ABSTRACT
In a recent article I cautiously advanced the view that the single rudder could have been invented by the Chinese and transmitted via the Arabs to the Mediterranean. 1 At that time I emphasized the sparse evidence in my possession, hoping to supplement my initial hypothesis with further concrete arguments. At the Fifth International Conference on Ancient Ship Construction, which took place in Nauplion in August 1993, Lucien Basch flatly denied any such possibility, claiming that the Arabs simply adopted this invention from the crusaders. Although Basch has done an admirable job of collecting and classifying valuable icono-graphic material on navigation, 2 it would, nevertheless, be unwise to draw any conclusions based solely on iconography. In order to investigate the possible invention of the single rudder in China and its transmission to the Mediterranean, the historical reality of the period and the literary sources, as well as the iconographic evidence, must be taken into consideration.
