During the Qin and Han dynasties, it was the first peak in the history of Shipbuilding in China. Ships in this period not only have many types and large scales, but also can build building ships with high technical requirements; Marine power, mooring and other equipment have also reached a complete stage and left a glorious chapter in the history of Shipbuilding in China.
Shipbuilding drawings
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > first, the light boat giant of the Qin Dynasty</h1>
In 221 BC, the Qin Dynasty ended the situation of hundreds of years of feudal Chuhou chaos since the Spring and Autumn Warring States period by force, completed the great cause of unifying China, and established a powerful multi-ethnic centralized feudal state in China's history.
The shipbuilding of the Qin Dynasty inherited and developed the shipbuilding industry developed in the Bashu region and some of the original Six Kingdoms. At that time, the ship had sailed through the river to the sea. Qin Shi Huang's five tours of "Ming Gong Hui Ji Ling, Chengwang Lang Evil Platform" are a good proof of the development of shipbuilding.
Qin Shi Huang's tour map
In October of 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang began his fifth tour. In November, this huge parade came to Yunmeng (present-day Jiangling, Hubei to Puchun, the Great Lake area), they looked at the Jiuling Mountains (present-day southern Ningyuan County, Hunan), sacrificed Yu Shun, floated down the river, passed through Danyang (present-day Dangtudong, Anhui), to Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), crossed the Qiantang River, worshipped Xia Yu, then returned to Wudi (present-day southern Jiangsu), took a sea boat north, sailed north along the eastern coast of the Qin State to Langxi, and circled around the coast of the Shandong Peninsula.
Later, his parade landed at Zhifu (present-day Zhifu Peninsula, Shandong), where he carved stones to commemorate his deeds. This was Qin Shi Huang's last cruise, and he changed from car to boat along the way, from inland rivers to navigation, which lasted several months. It is conceivable that at that time, if there was no imperial fleet with well-equipped navigation equipment and good navigation performance, Qin Shi Huang could not have carried out many long-term patrols in the rivers and lakes.
Beautiful view of the sunset of the Lingqu
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, the ability of Qin Dynasty shipbuilding</h1>
In order to unify and develop the needs of the Lingnan region, the Qin Dynasty also spent 5 years organizing a large number of laborers to dig an artificial canal connecting the Xiang River and the Li River near present-day Xing'an, Guangxi, later known as the "Ling Canal", which was one of the earliest artificial canals in the world.
The engineering facilities are ingenious and unique, with esoteric scientific truths. In order to raise the water level and make the boats navigable smoothly, there are many bucket gates (locks) in the river, and there are 36 lanes at the most. These gates generally appear to be about 5.5 meters wide and about 4.7 meters narrow. From the width of the Doumen Gate, it can be deduced that the large number of ships passing through the Lingqu in the Qin Dynasty did not exceed 4.7 meters in width. Of course, the width of ships traveling in other waterways is not subject to this restriction. As for the length of the ship, from the excavation of the Han Dynasty ship model length to width ratio of 1 to 5 to 7 to calculate, the length of the commonly used ships at that time was about 20 meters, and the load capacity was about 500 to 600 hu (equivalent to 25 tons to 30 tons). Some ships may be larger.
Schematic diagram of the working principle of the spirit canal
As for the sea vessels of the Qin Dynasty, in addition to the records of the sea vessels taken by Qin Shi Huang when he was cruising, there is also the story of Xu Fu entering the sea to seek immortals. According to relevant historical records, Qin Shi Huang twice sent Xu Fu to lead a fleet of ships into the sea to go to the sea to find for him the "elixir of immortality" that "transformed the feathers of clothing into heavenly immortals." Legend has it that Xu Fu's fleet sailed to Japan, and from here it can also be said that the Qin Dynasty was able to build sailing ships that crossed the ocean. Although China and Japan are one and the same, the shortest distance is also four or five hundred nautical miles away, and only with a sea vessel that can withstand the wind and waves, using the power of the sail, the shipwrights can grasp the course and realize their long-distance voyage aspirations to ride the wind and waves.
In 1976, a huge Qin-Han shipbuilding workshop was discovered in Guangzhou, with three parallel ship platforms arranged in the central part of the shipyard, and the boat platform slide was 88 meters long. According to the calculation of the length and width of the platform, the larger no. 2 platform can build wooden boats with a width of 6-8 meters, a length of 30 meters and a load capacity of 50 to 60 tons. According to research, this shipyard was built when the Qin Dynasty unified Lingnan. It is a clear sign of the development of the production capacity and technical level of the shipbuilding industry in the Qin Dynasty. In addition, the Qin Dynasty also set up special shipbuilding workshops in many places such as present-day Shaanxi, Sichuan, Anhui, and Jiangxi, Zhejiang.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, the types of ships and shipping in the Western Han Dynasty</h1>
The peasant revolt led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang at the end of qin overthrew the rule of Qin II, followed by a struggle between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu for the fruits of the victory of the peasant revolt. Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and established the Western Han Dynasty. The shipbuilding industry of the Han Dynasty also flourished. According to the records of some historical books and the study of Han Dynasty ship models excavated after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it is strongly explained that the ships built at that time can be divided into many types according to different uses and needs, including passenger ships, warships, cargo ships, etc.
Among the passenger ships, there are also official ships and civilian ships; Among the civilian boats, there are boats, boats, flat boats, light boats, boat boats, and boat boats. Among the warships, there are also the differences between the Go Ship, the Bridge Ship, the Sternwheel, the Fighting Ship, and the Building Ship. The number of ships built in the Han Dynasty was also quite large, and the ships built at that time were calculated in terms of length "Zhang", and some large merchants had as many boats as many as a thousand zhangs. In foreign wars, it is possible to dispatch a large fleet of warships, sometimes using thousands of warships in a single operation. Chang'an, the capital of the Western Han Dynasty, was very busy with water traffic, "ten thousand large ships, turning each other", and shipping trade spread throughout the three rivers and five lakes.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > fourth, from the two Han ship models, look at the shipbuilding level of the Han Dynasty</h1>
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the remarkable progress of archaeological excavations, several ship models of the Two Han Dynasties have been excavated in Jiangling, Changsha, Guangzhou and other places, which proves the development of shipbuilding at that time. Between 1973 and 1974, in the Wooden Tomb of the Western Han Dynasty Tukeng on the Phoenix Mountain in Jiangling, Hubei Province, two wooden ship models were excavated, one of which was 71 cm in total length and 10.5 cm in the widest part of the middle, with a narrower head, a slightly wider tail, a flat bottom and a fusiform shape, and a streamlined upward at both ends. This type of boat gives people a beautiful feeling of light hull and fast speed.
In a batch of bamboo janes excavated at the same time as the ship model, there are also several pieces of information that record the boats, such as the "Middle Version", "The Great Slave", "The Big Ship Is Three Oars of Gan", etc., which mentions that there are as many as 10 pieces of bamboo Jane of the "Big Slave" and "櫂", which are studied by the relevant departments and believe that the "Chinese version" is a kind of ship manufactured by the government, and the ship is leased to the owner after the ship is built. They tend to be big businessmen or their agents. These shipowners then hired shipwrights or drove their domestic slaves to support large boats rowed with many oars, running around Yunmeng and Poyang, going back and forth between Bashu and Wuchu, trafficking goods for long distances and making money.
In the Excavation of the Western Han No. 203 Han Tomb excavated in Changsha, a small and medium-sized ship with two ends and a narrow shape was found, its bottom was circular arc-shaped, equipped with 16 oars, and there were regular nail holes on the sides of the ship model and the plates at the end and end, indicating that this ship had adopted the world's advanced nailing technology at that time.
In 1955, in the Eastern Han Dynasty tombs on the outskirts of Guangzhou, a pottery ship model was found, the ship was divided into three cabins, the front, middle and rear cabins, the cabins had a roof, the bow was lined with 3 oars, the cabin had 8 cross-frame beam eaves, the two sides of the ship were equipped with side walkways for supporting fences, the rudder and anchor image were clearly visible, this ship is estimated to be about 20 meters long, is a medium-sized inland river passenger and cargo ship with only part of the deck.
So many ship models have been unearthed in the tombs of the Han Dynasty, which fully explains the development of shipbuilding in the Han Dynasty and the advanced level of shipbuilding technology. However, what better reflects the level of shipbuilding technology in the Han Dynasty is the building ship.
Building ship diagram
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > five- and one-hundred-foot building ships, aircraft carriers of the Han Dynasty</h1>
Lou ship, as the name suggests, is to build a building on the ship, is a very famous ship type in the Han Dynasty. Its construction and development is a sign of the development of shipbuilding technology.
In the autumn of 113 BC, the Han Wudi Emperor Liu Che and his courtiers took a boat to cruise the Fenhe River, chanting poems and composing a poem "Autumn Wind Words", which was written
“...... Pan-lou boats Xi Ji Fen River, horizontal and middle streams Xi Yang Su Bo, drums singing and singing..."
Waiting for the sentence is that he sees the scene and expresses his feelings. In order to show the prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty and promote friendly relations with neighboring countries, Emperor Wu once set up a feast on a large building ship to entertain envoys from various countries. According to the relevant articles in the Book of Han, the drums on the ship are noisy, and the songs and dances are light; The actors performed a gripping and brilliant show that stunned the foreign guests. Just think, if the hull of this kind of building ship is not large, the stability is not enough, the structure is not firm, and the equipment is not good, how can these activities be carried out? There are many types of building ships, generally according to the size of the ship on the deck to build several floors, there is a three-story high ship, each floor has a special name:
"The house on the boat is known as the house, the elephant house is also, the upper room is known as the flying room, the upper room is known as the flying room, and the upper part is the bird and the finch room, waiting in the middle, and the bird and the bird are shocked."
The building ship is also an important ship type for warships. In 120 BC (the 3rd year of the Reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty), Liu Che ordered the construction of a 40-mile-long Kunming Pond in the southwest of Chang'an City, where building boats were built, a water army was trained, and a naval force called "Lou Chuan" was established as a water armed force for the expedition to the south to pacify the feudal forces.
For combat ships, there is a "female wall" about 3 feet high outside each floor, which serves as a bunker for soldiers to defend against enemy bows and arrows. Some women also have arrow holes in their walls that can be fired at the enemy. The surrounding area of the building ship is also made of hard wood "war grid", and the key parts are also covered with leather as a "protective device" on the ship. Battle flags are also planted around the ship, which looks majestic. According to the Book of History and Equality, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "ruled over a ship, more than ten texts high, and the flag was added to it, which was very strong." "In combat, in addition to large building ships, there are also small and medium-sized warships such as Xiandeng, Stern, Red Horse, and Scout, which can be described as the han Dynasty's aircraft carrier battle group, which is very powerful and makes the enemy fearful.
Building ship battle group picture
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >6</h1>
The above examples fully show that China experienced a brief precipitation of shipbuilding technology during the Qin Dynasty, and the prosperity and development of manufacturing technology and shipbuilding in the Han Dynasty, and has already possessed quite advanced production technology, laying a solid foundation for the high development of shipbuilding production in various periods in the future.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > main reference:</h1>
Han Liu Xi "Interpretation of the Name and Release of the Ship"
Huang Shengzhang, "Jian Mu of han tombs in Fenghuangshan, Gangneung and its value in historical geography research", Cultural Relics, No. 6, 1974
Jin Li, "Trial Interpretation of Hanji Bamboo Jane, No. 8 Phoenix Mountain, Gangneung", Cultural Relics, No. 6, 1976