Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

General naval discussions that don't fit within any specific time period or cover several issues.
herrmill
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by herrmill »

marcelo_malara wrote:Hi guys. Those still believing the crazy theory of the giant ships should read this page http://www.1421exposed.com/.

Regards
That link pertains to Menzies' theory of the Ming Fleet discovering America. I'd invite you to browse Amazon for the number of books on Zheng He & the Ming Fleet; I've read my share & recommend both Edward Dyers & Louise Leavthes' books.

Should you have the opportunity, I invite you should visit Nanjing's Baochuan Shipyard where you can learn a lot about Chinese shipbuilding skills that were at their zenith decades before Columbus' birth. This massive shipyard with its six huge slipways (drydocks) built a large percentage of the various ships that sailed in Zheng He's fleet. Living in Hangzhou, China a few kilometers from the site of a 7,500 boat discovery & having the pleasure of visiting Baochuan & several museums, I don't question that the Chinese were capable of building such massive ships during that period before Zhu De's successor closed the door to exploration & withdrew from the world.

Chuck

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marcelo_malara
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by marcelo_malara »

Sorry Hermill. Until I read the detailed description of the construction technics and see the blueprints of the ships, I am sceptical that such a large ship could be built in those years, as I expressed in my previous posts. Moreover, no ship longer than about 75 m was ever built of wood alone (with the sole exception of the clipper Great Republic, which was about 100 m long). And last, did they jump to build those giants ships without an evolutianary path? How long were Chinese ships before Zheng He?

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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

Most of the history surrounding these large Roman and Chinese ships built from wood and concrete is controversial. That is what I like about it so much. History is full of controversies, e.g., BISMARCK.
Ulrich
herrmill
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by herrmill »

Not to tread on anyone's personal beliefs, but based on your requirements for proof, I would have to say that also discredits another famous ship that was measured in cubits... :wink:

In all seriousness, I tend to agree with Ulrich & believe that history is filled with controversy & challenges. Thats what makes it studying it so interesting.
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marcelo_malara
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by marcelo_malara »

I would have to say that also discredits another famous ship that was measured in cubits...
Which one?
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RF
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by RF »

Nice pictures posted above.
''Give me a Ping and one Ping only'' - Sean Connery.
herrmill
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by herrmill »

Thanks, that was from a visit to Baochuan in Oct '06. I have many more of the replica & surrounding area should anyone be interested. The yard has three slipways remaining of the original six; considering records show that over 10,000 workers were employed at Baochaun during this period, I don't think they were only making small fishing junks & paddle boats for the local waterways. Building the fleet & financing the exploration voyages came close to bankrupting the empire.

Here are some illustrations & photos of the ships that made up the fleet of large treasure ships, troop ships, horse ships, water & store ships & smaller escort or attack vessels. In addition to many other maritime innovations, it appears China should also be given credit for inventing the naval task force. The last two of the diorama are from Singapore's Zheng He Museum.

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Regarding that other famous boat, try reading Genesis, Chapter 6. :D

Chuck
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RF
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by RF »

Again nice pictures. Thanks for the post.
''Give me a Ping and one Ping only'' - Sean Connery.
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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

I have posted some more photos of my newest versions of the 1:1250 Bao Chuan models at: http://ship1250photo.com/index.php?cat=10005


Treasure Ship/Schatzschiff
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Treasure Ship/Schatzschiff
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herrmill
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by herrmill »

Nice work! :clap:
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marcelo_malara
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by marcelo_malara »

Regarding that other famous boat, try reading Genesis, Chapter 6.
Don´t worry, I don´t believe in that too!!!
herrmill
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by herrmill »

For those who doubt China's shipbuilding expertise, here are several models of Song Dynasty imperial barges that were found on Hangzhou's West Lake. Even Marco Polo was smitten in more ways than one.. :wink: with what he found in what was then the world's largest city. He called it the "City of Heaven" after having visited our locale at the end of the 13th century.

The wooden models are from a small museum in Xi Tang, a small water town that may be familiar for those who saw the movie Mission Impossible 3. The dragon boat is from a local museum here in Hangzhou & is the basis of a tour boat that one can cruise on West Lake today.

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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

A very fine miniature 1:1250 model of a treasure ship is produced by Johann Wolkersdorfer (JW Model No. 057) and is part of a large series of historic ships. These are available in the USA from http://www.collectableships.com/models/HL%20&%20JW.htm and several dealers in Germany http://www.galerie-maritim.de/
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bigboat1
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by bigboat1 »

The Cheng ho ship from Trumpeter is not 1/1250 but stated to be 1/250. It took a while to find this out but it is true The model is 2 feet long the original is said to be 400-450 feet long. :cool:
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Re: Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) treasure ship design

Post by lwd »

You really should put credits on pictures when you post them. From the text I suspect these are yours but there's no harm in getting credit if someone else is an ehtical poster and it actually makes the photos more useful to researchers.
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