ABSTRACT
The rudder was a device used to control the direction of the boat. It had appeared and been in use by the first century bce in traditional China and represented another major Chinese invention. The development in silk and ceramics and porcelain manufacturing contributed to the progress of traditional China’s shipping industry, and the international trade of silk and ceramics and porcelain products in the Northern and Southern Song dynasties was mainly conducted through ocean-going shipping. China’s boat/ship building and nautical science development used to be the most advanced in the world. Boat/ship building, including both the public and the private sectors, in the Western and Eastern Jin dynasties developed to a much higher level. During the Qin dynasty and the Western Han dynasty and the Eastern Han dynasty, with the rapid development of the maritime industry, the boat/ship building industry was unprecedentedly prosperous.
