hong (now Nanchang, Jiangxi), Yang (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu) and other places.Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou on the south coast, and Dengzhou (now Yantai, Shandong) on ​​the east coast.These shipbuilding bases have shipbuilding factories that can build ships of various sizes, sea ships, and warships.In the eighteenth year of Zhenguan (AD 644), Emperor Taizong decided to send troops to attack Goryeo because Goryeo would not listen to the command not to attack Silla.Hong, Rao (now Boyang, Jiangxi), and Jiang Sanzhou were ordered to build 400 ships to transport military supplies.Zhang Liang was ordered to lead 40,000 troops and 500 warships to take Pyongyang from Laizhou Panhai.During the Suzong and Daizong reigns of the Tang Dynasty, the financier Liu Yan set up 10 shipbuilding workshops in Yangzi (Yizheng, Jiangsu Province) when he was the envoy of salt and iron transport for various roads, and appointed experts to supervise the construction of thousand-stone large ships, which shows that Tang Dynasty had strong shipbuilding capabilities.More and more ships are built every year. Only Mingzhou (now south of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province) and Wenzhou can build 600 ships of various types every year.During the Zhenyuan period of Dali (766-805 A.D.), Aunt Yu, a wealthy businessman, had a big boat, and this kind of boat was called "Aunt Yu".There is a saying in the rivers and lakes: "Water does not carry ten thousand", which means that a big ship can only carry eight or nine thousand stones.However, "Aunt Yu has the largest sailing ship, and the people who live in it live, send to death, get married and get married. The alleys are used as gardens, and hundreds of people are required to drive them. From Jiangxi in the south to Huainan in the north, it is very beneficial to travel every year. The meaning of vastness], this is nothing less than a million words. There are quite a lot of water in Hong'e, which is almost half the size of the city, and every large ship must be owned by a wealthy businessman" (Tang Shixuanying "All Classics Yinyi"). "Worth carrying ten thousand", that is to say, it has almost reached the carrying capacity of ten thousand stones. "Open alleys as gardens" means that flowers, fruits and vegetables can be grown on board.There are hundreds of workers driving the boats. We can imagine the scale of the "Aunt Yu" boat, which is really like a hometown of water dwellers.

During Tang Zhaozong (889-904 A.D.), Liu Xun Xun, who had lived in Guangzhou for a long time, said in his book "Ling Biao Lu Yi" that "Jia Ren's boats made in Lingnan do not use iron nails, but only use guang [guang light] 〕Tie the palm whiskers and use olive sugar mud, the sugar is very hard when dried, and it is like lacquer in water."Manufacturers of ships do not use iron nails, but only use ropes made of sugar palm to fasten the boards, and then smear them with olive sugar. After the sugar dries, the boards are very firm and smooth.What is "sugar palm beard"?Liu Xun wrote in his own note: "The branches and leaves of the palm tree are lush and luxuriant, which is slightly different from the jujube betel nut. However, the leaves have whiskers, like thick horsetails...the whiskers are especially suitable for soaking in salt water, that is, they are thick and tough. The old man used this Bind the ship, don't need to nail the thread." What is "olive sugar"?Liu Xun wrote in his own note: "There is a fat paste on the branches and leaves of the olive tree, such as peach paste. The southerners pick it up and fry it with its skin and leaves. Cover your ears with water." This method of shipbuilding without iron nails is indeed creative.More practical where nails and tung oil are scarce.This situation is said to be the shipbuilding method of Arab ships, and it is said to be the shipbuilding method of Guangdong and Guangxi ships.It is also possible that foreign countries have this shipbuilding method or similar shipbuilding methods.The ships built can only sail in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

The shipbuilding technology of the Tang Dynasty could be said to be in the leading position in the world at that time.The most prominent is the extensive use of mortise and nailing (also known as nailing and mortise) woodwork and advanced technologies such as watertight compartments in shipbuilding. The wood craft of tenon and nail is superior and much stronger than the shipbuilding method without iron nails. In March 1960, a Tang Dynasty wooden boat was unearthed in Shiqiao Town, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. In 1973, another wooden boat from the Tang Dynasty was unearthed in Rugao County, Jiangsu Province. These two wooden boats from the Tang Dynasty both adopted the technology of mortise and nailing. The overlapping technology of hanging nails used in Chinese wooden boats is more advanced.The big ships of the Tang Dynasty also had watertight compartments, and the wooden ships of the Tang Dynasty unearthed in Rugao had nine watertight compartments.This increases the ship's resistance to sinking.The watertight compartment is a watertight bulkhead surrounded by the bottom, the ribs on both sides and the beams under the deck.The bulkheads before the middle part of the ship are installed before the ribs, and the bulkheads after the middle part are installed behind the ribs. This arrangement can prevent the bulkheads from moving, make the side of the ship and the bulkhead plate tightly combined, and firmly support the two sides. side, which strengthens the transverse strength of the hull.As the firmness of the ship is enhanced, it is possible to install more masts and sails, which is more suitable for ocean sailing.The riveting and welding method of the angle steel around the watertight bulkhead of modern steel ships is very consistent with the ancient Chinese ships in terms of function and riveting position, and can be considered as inherited from the ancient Chinese shipbuilding structure.

There are many kinds of wooden sailboats for sailing in ancient my country, and sand boats, lucky boats, and Guangzhou boats all took shape in the Tang Dynasty.Among them, the sand ship is one of the oldest ship types in my country.Its history can be traced back to ancient times, as early as the unearthed canoes and oracle bone inscriptions You can see the characteristics of its flat bottom, square head, and square boat in the character (boat).There are many sand boats in Rizhao and other places in Shandong Province. According to legend, they are the ship types left behind when King Goujian of Yue moved his capital to Langya from Kuaiji.This can be said to be the predecessor of the sand boat.According to Kangxi's "Chongming County Chronicles", "Chongming County was formed by sand gushing during the Tang Dynasty (Grandfather Li Yuan) Wu Dejian (618-626 AD).It also contains "Sand Chuan is named after Chongming Sand. Taicang, Songjiang, Tongzhou and Haimen...", it can be known that Sand Chuan was born in the Tang Dynasty.Sand boats are characterized by being suitable for running sand and preventing sand, and can "sit" on the beach safely. "The sand boats in the south of the Yangtze River going to Shandong rely on the sand to anchor. The bottom of the boat is flat, so there is no hindrance when it is not parked" ("Rizhilu Collection and Interpretation"), so it is also called "sand-proof flat-bottomed boat". After the middle of Ming Dynasty Jiajing was originally known as Shachuan.It has the characteristics of wide, large, flat and shallow, and has stability.In order to increase the speed, large and medium-sized sand ships all adopt multiple masts and multiple sails.The sails are mostly rectangular balanced schooners with close-rod hardtops.Sand boats mostly travel on the Beiyang route. Fishermen in the Taihu Lake area call sand boats "Beiyang boats", but they are also used in Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei and other places in the south.Rice and silk in the south of the Yangtze River were mostly transported north by sand boats.

Fuchuan and Guangzhouchuan are named after the place of origin, and they are two types of ships that adapt to the geographical environment of the wide sea, deep water and many islands in the south of my country.It is beneficial to break the waves, and take more deep-water routes in the South China Sea. The Fuchuan ship has a wide bow and a wide tail, and a horseshoe-shaped stern seal structure. The two sides are arched outwards, with a wide and flat deck and continuous hatches.Shipbuilding materials are mainly pine, fir, camphor, and nanmu, which are abundant in Fujian.The tip of some ships’ bow or stern, the cabin is a living water cabin, also called a buoyancy cabin or an anti-rolling cabin. As the bow or stern rises or falls, the water in the living water cabin can flow in or out, reducing the ship’s swing, and the long and narrow rudder direction The front is inserted obliquely, and a cloth-reinforced hard canopy with sparse poles is hung on the main mast. The sail shape is slightly triangular.

Guangzhou Shipbuilding has a long fore body, a deep draft, a small beam arch, and a low deck ridge arc, which has better seaworthiness and greater endurance.The horizontal structure of the hull is composed of close-spaced ribs and bulkheads; the longitudinal strength depends on the keel and large (wooden ridges).Most of the shipbuilding materials are lychee wood, camphor wood, and a kind of black wood produced in Guangdong.Rows of diamond-shaped small holes are opened on the rudder plate, which is labor-saving to operate, and a hard cloth sail is hung on the top. Fuchuan and Guangzhouchuan have a long history. They are developed from the round-bottomed or sharp-bottomed canoes in China. They have developed and formed in the Tang Dynasty and played an important role in transportation and trade.

The Grand Canal connected the north and south water systems, and the national shipping industry also developed unprecedentedly.People at that time said: "All the rivers and lakes in the world are gathered by boats and sailings, bypassing Ba and Han, and referring to Fujian and Yue in front, seven lakes and ten villages, three rivers and five lakes, controlling and leading Heluo, and also covering Huaihai. Hongge giant ships, thousands of boats Ships, trade and return, ignorance forever." ("Old Tang Book · Cui Rong Biography") According to the system of Tang Dynasty and Sui Dynasty, a post station was set up about 30 miles away from the major water and land transportation routes. There are 260 water stations in the whole country.There are 86 water and land stations, and the water stations are equipped with boats for the return of officials and the delivery of government documents.

The navigation technology of the Tang Dynasty reached a very high level.Chinese sailors are world-renowned for their superb sailing skills.The law of the trade wind and monsoon in southeast Asia has been fully utilized by our sailors.People also have a better understanding of nautical astronomy than before.In Tang Dynasty Wang Wei's poem "Sending Secretary Ding Jian to Japan", there is a sentence "Xiang Guo only looks at the sun, but returns to the sails but the trade wind". The mountain hangs, the south wind rises and the sea pulls."All have explained the observation of celestial bodies during the voyage and the use of trade winds and monsoons.

Due to the development of the navigation industry in the Tang Dynasty, the research and understanding of the theory of ocean tides also reached a new height.Around the fifth year of Zongdali in the Tang Dynasty (770 A.D.), Dou Shumeng, a native of Zhejiang, wrote six chapters of "Hai Tao Zhi" (also known as Hai Qiao Zhi), which is the earliest monograph on tides in my country.After long-term observation, he discovered that there is a certain relationship between tidal changes and the movement of the moon.