郑和下西洋与蓬莱紫檀木舵杆解析

Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Oceans and the Red Sandalwood Rudder in Penglai

1984年4月,在古登州港(蓬莱水城)发现明朝紫檀木大料,上刻有"永乐十年"的铭文,表明为明朝永乐年间造船使用的舵杆。经紫檀木专家周默先生实地考证,紫檀木产地为印度南部、西南部及东南部,紧邻古代的古里国。古里是郑和下西洋船队经常往来的抵达地,船队自然而然装载紫檀木返回中国,登州港紫檀木舵杆无疑与郑和下西洋船队带回的紫檀木有关。此外,紫檀木舵杆的发现表明明代造船选用了紫檀木、黄花梨木、铁力木等珍贵木材,永乐年间的郑和下西洋船队,有条件使用世界上最优质的木材造船,使其具有卓越的航海性能。

In April 1984, a large piece of red sandalwood was found in Dengzhou Port. The inscription of ＂the 10th year of Yongle＂ shows that it was used as rudder in Yongle period of the Ming dynasty. According to red sandalwood expert Mr. Zhou Mo, red sandalwood grew in the south, southwest and southeast of India, the region adjacent to the ancient Kori Kingdom. Kori was one of the destinations of Zheng He＇s fleet, and so it was natural that some red sandalwood would have been freighted to China. Undoubtedly the red sandalwood rudder from Denghzou Port had something to do with the red sandalwood brought back by Zheng He＇s fleet. In addition, the discovery of the red sandalwood rudder shows that precious wood such as red sandalwood, yellow rosewood, ferrerous mesua were used in shipbuilding in the Ming Dynasty. Zheng He＇s fleet used the world＇s top - quality wood in shipbuilding, which ensured the excellent performance of the ships.