Battle of Caishi
Encyclopedia
The naval Battle of Caishi (采石之战) took place in 1161 and was the result of an attempt by forces of the Jurchen Jin to cross the Yangtze River
, thus beginning an invasion of Southern Song China. It followed the Battle of Tangdao
on the East China Sea
.
The Song Dynasty navy consisted primarily of paddlewheel ships, which were faster and more maneuverable than the Jin ships, providing the Song with a great advantage. They hid their fleet behind the island of Jinshan, and brought them out at the signal of a mounted scout atop the island's peak. The Song then bombarded the invaders with traction trebuchets
, launching "thunderclap bombs", which were soft-cased explosives filled with lime
, which would create a noxious cloud when the fuses went off and broke the soft cases. The Jin were so badly defeated that the humiliated Emperor Wanyan Liang (posthumously Hailingwang, "Prince (of) Hailing") of Jin was assassinated by his own men. A subsequent peace treaty signed by both Song and Jin in 1164 would end violence and conflict between the two for four decades to come.
On the significance of this battle and the development of the Song navy, the 20th century historian Joseph Needham
states (Wade-Giles
spelling):
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
, thus beginning an invasion of Southern Song China. It followed the Battle of Tangdao
Battle of Tangdao
The naval Battle of Tangdao took place in 1161 between the Jurchen Jin and the Southern Song Dynasty of China on the East China Sea. It was an attempt by the Jin to invade and conquer the Southern Song Dynasty, yet resulted in failure and defeat for the Jurchens. The Jin Dynasty navy was set on...
on the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
.
The Song Dynasty navy consisted primarily of paddlewheel ships, which were faster and more maneuverable than the Jin ships, providing the Song with a great advantage. They hid their fleet behind the island of Jinshan, and brought them out at the signal of a mounted scout atop the island's peak. The Song then bombarded the invaders with traction trebuchets
Trebuchet
A trebuchet is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be called the "traction trebuchet", the original version with pulling men instead of...
, launching "thunderclap bombs", which were soft-cased explosives filled with lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
, which would create a noxious cloud when the fuses went off and broke the soft cases. The Jin were so badly defeated that the humiliated Emperor Wanyan Liang (posthumously Hailingwang, "Prince (of) Hailing") of Jin was assassinated by his own men. A subsequent peace treaty signed by both Song and Jin in 1164 would end violence and conflict between the two for four decades to come.
Historical perspectives
An account of this battle was given by the Song naval commander Yang Wanli in his Hai Qiu Fu (Rhapsodic Ode on the Sea-eel Paddle Wheel Warships):
In the xin-si year of the Shao-Xing reign period, the rebels of (Wanyan) Liang came to the north (bank) of the River in force, intending to capture the people's boats, and hoisted flags indicating that they wished to cross over. But our fleet was hidden behind Qibao Shan (island), with orders to come out when a flag signal was given. So a horseman was sent up to the top of the mountain with a hidden flag, and then when the enemy were in mid-stream suddenly the flag appeared; whereupon our ships rushed forth from behind (the island) on both sides. The men inside them paddled fast on the treadmills, and the ships glided forwards as though they were flying, yet no one was visible on board. The enemy thought that they were made of paper. Then all of a sudden a thunderclap bomb was let off. It was made with paper (carton) and filled with lime and sulphur. (Launched from trebuchets) these thunderclap bombs came dropping down from the air, and upon meeting the water exploded with a noise like thunder, the sulphur bursting into flames. The carton case rebounded and broke, scattering the lime to form a smoky fog, which blinded the eyes of men and horses so that they could see nothing. Our ships then went forward to attack theirs, and their men and horses were all drowned, so that they were utterly defeated.
On the significance of this battle and the development of the Song navy, the 20th century historian Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA , also known as Li Yuese , was a British scientist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and as a fellow of the British...
states (Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
spelling):
From a total of 11 squadronsSquadron (naval)A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
and 3,000 men [the Song navy] rose in one century to 20 squadrons totalling 52,000 men, with its main base near ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. The regular striking force could be supported at need by substantial merchantmen; thus in the campaign of +1161 (AD) some 340 ships of this kind participated in the battles on the Yangtze. The age was one of continual innovation; in +1129 (AD) trebuchetTrebuchetA trebuchet is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be called the "traction trebuchet", the original version with pulling men instead of...
s throwing gunpowderGunpowderGunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
bombs were decreed standard equipment on all warships, between +1132 (AD) and +1183 (AD) a great number of treadmill-operated paddle-wheelPaddle steamerA paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
craft, large and small, were built, including stern-wheelers and ships with as many as 11 paddle-wheels a side (the invention of the remarkable engineer Kao Hsuan), and in +1203 (AD) some of these were armored with iron plates (to the design of another outstanding shipwright Chhin Shih-Fu)...In sum, the navy of the Southern Sung held off the [Jurchen Jin] and then the Mongols for nearly two centuries, gaining complete control of the East China Sea.
See also
- Naval warfareNaval warfareNaval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers.-History:Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Land warfare would seem, initially, to be irrelevant and entirely removed from warfare on the open ocean,...
- Military history of China (pre-1911)
- Naval history of ChinaNaval history of ChinaThe naval history of China dates back thousands of years, with archives existing since the late Spring and Autumn Period about the ancient navy of China and the various ship types used in war. China was leading maritime power in the years 1405-1433, when Chinese shipbuilders began to build massive...
- History of the Song DynastyHistory of the Song DynastyThe Song Dynasty of China was a ruling dynasty that controlled China proper and southern China from the middle of the 10th century into the last quarter of the 13th century...
- Technology of the Song DynastyTechnology of the Song DynastyThe Song Dynasty provided some of the most significant technological advances in Chinese history, many of which came from talented statesmen drafted by the government through imperial examinations....
- Gunpowder warfareGunpowder warfareEarly modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including artillery and handguns such as the arquebus and later the musket, and for this reason the era is also summarized as the age of gunpowder...
- Jiao YuJiao YuJiao Yu was a Chinese military officer loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang , the founder of the Ming Dynasty . He was entrusted by Emperor Hongwu as a leading artillery officer for the rebel army that overthrew the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, and established the Ming Dynasty...