Chapter 47 Section 13 Shipbuilding Technology Achievements

Historically, China's shipbuilding technology has made a series of major achievements, and it has been in the leading position in the world for a long historical period, and has had a profound impact on modern shipbuilding technology. In the Shang Dynasty, my country had already started to manufacture wooden boats.However, the early ships were very small. In order to increase the load capacity and expand the superstructure above the deck, a boat was invented, that is, two or more hulls were connected together.The boat composed of two boats was an important means of water transportation in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and was still commonly used in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It can be regarded as the distant ancestor of modern catamaran passenger and cargo ships.The boat can also be decomposed into a monohull when necessary to adapt to narrow rivers or increase driving speed.

The scull is a unique invention of our country.Legend has it that Luban saw a fish wagging its tail in the water, so he cut wood to make an oar, reflecting that this invention may have been inspired by the wagging of the fish's tail.The scull can continuously stroke the water, so the efficacy is improved, while the paddle is intermittent, and what is done when leaving the water is useless work.Moreover, the scull cleverly uses the principle of leverage to shake and save effort, and even women and children can operate it.In the ancient world, oars were considered the most advanced means of propulsion. At the end of the 18th century, Europe began to develop screw propellers under the inspiration of sculls.

The rudder is another major invention in shipbuilding technology in ancient China.It appeared in the Han Dynasty, and it was greatly improved in the Tang and Song Dynasties, with vertical rudders and balanced rudders.The balance rudder was not adopted in Europe until the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, and it is still an important measure to reduce the steering moment in ship design. During the Tang and Song dynasties, China's shipbuilding technology entered a new stage.Chinese ships in this period are famous for their solid structure, high stability and strong resistance to sinking.Not only did Chinese merchants go to sea on Chinese ships, but even Arab merchants also took Chinese ships to carry out maritime trade among China, India, and Arabia.An important feature of Chinese ships in this period is that the cabins are divided into individual cabins by bulkheads. The Song Dynasty ship unearthed in Quanzhou Bay, Fujian Province has 13 cabins.This structure is not only convenient for cargo loading and unloading and management, but also because the cabins are separated, one or two cabins are damaged and flooded, which does not affect the overall buoyancy of the hull, greatly improving the sinking resistance and safety.At the same time, due to the tight nailing of the bulkhead and the shell plate, the transverse strength of the hull is increased and the hull is strengthened. At the end of the 18th century, Europe introduced this shipbuilding design process from China.So far, shipbuilding in various countries has adopted this structure.

Car and boat is another important invention in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and is the ancestor of modern ships.It first appeared in the Tang Dynasty and was designed and manufactured by Li Gao.It has two paddles, one on each side, stepping on it with the feet drives the paddles to rotate and make the boat move at a very high speed. The history books say that it is "flying with wind and drums, as fast as a sail mat" ("Old Tang Book·Li Gao Biography") ").Vehicles and boats in the Song Dynasty were greatly developed, with more wheels and paddles, including four, six, eight, 20 or even 32 wheels. In the Song and Jin "Battle of Caishiji" in 1161, the Song army used vehicles and ships to defeat the Jin soldiers.At that time, the cars and boats were turning around like flying on the Yangtze River, which made Jin Bing terrified.