Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 118, Military Supplies, Part 2: Water

Page 8

Mechanical Rafts

Xiefa original: 械筏; literally "mechanical" or "structured" raft. This refers to rafts constructed using specific military implements or specialized framing techniques.

The Wood Jar Raft

Muying original: 木罌; literally "wood-jar," referring to a raft built around wooden-framed ceramic buoyancy units.

The Wood Jar Raft is constructed by lashing together ceramic urns and pots original: 甕缶 (wengfou); these are wide-mouthed earthenware vessels common in domestic and military storage to serve as a floating foundation.

• Buoyancy and Capacity: Each individual urn or pot is capable of supporting a weight of two dan original: 石 (dan); a traditional unit of weight. During this period, two dan was roughly equivalent to 120 kilograms or 265 pounds. This provides sufficient displacement to carry one person safely.
• Assembly: To form the raft, fifty or fewer of these jars are arranged in a group. They are hooked and linked together using stout ropes.
• Structure: Spears or long poles original: 槍 (qiang) are lashed across the top of the jars to create a stable framework this frame prevents the jars from shifting or colliding during transit.
• Dimensions: The resulting shape of the vessel is long and rectangular.

Navigation and Control:

• The front of the vessel is fitted with a prow often constructed with a flat wooden headboard to deflect waves.
• A steering oar original: 稍 (shao); a large sweep oar at the stern used for directional control is placed at the rear.
• Rowing oars original: 棹 (zhao) are positioned on both the left and right sides to provide propulsion.

This entry illustrates the ingenuity of pre-modern military logistics. By calculating the specific buoyancy of common household items like ceramic jars, commanders could quickly assemble transport fleets using local resources. The "Mechanical Raft" depicted in the accompanying woodcut also suggests the use of bundles of sharpened stakes, which could serve both as transport and as a water-based obstacle against enemy vessels.