Ancient chronicles
Treasure ship is the name of a type of
vessel that
Admiral Zheng He sailed in. His fleet included 62 treasure ships, with some said to have reached 600
feet (146
meters) long. The fleet was manned by over 27,000 crew members, including
navigators,
explorers,
sailors,
doctors,
workers, and
soldiers. As the size estimates are those given in later works of fiction, it's likely that actual ships may have been smaller, since in later historical periods ships approaching this size(such as
HMS Orlando) were unwieldy and visibly undulated with the waves, even with steel braces. The problem of "hogging", the tendency of the
largest wooden ships to sag (like a
pig's body) because of buoyancy in the middle, would have been impossible to solve.
According to ancient Chinese sources, Zheng He commanded seven expeditions. The 1405 expedition consisted of 27,800 men and a fleet of 62 treasure ships supported by approximately 190 smaller ships. The fleet included:
(Ships of the world in
1460, according to the
Fra Mauro map. Chinese junks are described as very large, three or four-masted ships.)
Link:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/WorldShips1460.jpgClick on the Link above for larger view of the above table.
The dimensions of the Zheng He's ships according to ancient Chinese chronicles and disputed by modern scholars:
"
Treasure ships", used by Zheng He and his deputies (nine-masted, about 127
metres (416
feet) long and 52 metres (170 feet) wide, according to later writers. But no proof of the supposed great size of these ships exists, and as stated above, they are improbably large. The treasure ships purportedly weighed as much as 1,500 tons;127m by 52 m (416 feet by 170 feet)
By way of comparison, a modern ship of about 1,200 tons is 60
meter (200
feet) long, and the ships
Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492 were about 70 to 100 tons and 17
meter (55
feet) long.
"
Horse ships", carry tribute goods and repair material for the fleet (eight-masted, about 103 m (339 feet) long and 42 m (138 feet) wide.
"
Supply ships", contains staple for the crew (seven-masted, about 78 m (257 feet) long and 35 m (115 feet) wide.
"
Troop transports"; six-masted, about 67 m (220 feet) long and 25 m (83 feet) wide.
"
Fuchuan warships"; five-masted, about 50 m (165 feet) long.
"
Patrol boats"; eight-oared, about 37 m (120 feet) long.
"
Water tankers", contains 1 month supply of fresh water. (127m long by 52m wide – 416 feet by 170 feet )
Six more expeditions took place, from 1407 to
1433, with fleets of comparable size.
