Fu Ship： From Memory to Craft

Written by Journalist of Knowledge is Power， LIU Weiqiong

Photographed by LIN Peizong

Fu Ship is the common name of sea boats with sharp bottom in the costal area of Fujian and Zhejiang， which is among the 4 major ship types of ancient China （Fu Ship， Sha Ship， Niao Ship and Guang Ship）. At that time， ZHENG He's voyages were conducted by ship. Fu-boat with its advanced technology of "watertight compartment"， is viewed as an important witness of China's most ocean-going merchant ships and ancient maritime Silk Road.

Watertight compartment craft is a great invention in the history of human shipbuilding， playing a revolutionary role to improve the safety of navigation. This tradition has been preserved in Quanzhou for thousands of years， and in 2010 was included in the UNESCO "Urgent Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage". Journalist of Knowledge is Power made a special trip to Fengwei town， Quangang District， Quanzhou， taking us close to the inheritance of the Millennium shipbuilding skills！

Chinese stunt - watertight compartment

The so-called watertight compartment， is the construction of the vessel， with the local rich timber （usually camphor and fir） across the cabin transverse space into a small space between the wood with tussah and tung oil ash to fill in order to ensure that the compartment has a good airtight. The number of compartments to be determined according to the size of the vessel， usually 11 to 13.

What are the advantages of doing so？ Firstly， when the ship hit the rocks and other accidents， the cabin will not completely filled with water， and will still be able to maintain considerable buoyancy， will not sink， so as to protect the lives of the crew and improve the safety performance of the ship voyage. Secondly， the ship subdivision， different types of goods can be placed in different compartment， for loading and unloading and management of goods provided a great convenience. Thirdly， the deck plate is closely connected with the hull shell plate， which plays the role of strengthening the hull， not only increasing the overall transverse strength of the ship， but also replacing the step of adding ribs to simplify the shipbuilding process.

Unique Characteristic of Fu Ship

1The most prominent feature is that the bottom is pointed while the front is with a small square head and the quadratic end is large and broad.

2Under the cross-section of the keelsthere are 8 “holes to increase the life expectancy”， 1 large， 7 small， arranged as "seven stars surrounding the moon". Inside the holes placed bronze mirror， coins， iron， grain， red cloth， silk and other objects ， meaning auspicious luck and plain sailing.

3Commonly Fu Ship uses traditional sub-format watertight cabin structure with partitions near the bottom of the keel， two “navels” at both sides， left and right， both drainage， but can also block leak.

4In addition to the superposition of the board with the tenon joint， but also with nails reinforcement， and tung oil ash mixed rub silk thread crowded sticky seam， to prevent leakage. In the bottom of the ship floor will be coated with a layer of lime water to protect the bottom of the ship， to prevent corrosion.

5According to the location of the ship's functions， "Zodiac" hint signs are set in sequence from the beginning to the end， so that mariners in the operation can quickly fit into the clear post and the captain can also command orders using "Zodiac" as a metaphor.

Skills of Ancient Ships Inherited by Generations

Quanzhou watertight compartment skills was moved in Fengwei City， Quangang District in the reign of Hongwu and then handed down from generation to generation. With the shrinking of the wooden shipbuilding industry， in order to protect and inherit the manufacturing skills of Fu Ship， the ancient ship model has become a new cultural industry. According to Huang 's traditional shipbuilding craft， various fishing boats and merchant ships are scaled down and carved into various ship models by hand which are equipped with unique and prominent local cultural characteristics.

Black Ship

The most distinctive ancient ship model is the "black ship". Black ship is originated from the shape of the gun barrels on the official ship of Yuan and Ming Dynasty， which got its name due to the fact that two sides of the ancient ship are painted in black. These official ships undertake the task of patrolling the sea， fight against the bandits and foreign aggression. The black ships imitated in Fengwei resemble the offical ships if looking in the distance so that bandits dare not rashly attack. These ships are not only equipped with adequate firearms but also sharpshooter escort who fight bravely against pirates. These ships were so famous along the coastal areas and frightened the pirate ships.

Warship of ZHENG Chenggong

The treasure ship ZHENG He doesnt mean that the ship is well decorated， while it got its name because ZHENG He is San Bao eunuch. In 1405 （the third year of Yongles reign）， ZHENG He led a large fleet and began their first voyage. The fleet has a total of more than 200 ships which includes 62 large-scale ships， the number of sailors and military are over 20，000. The largest captain is 44 feet （about 147 meters） and 18 feet wide （about 60 meters）， with nine masts and twelve sails， which is able to carry about 1，000 tons and accommodate thousands of people. It was the world's largest vessel. Boat fleet is large-scale， skillful in maritime navigation， vast in terms of maritime region， whose political， cultural， economic impact receive the world's attention.