From the 7th to the 17th centuries AD, most of the known prosperous shipping routes were controlled by forces with Muslim backgrounds. In addition to the most famous Arabs, there were Persians, Moors, Northwest Indians, East African blacks and some South African Malays, as well as a large number of converts. Its range of activities can extend from the Maghreb, which borders the Atlantic Ocean, all the way to the waters of Fujian and Zhejiang on the Pacific coast.
Muslim maritime sphere of influence between 900 and 1500 AD
As a by-product of economic development, The Arabian sailing ship also became the most important nautical vehicle of the era. It has taken root in many regions and spawned a variety of local versions with their own characteristics. But the largest family branch is also the Lucky Ship from ancient China.
Crab claw sails on reliefs of Roman merchant ships around the 3rd century AD
Long before the rise of Islam, the rudiments of traditional Arab sailing ships emerged. Equipped with early crab claw sails suitable for catching headwinds, it is particularly popular in the Indian Ocean, which requires long direct flights. Even the Greeks and Persians, who had their own well-established manufacturing systems, switched to these lightweight models on their routes to the East. Subsequently, it was introduced into a new one in practice, and the influential spinnaker sail was developed between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The size of the ships has also been enlarged at the same time, and in the 4th century, there were already special warships capable of carrying a hundred people in a single cloud.
Byzantine dhow no later than 880 AD
However, at that time, the radiation range of the original Arab sailing ships was still relatively limited, and it did not cause serious impacts on the area east of the Persian Gulf. Only a few local kingdoms with limited size do not have the wealth resources to develop a large number of giant ships. So in the subcontinent, the Malay Peninsula, the South Sea Islands, and the Far East, merchants still tended to use more traditional Kunlun ships, and were often led back to the western waters by greeks who had emigrated to the local area. The landmark sand vessel in China's maritime history is a certain delay in the technological stage on the East Asian continent.
Pre-Muslim era Kunlun ships were the main trade vehicles in eastern waters
However, this asymmetrical state of equal division was eventually completely broken between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. The first was the rise of Muslim forces to reunite the central region, including the Arabian Peninsula, the Two Rivers Valley, Egypt, and the Persian Gulf. Subsequently, a large number of Merchants who converted to Islam flowed in all directions, and with them, they re-concentrated their wealth in their own hands. Technical styles, including shipbuilding styles, are pushed towards the periphery with great speed. After only a short period of competition, it gained a place in the traditional workshops of Africa and the West Indies. But it also takes care of the construction, the cost of use, and the craftsmanship of local craftsmen, so some of the original design is integrated.
The Blackstone, which sank in the waters of the Indonesian island of Sumatra
For example, the Black Stone, which sank around Belitung in Indonesia, is typical of early Eastern-style Arab sailing ships. According to careful measurements by contemporary archaeologists, this fast merchant ship of the 9th century AD is similar in size and overall construction to the reference prototype of the Omani region. In particular, the keel design as the center of the structure was not common in the previous eastern waters. However, it is more conservative in the choice of power system, following the ordinary longitudinal sails of local Kunlun ships. As for the large number of porcelain fragments scattered in the warehouse, it is also directly revealed to posterity the starting point of this last voyage.
Arab dhows soon became the main trade force in the Mediterranean Indian and South Sea regions
In fact, Guangzhou and Quanzhou in the late Tang Dynasty were the main berthing ports for Arab merchant ships such as the BlackStone. The former, in particular, thrived on centuries-old waves of Hu merchant settlements, resulting in a large population and strong economic cluster of Muslim communities. The technical stylistic feature of The Arabian sailing ships is the small-scale influx from the local area into the Eastern Soils. However, after the Huangchao rebels slaughtered the city in 879, some of the survivors were forced to move to Quanzhou in southern Fujian, thus having to make more adjustments to continue trade. One of the most important tasks is to develop the local shipbuilding industry with the times.
From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Yuan Dynasty Quanzhou was the most important port on the southeast coast
In the 10th and 12th centuries AD, the new Quanzhou ship began to spread in the waters of southern Fujian. Although local craftsmen have initially mastered the most primitive keel making techniques, they still lay wooden partitions to ensure the strength of the structure. In other words, this new model of the earth-ocean collection is a mixture of Arab sailing ships and traditional sand ships. However, in appearance, it has been almost the same as the standard of the entire Muslim world, insisting on using a small cross-sectional V-shaped bottom, sharp bow, and only setting cabins + towers at the rear. As a result, it can have higher speeds, more stable seaworthiness, and the displacement is often maintained between a very considerable 200-500 tons. Later, it was regarded as a blessing ship by countless ancient war enthusiasts, and it was this Quanzhou ship that was modeled on technology.
The wreckage of an ancient ship in Quanzhou with the characteristics of a V-shaped bottom
Coincidentally, the Two Song Dynasties were also an important stage of development of maritime trade in the Far East. Fearing that the northern trade routes would be easily blocked by war, the Bieliang court would deliberately recruit Hu merchants living in Guangzhou and Quanzhou to act as trade agents for official institutions in the Nanyang region. By the way, he undertook the work of attracting investment and let more colleagues move their focus of life to Fujian and Guangdong. Quanzhou boats, which have excellent performance and can be built by local craftsmen, have become the main vehicles for long-distance business activities. One of the most famous relics is the "Nanhai No. 1" found in the Yangjiang River in Guangdong.
Nanhai No. 1 is a very typical Quanzhou ship shape
So, how much is the difference in performance between the new Quanzhou ship and the old sand boat? We can use the historical development at the turn of the Song and Yuan dynasties as a reference. In 1276, the Mongol Imperial army occupied Hangzhou, forcing the Exiles of the Zhao and Song Dynasties to flee south along the coast. Fearing that sand ships would not be suitable for long-term stays at sea, they hoped to borrow large merchant ships from Pu Shougeng, a descendant of Hu merchants who controlled Quanzhou. However, the latter was not willing to do the loss-making business, and soon clashed with the Song army due to ship problems, and simply fell to Mengyuan with his troops. At this point, the Mongols were also fond of naval power outside the traditional inland boat division, and they were no longer afraid to confront the Song people in open waters. On the contrary, it also forced the exiles to choose narrow channels that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, which eventually led to the major tragedy of the Battle of Cliff Mountain.
Pu Shou Geng's family had the right to dispatch most of the Quanzhou ships
Of course, the Quanzhou ship, as an imported product, still encountered trouble in the process of promoting to the north. Due to the complex manufacturing process, strict material selection, and corresponding requirements for berthing ports, it is impossible to spread in the Waters of the Yangtze River Delta, which is dominated by shoals and inner harbors. Even the newly opened sea transport of the Yuan Dynasty, which has a large capital, is more willing to let the sand ships that are close to the people and are not afraid of running aground as the main force. Only Muslim families, which maintained their commercial privileges by defecting, continued to be used in large numbers in their spheres of influence east of the Pearl River to south of Ningbo. It was largely unrelated to military function and did not appear on the roster of expeditions to Japan, Vietnam, Champa and Java.
The Ming Dynasty's policy of sea ban dealt a heavy blow to ports such as Quanzhou
By the late 14th century, the Ming Dynasty, which pursued a policy of sea prohibition, began to rectify the waters of Fujian and Zhejiang. Although Quanzhou was temporarily retained as the seat of the municipal shipping department, it took a sustained crackdown on Hu merchants and craftsmen, including Muslims. The shipbuilding industry, which had been booming, withered rapidly, and was spread to nearby states and counties with the help of forced migration of people. Therefore, the real sense of the fu boat began to rise in Putian Meizhou Bay north of Ningde and other places. On the basis of generally maintaining the prototype of Quanzhou, it is also further integrated into the ancient sand boat manufacturing process. The fukugawa that was born from this, although it still has a keel and a sharp bottom, is more "square head and square brain" in appearance. There are even mini models of about 60 tons that allow them to shuttle through the coastal sea areas densely packed with islands and reefs without violating the new regime.
The Fu boat that people refer to to today is the product of the further combination of Quanzhou ship with the sand boat technique
Even so, this kind of blessing ship that was constantly moving toward reality was still in a difficult situation in the early Ming Dynasty. With the exception of diplomatic canonization missions for officials, long-distance voyages are hardly allowed. It can only be maintained by the fishermen who barely survive by rubbing the edge ball, and the trembling activities are carried out in chaoshan, Fujian, Zhejiang and Zhoushan. Not only did they have to fight against the cruel natural environment, but they were also easily hunted down by Ming sailors and captured by Cantonese or sand boats equipped with oars. During this period, the Municipal Shipping Department was moved from the old site of Quanzhou to the provincial capital of Fuzhou, which invisibly dealt a further blow to the original group of people who ate by the sea. As a result, it was the opposite direction, contributing to the increasing prosperity of various Wukou smuggling groups, which were repeatedly banned at special ports such as Xiangshan, Yuegang, and Ningbo.
Zhu Di and Zheng He's voyage to the West led to a brief revival of fukugawa
In the middle of the 16th century, the Ming Dynasty's control over the southeast coast was much worse than before, and many brave people drove miniaturized fu boats to the sea to survive. In order to be able to deal a more severe blow to this group, the imperial court had to increase the number of high-sea forces to resist the Wu ming generals. As a result, the Fukufuku, which had already turned into a miniaturization trend, was re-enlarged into a marine division ship. Although there is a partition process derived from sand ships that hinders the addition of side firepower, small weapons such as Flange machines can be installed on the upper level, and traditional arts such as fire hammers, bows and arrows, and lime can be used to achieve combat benefits. Users, including Qi Jiguang, were full of praise for the ship's performance in the deep waters and repeatedly used it as their flagship. Sometimes it can even be impacted by the advantage of the size, directly smashing the opponent's boat.
The Dafu ship on the Ming Dynasty's military book "Compilation of Charts for the Sea" obviously has more sand boat characteristics
On the other hand, the small and medium-sized fukugawatts, which are mostly used by the people, spread to the entire Nanyang region with the Old Port, Pattani and Malacca as the center. Due to the cheap cost and the small number of seafarers needed, it was gradually favored by all kinds of business groups that went south and north. The Portuguese adventurers, in particular, who lacked human resources, often liked to buy such small boats at low prices to trade and hire Malays or Chinese as sailors. It then extended north to the coast of the Ming Dynasty, which in turn led to the spread of modern weapons such as Flange and arquebusiers, as well as the products of mixed Chinese and Western technologies such as the old lock ship.
The old lock ship in modern times is the result of fukugawa's fusion of Western technology
Of course, the appearance of the old lock ship itself also heralded the continued decline of Muslim influence in eastern waters. Thanks to the steady advance of Western colonial power in modern times, Arabs, Persians, Indians and Malays have been forced to relegate from the top to the second class of the past. As the result of its technological development, the Arab sailing ship naturally no longer has the source power to continue to upgrade. Although the Omani Empire was still alive in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was no longer able to expand its sphere of influence to the east of the Arabian Sea. Even the more powerful Ottoman Turks relied entirely on the Western-style technology transfer in their hands, reinforcing collaborators like the Mughals and Aceh.
In the early 19th century, the Qing Dynasty Fukubun arrived in the port of Nagasaki, Japan
Therefore, as a branch of Muslim navigation technology, the lucky ship also lost the room for improvement in the same time period. Throughout the 17th and 19th centuries AD, they were fighting against the ancient sand ships, and they were powerless to stop the gradual erosion of the old lock ships. When the smoke of the Opium War raged throughout the southeast, it was finally defeated by various newly introduced modern ships. Only by relying on the spontaneous recollection of ancient warfare enthusiasts in the early 21st century can we maintain the illusory acre and three-quarter of land in cyberspace...