Chapter 18 Section 3 The Shipbuilding Peak of Tang and Song Dynasties

The Tang and Song Dynasties were the second peak period in the history of ancient Chinese shipbuilding.Since then, the development of my country's ancient shipbuilding industry has entered a mature period.The shipbuilding technologies that emerged during the Qin and Han Dynasties, such as stern rudders, high-efficiency propulsion tool sculls, and the effective use of sails, etc., were fully developed and further improved during this period, and many more advanced shipbuilding technologies were created.The Sui Dynasty was the beginning of this period. Although it was not long, the shipbuilding industry was very developed, and even super-large dragon boats were built.When it comes to dragon boats, there has long been a folk tradition of dragon boat racing on the Dragon Boat Festival.It is said that it was raised to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.Concerned about the country and the people, he threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of May in 278 BC. The people were afraid that the dragon in the water would swallow his body, so they made the boat into a dragon shape and drove on the river, beating gongs and drums to disperse the dragon in the water. .This is the origin of the dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival on May 5th.The ancients believed that the dragon was a huge and sacred monster, and if one could ride a dragon across the sea for nine days, one would become a god.If you want to cross the sea, you have to take a dragon boat. The feudal emperors of our country all claim to be the real dragon emperors. They want to use the dragon's power to strengthen their control and rule over the common people.They have majestic and gorgeous palaces on the ground, and they will live in Fengge dragon boats on the water.The dragon boat on which the extravagant Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty rode was very tall and had four floors, 4.5 feet high and 20 feet long. The upper floor had the main hall, the inner hall, and the east and west halls.There are 120 rooms in the middle two floors.These boats are "decorated with red powder, decorated with gold, jade, pearls and emeralds, and carved beautifully" (Du Bao's "Daye Miscellaneous Notes").The lower floor is where the servants live.The dragon boat that the empress rides on is called "Xiang Chi [chi Chi]", which is slightly smaller than the emperor's dragon boat, and the decoration is extremely luxurious.The dragon boats of the Sui Dynasty used the method of tenon joints combined with iron nails.Using iron nails is much stronger and more reliable than using wooden nails and bamboo nails.This advanced method has been widely adopted in the Sui Dynasty.

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, both the quantity and quality of ships reflected the high development of my country's shipbuilding industry.Specifically, the characteristics and changes of the shipbuilding industry during this period are mainly manifested in the following aspects: One is that the hull is constantly increasing and the structure is more reasonable.The larger the boat, the more complex the manufacturing process.Among the inland river boats of the Tang Dynasty, it is not uncommon to see those more than 20 feet long and carrying six or seven hundred people.Some ships can actually open gardens to grow flowers and vegetables, and there are hundreds of sailors alone, and the size of the ship can be imagined.The Song Dynasty built a "Shenzhou" for missions to North Korea, and its load capacity reached more than 1,500 tons.Some sea ships carry tens of thousands of stones, and their rudders are three to five feet long.The sides of the hull built in the Tang and Song Dynasties are lowered, and the keel runs through the bow and tail. The ratio of the deck to the bottom is about 10:1, and the bottom of the boat is V-shaped, which is also convenient for driving.

Second, the number of shipbuilding continues to increase.Shipbuilding workshops increased significantly during the Tang and Song dynasties.The shipbuilding bases of the Tang Dynasty were mainly in Xuan (Xuancheng), Run (Zhenjiang), Chang (Changzhou), Su (Suzhou), Hu (Huzhou), Yang (Yangzhou), Hang (Hangzhou), Yue (Shaoxing), Taiwan ( Linhai), Wu (Jinhua), Jiang (Jiujiang), Hong (Nanchang), Dengzhou (Yantai) on the east coast, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou and other places on the south coast.These shipbuilding bases have shipbuilding workshops, which can build all kinds of large and small river boats, sea boats, and warships.Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once decided to send troops to attack Koryo because Koryo refused to listen to the command not to attack Silla.Hong, Rao (Boyang, Jiangxi), and Jiang Sanzhou were ordered to build 400 ships to transport military supplies.He also ordered Zhang Liang to lead 40,000 troops and 500 warships to take Pyongyang from Laizhou (Ye County, Shandong Province) across the sea.It can be seen that the Tang Dynasty had extremely strong shipbuilding capabilities.In the Song Dynasty, a large number of official and private shipbuilding factories were established in the southeastern provinces.More and more ships are built every year. Only Mingzhou (Ningbo, Zhejiang) and Wenzhou build 600 ships of various types every year.Jizhou (Jiangxi Ji'an) Shipyard also set a record of annual output of more than 1,300 ships.

The third is that shipbuilding technology is getting more and more advanced.Tang Dynasty boats have adopted the advanced nailing and tenon joint technology, which greatly improves the strength of the boat. In March 1960, a Tang Dynasty wooden boat was unearthed in Shiqiao Town, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. In 1973, another Tang Dynasty wooden boat was unearthed in Rugao County, Jiangsu Province. The unearthed boats even adopted the butt joint technology of obliquely penetrating iron nails. For example, the lap joint technology of vertically penetrating iron nails used by the wooden boat unearthed in Gao County is more advanced.In the shipbuilding industry of European countries during the same period, the original method of tying leather ropes was still used to connect the ship boards.The big ships of the Tang Dynasty were also built with watertight compartments.The Tang Dynasty wooden boat unearthed in Rugao County has nine watertight compartments. A Song Dynasty wooden ship unearthed in Quanzhou Bay, Fujian Province in 1974 also had watertight compartments.The use of this process and technology has greatly enhanced the anti-sinking capability of the ship, especially the transverse strength of the hull.It is a layer of watertight bulkhead surrounded by the bottom, the ribs on both sides and the beams under the deck.The bulkheads before the midship are installed before the ribs, and the bulkheads after the midship are installed after the ribs.This installation method can prevent the bulkhead from moving, so that the side of the ship and the bulkhead plate are closely combined to firmly support the two sides, which enhances the transverse strength of the hull.As the firmness and anti-sinking force of the ship are enhanced, it is possible to set up more masts and sails, which are more suitable for ocean sailing.Shipbuilding and ship repairing in the Song Dynasty had begun to use docks, which was 500 years earlier than in Europe.The craftsmen of the Song Dynasty could also manufacture the model of the ship according to the different requirements of the performance and use of the ship, and then carry out the construction according to the drawn ship diagram.Simple ship maps only appeared in Europe in the 16th century, three or four hundred years behind China.The Song Dynasty also inherited and developed the vehicle and boat manufacturing technology of the Southern Dynasty.Chariots are warships with wooden impellers on both sides of the hull. One wheel is called a chariot, and when people step on it, the boat moves like flying.The vehicles and boats used by the Yang Yao uprising army in the Southern Song Dynasty are two or three storeys high and can carry more than a thousand people. The largest has 32 vehicles.When fighting against the official army, the vehicles and boats of Yang Yao's rebel army showed their prestige.Most of the ancient ships were sailing ships, and it was very difficult to sail against the wind and against the current. Vehicles and ships overcame these difficulties to a certain extent.It is a steamship in its primitive form.

The boats built in the Tang and Song Dynasties not only have many types and large volumes, but also have many advantages such as advanced technology, firm structure, large load capacity, fast shipping, safety and reliability, etc., and enjoy a high reputation in the world.Since the 7th century, China's ocean-going fleets have appeared more and more frequently on the vast ocean.Foreign businessmen traveling between Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean are all happy to take the big Chinese ships, and they use the language of "the most advanced shipbuilders in the world" to praise the Chinese boatmen.