Fleet Zheng He

The vast shipbuilding program of Emperor Zhu Di (Yunle era : 1403-1424) was part of the emperor’s energetic foreign policy aimed at enhancing the authority of the “Middle State” (China) and his new Minsk Dynasty , created by his father, among all close and distant neighbors China ^[2] .

Shortly after coming to power, Emperor Yongle launched an extensive shipbuilding program - both for short-sea shipping (in particular, transporting grain from the Yangtze Delta to the Beijing area), fighting pirates off the coast of China and sailing to neighboring Korea, and for long voyages. In May 1403, the emperor ordered the construction of 137 ocean-going ships in Fujian . Three months later, a request was issued for another 200 ships that were to be built in almost all the other southeastern provinces: Jiangsu (in particular, Suzhou ), Jiangxi , Hughuan , Zhejiang and Guangdong . And in October it was announced that another 188 flat-bottomed vessels needed to be converted to access the open sea. In total, from 1403 to 1407. 1.681 ships ^{[3] [4]} were built or refitted for sailing on the high seas.

The construction of the largest ships known as “treasure ships” ( Chinese рр 宝船 , pinyin : bǎochuán , pall .: Baochuan ) was launched at the Longjiang Shipyard (“Dragon River”). This huge enterprise is located right under the walls of the then capital, Nanjing , on the Qinhuai River ( 秦淮 ) near its confluence with the Yangtze ^[4] .

There are different opinions among historians about the number of ships in the Zheng He fleet. For example, the author of the popular biography Zheng He ( Levathes, 1994 , p. 82), following many other authors (for example, the authoritative history of the Minsk era ^[6] , calculates the composition of the fleet that participated in the first expedition of Zheng He (1405-1407) as 317 vessels, folding 62 treasure ships referred to in the “ History of Mines ” with “250 ships” and “5 ships” for ocean voyages, the order of which is described in other sources of the period. However, E. Dreyer , analyzing the sources, believes that folding way figures from different sources are incorrect, and in reality the mention of '250 ships' means all vessels ordered for the expedition ^[7] . However, the fact that such a discussion demonstrates the paucity of existing information on the fleet of Zheng He.

There are disagreements on the composition of the fleet that participated in subsequent expeditions: a number of historians believe that some of them involved much less ships than the first, ^[8] while it follows from the analysis of E. Dreyer that all expeditions had a similar set of vessels: 40-60 huge “treasure ships” and about 200 ships of the usual sizes for Chinese sailors and shipbuilders ^[9] . (Dreyer does not make a detailed estimate of the size of these “ordinary” vessels, but the sizes of vessels of the earlier - Sun and Yuan - eras known to us from written and archaeological sources are discussed by other historians; see below .)

The descendants are most interested in the largest ships of the Zheng He fleet, which in modern sources were known to him, as a rule, as “treasure ships” (“baochuan”). According to sources about the first two navies of the fleet, 62 or 63 ships were assigned to this class.

Little is known about what these “treasure ships” actually were. Sources, however, invariably mention that the "treasures" - or at least the largest of them - were huge. According to the biography of Zheng He in the official “ History of Mines ” (compiled, however, 300 years later), they were 44 zhangs (that is, 440 chi ) long and 18 zhangs wide; the novelist Luo Maoden gives a more “symbolic” number for the length, 44 Zhang and 4 Chi (that is, 444 Chi) ^{[3] [10]} . To show that such a huge size is not a census of a scribe (or woodcarver), some sources write the number 44 in “ large numbers ” ^[11] , that is, 肆拾 肆 instead of the usual 四 十四^[10] .

It is not known how to accurately translate this data into the metric system, since at the time of Zheng He, along with the “standard” Chi Minh era (about 31.1 cm), there were other variants of this measure of length. Somehow, shipbuilders in Jiangsu province (where Nanjing is located), who built flat-bottomed ships for trade with Korea, usually used the Huaihei chi (about 33.8 cm), while in Fujian (where the trade with the southern seas was mainly from), chi was used 26.7-28 cm long. According to E. Dreyer, modern historians are inclined to interpret the size of Zheng He's ships in terms of shorter Fujian chi ^[3] . But even assuming a chi for 26.7 cm, we get for flagships Zheng He not less than 117 m long and 48 m wide — that is, twice as long as the largest European sailing wooden ships, three-deck ships of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries ^[12] . (See also List of world's largest wooden ships ). Vessels of this size would be significantly wider than the maximum width of a vessel capable of passing through the modern Panama Canal ( Panamax size standard).

Sources do not provide any information on the size of Zheng He's ships in the third, vertical, dimension. However, since they were built and based in Nanjing , and repeatedly went from there to the sea along the Yangtze (including in winter, at low water ), their draft could not exceed 7-7.5 m. It is also known that the Zheng He fleet visited Palembang in Sumatra , where to go up the Musi River. We don’t know whether Zheng He’s flagships went all the way to Palembang, or if they stood on a roadstead in Bangka Strait while less draft ships were sailing up Musi; but at least the draft of ships reaching Palembang could not exceed 6 m ^[5] .

Even in the “minimum” assumptions compatible with the figures from the History of Mines (that is, 1 chi = 10.5 inches and a draft of 20 feet = 6 meters), E. Dreyer estimates the displacement of the flagships of the Zheng He fleet at 19 thousand tons. Naturally, assuming a higher chi value and a greater draft of ships, even larger estimates of displacement are obtained ^[13] .

The huge size of Zheng He's “treasures” (at least the largest of them), which Minsk sources report, has caused, and continues to cause, a lot of controversy among shipbuilding historians. For a reader familiar with European ships, the proportions of these vessels, that is, an unusually wide hull in proportion to its length or draft, are also surprising. For example, the proposed treasure ships are comparable in length to such sailing giants of the early XX century. as " Prussia " (which, however, had steel hulls and auxiliary steam engines to control the sails (via steel cables)). The draft of the “treasury” was apparently only slightly less than the “Prussia” (8.26 m), but the Minsk giant was three times wider than the German windjammer (16.3 m) ^[1] .

However, such proportions are not unusual for China, where wide and relatively flat-bottomed vessels for navigation along the Yellow and East China Sea were built from ancient times. For example, in 1973, near Quanzhou ( Fujian province ), the remains of a vessel of the late Sung era (not earlier than 1272) were found, 34 meters long and 9.8 meters wide ^[14] (according to other sources, 24 by 9 meters, then there is with a proportion of length: width = 2.6 ^[15] ) (See also: Quanzhou ship )

The frame of a traditional European vessel can be likened to a tree - with a powerful longitudinal keel , acting as a trunk, to which, like branches, both the frame of the sides and the mast were attached. The structure of the traditional Chinese junky , with a flat bottom and transverse watertight bulkheads (which played a structural role, and to which the masts were attached), can most likely be compared to a bamboo trunk ^{[10] [16]} .

It is mentioned that the treasure ships had 9 masts, bearing, together, 12 sails. Based on information about the Chinese shipbuilding tradition, historians believe that they were not located in one row, along the main axis of the ship (as on European ships), but in three diagonal rows ^[17] .

Physical evidence

There is little physical evidence that the treasure ships were indeed as large as the Minsk stories say. However, in 1962, during excavations at the site of the Longjiang shipyard in Nanjing, a rudder axis of 11 m was discovered; the rudder feather (which did not reach us) was attached to a 6-meter segment of the axis ^[18] . According to Chinese archaeologists, this would correspond to a rudder feather size of about 42.5 m² ^[18] . Relying on the proportion of the famous (smaller) Chinese vessels and their rudders, the Chinese archaeologist Zhou Shide calculated that such a giant rudder would fit a vessel with a keel length of 480-536 chi (that is, 149-166 meters) ^{[18] [19]} Joseph Needham , a well-known science and technology expert on ancient China, took the Zhou expedition without question ^[20] , but according to other shipbuilding experts of old China, Christopher Wake or Xin Yuanou, Zhou's arithmetic is not very correct, since he extrapolates from ships of completely different proportions than those that wake counts t likely to ship Zheng He ^[18] . ^[21]

In addition, the dimensions of the dry docks of the Nanjing Longjiang shipyard are known. There were 7 docks, 450 meters long; most of them were from 27 to 37 meters wide, but two of them were 64 meters wide, which would allow working on vessels 50 meters wide ^[22] .

On a flat-bottomed vessel without a keel, it would be difficult to sail at an angle to the wind, since it would experience severe drift in the transverse direction ( leeway ). To reduce this, the rudder of Chinese ships was replaced to some extent by the keel: it could be raised and lowered, and when sailing at a sufficient depth, its lower edge was at a deeper depth than the bottom of the vessel (whereas on European ships the rudder height was fixed , and its lower edge was flush with the bottom of the vessel). In the fully lowered position, the steering wheel also performed its steering functions more efficiently ^[23] .

To reduce lateral drift and increase stability on rat-free vessels, lateral shverts ( leeboards ), which were lowered into the water from the ship’s sides, were also used ^[24] .

Nevertheless, historians believe that the Zheng He fleet, built on the principles developed by Chinese shipbuilders in coastal seas, was mainly designed to travel along the relatively calm coastal seas and estuaries of East and South Asia. Its longest crossings on the high seas were through the South China Sea (from China to Southeast Asia), the Bay of Bengal (between the northern tip of Sumatra and Ceylon) and the Arabian Sea (between Ceylon or South India and the Persian Gulf, Arabia, and the African Horn) - that is, along traditional trade routes with the well-known and more or less predictable regime of stable monsoon winds. On such ships it was hardly possible to sail, for example, in the Roaring Forties , around Cape Horn ^[25] .

Some experts believe that the traditional size of treasure ships - 440 or 444 chi in length, with an exorbitant width of 180 chi - does not go back to the real sources of the 15th century, but only to the semi-fantastic novel by Luo Maoden ^[27] .

A modern proponent of such a skeptical approach, Christopher Wake, suggests that it is much better to model Zheng He's ships on a ship of the 1270s, the remains of which were found in 1973 at the bottom of the river lip near Quanzhou . The dimensions of this three-masted cargo ship were, according to archaeologists, 34 m in length and 9.8 m in width. The ship had a round rather than flat bottom. Assuming a draft of 3 m, Wake estimates the volume of the holds of this ship to be about 325 m³ ^{[14] [28]} .

Wake notes the similarity of the size of the ship from Quanzhou with passenger ships (客 舟, Kechzhou), which saunas diplomats sailed (ie 31 m by 7.7 m) ^[14] . They had a lower cargo capacity than the cargo ship from Quanzhou (about 130 m³), ​​since most of the hull was occupied by the premises for the crew; however, they had a fairly high setting (3 Zhangs — comparable to the ship from Quanzhou) at the stern, where passengers were accommodated ^[14] . According to Wake, a significant share of the Zheng He fleet could be precisely cargo and passenger ships, quite similar to these two types (cargo - like a ship from Quanzhou, passenger - like a kezhou ), although it is possible, and slightly increased in size. He believes that ships of the Quanzhou type could well be increased to 40 m in length, while maintaining proportions, which would give a cargo volume of approx. 770 m³ ^[29] .

The largest vessels of Zheng He, that is, the legendary treasure ships, could, according to Wake, be about twice the size of the ship from Quanzhou in each linear dimension ^[30] , that is, approximately 68 m in length ^[29] . In his opinion, they would be similar to merchant ships from the same Quanzhou, which were described by Marco Polo ^[30] . According to Marco Polo, such vessels could take on board 5000-6000 "baskets" ( Italian sporta ) of pepper; Wake, who believes that the Venetian basket was 225 kg, estimates this load to be about 2,600 m³ ^{[30] [31]} .

It is believed that the construction of such giant ships in the Yongle era was not unprecedented for China. In particular, there is evidence of the existence of vessels of 20 Zhangs in the Tang era, and almost 40 Zhangs in the time of the Song Dynasty ^[10] .

It is alleged that the passenger ships (客 舟, kechzhou) of the Suna emperor Huizong (rules 1100-1126) were 10 zhangs in length and 2.5 zhangs in width ^{[10] [20]} , (that is, 31 m by 7.7 m ^[14] ) and the “divine ships” (神舟, Shenzhou) that were sent to his kingdom with embassies in neighboring countries were three times larger. ^{[10] [20]}

As for non-navigable vessels, they could be even more than the "treasury" of Zheng He. Some authors argue that for recreation and entertainment of high-ranking persons of the Suna empire on West Lake Hangzhou there were pleasure boats up to 50 Zhangs in length ^[10] . However, according to other authorities, the largest ships that existed in China before the Minsk dynasty were wheeled vessels that were used on the Yangtze against pirates in the 13th century and reached 360 chi in length and 41 chi in width ^[14] .

Reliable historical sources do not provide a detailed description of other vessels (except for "treasuries") that were part of the Zheng He fleet. Тем не менее некоторые авторы воспринимают серьёзно список, приводимый Ло Маодэном в его историко-фантастическом романе «История о плавании Великого евнуха Саньбао в Западный океан» («三宝太监西洋通俗演义记», или просто "西洋记", «История о Западном океане», 1597 г). Согласно этому роману, во флоте Чжэн Хэ было лишь четыре 9-мачтовых 44-чжановых «корабля сокровищ». Другие же суда флота делились на следующие классы:

• Конские корабли: (马船, Machuan) Восьмимачтовые суда, 102 метров длиной и 41 метров шириной. Назывались так ввиду того, что эти корабли по китайской традиции перевозили коней и разнообразные товары, предназначенные для принесения в дар во время дипломатических переговоров. Также на них мог находился продовольственный запас экспедиции и фураж.
• Грузовые корабли: Семимачтовые, длиной в 77 метров, шириной в 35. Перевозили продовольствие для личного состава.
• Танкеры для питьевой воды
• Корабли для перевозки войск: Шестимачтовые, 66 метров в длину и 25 в ширину.
• Военные корабли: (Fuchuan) Пятимачтовые, 50 метров в длину.
• Сторожевой корабль: Боевой корабль с восемью парами весел, в длину имел около 36 метров ^[32] .

Однако критически настроенные историки полагают, что роман Ло Маодэна, написанный более полутора столетий после путешествий Чжэн Хэ, и включающий много фантастических элементов (флот состоит из 1.476 ^[33] или 1.456 ^{[34] [35]} судов; суда могли быть построены лишь с помощью божественного мастера Лу Баня ; ^[36] достигнув Аравии, моряки продолжают несколько месяцев плыть на запад, и в некоей туманной и заснеженной стране встречаются с сатаной ^[37] ), не следует использовать как источник какой-либо фактической информации ^[38] . В то же время российский китаист А. В. Вельгус , указывал, что в романе Ло Маодэна много фантастики, но в некоторых описаниях автор определённо пользовался данными исторических и географических источников. Так, в частях романа, относящихся к Африке, Ло Маодэн, как указывает А. В. Вельгус, почти в слово в слово повторяет тексты из сочинения Фэй Синя «Достопримечательные края, виденные во время плаваний на звездном плоту» («Синь ча шэн лань», 1436 г.). Ло Маодэн приводит тексты грамот местных правителей Могадишо , Джубы , Бравы , адресованных китайскому императору. Поэтому, А. В. Вельгус приходит к заключению, несмотря на вымысел, не все в его романе является фантастикой, и учитывать сведения из этого романа при определённом критическом подходе к ним — не лишнее ^[39] .

Суда-сокровищницы отличались своими размерами, но не скоростью. В благоприятных условиях, например при плавании с зимним муссоном из Фуцзяни в Юго-восточную Азию, флот Чжэн Хэ развивал среднюю скорость около 2,5 узлов (4.6 км/ч); на многих других отрезках его маршрута фиксировалась значительно меньшая средняя скорость, порядка 1,4-1,8 узла ^[40] .

Как отмечают историки, эти скорости были сравнительно низкими по меркам позднейших европейских парусных флотов, даже в сравнении с линейными кораблями , которые строились с упором на силу вооружения, а не на скорость. К примеру, в 1809 г эскадра адмирала Нельсона, состоявшая из 10 линейных кораблей , пересекла Атлантический океан со средней скоростью 4,9 узла ^[41] .

Основные источники (современные биографии Чжэн Хэ, и статьи по теме)

• Dreyer, Edward L. (2007), Zheng He: China and the oceans in the early Ming dynasty, 1405-1433 , The library of world biography, Pearson Longman, ISBN 0321084438  
• Levathes, Louise (1994), When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405–1433 , Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-511207-5  
• Wake, Christopher (2004), "The Myth of Zheng He's Great Treasure Ships", International Journal of Maritime History Т. 16 (1): 59—75  

• Wake, Christopher (1997), "The Great Ocean-going Ships of Southern China in the Age of Chinese Maritime Voyaging to India, Twelfth to Fifteenth", International Journal of Maritime History Т. 9 (2): 51—81   (также абстракт на с. 240—242) (Статья содержит данные об археологическом корабле из Цюаньчжоу, и аргументирует гипотезу, что суда из Цюаньчжоу, описанные Марко Поло, были примерно в 2 раза больше в каждом измерении)

• Church, Sally K. (2005), " Zheng He: An investigation into the plausibility of 450-ft treasure ships ", Monumenta Serica Т. LIII: 1—43 , < http://www.chengho.org/downloads/SallyChurch.pdf >   Архивная копия от 25 июля 2011 на Wayback Machine

Прочие источники

Books

• Tsai, Shih-Shan Henry (2002), Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle , University of Washington Press, ISBN ISBN 0295981245 , < https://books.google.com.au/books?id=aU5hBMxNgWQC >  
• Chan, Hok-Lam (1988), "Chapter 4: The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsüan-te reigns" , in Mote, Frederick W.; Twitchett, Denis & Fairbank, John King, The Cambridge history of China: The Ming dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1 , Volume 7 of The Cambridge History of China, Cambridge University Press, с. 182—304, ISBN 0521243327 , < https://books.google.com/books?id=tyhT9SZRLS8C&pg=PA641 >  
• Needham, Joseph (1971), "29, "Nautical technology"" , Science and civilisation in China: Physics and physical technology , vol. 4, Cambridge University Press, с. 477—484, ISBN 0521070600 , < https://books.google.com/books?id=l6TVhvYLaEwC&pg=PA477 >  

Газетные статьи

• Kahn, Joseph (2005), " China Has an Ancient Mariner to Tell You About ", The New York Times , < https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/20/international/asia/20letter.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all >   (eng.)

• Динара Дубровская, « Сокровищницы адмирала Чжэн Хэ ». Журнал «Вокруг Света» / Август 2008.