Princess Taiping (sailing vessel)
Encyclopedia
The Princess Taiping was a replica of a Ming Dynasty
Chinese junk
built for a sailing trip from China to the United States and back. The ship sank approximately 42 nautical miles (77.8 km) from its final destination on Saturday, 25 April 2009. If successful, it would have been the first ship of its kind known to have done so. (Fifty years earlier, a junk called Free China had been sailed to San Francisco
but none had ever made the more difficult return journey to China.)
in a yacht
, to demonstrate the plausibility of the theory that the Chinese explored the American West Coast decades before the voyages of Christopher Columbus
. The ship was a replica of a war ships in the navies of Zheng He
and Koxinga
. It was 54 feet (16.5 m) long and 45 feet (13.7 m) wide. Thirty craftsmen from Fuzhou
, Quanzhou
and Zhangzhou
spent six years building the ship, without nuts and bolts, using traditional Chinese shipbuilding techniques. It was entirely wind-powered, with three cotton sails.
The ship was launched in June, 2008 from Xiamen
, in the People's Republic of China
. It set off on June 26 from Keelung
, Taiwan
, with Liu as skipper. It made 17000 miles (27,358.8 km) of its trip, stopping in California, Hawaii, and Japan, among other places, before it was rammed by the Champion Express, a 650 feet (198.1 m) Liberian-flagged Norwegian chemical tanker
, near the Su Ao Harbor
in northeastern Taiwan, 20–30 miles from the end of its voyage back in Keelung. The Princess Taiping sank. Although the Champion Express did not stop to give assistance, Liu sent a distress signal by radio beacon. The skipper and all ten members of his international crew were rescued by a Taiwanese helicopter and rescue ship after several hours in the water.
At the time of the sinking, an identical second replica was under construction in Tainan.
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
Chinese junk
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
built for a sailing trip from China to the United States and back. The ship sank approximately 42 nautical miles (77.8 km) from its final destination on Saturday, 25 April 2009. If successful, it would have been the first ship of its kind known to have done so. (Fifty years earlier, a junk called Free China had been sailed to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
but none had ever made the more difficult return journey to China.)
History
The ship was commissioned by 61-year-old Liu Ningsheng ("Nelson Liu"), possibly the first Taiwanese person to ever circle the earthCircumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
in a yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
, to demonstrate the plausibility of the theory that the Chinese explored the American West Coast decades before the voyages of Christopher Columbus
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
In the early modern period, the voyages of Columbus initiated European exploration and colonization of the American continents, and are thus of great significance in world history. Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for Castile, a country that later founded modern Spain...
. The ship was a replica of a war ships in the navies of Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
and Koxinga
Koxinga
Koxinga is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong , a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa .A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of...
. It was 54 feet (16.5 m) long and 45 feet (13.7 m) wide. Thirty craftsmen from Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
, Quanzhou
Quanzhou
Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...
and Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...
spent six years building the ship, without nuts and bolts, using traditional Chinese shipbuilding techniques. It was entirely wind-powered, with three cotton sails.
The ship was launched in June, 2008 from Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
, in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It set off on June 26 from Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, with Liu as skipper. It made 17000 miles (27,358.8 km) of its trip, stopping in California, Hawaii, and Japan, among other places, before it was rammed by the Champion Express, a 650 feet (198.1 m) Liberian-flagged Norwegian chemical tanker
Chemical tanker
A chemical tanker is a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk.Ocean-going chemical tankers generally range from to in size, which is considerably smaller than the average size of other tanker types due to the specialised nature of their cargoes and the size restrictions of the...
, near the Su Ao Harbor
Su-ao, Yilan
Su-ao , located in southern Yilan County, Taiwan, is an urban township that is famous for its seafood restaurants and cold springs. It is the destination of National Highway No. 5, Su-ao-Hualian Express Way, and North-Link Line of Taiwan Railway Administration...
in northeastern Taiwan, 20–30 miles from the end of its voyage back in Keelung. The Princess Taiping sank. Although the Champion Express did not stop to give assistance, Liu sent a distress signal by radio beacon. The skipper and all ten members of his international crew were rescued by a Taiwanese helicopter and rescue ship after several hours in the water.
At the time of the sinking, an identical second replica was under construction in Tainan.
See also
- Richard HalliburtonRichard HalliburtonRichard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
, an American adventurer who commissioned a junk in 1939; the Sea Dragon with him aboard disappeared mid-Pacific.
External links
- chinesevoyage.com - official website
- English version
- championtankers.no - Champion Express, official page
- lemarssentinel.com Newspaper article, Le Mars man sails with Chinese