Cang Shan Chuan (蒼山船, lit. 'Mount Cang ship')
Drawing of a Cang Shan Chuan, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'. |
Cang Shan Chuan, also known as Cang Shan Tie (蒼山鐵, lit.
'Mount Cang iron') and often shortened to Cang Chuan (蒼船), is a type
of small sail-and-oar ship originated from Zhejiang. Although not considered
part of the "Four Great Ancient Ships of China", it was Cang Shan Chuan, rather than the more famous
Niao Chuan (鳥船), that should be seen as the representative ship type from Zhejiang during
Ming period.
Being an extinct ship type, much less is known about Cang Shan Chuan than
other Chinese junks, although information gleaned from written materials
reveals that Cang Shan Chuan has a V- or S-bottom hull that is narrower
than Fu Chuan (福船) but wider than
Sha Chuan (沙船), as well as wide prow and stern. It has two decks, the lowest level of the
ship serves as its ballast, while the berth deck right above serves as
accommodation for ship crew. All nautical operations of Cang Shan Chuan, as
well as primary fighting compartment of militarised version of the ship, are
located on its exposed upper deck, although reinforced superstructure can
still be installed for better protection. A true sail-and-oar ship, Cang Shan
Chuan also comes equipped with ten oars, each rowed by four oarsmen.
Unusually, all of its oars are mounted at the port and starboard quarters,
rather than evenly spread over the entire length of the ship.
Originally built as fishing vessel, Cang Shan Chuan quickly gained favour in
the Ming navy during
Wokou campaign
due to its general robustness (which also gave rise to its "iron" moniker),
all-weather mobility, and ability to traverse shallow waters unreachable by Fu
Chuan. Unfortunately, being one of the smallest Ming warships, Cang Shan Chuan
was seen as merely on par, rather than superior to, Japanese warships, and
therefore ill-suited for ramming attack and boarding action, as it could
neither plough through Japanese ships like its larger cousins from Fujian and
Guangdong, nor carry enough combatants to overwhelm the superior Japanese
warriors in close combat. Nevertheless, Cang Shan Chuan excelled in the roles
of patrolling, scouting, rescue operations, providing harassing firepower,
pursuing fleeing ships, as well as picking dead bodies out of water after a
naval engagement.
Chong Mu Chuan (艟喬船)
Drawing of a Chong Mu Chuan, from 'Deng Tan Bi Jiu (《登壇必究》)'. |
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