With a long coastline stretching along the broad water areas of Bohai, Huanghai, Donghai, and Nanhai, and bordering the world's largest ocean, the Pacific Ocean, China enjoys a special water environment. Hence, Chinese people began to engage in seafaring activities a long time ago. Chinese shipbuilding boasts an even longer history, as it began in primeval times.

As early as in the Neolithic Age (about 10,000-4,000 years ago), Chinese people had begun to made canoes and rafts, and with their courage and wisdom, had traveled the ocean. Textual research has proved that the ancient Baiyue people, who lived in Southeast China, invented the first water-bound vehicle.

  First Shipbuilding Climax -- in Qin and Han Dynasties

A model of castle ship of the Han Dynasty

During the Qin (221-206) and Han (206BC-220AD) dynasties, China's shipbuilding witnessed the first climax, when the Qin Emperor Qin Shihuang organized a fleet capable of transporting 500,000 shi (1 shi = 170 pounds /71.7 kilos) of grain in a war. As recorded in ancient books, Emperor Qin Shihuang once led a fleet composed of lou chuan (castle ships, or war ships with deck castles) for an assault on the Chu State. After the unification of all of China, he also cruised along inland rivers and navigated at sea.

By the Han Dynasty , the navy mainly composed of castle ships was much stronger. It was said that the Han government could mobilize over 2,000 castle ships and 200,000 seamen for one battle. Various kinds of warships could be found, such as Xian Deng -- an assault ship, Meng Chong -- a narrow warship for striking the enemy's warships, and Ben Ma -- a ship as fast as a galloping horse. However, the assault castle ship was still the most important among all the ships and constituted the main force of the navy. Apart from being famous, the castle ship was also the symbol for the dynasty's advanced shipbuilding techniques.

The development in shipbuilding during the Qin and Han dynasties laid a solid foundation for the progress in shipbuilding skills in the following dynasties. The Wu State of the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280) had a prosperous shipbuilding industry and once built a five-story ship that could hold up to 3,000 soldiers. The Southern Dynasty (420-589) could build big ships with a holding capacity of 1,000 tons in the southern areas of the Yangtze River. In order to enhance the ship's speed, the great scientist of the Southern Qi Dynasty (what year; I'm unfamiliar with this dynasty) invented the manpowered paddle wheel ship. Though not as efficient as using the sail, the paddle wheel ship was still recognized as a significant invention, which provided inspiration for the improvement of ship power later on.

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