Navigating Voyages in Real and Religious Life: The Big-Dipper Belief and Shipbuilding in Premodern China

Sailors in premodern China performed various types of rituals to pray for safe voyages. This article investigates a unique seven-dot image discovered from shipwrecks dated to thirteenth- and fourteenth-century China. Comparing the seven-dot image with the Big-Dipper image in premodern navigation map...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Li, Yiwen (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: MDPI [2020]
In: Religions
Year: 2020, Volume: 11, Issue: 3
Further subjects:B folk belief
B folk rituals
B premodern China
B Shipbuilding
B the Big Dipper
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Sailors in premodern China performed various types of rituals to pray for safe voyages. This article investigates a unique seven-dot image discovered from shipwrecks dated to thirteenth- and fourteenth-century China. Comparing the seven-dot image with the Big-Dipper image in premodern navigation maps, this article demonstrates that the seven-dot image represents the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper in premodern China was both an essential, practical guidance in maritime voyages and a religious symbol that the faithful believed could prolong the human’s lifespan and command the element of water. The dual function of the Big Dipper endowed the Big-Dipper images in ships with a dual meaning and made it particularly auspicious. The Big Dipper’s practical function prompted the carvers to present the image accurately, making it distinctive from other Big-Dipper images in the religious context.
ISSN:2077-1444
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel11080398