Huaguangjiao One
Encyclopedia
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
sunken ship built during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) that sank off the coast of Xinsha Islands, southeast of Guangdong province
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. The shipwreck, named "Huaguangjiao No. 1", meaning Huangguang Reef No.1, was discovered in 1996 and is currently considered the first vessel hull that China discovered in the open seas.
Archeological findings
In 1996 a group of Chinese fishermen stumbled upon a 20 m (66 ft), 6 m (20 ft) wide ship, covering 180 square meters and with an estimated displacement capacity of 60 tons and 11 cabins, sunk about three meters below the surface near the Huaguang Reef.On 15 March, 2007, an archeological salvaging operation organized by the National Museum of China
National Museum of China
The National Museum of China flanks the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The mission of the museum is to educate about the arts and history of China...
and the Hainan Provincial and Recreational and Sports Department was started and the excavation of the shipwreck site at Huaguang Reef initiated. This operation helped not only the archaeologists involved in the survey locate nearly 10 other shipwrecks in the surrounding area, but it also helped establish the first time that China conducted high-seas excavation work.
According to Dr. Zhang Wei, director of the China's Underwater Research Center with the National Museum at the time of the discovery, even having been robbed many times and severely damaged by looters, the retrieval of the more than 10,000 pieces of antique pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
and porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
, which seems to have mainly come from the Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
and Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
kilns, most certainly provide a very important piece of information and undeniable evidence of an already well established maritime trade route, known as the "Marine Silk Road", between China and the rest of the world during the Song and Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
(1280-1368).
Artefacts
Among the many fragments of porcelain and pottery which were concentrated in an area of 38 square meters within the reef and that were collected at the site, some of the items recovered include exquisite blue white porcelain yielded from the JingdezhenJingdezhen
Jingdezhen , is a prefecture-level city, previously a town, in Jiangxi Province, China, with a total population of 1,554,000 . It is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing quality pottery for 1700 years. The city has a well-documented history that stretches back over 2000...
factory, in Jiangxi Province, shadowy blue porcelains, green glazed porcelain plates, pots and other rare antiques, although brown-glazed wares have also been found, indicating the possibility that they might be even from an earlier period in time.
Many of the items recovered at the archeological site were later presented at a news conference in Haikou
Haikou
Hǎikǒu , is the capital and most populous city of Hainan Province, in the People's Republic of China. It is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River...
, south China's Hainan Province
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
on 8 May, 2007.