Chinese mariner's compass

Timeline

1. c. 1100–1368Quanzhou · FujianSong texts such as the Wujing Zongyao record guiding magnetic needles; Yuan shipbuilding and overseas trade flourished, with the water compass placed at the bow, combined with needle-route texts like Shunfeng Xiangsong, forming a systematic method of maritime direction navigation.
2. 1405–1433Longjiang Treasure Ship Yard, Nanjing · East ChinaZheng He's seven voyages to the Western Seas saw treasure ships equipped with water compasses, star-altitude techniques, and route books, crossing the Indian Ocean to East Africa; the mariner's compass reached its Ming peak in large official fleets, demonstrating the maturity of ocean navigation technology at the time.
3. 1461–1470Coast of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, Fujian · FujianDuring the Chenghua era official treasure-ship activity declined, but private merchant ships and smuggling trade still relied on compass needle routes between Southeast Asia and Japan; ships at Yuegang, Zhangzhou port, and others were commonly equipped with water compasses, maintaining the East Asian maritime network.
4. 1200Indian Ocean–Mediterranean route · EuropeThe Chinese mariner's compass spread to the Mediterranean via Arab merchants, influencing Europe's Age of Discovery. In modern times, gyrocompasses and satellite navigation gradually replaced magnetic compasses in ocean shipping, but magnetic compasses are still widely fitted on all kinds of vessels.