Chinese Sailing Ships
China was the first country to use rudders on ships, they invented the lee-board, water-tight compartments, single masts and square sails. They devised the system of fore and aft rigging, Chinese sails were made of bamboo battens and matting and could be rolled up easily. The ancient Chinese sailing ship, the junk, is still used today. They also invented the compass in the 4th Century. Chinese ships traded along the coast of China as early as the 5th Century BC. Large fleets of junks transported rice along the many canals from south China to the northern cities.
Chinese maritime trading ships ventured into the Indian Ocean from south-west China ports. They traded with Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the 4th Century. During the Tang dynasty Chinese ships sailed to the Phillippines, Indonesia, through the straits of Malacca to India and Arab ports where they traded silk, porcelain and spices. In the 15th Century Ming admirals sailed to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the east coast of Africa. But after this period Chinese sea trade and exploration was severely curtailed by orders of the emperor. In the 17th Century, western trading ships began appearing in Chinese ports but subsequently foreign trade was strictly controlled by the Chinese authorities.
The most famous Chinese sailor is Admiral Zheng He (or Cheng Ho) who led seven voyages of exploration in the 15th Century for his emperor, Yongle. Zheng He's ships were built in Nanjing and were the largest that had ever put to sea. Some of them were more than 150 meters long and 50 meters wide. Because of Zheng He's exploration voyages more than 36 countries became tributaries of China and trade flourished between China and these vassal states.
Pirates had been raiding Chinese coastal ports as early as the Sung dynasty. They attacked grain ships and other trading vessels. There were also many lucrative smuggling operations due to the high duties and taxes that were levied on traders and goods. Early Ming emperors built up the Chinese Navy to capture the pirates and smugglers who often could escape the Navy with smaller, faster sailing ships.
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