Treasure ship

A Spanish treasure fleet is being loaded with riches

A Treasure ship is the name for a type of large wooden vessel commanded by the Chinese admiral Zheng He on seven voyages in the early fifteenth century. Scholars disagree about the factual accuracy and correct interpretation of accounts of the treasure ships.^[1][2]

The purported dimensions of these ships at 137 m (450 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft wide)^[3] are at least twice as long as the largest European ships at the end of the sixteenth century and 40% longer and 65 per cent wider than the largest wooden ships known to have been built at any time anywhere else^[4]

Accounts of treasure ships

Early 17th century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships.

The modern understanding of the ships derives from empirical and theoretical knowledge of the technical limitations of wooden sailing ships, historical Chinese records and accounts from European travelers who visited China around this time. However, there is debate amongst scholars about how these records should be interpreted. Some accounts suggest that treasure ships may have first appeared as early as the Song dynasty (宋朝) (960-1279). The modern analysis of the shape and structure of these ships is based on the contemporary Tian Fei Jing (The Worship of the Celestial Spouse) and the Wubei Zhi (The Records of Armanents and Military Provisions)^[5]

If the accounts can be taken as factual, Zheng He's treasure ships were mammoth ships with nine masts and four decks, capable of accommodating more than 500 passengers, as well as a massive amount of cargo. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta in their translated accounts described multi-masted ships carrying 500 to 1000 passengers ^[6] Niccolò Da Conti, a contemporary of Zheng He, was also an eyewitness of ships in Southeast Asia, claiming to have seen 5 masted junks weighing about 2000 tons^[7] Zheng He's fleet included 300 ships, including 62 treasure ships, some of which were said to have been 137 m (450 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide.^[8][9][10] There are even some sources that claim some of the treasure ships might have been as long as 600 feet (180 m).^[11][12] On the ships, there were more than 28,000 people, including navigators, explorers, sailors, doctors, workers, and soldiers. Chinese records assert that Zheng He's fleet travelled extensively, sailing as far as East Africa.

Criticism

Some scholars argue that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was 450 feet (140 m) in length, some estimating that it was 390-408 feet long and 160-166 feet wide instead ^[13] while others put them as 200-250 feet in length^[14][15], since in later historical periods ships approaching the extreme sizes claimed for the treasure ships (such as HMS Orlando and the schooner Wyoming) were unwieldy and visibly undulated with the waves, even with steel braces. According to many advocates, the actual length of the ships has been estimated to as short as 59 m (~200 feet), about half the length of previous claims^[15][16]

One explanation for the seemingly inefficient size of these colossal ships was that the largest 44 Zhang Treasure Ships were merely used by the Emperor and imperial bureaucrats to travel along the Yangtze for court business, including reviewing Zheng He's expedition fleet. The Yangtze river, with its calmer waters, may be sailable for these Treasure Ships. Zheng He, a court eunuch, would not have the privilege in rank to command the largest of these ships, seaworthy or not. The main ships of Zheng He's fleet were instead 6 masted 2000-liao ships. This would give a burthen of 500 tons and a displacement tonnage of about 800 tons^{[5] [15][17]}

Fate of the treasure ships

Zheng He returned from his voyages to find a new emperor. The new culture turned inwards.^{[citation needed]}

After Zheng He's voyages, the treasure ships were decommissioned, and sat in harbours until they rotted away.^{[citation needed]} Some suggest that Confucian scholars ordered that many of the treasure ships be burned.^{[citation needed]} Chinese craftsmen subsequently lost the technology of building such large vessels.^{[citation needed]}

Replica

The story of the treasure ships has captured popular imagination, both in China and in the West. In fact, a 233.3-foot (71.1 m) replica of a treasure ship was being built in Nanjing and was completed in time for the 2008 Olympic Games.^[18]

References

Further reading

• 1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies.

• Traditions and Encounters - A Global Perspective on the Past by Bentley and Ziegler.

• When China Ruled the Seas: Treasure Fleets of the Dragon Throne by Louise Levathes