The Princess Tai Ping Crosses the Pacific Ocean
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And now for something completely different!
After sailing across the Pacific Ocean in a 15th century Chinese junk, Captain Nelson Liu and his crew of seven on the Princess Tai Ping spent their last few days at the San Diego Maritime Museum before making their way to Hawaii and eventually back to Japan and Taipei.
The 54 foot, 35 ton Fujian style warship, built and launched from Xiamen using the same materials as their ancestors, is following the conjectured route of 15th century Chinese admiral Zheng He who, according to some theories, may have arrived on the North American West Coast long before Cabrillo.
The voyage across the Pacific took 69 days along a route following the easterly trade winds north of the Hawaiian Islands. Though they had planned to make landfall in Seattle, a wild storm pushed them further south to Eureka and from there to San Francisco. From there they sailed south to San Diego where I had a chance to see the ship and visit with the crew.
The crew, a mix of Taiwanese and Chinese along with one American, showed a warm hospitality to visitors, taking them onboard and explaining the workings of the vessel.
Captain Liu, who is from Taipei, said that most of the crew had never sailed before, but it wasn’t an issue since no one has experience sailing a 15th Century junk! He had a calm personality and it was easy to see that he would be a joy to sail with; no Captain Bligh here! The ship behaved quite well as it sailed with the wind, though he found that if the starboard gunwale was a bit higher, they would have taken in considerably less seawater. I asked about sailing into the wind, since those ancient Chinese junks had that capability long before the European vessels. He said the way they rigged the sails wasn’t ideal for tacking, and he would have configured it differently based on their experience.
The Princess Tai Ping is quite small; about the size of a bus. Captain Liu believes the size of Admiral Zheng He’s vessels was similar to this vessel, and not the behemoths some have described. You can see bamboo poles stored horizontally next to the mainmast. These are spares in case of breakage; seven were needed on the voyage east.
As you can see, the living quarters are very cramped, yet the crew got along well. After talking with several crew members, I could understand why. They were all very kind, intelligent and understood the historic value of their quest. Unfortunately, one of the women in the crew, though holding up her end, was seasick on the entire voyage so they were looking for a replacement in San Diego for the return home. Too bad I couldn’t take five months off!
Both China and Taiwan share a seafaring history. Sailing together helped illustrate to me what can happen when politics takes a back seat and newfound friends come together in scientific discovery.
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23 Responses to “The Princess Tai Ping Crosses the Pacific Ocean”
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December 15th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Hi, Steve,
Welcome back and nice post!
I am a little puzzled by the estimation of the size of Zheng He’s ships. It is quite possible that his vessels were not the behemoths some have envisioned, but according to Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He ), the length of many of the ships has been estimated at 59 m (200 feet) by modern scholars. That would be several times larger than Cpt. Liu’s junk.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:01 am
admin, that is true. When I was in Danshui, Taiwan, there was a museum that had models of Zheng He’s ships and they were enormous, almost as large as the English dreadnoughts of the early 20th century, but apparently there is no proof of that size. Captain Liu seemed to think 59 meters was an exaggeration based on the style of ship and how it would sail. I hadn’t heard that theory before and that is why I mentioned it. I find it hard to believe that ships this small could have had such an effect on those they came in contact with, even if the fleet was composed of several hundred ships.
I found it interesting when reading about Zheng He (also called San Bao, where the name Sinbad ‘the sailor’ comes from) that when his fleet arrived at Sri Lanka, they found the northern tribes at war with the southern ones, no different than today. He imposed a peace that lasted for awhile but eventually came apart. Some things never change…
December 16th, 2008 at 12:29 am
@Steve,
You wrote:
tsk, tsk tsk… not very politically correct use of ethnicity/nationality (i.e. Chinese v. Taiwanese).
But you’re excused - since I’m assuming you are still jet lagged and all!
P.S. nice post by the eway…
December 16th, 2008 at 1:16 am
@Allen, I was speaking culturally, of course!!
BTW, when do we find out all about your trip? Seems you were going to some pretty interesting and exotic locales… and you made it back alive, ha ha!
December 16th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Very nice post Steve. Thanks !
Coincidentally, I recently wrote a song and “We’re sailing back to Simpli - City,
Would you bail or sail with me?” is a lyrical line on the repeated chorus of my song.
I have never actually had the pleasure to sail the high sea, so I dunno why these words
came to me at the time. Perhaps the spirit of San Bao /Sinbad happened to pass by at that moment. Spooky huh?
December 16th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Hongkonger, there can only be one explanation… you must be the reincarnation of Mazu’s father!
My dad had a 22 foot MacGregor sailboat docked on the Hudson River just north of New York City when I was growing up, so I’ve sailed a lot in littoral waters, but never in the open ocean. Because I had some knowledge of sailing, I was probably able to ask Captain Liu more pointed questions than most reporters. These days, the only sailing I do is occasionally rent a Prindle 19 catamaran along with a friend on Mission Bay and when we’re done, just hand it back. Unfortunately, owning a sailboat is like having your wallet marry a black hole.
I was sorely tempted to ask if I could join them but if I had, I think my wife would have waterboarded me.
December 16th, 2008 at 3:58 am
such a similar story to this one:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gzlL53kkUA6ej7iEpWojoZf0yMLgD952L7PO0
December 16th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Isn’t ‘Chinese’ the common term for citizens of the PRC and ‘Taiwanese’ the common term for citizens of the ROC? And yes, in different contexts both terms can have different meanings.
I’m confused. . .
December 16th, 2008 at 5:42 am
” I was sorely tempted to ask if I could join them but if I had, I think my wife would have waterboarded me. ”
Oh, Steve, haven’t you heard, haven’t you read, your current VP, Cheney approves of waterboarding? You know, the same guy who almost shot his buddy’s head off during a goose hunt.
December 16th, 2008 at 5:56 am
HK’s typhoon storm shelters for chinese fishing boats and junks in Aberdeen and Causeway bay used to be populated and popular slums catering wonderful fresh seafood - what we called the poor man’s floating restaurants - They are all gone now along with (unsightly) streetside hawkers which served the best HK style tea and coffee etc….. Rumor has it that there are plans to bring them back. Who knows, with the global economic disaster, some of the enterprising poor folks and fishermen may revert to the simple tried and tested basic forms of making a living - as long as the gov’t get out of their ways or better still, lend them a helping hand.
December 16th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Zheng He could be the greatest navigator in his time. History does not give him the credit he deserves. Unfortunately most official records were destroyed due to superstition by the Ming court.
Officially, he traveled to SE Asia and Africa with a lot of artifacts that I saw some in my SE Asia trip last year. The sizes of the ships could not be that big, but far larger than Columbus’s.
Unofficially he or his crew could sail to Australia and America. They had the technology that were possible to do so and were far superior than the west. The fleet was very organized. It was rumored that Columbus used the map by Zheng He.
It is possible that the abandoned ships of Zheng’s fleet could travel and discovered America. For the joke (please do not argue with me on jokes), the Chinese cook in Colombo’s ship saw America for the first time and said in Taishanese, “Ah Mud Li Ka (roughly translated as “what is this?”, and that’s why it is called America.
Chinese history could change for the better if Zheng He went to Europe and saw the more advanced civilization. At that time, Chinese did not think they need to learn anything from outside (salvages in their term).
Chinese tradition is not to colonize new land and load all the treasures. They did ask the countries like Ethiopia to send them treasures every year. It is for the “face”. In return, they sent them treasures too. There is one reason for the fleet to exchange treasures and the envoys.
December 16th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
@Father Christmas!: Don’t be confused, Allen was just welcoming me back with a little dig, since he is deep, dark blue, as they say in Taiwan, and knows my wife is light green.
@Hongkonger: Oh, you have seriously misrepresented our VP!! He wasn’t shooting at geese, which would have actually required some skill, but quail; small birds that run quickly and don’t fly very high. I believe they had beaters to rouse the quail so they’d fly up out of the grass. These weren’t even wild quail, they were domestic! So in order to shoot your buddy in the face, you’d need to be incredibly incompetent… uh huh!
I hadn’t realized the junks were no longer in Causeway Bay. They were used as backdrops for movies shot there; usually the good guys running from boat to boat to evade the bad guys. I’m with you; I hope they come back. I think when you sanitize a city too much it loses its charm; which is the main reason I would not want to live in Singapore. I like it a little crazy…
December 16th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Steven #12
::LMAO:: So it was quails and not geese, huh? A thousand apologies for spreading anti-west disinformation
Good thing Cheney had the presence of mind to pull-off in time and saved his friend from losing his face, which, in the west - is not a thing .(Disinformation II)
Talking about glory days, glory days…Bruce Sprinsteen.
http://www.pbase.com/anubis_photo/image/25855247
December 18th, 2008 at 3:05 am
@Steve #12: “So in order to shoot your buddy in the face, you’d need to be incredibly incompetent… uh huh!”
Hmmm… Trigger-happy without respect for environment or consequence… he couldn’t have provided a better analogy for the past eight years. Welcome back
December 28th, 2008 at 5:25 am
The book, The Junks & Sampans of the Yangtze, by C.R.G. Worcester, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Md. 1971, includes a Shaoxing chuan (he calls it a Hangchow Bay Trader) 60 to 85 feet by 20 feet and a Foochow pole junk for transporting timber (Hua P’i Ku) which he says range in size from 60 by 22 to 180 by 28 feet.
Worcester was a river inspector in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service for 30 years, who includes sketches and descriptions, plus plans and measurements. I believe he actually measured many of the craft. The book cited above is a reprint of his four volume works published betweem 1940 and 1948 in Shanghai, “by order of the Inspector General of Customs” of the above-mentioned service.
I am in Seattle, and would love to have seen the Taiping.
There is a Chinese trader which looks like a Hangchow Bay trader to me, in the National Maritime Museum in Mokpo, Korea, which has been raised and the hull partially reassembled. I think it is from the Ming dynasty. It is very large and carried an enormous cargo (to a landlubber), part of which is also on display. I can’t recommend the museum highly enough, if a person is interested in old watercraft.
Zheng He’s fleet very likely included ships up to 200 feet in length.
December 28th, 2008 at 5:57 am
@ Richard Karl: Thanks for that information. I had read that Zheng He’s largest ships were enormous compared to European ships of that time, and had seen a model featuring that same style of ship in northern Taiwan. For me, the most interesting design aspect was the sail layout, but apparently no one knows exactly just how the rigging was set up. I believe the records of all seven voyages were destroyed when the Ming dynasty turned inward after Zheng He’s death and the reign of the new emperor.
I’ve been to Korea several times but never heard of Mokpo. Where is that located?
December 29th, 2008 at 5:13 am
http://mokpo.info see “national maritime museum.” There is a map at the bottom of the page.
I guess I remembered incorrectly– says it is a Yuan dynasty junk (even older!). They also have a yet older korean trader, too.
Worcester’s book is exhaustive on rigging/sails, too. Almost exclusively Chinese (battened) lug sails.. one or two spritsails in the bunch. I am not a sailor, but I did make one for my canoe. It works but it scared me to death.. and I recall reading one time about a western sailor observing Chinese junks (in the hands of experts) “splitting tacks with (someone)…” in Hongkong’s harbor. This exhausts my knowledge of things nautical..
December 29th, 2008 at 5:33 am
http://mokpo.info
see the National Maritime museum. Map locating Mokpo at bottom of webpage.
The site refers to the junk as from the Yuan dynasty. So much for my memory. But it is big, as well as yet older, so it would have been available as a type.
Worcester’s book is extensive on rigging/sails as well. Most were Chinese (battened) lug sails..one or two spritsails in the bunch.
I am not a sailor. I did make a battened lug sail for my canoe. Haven’t used it that much– the canoe is pretty tender, but it does tack, with a leeboard. I remember reading a couple of different things–one had a westerner in HK harbor observing junks (which used leeboards too) “splitting tacks with..(european boats?).” I also recall an Engish sailor named Blondie Hasseler (?) who experimented with chinese lugsails back in the day, and Tom Colvin in the US built boats with lugsails on the Chesapeake in the 1960’s and later. I think Colvin said they tacked very well, although it didn’t look like they were.
December 29th, 2008 at 6:12 am
@Steve #16 Google National Maritime Museum, Mokpo, Korea. One of the cites (exhibit 2) shows the Yuan dynasty trader. Indeed it is reported as 34 meters long– landlubber that I am it looked huge to me when I visited there.
Worcester’s book is heavy on sails and rigging, i.a. Most of the sails are (battened) Chinese lugsails. They are capable of tacking, if not pointing too close to the wind. I am not a sailor, but my wife sewed a Chinese style lugsail for me for my canoe. The canoe is not all that stable, but with a leeboard I could tack, and with a not too stiff wind it really moved. Scared me to death, anyway.
When I was looking into making the Chinese lugsail, I read about a Blondie Hassler (?) in England who experimented with them (for singlehanded boats) and Tom Colvin built boats on the Chesapeake Bay in the 1960s and later. He said they tacked well, even if it didn’t look like they were.
That’s my entire knowledge base on the subject.
Mokpo is a port city on the extreme Southwest of Korea.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
@Richard Karl: Thanks for the info. The closest I’ve been to Mokpo was Jeonju on business, but we drove down from Seoul and then back that evening. It looks like a very interesting city. I hadn’t heard about that Korean naval victory before; pretty impressive.
You hit upon one of my first questions to Captain Liu on the Princess Taiping; how well he was able to tack. I’ve always been fascinated by the Chinese being able to sail into the wind centuries before the Europeans. But his rig setup didn’t allow him to try it, along with the fact that they sailed with the wind both to and from North America. As you mentioned, I was curious how close to the wind he could actually tack. What was also interesting to me was that though the wind was coming from leeward, he was taking in water on the starboard side above the main cabin. I would have liked to have seen that in person.
He did admit he would have set up his rigging differently if given the opportunity to use what he had learned on the voyage. Since no one had any experience sailing a junk of this style across an open ocean, they had to use a lot of guesswork before they set out. I guess you can see it was a “Kon Tiki” style adventure, except this time with GPS and better radios. They also learned a lot about what foods to bring along and how much they could rely on fresh fish. I’m hoping they write a book about their experiences and what they learned.
I’m not sure what if any differences there were in Yuan dynasty ships as compared to early Ming dynasty. I would suspect very little. I’ve read that some of the river ships were huge, and I can’t see how a river ship would be bigger than an oceangoing vessel. But Captain Liu felt that the size of Admiral Zheng He’s ships was exaggerated and that they were not much larger than his junk. Looking back, I should have questioned him in more depth about that point.
Oh well, live and learn. This was my first “reporting” venture anyway.
April 26th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Sailing junk on quest for record sinks off Suao, all crew safe
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=931114&lang=eng_news