Boats on the Canal
For over 2000 years, countless ships have traveled on the Grand Canal, each from different eras and for different purposes. What are the characteristics of these ships? The 'Thousand-Mile Boat Journey - Canal Boat Culture Special Exhibition' at the Yangzhou China Grand Canal Museum will tell you.
🛳 The luxurious naval fleet of the King of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period
The history of the canal can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. At that time, local lords dug canals to gradually connect the water systems of the world. Wu, one of the five hegemonies of the Spring and Autumn period, dug three canals: Xu Creek, Han Gou, and Huang Gou.
In 486 BC, King Fuchai of Wu, in his quest for dominance over the Central Plains, utilized the natural river and lake ports of the Yangtze River Delta to dredge the ancient waterways and dig Han Gou, leaving a profound impact on later generations.
Han Gou is the first canal in Chinese historical records with a definite date of excavation and is the earliest section of the Grand Canal water system in China. It is because of the achievements of Han Gou that Fuchai is honored as the 'first digger' of the Grand Canal.
Wu, which placed such importance on the canal, naturally also formed a naval fleet that could be called luxurious. In the 'Thousand-Mile Boat Journey' exhibition, you can find many models of Wu's warships.
There were yáng ships with tall masts, large in size, good at attacking and defending, which were the royal ships of King Liao of Wu and also the command flagships of the Wu navy. The second-floor loft of the ship was used for lookout and combat command.
In addition to the yáng ships, under King Wu, there were also large, medium, and small winged ships, as well as tower ships.
🛳 The ship that Emperor Yang of Sui took to Yangzhou was this kind
On the basis of Wu's Han Gou, Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, spent six years excavating and dredging the Tongji Canal, which entered the Bian River from the Yellow River, then into the Huai River; the Han Gou from the Huai River into the Yangtze River; the Jiangnan River from Jingkou to Kuaiji; and the Yongji Canal, which led the Qin River south to the Yellow River and north to Zhuo County. Finally, he connected them to form a grand canal that spanned more than 4,000 miles from north to south.
What kind of ship did Emperor Yang of Sui take when he traveled along the canal? In the exhibition, you can find a model of Emperor Yang's dragon boat.
The imperial ship of Emperor Yang was divided into four levels from top to bottom. The top level was naturally reserved for the emperor, with an office for official business and a bedroom for rest; the middle two levels had 160 rooms, all decorated with cinnabar, gold, pearls, and jade, exquisitely carved, and adorned with tassels, feathers, and red silk networks, shining with gold inside and out; the lower level was where the eunuchs and boatmen lived.
Thousands of years have passed, and the huge dragon boat of the past has vanished into smoke and ashes, but the Grand Canal is still there. Perhaps, as the Tang dynasty poet Pi Rixiu commented: 'Thousands of dragon boats among the greenery, all arriving in Yangzhou never to return. It must have been Heaven's will to open the Bian water, over a thousand miles of land without mountains. All say that Sui perished because of this river, yet today a thousand miles still rely on its waves. If not for the water palace and dragon boat affairs, even Yu's contributions would not be much more.'
🛳 The boats in ancient paintings have been 'moved' out
Everyone has heard of the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' by Zhang Zeduan of the Northern Song Dynasty, but did you know? The Ming Dynasty painter Qiu Ying also painted a 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'.
Qiu Ying's 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' refers to the Song version and uses the green and heavy color setting method to depict the social life of Suzhou city in the Ming Dynasty, showing the prosperous scene of the Jiangnan region. The painting contains more than two thousand characters, each with a vivid and lifelike expression.
The Wuxi fast boat displayed in the exhibition is made based on Qiu Ying's 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'. This type of boat was very common in the Jiangnan area during the Ming Dynasty. Generally speaking, its route was centered on Wuxi, traveling through the Jiangnan Canal to Suzhou, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, and other places, mainly for transporting passengers and goods.
In addition to practical passenger and cargo ships, there were also many pleasure and entertainment boats. The 'Qianlong Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour' by the Qing Dynasty painter Xu Yang depicted the grand scene of the Qianlong Emperor's inspection tour, including scenes of inquiring about local customs, inspecting officials for the welfare of the people, inspecting river works, reviewing troops, offering sacrifices at the Yu Temple, and touring famous lakes and mountains.
One of the lantern boats in the painting was also 'moved' to the exhibition. Lantern boats, also known as 'painted boats', 'flower boats', or 'pleasure boats', were built in the early years of the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty in Nanjing, with constructions also in Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, and other areas, used for water tourism on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, Tai Lake, the Canal, Suzhou Wu County, and other waterways. These boats were lavishly decorated, with carved patterns on the cabins, kang beds, doors, windows, and pillars, and carved and gilded tables and tea tables, exclusively for sightseeing and banquets.
Overall good, too popular, just queued for too long, adults and children have a lot of harvest, stop and stop, and don't feel long for a whole day. It is worth a visit. Wait for non-holidays to bring the baby to experience it.
Very good, very good, very suitable for taking children to watch, very educational, open up the horizon, there are countless precious cultural relics and historical materials. The process of visiting made me deeply understand the richness and diversity of our cultural heritage.
I read a lot of comments before I went there, and I said that I can go shopping for a day there, and I specially arranged a day to give it free time. I didn't expect that there are so many people on Tuesday, and I queued for 20 minutes at 10 o'clock to enter the hall. The museum is so big and the architectural design is very distinctive. The museum is mainly introduced to the Grand Canal. It is not particularly interested in the content. It finally ended after 3 hours of shopping. It is worth it for the free exhibition park, not far from the city, it is worth seeing.
I didn’t buy a ticket for the Yangzhou Grand Canal Museum. This can be accessible. It is more convenient. It is a good place to travel to the tourist city. The fireworks will go to Yangzhou in March. It is more than March. Every month has different scenery.
Yangzhou Grand Canal Museum is inexplicably, there are really many people, but it is worth visiting. The museum is very large and takes the children to understand the culture of the canal. Summer vacation is here, you must make an appointment in advance.
The Grand Canal Museum is worth coming. The venue is new and large, and several exhibition halls have been designed with care (time is tight, visit the recommended 1, 3, 8, and temporary exhibition Potala Palace). Whether it is exhibits, projections, or shops, people stop to enjoy. Adults and children will have gains. Tell everyone to make an appointment in advance, the best time to make an appointment, the first night at 19 o'clock, the day is 9 o'clock in the morning.