Chinese treasure ship

"Baochuan" redirects here. For the city in Korea, see Pocheon.

Sketch of four-masted Zheng He's ship
History
Ming dynasty
Name2,000 liao da bo (lit. large ship), hai po, hai chuan (lit. sea going ship)
Ordered1403
BuilderLongjiang shipyards, Ming dynasty
In service1405
Out of service1433
NotesParticipated in:
  • First voyage of Zheng He (1405–1407)
  • Second voyage of Zheng He (1407–1409)
  • Third voyage of Zheng He (1409–1411)
  • Fourth voyage of Zheng He (1412–1415)
  • Fifth voyage of Zheng He (1416–1419)
  • Sixth voyage of Zheng He (1421–1422)
  • Seventh voyage of Zheng He (1431–1433)
General characteristics
Class and typeArmed merchant ship[1]
Displacement800 tons
Tons burthen500 tons
Length166 ft (50.60 m)
Beam24.3 ft (7.41 m)
Draught8.1 ft (2.47 m)
Propulsion4 masts[2]
Sail planJunk rig
Complement200–300 person[3]
Armament24 cannons[4]
NotesReferences: Tonnages,[5] dimensions[6]
Early 17th century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships. The ships are depicted with 7 masts, but only 4 sails used.
History
Ming dynasty
Name5,000 liao ju bo (lit. giant ship), baochuan (lit. gem ship)
OrderedBefore 1412
BuilderLongjiang shipyards, Ming dynasty
In service1412
Out of service1433
NotesParticipated in:
  • Fourth voyage of Zheng He (1412–1415)
  • Fifth voyage of Zheng He (1416–1419)
  • Sixth voyage of Zheng He (1421–1422)
  • Seventh voyage of Zheng He (1431–1433)
General characteristics
Class and typeArmed merchant ship[1]
Displacement3100 tons
Tons burthen1860 tons
Length71.1 m (233.3 ft)
Beam14.05 m (46.1 ft)
Draught6.1 m (20.0 ft)
Propulsion6–7 masts[7][8]
Sail planJunk rig
Complement500–600 person[9][10]
Armament24 cannons[4]
NotesReferences: Voyages,[11] tonnages,[12] dimensions[13]

A Chinese treasure ship (simplified Chinese: 宝船; traditional Chinese: 寶船; pinyin: bǎochuán, literally "gem ship"[14]) is a type of large wooden Chinese junk in the fleet of admiral Zheng He, who led seven voyages during the early 15th-century Ming dynasty. The size of the treasure ships, the largest ships in Zheng He's fleet, has been a subject of much controversy, with some old Chinese records mentioning the size of 44 zhang or 44.4 zhang, which has been interpreted by some modern scholars as over 100 m (330 ft) in length, while others have stated that Zheng He's largest ship was around 70 m (230 ft) or less.[15]

  1. ^ a b Lo 2012, p. 114.
  2. ^ Wake, June 2004: 63, quoting Guan Jincheng, 15 January 1947: 49
  3. ^ Church 2005, p. 16.
  4. ^ a b Levathes 1994, p. 81-82.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Xin Yuanou 2002, p.8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Suryadinata 2005, p. 135.
  7. ^ Depiction on the 天妃经 (Tian Fei Jing) or "Heavenly Princess Classics" from ca. 1420, which depicted ships with six masts.
  8. ^ Depiction on the 17th century woodblock print
  9. ^ Mills 1970, p. 2.
  10. ^ Finlay 1992, p. 227.
  11. ^ Wake 2004, p. 74.
  12. ^ Wake 2004, p. 64, 75.
  13. ^ Ming 2011, p. 15.
  14. ^ Wake 2004, p. 75.
  15. ^ Ling, Xue (July 12, 2022). Li, Ma; Limin, Wu; Xiuling, Pei (eds.). "郑和大号宝船到底有多大？ (How big was Zheng He's large treasure ship?)" (PDF). 扬子晚报 (Yangtze Evening News).