A Brief History of Chinese Navigation

Situated in East Asia and bordered by the western part of the Pacific Ocean, China is seen as both a continental and an oceanic country, with an 18,000-km-long coastline and over 6,500 islands. The Bohai, Huanghai, East, and South seas, which combine to encircle the Chinese land, form a large water area that leads to various of the world's oceans. The Chinese nation, which grew up along the Huang (Yellow) andYangtzerivers, created Chinese civilization by developing from the land and river to the oceans, greatly pushing forward the development of the nation as well as the world.

Canoes of the Eastern Han Dynasty excavated in Huazhou County of Guangdong Province

As early as in the Neolithic Age about 7,000 years ago, the ancestors of Chinese people were already able to conduct sea voyages with their primitive floating tools -- canoes and rafts and rough navigation knowledge, which shows that China, alongside those Mediterranean countries, is the cradle of global maritime culture.

With the availability of wooden boats and sails during the Xia (21-16th century BC), Shang (16-11th century BC), and Zhou (11th century-256BC) dynasties, the ancient people started their voyages to today's Korea peninsula and Japanese islands.

By the Spring and Autumn Period(770-446BC) and theWarring States Period(475-221BC), when ancient navigation was formed, people had already accumulated some knowledge on aspects such as astronomical direction, geographical positioning, and oceanic climate. With the formation of necessary navigation skills and knowledge, maritime transportation and warfare of a relatively large scale emerged.

By the time of the Qin (221-206BC) and Han (206BC-220AD) dynasties, large sea boats had taken the place of wooden sailboats and people were gradually mastering how to sail with the help of wind, thus giving rise to Xu Fu's expedition to Japan during theQin Dynastyas well as his voyage to the Indian Ocean during theWestern Han Dynasty(206BC-24AD).

During the Three Kingdoms Period(220-280), fleets from the Wu State reachedTaiwanand the South Sea, while Fa Xian of theEastern Jin Dynasty(317-420) returned from India by sea. By theNorthern Dynasty(386-581), Chinese fleets had gone as far as the Persian Gulf.

During the Tang Dynasty(618-907), the whole society took on a prosperous scene, with a well-developed economy and a highly civilized culture after the "Gold Years of Zhenguan." Based on a strong national power and advanced shipbuilding technologies, especially the introduction of watertight cabins, China developed maritime navigations with countries in West Asia and coastal countries in Africa. Also, by this time, Arab and African countries could already be directly reached through straight-line navigation instead of the original section (or localized) navigation.

As a result of the wide use of marine compasses, and the application of seafaring knowledge, such as celestial navigation technology and monsoon predictions, plus the development in shipbuilding, especially the employment of watertight cabins, navigators of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) could carry out sea voyages all year round. The Song navigators blazed a trail in starting fromGuangzhouof South China's Guangdong Province andQuanzhouof East China'sFujian Province, then crossing the northern Indian Ocean, and finally reaching Western Asia and Eastern Africa, with the route being of particular importance.

A seaboat of the Southern Song Dynasty, which was excavated in Quanzhou has 13 watertight cabins.

A conspicuous characteristic of China's navigation in theYuan Dynasty(1271-1368) was the important position of grain transport, which was meant to solve the grain shortage in the capital -- Dadu (Beijing) -- and the surrounding areas.

In terms of oceangoing voyages, the Yuan Dynasty surpassed both the Tang and Song dynasties, whether in the scale of the shipbuilding and navigation technologies. The large oceangoing vessels of that time could hold over 1,000 people, and was equipped with dozens of sails. Also at that time, Arabic astronomical navigation techniques were introduced to China, greatly promoting the development of China's navigation technology.
Due to the then positive policy on maritime trade and the great breakthrough in navigation technologies, China took the lead to enter the period of "quantitative navigation." Chinese sailboats reached almost all the seacoasts of the western Pacific and northern Indian oceans, establishing trade relations with 120 countries and regions.

The development of oceangoing navigation in the Yuan Dynasty resulted in a boom of domestic ports, especially the Quanzhou Port, which experienced its most glorious time in history. It was not only the most important port for foreign trade and the first port in the East, but also was the most wellknown port at that time in the world.
Wang Dayuan, a great folk navigator of the Yuan Dynasty, twice sailed from Quanzhou between 1333-1390 for oceangoing voyages, reaching as far as the Arabian Peninsula and coastal areas in East Africa. Upon returning, he compiled Dayi Zhilue for his voyages, covering 96 countries and regions.

During the reigns of emperors Yongle and Xuande of theMing Dynasty(1368-1644),Zheng He, the greatest navigator in China's history, led his oceangoing fleets into the seas of West China seven times, leaving his footsteps in many Asian and African countries. Zheng He's voyages were unparalleled in terms of the scale of his fleets and the treasure boats, the vastness of the areas his voyages had covered, and the level of the navigation technologies.

During the six years between 1405 and 1411, Zheng He's fleets set sail three times, with virtually no rest between voyages. Calling at ports throughout Southeast Asia and India, Zheng He solidified China's relations with countries and regions large and small, particularly in the areas of political and economic exchange. In the wake of Zheng He's voyages, foreign emissaries poured into China to pay return visits. Many of these envoys chose to travel to China on their own ships, rather than on Zheng He's fleets. Sails and masts dotted the South China Sea as Sino-foreign exchange grew with every passing day. During the course of his first three voyages, Zheng He made several stops in Jiugang (Palembang, Indonesia) where he eliminated pirate activities, thus strengthening China's ties with the countries of Southeast Asia and securing the safety of maritime routes through the area.
Zheng He's fleets pioneered numerous new maritime routes, amassing extensive navigational expertise as they sailed from the Western Pacific across the Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. The breakthroughs made by Zheng He put China in the forefront of world navigation. Relying solely upon wooden ships and natural wind power, Zheng He overcame all manner of difficulties at sea. To accomplish this required not only advanced navigational and shipbuilding technology and extensive knowledge of marine conditions, but also the courage to venture into largely uncharted waters. Prior to this time, China's navigators were essentially limited to following coastal routes. Their voyages could not compare to those of Zheng He in any respect, including fleet and crew size, range, and duration.

The new sea routes pioneered by Zheng He during his seven voyages formed a comprehensive maritime transport network. The first three voyages passed through Southeast Asia to reach Calicut, India, a major trading port of the ancient world. With the fourth voyage, Zheng He reached West Asia and East Africa. Zheng He's voyages followed 56 main sea routes and covered a total distance of 15,000 miles. The later voyages continued from Calicut to Liushan (present-day Maldives) and on to the East African coast, reaching ports including Mugudushu (Mogadishu) and Buluwa (Brava) in Somalia; Malindi, Kenya; Bila (Beira), Mozambique; and Sulan in present-day Sufala, Mozambique. It is said that one portion of the fleet even braved the seasonal monsoons to reach the tempestuous waters of Southern Africa. Zheng He's voyages had a historic impact on the development of maritime navigation, and established a solid foundation for future generations of seafarers.

Zheng He's momentous voyages were instrumental in the major rerouting of commerce from the overlandSilk Roadto the maritime Silk Road. His courage, dedication, and spirit of adventure are second to none in the annals of exploration.

It was China's Zheng He who initiated The Century of Seafaring -- that great process of both East and West turning to the sea. Following the routes that he pioneered, great numbers of Chinese people set forth into the world. It was this great exploration of the seas by East and West that ultimately brought the peoples of the world together into a global community.

However, with the conservativeness and rigidity of feudalism, both the later Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties became self-fettered, forbidding any maritime activities and hence impeding the further development of China's navigation cause and the advancement of navigation technologies. Hence, China's navigation gradually fell from the pinnacle of its prosperity.