Note 407 — Chapter XII

These boats are usually known by the name of sampans, and are generally used for the transport of commodities from the interior to Hankow, and sometimes to the coast. But they do not serve for commercial purposes only; they are used as dwellings for whole families or populations, who are born, marry, and die in them. In those employed for the conveyance of salt on the Yang-tse, the chief type of the Chinese art of shipbuilding may be seen in all its singularity. Their sides are mostly painted black. The upper portions of these craft are strengthened by broad but thin beams, which are painted in various colours, but most frequently in red, and, between these, the port-holes are represented in the middle of a square of a similar colour. Towards the bows the sides are raised, and form continuous cheeks, painted green, with an eye, or some other fantastic emblem, in the centre. The bow is quite flat; its width at the water-line, is usually from 9 to 12 feet; and, there being no stem or cutwater, the bow can only repulse the pressure of the water, without dividing it. The poop is raised, and open at the fore part, with a white scutcheon covered with paintings, representing flowers, dragons, or other allegorical figures.