Southern Song Warships (Mongol-Song Wars)

Type Object Region China Time c. 1200–1279

Southern Song warships of the mid-to-late 13th century—tower ships, sea-falcon ships, mengchong and fast galleys—armed with ballistae, firearms and h…

Timeline

c. 1200–1234Lin'an · ChinaBuilding on records in texts such as the Wujing Zongyao, the Southern Song maintained multiple warship types—tower ships, fighting ships and mengchong—with the navy stationed at key river ports, using iron chains, stakes and palisades together with warships to form a river defense system.
c. 1261–1270Confluence of the Han and Yangtze rivers · HubeiDuring the prolonged Mongol siege of Xiangyang–Fancheng, the Southern Song navy used warships to transport grain and ammunition, blockaded the Han River channel and struck when opportunities arose; tower ships and fast galleys worked with ballistae and firearms against Mongol pontoon bridges and siege engines.
1273–1276Lower Yangtze · ChinaAfter Xiangfan fell, the Southern Song navy withdrew to the lower Yangtze; warship tactics shifted to mobile harassment and escorting the fleeing court, while the Yuan also built warships in large numbers to contest control of the river.
1279Yashan · GuangdongZhang Shijie formed a ship-fort of a thousand warships in the Yamen waters but lost the decisive battle against the Yuan navy; the remnants of the Southern Song fleet were destroyed, ending Southern Song warships as an independent military system in the Mongol-Song wars.

Sources

武经总要 — 曾公亮、丁度 (1044)
The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907–1368 — Franke, Herbert; Twitchett, Denis (eds.) (1994)