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During the Han period (210 BC-AD 220), clay tomb models show that side oars for steering ships were replaced with the invention of the stern rudder. Larger ships were coming into existence, as shown by the archaeological excavation of an ancient Ch’in dockyard excavation at Canton.
The Canton dockyard’s slipways for hauling ships shows it was capable of handling vessels with a beam or width of some 27 feet and more than a hundred feet in length. Larger ships were able to accommodate heavier superstructures, including fighting towers on their decks. A 1st century AD wooden model of a riverine patrol boat, recovered from a Han tomb at Ma-wang-tui in Ch’ang-sha was propelled by oars, and carried a substantial deck structure with a sterncastle and an elevated rampart amidships.
It was not until after the 8th century that Chinese maritime interests began to focus on an oceangoing merchant marine, and larger ships capable of extended ocean voyages were built. This culminated with the 12th century rise of the Song Dynasty, a blossoming of overseas trade, and the creation of China’s first permanent navy.
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