Friday, January 12, 2024

Reconstructing the Ancient Trade Routes

Voyage with a Tail Wind: Chronicles of Ancient Maritime Journeys uses an ancient 15th Century book to reconstruct the trade routes used by Chinese spice traders during the Ming Dynasty. The Voyage with a Tail Wind or Shun Feng Xiang Song is a Chinese manuscript, dating from around 1403, which documents the maritime routes, coastal landmarks, and navigational hazards encountered by Chinese sailors navigating the western seas and Indian Ocean.

This story-map animates a journey from China to Indonesia based on the accounts of the sailors retold in Voyage with a Tail Wind. The book records the names of islands visited (or passed) by Chinese sailors on their voyages. This story-map recreates one of these journeys, the 38 day voyage from Wu Yu (modern day Wuyu Island) To Kupang (in modern day Indonesia).

As you scroll through Voyage with a Tail Wind you can follow the journey of a Chinese trade ship as it sails to Indonesia. As you scroll the ship moves on the map while an information window provides a continually updated record of the number of miles traveled. At the bottom of the map a heads up display keeps track of the ship's speed, miles traveled and the amount of time spent on the journey.

As you journey towards Indonesia scrolling info windows use data from the 'Voyage with a Tail Wind' book to provide information on the sights and visual aides used by the sailors to successfully navigate as they journey towards their destination of Kupang.

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