The accounts of Wan Chen (Wan Zhen) and K'ang T'ai (Kang Tai) provide some of the earliest and most detailed descriptions of the massive Southeast Asian vessels that dominated the maritime Silk Road long before the rise of the Chinese junk.
These ships, referred to in Chinese records as Kunlun Bo (崑崙舶), literally "Ships of the Kunlun People" (a term the Chinese used for the dark-skinned peoples of Maritime Southeast Asia), were a marvel of ancient engineering.
1. The Evidence from Wan Chen
In his 3rd-century work Nanzhou Yiwu Zhi (Strange Things of the South), Wan Chen describes ships that were far larger than anything known in China at the time:
- Immense Size: He recorded ships over 50 meters (approx. 160 feet) in length, standing 4–5 meters out of the water.
- Massive Capacity: They could carry between 600 and 700 people and nearly 1,000 tons of cargo.
- The "Tanja" Sail: He described a sophisticated sail system using four masts arranged obliquely (not in a straight line). This allowed the sails to "receive the breath of the wind from one another," enabling the ships to sail even against the wind and survive "dashing waves."
2. The Evidence from K'ang T'ai
K'ang T'ai was a diplomat sent by the Kingdom of Wu to the kingdom of Funan (modern-day Vietnam/Cambodia) around 250 AD. His work, Wu Shi Wai Guo Zhuan (Account of Foreign Countries in the Wu Period), corroborated Wan Chen’s findings:
- Advanced Construction: He noted that these ships did not use iron nails. Instead, the planks were fastened with wooden dowels and bound together with coconut fiber (coir). This "sewn-plank" technique made the hulls flexible and resilient to the impact of coral reefs or heavy surf.
- Multiple Layers: To ensure strength, the hulls were made of multiple layers of thin planks—an early form of "plywood" logic applied to shipbuilding.
At the time these Malay ships were docking in Guangzhou, most Chinese vessels were still primarily riverine or coastal craft. It wasn't until the Tang and Song dynasties (several centuries later) that Chinese shipbuilding adopted many of these oceanic features, eventually evolving into the famous Treasure Ships of Zheng He.
| Feature | Kunlun Bo (3rd Century) | 3rd Century Chinese Ships |
| Material | Sewn planks, coconut fiber | Iron nails (mostly riverine) |
| Sails | Multiple masts, oblique tanja sails | Simple square sails |
| Route | Deep-sea (India to China) | Mostly coastal/riverine |
| Capacity | 600–700 passengers | Significantly smaller |
Why "Kunlun"?
The term "Kunlun" originally referred to a mythical mountain in the west, but by the 3rd century, it had become a descriptor for the sailors of the "Southern Seas" (Nusantara). These people—likely ancestors of the modern Malay and Javanese—were the primary navigators connecting the Roman Empire, India, and China.
The identification of the Kunlun (or K’un-lun) as Malays and the Kunlun Bo (崑崙舶) as Malay ships is supported by a combination of ancient Chinese records, linguistic reconstructions, and maritime archaeology.
In early Chinese texts, "Kunlun" was a generic term for the dark-skinned, seafaring peoples of the "Southern Seas" (Nanyang). Over time, scholars have localized these descriptions to the Austronesian peoples, specifically the ancestors of the modern Malays and Indonesians.
1. Linguistic and Textual Evidence
- The Term "Kunlun": Ancient Chinese sources, such as the 3rd-century Nanzhou Yiwuzhi (Strange Things of the South) by Wan Chen, describe the Kunlun as expert sailors. The monk I-Tsing (7th century), who studied in Srivijaya (a Malay empire), explicitly referred to the language spoken there as Kunlun-yu (Kunlun language), which modern linguists identify as Old Malay.
- Ptolemy's Records: The Greek geographer Ptolemy (c. 150 AD) referred to the Malay Peninsula as Maleu-kolon. Scholars suggest that "Kunlun" may be a Chinese transliteration of a local term related to "Kolon" or the Old Malay word Kou-long.
- Etymology of "Bo": The Chinese word Bo (舶), meaning a large ocean-going ship, is believed to be a loanword from the Austroasiatic or Austronesian parahu or perahu (the Malay word for boat/ship).
2. The "Kunlun Bo" as a Malay/Austronesian Ship
The Kunlun Bo was described by the Chinese as massive vessels that dwarfed Chinese ships of the same era. Evidence for their Malay/Austronesian origin includes:
- Construction Technique (Lashed-lug): Unlike Chinese junks, which used iron nails and transverse bulkheads, Chinese records (such as those by Ssu-ma Piao) state that Kunlun ships were built without iron. They used "fibrous bark of the coconut tree" (coir) to stitch planks together—a hallmark of the Austronesian "lashed-lug" tradition found in ancient Malay ship remains.
- The Tanja Sail: Descriptions of Kunlun Bo masts and sails match the Tanja sail (canted rectangular sail), a distinctively Austronesian invention used by Malay and Javanese sailors long before the Chinese adopted the "junk rig" (battened sail).
- Size and Capacity: Wan Chen recorded that these ships were over 50 meters long, carried 600–700 people, and up to 1,000 tons of cargo. This matches the archaeological "Djong" tradition of Maritime Southeast Asia, which served the Srivijayan and Majapahit empires.
Historical and Cultural Identity:
| Feature | Ancient Description (Kunlun) | Corresponding Malay/Austronesian Trait |
| Physicality | Dark skin, curly hair, wore sarongs. | Physical traits and traditional dress (sarong) of Maritime SE Asians. |
| Skill | Incredible divers and "experts of the water." | Deep-rooted maritime culture; "Sea Nomad" (Orang Laut) traditions. |
| Geography | Inhabited the "Islands of the Southern Seas." | Malay Archipelago (Nusantara). |
| Technology | Sewn-plank hulls, multi-masted, no iron. | Indigenous Southeast Asian shipbuilding (e.g., Pontian ship, 3rd–5th century). |
Summary
The weight of evidence suggests that "Kunlun" was the umbrella term used by the Chinese to describe the Austronesian-speaking maritime civilization. Because the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra (Srivijaya) were the primary hubs for this trade and language, the Kunlun Bo is widely accepted as the precursor to the classical Malay/Javanese Djong (Junk).
ARCHAELOGICAL SHIPWRECK
Several archaeological discoveries provide physical proof of the "Kunlun" shipbuilding methods described in ancient texts. These shipwrecks confirm that the Kunlun Bo was part of a sophisticated, distinct maritime tradition known as the Lashed-Lug Tradition.
The Pontian boat and the Punjulharjo boat are the most significant "smoking guns" in this field.
1. The Pontian Boat (3rd–5th Century CE)
Found in 1926 in Pahang, Malaysia, this is the earliest securely dated example of a complex, plank-built vessel in Southeast Asia. It directly aligns with the era when Chinese records first began mentioning "Kunlun" sailors.
Evidence of Kunlun Tech:
- No Iron Fastenings: The boat was held together entirely by organic materials, exactly as described in the Nanzhou Yiwuzhi.
- Lashed-Lug Technique: The planks featured carved internal lugs (protruding "cleats") with holes. Ribs and frames were lashed to these lugs using ijok (sugar palm) fiber.
- Sewn Planks: Unlike later ships that relied solely on wooden dowels, the Pontian boat used a "transitional" method where planks were both stitched together with rope and held by a few wooden pegs.
2. The Punjulharjo Boat (7th–8th Century CE)
Discovered in 2008 in Rembang, Central Java, this 15-meter vessel is one of the most complete ancient ships ever found in the region. It dates to the height of the Srivijaya period—the empire the Chinese specifically identified with the "Kunlun."
Evidence of Kunlun Tech:
- Sophisticated Lashing: The fiber ropes used to lash the hull were so well-preserved that researchers could identify the specific "L-shaped" holes drilled into the plank edges to hide the stitches from the outside.
- Material Choice: It was built using merawan wood and palm fiber—materials local to the Malay Archipelago and mentioned in Chinese accounts of "Southern Seas" vessels.
- Intact Structure: Because it was found almost whole, it proved that these ships were not just small canoes but structurally sound, ocean-going vessels capable of the 600-person capacities mentioned in texts.
Comparison of Archeology vs. "Kunlun Bo" Textual Descriptions
| Textual Description of Kunlun Bo | Archaeological Evidence (Pontian/Punjulharjo/Butuan) |
| "Built without iron" | Confirmed: All early SE Asian wrecks use fiber and dowels. |
| "Stitched with coconut/palm fiber" | Confirmed: Ijok (palm) fiber found in both Pontian and Punjulharjo. |
| "Multiple layers of planks" | Confirmed: Evidence of "double-skin" hull construction in larger vessels. |
| "Massive size (50m+)" | Partially Confirmed: While found remains are ~15–20m, the technique (lashed-lug) is modular and capable of scaling to the sizes reported. |
Summary
These shipwrecks prove that the Kunlun Bo was not a myth or a Chinese exaggeration. They demonstrate a unique "shell-first" construction philosophy that was entirely independent of Chinese (bulkhead/junk) or Indian (sewn-plank/continuous stitch) traditions. This confirms that a high-tech, Austronesian/Malay maritime culture was active and dominant during the first millennium CE.
THE GREAT MALAY JONG OF 15TH CENTURY
By the 15th century, the Kunlun Bo had evolved into the legendary Malay Jong (or Djong), the giant of the Southeast Asian seas. While the earlier ships of the 3rd–8th centuries (like the Pontian and Punjulharjo) were smaller ancestors, the 15th-century Jongs were behemoths that astonished European explorers like Alfonso de Albuquerque.
The Great Malay Jong represented the peak of Austronesian maritime engineering before the colonial era.
1. Evolution of the "Lashed-Lug" Tradition
While the 15th-century Jongs were far larger than their ancestors, they retained the core "Kunlun" DNA:
- From Stitching to Treenails: By the 15th century, the labor-intensive "stitching" of planks with fiber had largely been replaced by treenails (wooden dowels). However, the ships remained entirely "iron-free" in their primary hull construction to maintain flexibility in rough seas.
- Multi-Layered Hulls: Portuguese chronicler Duarte Barbosa noted that Malay Jongs were built with 3 to 4 layers of planks stacked on top of each other. This acted as an early form of "bulletproofing" against rocks and later, against Portuguese cannon fire.
- No Internal Bulkheads: Unlike Chinese junks, which used watertight compartments (bulkheads), Malay Jongs relied on a massive internal framework of ribs and beams, a direct evolution of the lashed-lug system.
2. Physical Characteristics of the 15th-Century Jong
| Feature | Description |
| Size | Estimated at 50 to 80 meters in length. Some were reported to be larger than the Portuguese flagship Flor de la Mar. |
| Capacity | Carried 600 to 1,000 men and up to 1,000 tons of cargo (spices, ceramics, and textiles). |
| Sails | Used the Tanja Sail (canted rectangular sail) made of woven rattan or palm. These were "balance lugs" that allowed the ship to sail against the wind. |
| Rudders | Equipped with double quarter-rudders (one on each side of the stern), unlike the single central rudder found on Chinese ships. |
| Armament | During the Malacca Sultanate, these ships were often fitted with bronze cannons (lela or rentaka). |
3. Historical Impact: "The World Shakers"
The 15th-century Jong was the backbone of the Malacca Sultanate and the Majapahit Empire.
The 15th-century Jong was the backbone of the Malacca Sultanate and the Majapahit Empire.
- Portuguese Accounts: When the Portuguese first encountered a Great Jong near Pasai in 1511, they found that their cannons were practically useless against its thick, multi-layered hull. They described the ship as a "floating castle" whose sides were so high that the Portuguese soldiers could not board it.
- Pati Unus’s Fleet: In 1513, the Javanese prince Pati Unus launched a fleet of 100 Jongs to retake Malacca from the Portuguese. The largest of these Jongs was said to be so massive that it made the largest European ships of the time look like small boats.
- Linguistic Legacy: The Malay word jong is the root of the English word "junk." While we now use "junk" to refer primarily to Chinese ships, in the 15th century, it specifically referred to these massive Southeast Asian ocean-crossers.
4. Why few "Great Jongs" remain archaeologically
While we have wrecks of the smaller "Kunlun" ancestors (Pontian, etc.), we haven't found a fully intact 15th-century Great Jong yet. This is due to:
While we have wrecks of the smaller "Kunlun" ancestors (Pontian, etc.), we haven't found a fully intact 15th-century Great Jong yet. This is due to:
- Material: They were built of Teak and other tropical hardwoods.5 While durable, the high-energy maritime environments of the Malacca Strait tend to break up large wooden structures over 500 years.
- Salvage: Large ships were often dismantled for their valuable wood or burned during the intense naval wars of the 16th century.
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4 January 2026: 1.18 a.m
