Worcester's Upper Yangtze vessels - Free download

 

A river lifeboat, from Junks and Sampans of the Upper Yangtze (1940), by G.R.G. Worcester (Plate 9).

Junks and Sampans of the Upper Yangtze by G.R.G. Worcester (1940, published by the Inspector General of Customs of China) is now available for free download. It joins Worcester's other works on the traditional vessels of the Yangtze (Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze: Volume 1: Introduction: and Craft of the Estuary and Shanghai Area; and Volume 2:The Craft of the Lower and Middle Yangtze and Tributaries, on our page of downloads, where you'll find other books on Asian watercraft. The newest document was made available by an enthusiast who chooses to remain anonymous but to whom we are most grateful.

Like Volumes 1 and 2, the "Upper Yangtze" volume is a comprehensive survey of the traditional watercraft in the area under study, covering boat types, construction details, and fascinating descriptions of each boat type's design, history, and use. Worcester was an Englishman employed as a river inspector for China's Maritime Customs Service.

The Hung Ch'uan boat shown at the top, was a life boat. Dozens of these "red boats" (known as such for their characteristic color) were stationed along treacherous stretches of river, where they came to the aid of vessels in distress and saved hundreds of lives annually. The one shown measured 30' LOA by 7' beam. The characters on the flag identify its operator as "The Society for Rescuing Drowning People, Lower Section, Lungmenhao, South Bank, Chungking".

Tracking tackle and rigging, from Junks and Sampans of the Upper Yangtze (1940), by G.R.G. Worcester (Plate 4).

The second image shows the tackle used for tracking a boat upstream with a line made from braided strips of bamboo. The number of men hauling the tracking line could vary from one to hundreds, depending upon the size and weight of the boat and the speed and pitch of the current. Other illustrations in the book show sail rigs, rudder configurations, and comparative vessel profiles. It's well worth a look and a download. Enjoy!

The Warrau Canoe and the Construction of Landscape

In October, I gave a presentation titled The Warrau Canoe and the Construction of Landscape at the first Early Watercraft Congress in Vila do Conde, Portugal. The presentation was derived from my PhD thesis (in process), which is based on fieldwork conducted in 2022 and 2023 in Imbotero, a small village of Indigenous Warrau people in northwest Guyana. The canoes in question are dugouts, and "construction of landscape" refers to the cognitive processes of making sense of the physical environment in which the people live and creating personal and social structures to suit. 

Click the image below to view the video on YouTube. A brief introduction to my presentation, by Dr. Niall Gregory, begins at 25:18.

Do watch the other presentations before and after mine on this video, and some of the other excellent presentations from the conference:

https://www.youtube.com/@EarlyWatercraftCongress

https://www.youtube.com/live/dmaHAgopDQY?si=Ie5MjuUqTVbjGu23

https://www.youtube.com/live/YtCjb_LOd7Y?si=6_QA351a5MYDBm8r

https://www.youtube.com/live/LbJtqd2VtsA?si=i8Mf9oGavhL1L5kI

https://youtu.be/kTxgw-yAZek?si=LmxPMpq7e3J5oGau

https://www.youtube.com/live/HEdLmWdSVNc?si=LYHWESrEzJLvwJmZ

https://youtu.be/MyEdiF6q_BI?si=kxGraGUhuoWs2dax

https://www.youtube.com/live/2o2kBeNu8Cg?si=HpV0Bbbv9SolOxGf

Poujade's and Piétri's books on traditional Vietnamese boats: free dowloads

Blocks and pulleys onVietnamese sailboats. From Sailboats of Indochina (Voiliers d'Indochine) by J. B. Piétri. 

Thanks to a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, I'm delighted to present two more works on the boats of Vietnam for free download: Sailboats of Indochina by J. B. Piétri, and Bateaux en Indochine by Jean Poujade. They join a page of other free downloads of books on Chinese and Southeast Asian watercraft.

Piétri was a fisheries officer for the French colonial government in Indochina, and he evidently travelled the coast intensively and documented everything he saw. His work, presented in English translation, is an encyclopaedic survey of boat types by geographic area, with detailed descriptions and fine illustrations of construction methods, fittings such as rigging details, achors, and rudders, and how each boat type is used. The French edition of 1949 (Voiliers d'Indochine) was translated by Stephanie Dumont and published by the Vietnam Wooden Boat Foundation, Port Townsend, Washington, in 2006. I have attempted unsuccessfully to contact the VWBF and the translator for permission to make the book available. I welcome the parties to contact me to discuss the matter. I will respect copyright requests by its current owner.

Poujade's shorter work, presented in the original French, consists of brief essays on a small selection of boat types, accompanied by pleasing drawings in pencil. Poujade was an officer in the maritime law department of the French colonial navy in the Far East.

A small Vietnamese fishing boat. From Bateaux en Indochine by Jean Poujade.

REVISION 12 FEBRUARY, 2024: Some readers are finding problems with the maritime terminology in the English translation of Petrie's Sailboats of Indochina (Voiliers d'Indochine) posted here. A translation that some find superior is avalable at reasonable cost on Lulu.com as an e-book and in paperback.

REVISION, 28 Nov. 2023: The French original of Piétri's work, Voiliers d'Indochine, is also available on this blog's download page.