Clayton Garland - The Historical Significance of Boats in Ancient China

The Historical Significance of Boats in Ancient China

When observing the scroll in its intended nature of from right to left, the ships and boats are one of the first large scenes that are observed. The use, documentation, and depiction of these ships hold deep importance to the Song dynasty, where the original scroll was developed. Although this is a Qing Dynasty recreation of the original 12th century Song Dynasty scrolls. The boats in this specific piece are a combination of passenger boats and cargo boats, both showing and having different purposes among the Song Dynasty. The difference is the larger commercial cargo ships have high masts that are unable to travel under the bridges, where there are other boats “flat ‘west river” boats (Johnson, 1996, p.169). The main focus of this essay will be the cargo ships, as they show much more than just technological advancements, but also advancements in transportation and trade. The number, size, and loads of cargo of the ships in the Qingming Shanghe Tu show a clear emphasis on these ships which is meant to grab the audience's attention. 

 The Chinese were master shipbuilders and took pride in this remarkable advancement in technology that was able to change the world of trade, both import and export for the greater good (Asia for Educators, 2021). Improvements in the watertight bulkheads allowed for the transportation of much larger and heavier cargo (Asia for Educators, 2021). This improvement is essential to the concept of trade, allowing for so much more cargo to be transported into the city than they would be able to by cart. The piece shows this difference, highlighting this amazing feature. The spring was an important time for the transportation of grain within the Song Dynasty, using this painting to emphasize this progress in trade(Hsingyuan, 2003, p.161). On the banks of the river many people are seen unloading and moving cargo to and from the ships, showing the emphasis on import/export within the city’s economy(Hsingyuan, 2003, p.161). The carts being shown, even the singular cart seen in the city to be using more than a dozen animals to pull (the largest cart in the scroll) has nowhere near the amount of cargo the singular cargo ship near the rainbow bridge has on board. This difference in the scroll shows the importance of this advancement in transportation. It is clear by the number of cargo ships within the scroll, from off in the distance of the open water to within the city walls, that this was a major part of the Song Dynasty economy and a central piece of daily life within the city. 

Another important aspect of the ships in this scroll can be seen all the way to the right of the scroll, one of the first objects seen on the scroll. There are two ships far off in the distance of the river before the canal. The reason this is significant is to show the distance these ships are coming from. The reference to this spacing within the open water that appears to stretch forever as it reaches the edge of the scroll proves that these ships were not simply moving cargo short distances, but rather had the technology to navigate open waters to reach the canal and transport goods over long distances. Many of the ships are believed to be carrying produce and other goods from the Yangzi Valley into the capital (Johnson, 1996, p.165). This brings in the connection to the Chinese compass, which is claimed to enter into use around 1119 (Asia for Educators, 2021). Such a simple aspect of this piece leads to a much deeper dive into Chinese naval and navigational intelligence, the ability to navigate open waters and reach their destination in such large quantities of ships shows that they must have had access to a system of navigation that resulted in much more precise travel.

Bibliography

  1. Hsingyuan, Tsao. “Unraveling the Mystery of the Handscroll ‘Qingming Shange Tu.’” Journal of Song-Yuan Studies, no. 33 (2003): 155–79. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23496111.
  2. Johnson, Linda Cooke. “THE PLACE OF ‘QINGMING SHANGHE TU’ IN THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SONG DYNASTY DONGJING.” Journal of Song-Yuan Studies, no. 26 (1996): 145–82. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23496051.
  3. “Technological Advances during the Song.” Article of Asia for Educators, (2021) http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/songdynasty-module/tech-compass.html.