In the Autumn, around 825 AD, an Arabic dhow left the port of Guangzhou (Canton) China and set sail to Gulf area for the Abbasid Empire. The ship was built in Oman and manned by an international crew, including Chinese and Arabs, for a 5 months voyage, leaden with ceramics and treasures. After 2 to 3 weeks later, the ship reached the Java Sea sailing though the treacherous waters around the island of Belitung. It was heading toward Java to pick up some South Sea spices, in exchange of some of its ceramic bowls made in China. It was near the Belitung Island that the heavily laden dhow met its fate and sank with its precious cargo. The wreck laid beneath the waves undisturbed for over 12 centuries, before discovered by a local fishermen diving for sea cucumbers. The wreck was found in shallow water less than 3 km from land and was vulnerable to looting. A team of divers and archaeologists were assembled for the excavation of the wreck. From the wreck, the ship tells a story of China during the 9C and the flourishing maritime trades between China and the countries all along its route to the Middle East.

1. First created 4 Mar 2017. Version 1.0 - 21 Jul 2017. Daperro. London.
A 9C Asian Voyage
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The Maritime Trade of the Belitung

2. Things in the wrong place
Left. An octagonal cup with musician found in Hejiacun, Xian China, at a Tang Dynasty (618-906) site.
Probably origin Central Asia or the Middle East. Shaanxi History Museum, Xian.
Right. Green-splashed white ware dish found in Samarra Iraq, made in China during Tang Dynasty.
Samarra Museum for Islamic Art. Berlin.

3. Trade between China and its western neighbours must have carried on long ago. But around 114 BC it was
expanded during the Han Dynasty (207 BC – 220 AD), when an imperial envoy led by Zhang Qian 張騫
to contact the people in the western regions (Ferghana 大宛 , Yuezhi 月氏 , Bactria 大夏 , India 身毒 ,
Parthia 安 息 , Sogdian 粟 特 etc.). mainly for diplomatic reason, in particular alliance against the
Xiongnu 匈奴 of Mongolia and partly for trade.
The History of the Silk Road
The Galloping Horse was found
in tomb at Leitai, Wuwei, Gansu
China in 1969, along the Silk
Road. The figurine showed a
galloping horse running so fast
that it was stepping on a flying
swallow.
The Galloping Horse, Late 2C –
Early 13C (Eastern Han).
Bronze. H34.5 x L45 cm. Gansu
Provincial Museum Lanzhou.

4. The India to Mesopotamia maritime link began during 3rd
millennium BC. During the time of Augustus
Caesar up to 120 ships were sailing to India every year from the Red Sea ports. The sea routes to the
Japan and Korea was developed in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). The maritime Silk Route section
between China and the Middle East was developed during the Tang dynasty (618-907). Eventually these
maritime routes were linked, making it possible to travel all the way from China to modern day Iraq.
Development of the Maritime Silk Route
Development of various sections of the Asian maritime route. Ref Sailing Sinbad’s Seas. Andrew Lawler. Science 26 Jun
2014

5. The use of sail, advances in ship building, the knowledge of the weather, the availability of safe harbours,
political stability are all important for the developments for maritime trade. In general, the maritime trades
allow biggest load to be carried with a shorter journey time.
The Maritime Route
Roman ship like this could be used for the maritime trade between India and the Read port, during Roman time. Roman
mosaic find in modern Tunisia. (Ref. Wikimedia).

6. 9th
Century Powers
Tang Dynasty (618-907), A major dynasty in China. It was a trading empire and an economic powerhouse.
Srivijayan Empire (650-1277) of Tamil origin controlled the sea lanes of Malacca & the Java sea.
Pallava Dynasty (275-897). Imperial Cholas (848-1070) controlled the South India and Sri Lanka.
Abbasid Caliph (750-1258) Basra or Hormuz were final destinations of the Asian maritime trades
Byzantine Empire (c330-1453) controlled and land & maritime silk trades out of Asia into Europe.
Venice Republic (697-1797) in 9C was the rising power of the Mediterranean maritime trade

7. 9C Middle East - Abbasid
The Abbasid Empire (750-1258 黑 衣
大 食 國 also 阿 拔 斯 ) was largely
based on the old Persian Empire, which
covered modern day Iraq, Iran and
Afghanistan. The capital was moved to
the new city of Bagdad, located on the
major trade routes on land and in the
sea.
The minaret, the Malwiya Tower, at the Great
Mosque of Samarra built in 851 under the
Abbasid Empire. It was the largest mosque in
the world.
The Abbasid period is generally
considered to be a golden age of Islamic
art, science and architecture.
Commissions were set up to translate
Greek and Persian scientific,
philosophical and literary works into
Arabic. In the mid-10C, a group of
professional soldiers, Buyids, took over
the caliphate and Abbasid survived in
name until the Mongols conquer in the
13C.

8. In first half of 9C, the Pallava dynasty (275-
897), a Tamil South Indian maritime power
was trading with Cambodia, Annan (modern
Vietnam), Java, Sumatra, Malaysia and
China.
9C India – Pallava and Chola
In second half of 9C, the Pallava was
replaced by Medieval Chola dynasty, (848-
1070) which became a military, economic
and cultural power in South Asia and
Southeast Asia. It had a powerful blue-water
navy which could mount strikes and raids far
into Southeast Asia, as it did in 1025 on
Kedah, Malaysia.
A huge gopuram (Hindu temple tower) of the
Brihadeeswara Temple complex, in Thanjavur, Tamil
Nadu was completed in 1010 CE.

9. 9C Southeast Asia - Srivijaya
Candi Prambanan is a 9C (c950) Hindu temple in Central
Java, Indonesia, build during the Sanjaya Dynasty.
First reference of Srivijaya’s existence (650-
1377) was reported by a Chinese monk in 671.
Around early 8C both the Malay Peninsula and
Sumatra were under the Srivijayan domination.
The Srivijaya controlled the final section of the
maritime Silk Route. Trading ships would stop
here before completing their journey to China.
Srivijaya declined in power after the 1025
invasion by the Chola Empire.

10. Unlike previous military dynasty like Qin
and Han, Tang Dynasty (618-907) is more
of a trading empire on which Chinese
prosperity depended on. During this
period many monks travelled to India to
study Buddhist scriptures but most of them
left no records of their travel.
9C China – Tang Dynasty
In the 7C, travelling monks was Yijing 義
淨 (635-713) travelled to India between
671 and 695, by the sea, visited at the
Malaysian Peninsula and the Srivijaya
kingdom for two years. He recorded that
the journey from Guangzhou to
Palembang (Sumatra) took only 20 days.
The Guangzhou-Palembang route was so
‘routine’ that he managed to travel to
Sumatra 3 times in his life. He also
recorded 21 monks travelled to India by
land and 30 travelled by sea.
Faxian 法 顯 (337-c422) who stayed in
Sri Lanka for 2 years, reported seeing a
Chinese merchant (with a silk fan) in the
island. In Sumatra he travelled on a “large
merchant boat” carrying 200 people.

11. 9C Rebellion in China
In 755 An Lushan Rebellion 安史之亂 left northern China devastated. It was a turning point in the
history of Tang Dynasty (618-907) . An Lushan, a military commander, was half Sogdian and half Turk.
The conflict paradoxically stimulated the Chinese economy in the south and on the eastern coastal
regions, as the central authority lost its grips, while regional governors took over the local economies.
In the first half 9C, with a new set of reforms, the Chinese economy recovered. Guangzhou the main
port for Asian maritime trade was reopened once again.
The face of the Leshan Gaint Buddha 樂山大佛 , 71m (233 ft) high, begun in 713 and finished in 803. - 24.10.2006

12. Map of the Belitung ship journey from the Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore.
The Journey of the Belitung ship
It was in under these historical environments that the Belitung ship’s voyage took place, in the second
quantile of the 9C. It was probably travelled from the Chinese port of Guangzhou (Canton) to Basra in
modern Iraq. The voyage would have taken about 5 months, but instead it was sank off the Belitung Island,
in the Java Sea, close to the strait between Sumatra and Java. The shipwreck was discovered in 1998.

13. The date of the Belitung ship comes from 3 pieces of evidences. First Chinese coins were all made before
845. Radiocarbon dating of organic material – wood, star anise, resin - gives a dates between 670 and
890. Most importantly, one ceramic bowl is inscribed with a specific day in the summer of 826, giving the
earliest date for the wreck. The study of the ceramics suggested they were made in the 830s or 840s.
The date of the Journey
Inscription Summer of 826 All Chinese coins made before 845

14. In 758 Guangzhou (Canton) was looted by Arab and Persian pirates, at the time of the An Lushan
Rebellion. The government reacted by closing the port for about five decades. Foreign vessels was
diverted to Hanoi, which was under Chinese control. When Guangzhou port was reopened, it resumed as
the main entry point into China. In mid-9C the foreign population of Guangzhou were reported to be about
9C China - Guangzhou
The oldest Chinese mosque in China, Huaishen Mosque 懷聖寺 , Guangzhou, founded in early 7C. Photo taken c1873.

15. Modern day Basra., Iraq.
.Shipyard in modern
Guangzhou, China
The sea route from China to the Middle East was well trodden by the Arab sailors by the time the Belitung
ship set sail. It was some 400 years later, after the journey of the Chinese monk Faxian, who arrived back
to China from India by sea in 412. The construction of the Belitung ship suggested it was from the Middle
East, probably port of Basra, main port of entry into the Abbasid Empire. On the way, the Belitung could
have stopped by Palembang of Srivijayan Empire and somewhere in South India (perhaps Kollam) or Sri
Lanka (perhaps Galle) before sailing into the Persian Gulf for its final destination.
The Route

16. The Java Sea
The most obvious route from China to Abbasid was to sail through the Malacca strait, but the wreck was
found in the Java Sea. The excavation team speculated that the Belitung was heading toward Java,
possibly to pick up valuable species like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Clove

17. The trade wind pattern of the South China Sea is such the ship would mostly likely to arrived in
Guangzhou the about the summer months (July) and leaving China from the October onward.
On route, the ship would be likely to stop in south India and in Sumatra or somewhere on the Malaysian
Peninsula.
Once the ship arrived in Guangzhou, the Chinese authorities would seized the cargo of any foreign
merchant, collected 30% tax and then returned the goods after six months.
The Seasons
On the eastward journey from the Middle East the ship would mostly to set sail in the summer months on
the South-West Monsoon.

18. Large sections of the wooden keel and
hull were found by the archaeologists.
Every timber was fastened with
stitching. No sign of iron fastening or
nail were found. From the construction
techniques, it was clear the ship came
from the Gulf.
The Ship
The ship had two rectangular sails (not
the triangular lateen sail). It also had
two steering oars instead of a rudder.
Temporal canopy can be constructed
in mid-ship or at the stern of the ship
as shelters.

19. An 18 metres replicate of the Belitung
ship was built, called the Jewel of
Muscat. The dhow was constructed in
Oman. The entire ship was tied
together using coconut husks without
peg or metal nail.
The Jewel of Muscat
The Jewel of Muscat was constructed using
African timber, teak and rosewood, juniper and
palm wood. Coconut husks were used to sew the
boat together. The stitching holes were filled with
putty.
The stitching pattern.

20. The Jewel of Muscat
On completion the ship, the Jewel of Muscat sailed the 5000 kilometres from Oman to Singapore via Galle in Sri Lanka,
after nearly 6 months of sailing.

21. The Cargoes & their origins
By and large the ship carried mostly Chinese ceramics. The bulk of it were the 60,000 pieces of ceramic bowls from the
Changsha kiln, together with other more precious metal goods..

22. Tea and silk
No tea or silk were found, these items maybe carried by the Belitung ship, but did not survive the length of time. China is
known for its silk and rich Roman were dressed in it. Drinking of tea was popular in Tang. Tea was grounded into powder
and then stirred in hot water before drinking. But it was in Song, the following dynasty, when ‘tea cakes’ were made for
long distance transport. A grinder wheel was found on Belitung wreck.
Top left – A grinding wheel found with the wreck. Stoneware with brown glaze Changsha kiln, Hunan. Bottom left – A piece of
Chinese silk with a dragon emblem. Right – A well-known Tang dynasty painting (detail), called ‘A Palace Concert’, a prized
exhibit in the National Palace Museum of Taipei, showing courtiers drinking tea and making music.

23. Tea and silk
Among the Middle East exports were glass, ceramics, metal ware, frankincense and pearls in the above.
Pearl
Burning frankincense

24. It is customary to use wide-mouth ceramic urns for packaging breakable goods in China. The practice is still used today.
Very often straws or husks are added to cushion the goods in the urn. The ceramic items on the Belitung ship were
packed this way. Because of the packaging, many ceramic items have survived unbroken around the wreck.
Packaging urn

25. A collection of the packaging stoneware urns made in Guangdong province.
Packaging urn

26. Personal belongings were found on the Belitung ship, suggesting it was manned by an international crew. On board,
there was a Chinese inkstone and a ceramic grinder used to prepare tea. The ship was built in the Middle East. Among
the possessions from the Middle East were two turquoise-glazed amphorae, a jar and a glass bottle. To help the ship to
navigate in the Southeast Asia, there would be local navigators and pilots from the major ports of the time – Vietnam,
Indonesia (mainly Sumatra and Java), Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
International crew
Left. A Chinese inkstone, a palette for Chinese ink for writing. Middle. A tiny blue-glass bottle, likely from west Asia perhaps
for medicine or for cosmetics. Right: A piloncito coins like one found on the ship used in Indonesia until the 13C. Ref:
Shipwrecked p 43.

27. Gaming on Board
Among the objects salvaged were a bone die and ivory gaming pieces for gambling or for board games. The game
pieces resemble similar pieces found in China for the game GO. 棋圍

28. Life on Board
Top Left. Grater in the form of a fish, Stoneware with brown glaze from the Changsha kiln, Hunan. China.
Bottom Left. Spoon, copper alloy.
Right. Lantern. Stoneware with green glaze. South China design.
Some more personal items from the Belitung wreck. Asian Civilizations Museum. Singapore.

29. The main cargo of the ship was Chinese ceramics. Thousands of ceramic bowls were tightly coiled
inside storage jars. The 18-metre long ship was carrying some 70,000 bowls, weighed about 25 tons.
The Ceramics Cargo

30. Location of Chinese Kilns in Tang Dynasty

31. Excavated Tang Dynasty Kiln

32. The vast majority of the ceramics stoneware, some 55,000 bowls, on the ship were from the kiln of Changsha, Hunan, in
middle China south of the Yangtze River. .Changsha wares were popular within China as well.
Changsha wares
Underglaze iron brown and copper-green pigments. Changsha Kilns. Hunan.

33. Changsha wares have been found throughout Southeast Asia and especially in Indonesia. It is possible that at least
part of the these wares were destined for sales in a Javanese port of densely populated Sailendra Kingdom of Central
Changsha wares
Ewers with West Asian influenced motifs – including palms, lions and warriors. Changsha Kilns. Hunan, clearly for exports..

34. Green-splashed wares, probably Gongxian Kilns Henan 巩县
Chinese green-splashed wares were widely imitated in the Middle East. Several colours were produced in China, but
green colour had particular appealed to the Middle East. Most green-splash wares were made in Gongxian kilns in
Henan province, Northern China.

35. Celadon (Yue) ware of Eastern China
Some 900 Chinese green-glazed wares
were made in Southern China, Zhejiang
province (Yue ware) and Guangdong
province near Guangzhou.
Bottle with lugs and incised floral
sprays. Stoneware with iron-green
celadon glaze, also known as Yue
ware.
Bottle stopper with moulded flowers.
Stoneware celadon glaze. Yue ware.

36. White ware of Northern China
Highly prized for their
delicacy and durability.
White Glazed Stoneware.
Bottle with quatrefoil from
Gongxian, Henan kilns and
the two pieces in front were
from Xing kilns, Hebei.
Chinese white wares were immensely desirable, both within China and abroad. The 300 pieces found in the wreck are of
high quality and were probably very expensive. These delicate and durable wares were made in Northern China.

37. This is the prized object from the Belitung wreck. It is the largest known example of a solid gold cup from the Tang
dynasty. Two similar gilded bronze with an iron core, octagonal cups were excavated in 1970, at Heijiacun, near Xian
China, decorated with Sasanian Musician. It was estimated the Belitung gold cup had an equivalent value equal to ten
year salary of a middle ranking official of the Tang Dynasty. The gold objects together with the silver objects was
hidden, in a special compartment in the bottom of the boat. The metal objects is the most important find of Tang gold
and silver ever made.
The Octagonal Gold Cup
Octagonal footed solid gold cup from the Belitung wreck, with Central Asian Dancer. Made in China probably Yangzhou, Jiangsu.

38. The Gold Bowl and Plate
Among the gold dinner set were a pair of oval lobed Gold Bowl with two ducks (for drinking wine) and a pair of square
lobed plates. These were most likely made in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. China.
Left. Oval lobed gold bowls. H 3, L 15.6, W10.2 cm. Right. Lobed dish with a Buddhist swastika. H1, L14.5. w14.5 cm..

39. The Silver boxes
These silver were most likely made in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, where it well-known for making metalware. The
boxes were used for storing cosmetics, incense and medicines. The Belitung metal wares were the first Tang Dynasty
metal wares discovered outside of China.

40. The Silver Plate
A silver platter decorated with a rhinoceros, which can only found in Africa, India and Indonesia. The Belitung ship
coincided with the time when the most prolific production of gold and silver wares during the late Tang Dynasty. .

41. The Silver Wine Bottle
A magnificent silver Bottle, partly gilded,
with a pair of mandarin ducks. This is
the only example of a silver wine flask
dating to the Tang Dynasty. Rice wine
and plum wine were popular drinks in
Tang China. They were served warm
from bottle and drunk from oval cups.
Silver wind bottle with handle, probably
made in south China and partly gilded.

42. Bronze Mirrors
Square mirror
With auspicious
Animals and flowers.
Lobed mirror with
flying birds and
floral springs.
Foliated mirror with
flying birds.
Mirror with lion and
grapevine design,
with drawing below.
These are designs on the back of bronze mirrors from the shipwreck. Some 29 bronze mirrors were found. The mirrors
were mostly silver and highly reflective. One mirror was identified as made in Yangzhou, where it was well-known for
making the best mirrors in Tang Dynasty. Bronze mirrors were very popular in China.

43. The Belitung ship carried 10 tons of lead
ingots. Some 2000 or more lead ingots
were left on the seabed. The lead ingots
were either used as ballast and as a
export cargo, since Tang China was a
significant producer of lead in Asia at the
time. There was a large lead mine in
Huameng, close to Guangzhou.
Lead Ingots
The lead ingots were stored inside jar. It
is not certain that the lead ingots were
originated in China.

44. Only star-anise spice from China was found on the Belitung ship. None of the south sea spices were
found.
Star Anise Spice

45. With 70,000 pieces of Chinese ceramics were found in a single ship. It strongly suggests that mass production
techniques were used in China to made thousands of standardised ceramics. This would include the use of on
assembly lines, job production or batch production methods. A single piece of ceramic would had to pass through
many specialist workers during the production process. Mass production technique were used in the 10C-12C during
the Song Dynasty. The discovery of the Beliturng wreck pushed the date back by at least a century earlier.
Mass Production in China
The centrepiece at the Asian Civilisations Museum showing a model of the Belitung ship, float on a sea of mass produced ceramics bowls.

46. China as a single market
Sunrise on the Grand Canal of China. Probably c1816-17. William Havell (Reading 1782 – London 1857). English. [The Grand Canal was the
single most important transport link that bind northern China, eastern China and southern China together. It was completed in the Sui Dynasty
(581-618 AD). It is 1794 km long, connecting China’s major river systems – Hai River, Yellow River, Huai River, Yangzi River and Qiantang
River. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the bank along the canal was the economic trading hub of the empire.
The cargo on the Belitung wreck were sourced from northern, eastern, middle and south China. To make this possible, a
distribution shipping network must have existed to deliver the mass produced goods to the final consumers. In another
words, China became a single market. Mass produced goods were able to be transported freely across China, instead of
isolated in local markets. This was supported by the centralised administration system created by the Tang Dynasty.

47. Mass Production, Mass Profit
Map and description displays at the Asian Civilization Museum on China’s mass production.

48. The Financiers
Who were the likely financiers of the
cargoes from the Belitiung ship? They
are likely to be the rich and powerful
political elites. In early 9C, tens of
thousands of vessels were commissioned
by the court and from rich provincial
governors. People involved with the
maritime trades were likely to be :-
Court officials
Guest from
West Asia
Japanese
guest
Northeast
minority
guest
Fresco from the tomb of the Crown Prince Li Huai. 684.
Foreign merchant like Li Susha, a very
rich Persian trader who was presented to
the emperor Jingzong in 824.
People with well connected court
eunuchs, court officials and military
governors..
People who were well connected to the
Imperial family.
Corrupted officials who conducted directly
with the maritime trade, even though
forbidden by the law of the time to
engage in private businesses - like Wang
E, the military commissioner of the prefect
of Guangzhou from 795 and 801 and his
successors Hu Zheng, military
commissioner of Guangzhou 826 and
828.

49. Some of the precursors of industrialization existed as early as the 9C from our look at the Belitung wreck. Steel was first
made some 2000 years ago. Mass production techniques were practiced. A single large market existed in China. There
are plenty of coal in China. The delay of the Industrial Revolution has always been a puzzle to many historians and
scholars. This is particularly true during the Song dynasty (immediately after the Tang Dynasty from the following 10C
onward), when scientific discoveries and major inventions were also made.
Chinese Industrial Revolution?
A blast furnace operates with a bellows powered by a waterwheels. An illustration printed in 1313 AD.

50. Global
Trade
Competition
Description and artefact displays at the Asian Civilization Museum. Singapore..

51. The new Asian Civilization Museum Asian Civilization Museum of Singapore..
The museum was founded in 1997 specialised in the material history of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West
Asia. The Belitung Shipwreck gallery in the museum housed one of the most important excavation of artefacts from the
Tang Dynasty. It was one of the largest and unique finds. It tells us about 9C China and documented the east-west
Asian maritime trading in history.

52. A pair of flying ducks on the gold wine drinking bowl.
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owners. Available free for non-commercial and personal
use.
The End
Music – Deborah’s Theme by Ennio Morricome

53. History Powerpoints