UPDATED SEPTEMBER 17, 2022
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| Drawing of a Ba La Hu Chuan with a curved bow, from 'Jing Guo Xiong Lue (《經國雄略》)'. |
The name
Ba La Hu (叭喇唬) came from the Chinese transcription of Malay word "Perahu", often shortened to
Hu Chuan (唬船). This small sail-and-oar ship was the Chinese adoption of Southeast Asian
Proa, characterised by deep V-shaped hull and full keel despite the relatively small size of the boat, identical (i.e. double-ended) and strongly raised prow and stern, double-outrigger, as well as soft sails. Ba La Hu Chuan was extremely nimble and unusually stable for a ship of its size, making it an invaluable tool against
Wokou (倭寇). In fact, Wokou feared this small ship, which they called
Ruan Fan (軟帆, soft sail).
Chinese shipwrights seem to adopted the design of Ba La Hu Chuan through indirect sources, possibly from the Portuguese who hired (or enslaved) the Malays as sailors and navigators following the
conquest of Malacca.
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