A 260 AD book by Kang Tai (康泰) also described ships with seven masts, traveling as far as Syria.
15th-17th century junks (Ming Dynasty)
[edit] Expedition of Zheng He
The largest junks ever built were probably those of Admiral Zheng He, for his expeditions in the Indian Ocean. According to Chinese sources, the fleet comprised 30,000 men and over 300 ships at its height.[citation needed]
The 1405 expedition consisted of 27,000 men and 317 ships. The dimensions of Zheng He's ships according to ancient Chinese chronicles and disputed by modern scholars (see below):
* "Treasure ships", used by the commander of the fleet and his deputies (Nine-masted junks, claimed by the Ming Shi to be about 420 feet long and 180 feet wide).
* "Horse ships", carrying tribute goods and repair material for the fleet (Eight-masted junks, about 340 feet long and 140 feet wide)
* "Supply ships", containing food-staple for the crew (Seven-masted junks, about 260 feet long and 115 feet wide).
* "Troop transports" (Six-masted junks, about 220 feet long and 83 feet wide).
* "Fuchuan warships" (Five-masted junks, about 165 feet long).
* "Patrol boats" (Eight-oared, about 120 feet long).
* "Water tankers", with 1 month's supply of fresh water and sustainability.
Recent research suggests that the actual length of the biggest treasure ships may have rather lain between 390–408 feet (119–124 m) long and 160–166 feet (49–51 m) wide instead,[8] while others estimate them to be 200–250 feet (61–76 m) in length.[9]
14th century junks (Yuan Dynasty)
A 15th century Ming Dynasty junk, Fengzhou
The enormous dimensions of the Chinese ships of the Medieval period are described in Chinese sources, and are confirmed by Western travelers to the East, such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Niccolò da Conti. According to Ibn Battuta, who visited China in 1347:
... We stopped in the port of Calicut, in which there were at the time thirteen Chinese vessels, and disembarked. On the China Sea traveling is done in Chinese ships only, so we shall describe their arrangements. The Chinese vessels are of three kinds; large ships called chunks (junks), middle sized ones called zaws (dhows) and the small ones kakams. The large ships have anything from twelve down to three sails, which are made of bamboo rods plaited into mats. They are never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind; at anchor they are left floating in the wind.
A ship carries a complement of a thousand men, six hundred of whom are sailors and four hundred men-at-arms, including archers, men with shields and crossbows, who throw naphtha. Three smaller ones, the "half", the "third" and the "quarter", accompany each large vessel. These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun (a.k.a Zaitun; today's Quanzhou; 刺桐) and Sin-Kalan. The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants.
This is the manner after which they are made; two (parallel) walls of very thick wooden (planking) are raised and across the space between them are placed very thick planks (the bulkheads) secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails, each three ells in length. When these walls have thus been built the lower deck is fitted in and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished.
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