Throughout history, people have used the sea for transportation. As compared to land, sea transport offers a more economical means for moving large quantities of goods. Thus, of the historic passages connecting East and West, the maritime route, which had a later inception, survived longer than either the Steppe Road or the Silk Road (oasis route). Today, sunken vessels are still occasionally discovered along this sea passage, providing great insights into the vibrant milieu of past maritime trade. One exemplary case is the Sinan Shipwreck Collection, a crucial portion of the National Museum of Korea’s permanent collection.1

The Sinan Shipwreck Collection comprises more than 30,000 artifacts from a single merchant vessel, including both commercial merchandise and personal items belonging to the people on board. The collection conveys a vivid picture of the East Asian trade that took place on the eastern end of the maritime Silk Route.

The shipwreck was discovered in Sinan, an area marked by a network of narrow channels running through a cluster of small islands in the southwest of the Korea. Traditionally, the residents of this area have engaged in both farming and fishing. The shipwreck was found in the middle of the strait between two islands, Yimjado and Jeungdo, at the exact geographical coordinates of 35° 1' 15" N latitude and 126° 5' 6" E longitude. In 1975, a local fisherman was surprised to find a piece of ceramics caught in his fishing net. He eventually reported his find to the district office, and the full site became known to the public the following year (Fig. 1). Soon, rumors were flying about the valuable underwater ceramic treasure, resulting in rampant plundering. Consequently, the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea stepped in to protect the site, initiating an official investigation on October 27, 1976. However, the excavation process would be fraught with various predicaments. The water at the site was 20-25 meters deep, with rapid currents and no visibility. Moreover, the investigation was launched at the onset of winter, so the freezing temperatures of the water prevented much progress. These unfavorable conditions inevitably prolonged the duration of the excavation, such that the entire project lasted for nearly eight years (Fig. 2).

The excavation was conducted in 11 stages, and was officially completed on September 17, 1984. The Cultural Heritage Administration published reports on the various stages of the excavation process: Relics Salvaged from the Seabed off Sinan, Materials I (1981), Materials II (1984), and Materials III (1985). In 1987, another investigation was launched after information arose about the possible existence of a second Sinan ship, but artifacts found at the site were confirmed to be from the original site. The published reports (Materials I through III) cover only the materials specific to the certain stages of the excavation, so a more inclusive report encompassing all of the artifacts was required. Thus, Relics Salvaged from the Seabed off Sinan: A Comprehensive Report was published in 1988, based on extensive research about the entire group of Sinan shipwreck artifacts. This full-scale report is a vital reference that is widely used to understand the complete picture of the artifacts of the Sinan Shipwreck Collection, detailing the excavation process, the types and quantities of the artifacts, and other related information. Table 1 shows the types of artifacts excavated from the Sinan shipwreck site.

The National Museum of Korea has acquired all of the artifacts listed in Table 1, with the sole exception of the hull pieces.2 After the acquisition, the museum completely reorganized the collection of 24,576 items by attributing specimen numbers, beginning with “Sinan 00001.” The museum also maintains a separate listing of 2,329 items under the name “Sindo,” which are the illegally salvaged artifacts that have been confiscated.

The Sinan Shipwreck Collection includes various types of artifacts, including ceramics and objects made of metal, wood, and stone. The artifacts that bear inscriptions shall be considered first, since these items are invaluable written sources providing information on the date, port of call, and destination of the Shin ship.

Of particular note are the 364 wooden tablets (mokgan, 木簡) (Fig. 3) that were attached to items being shipped, serving as a type of shipping tag. They are 10 to 20 centimeters long, 2 to 3 centimeters wide, and mostly made from pine or cedar wood. Each tablet is inscribed with either the name of the owner of the goods or some other seal or mark to identify the owner. Some tablets also record the date and volume of the shipment and, in rare cases, a list of the articles.

The inscriptions on the wooden tablets yield important evidence about the time period of the Sinan ship. Prior to their discovery, the date had been roughly estimated based on the inscriptions on the copper coins. The earliest possible year was determined to be 1311, and the ship was conjectured to have been from the 1320s or the 1330s because it did not appear to contain any blue-and-white wares, which were not yet produced at that time (Jeong Yangmo 1977, 57-58). The discovery and decipherment of the wooden tablets, however, provided a more precise time frame for the Sinan ship’s departure. Eight of the tablets bear inscriptions reading: “third year of Zhizhi” (zhizhi san nian, 至治三年 or 至治叁年), followed by “fifth month” (wuyue, 五月), “sixth month” (liuyue, 六月) or “first day of sixth month” (liuyue yiri, 六月一日). Zhizhi is the name for the reign of Emperor Yingzong (英宗, r. 1320-1323) of the Yuan Dynasty (元, 1271-1368), so the “third year of Zhizhi” should be 1323. The inscriptions denote the time when the cargo was put on board, so assuming that the loading was completed immediately before the embarkation, the ship likely departed sometime around the sixth month of 1323. Kim Wondong, the first scholar to determine this date, made the important point that the wooden tablets were discovered among the shipment of coins: being the most valuable part of the cargo. Noting that the tablets giving an exact date, year, month and day, covered a span of just forty-two days between the fifth and sixth months of the year corresponding to 1323, he put forward the theory that they were loaded last of all, just before the ship set sail (Kim Wondong 1986, 170-1).

The wooden tablets also reveal clues about the possible destination and nature of the Sinan ship. The names of the goods’ owners written on many of the wooden tablets allude to the cargo’s destination. The inscribed names can be divided into two groups: (1) the (probable) names and titles of individuals or monks, and (2) the names of Buddhist or Shinto temples. The names of the former category are assumed to be Japanese, but no single person has yet been identified from other textual sources. The title that appears most often is gangsi (綱司) (Nishitani Tadashi 1985, 259-290), which is on 110 of the wooden tablets. Gangsi is a title possibly equivalent to gangshou (綱首), which refers to the merchant who was both owner and captain of the ship (Nishitani Tadashi 1985, 259-290). Among the temple names, Tofukuji (東福寺) appears most often, on a total of 41 tablets. Other names include Chojakuan (釣寂庵) and Hakozakigu (筥崎宮), which appear on five and three pieces, respectively. Tofukuji, a Buddhist temple located in present-day Kyoto, was founded by the Japanese monk Enni (円爾, 1202-1280), who led the Rinzai school (臨濟宗, Ch: Linzi school) after returning from his study in Song China in the 13th century. Chojakuan is a sub-temple of Shotenji (承天寺) in Fukuoka. Enni also established Shotenji, the main temple, with financing from a Chinese merchant named Xie Guoming (謝國明), who was based in Hakata in Fukuoka. Lastly, Hakozakigu, also in Fukuoka, is a temple that enshrines Emperor Ojin (應神天皇). Thus, on the basis of these inscriptions, it can be construed that the Sinan ship was scheduled to stop at its port of call in Hakata en route to Kyoto.

Furthermore, the names on the wooden tablets also reveal the nature of the Sinan ship as being similar to jishajoeiryotosen (寺社造営料唐船, ship for temple construction fund, which ran between Japan and China). Jishajoeiryotosen denotes merchant vessels that were dispatched under the control of the Shogunate government for the construction or expansion of Buddhist temples, from the late Kamakura (鎌倉) Shogunate to the early 14th century (Murai Shosuke 2006, 113-143).3 Considering the fact that Tofukuji was seriously damaged by fire in 1319, it seems possible that the Sinan ship was a merchant vessel that was dispatched to collect money and objects for its restoration. In addition to the wooden tablets, other inscribed items include a cargo box that bears the word daikichi (大吉, good luck), ceramics inscribed with poetry, and a bronze bottle marked with auspicious characters. Finally, a bronze weight with inscriptions substantiates the Sinan ship’s port of call (Fig. 4). The bronze weight is 9.3 cm high, and the words gengshen (庚申) and qingyuan (慶元) are inscribed on either side of it. Gengshen is a year in the Chinese 60-year cycle, which most likely indicates 1320. Qingyuan is the name of an administrative district centered in Ningbo (寧波), a seaport city of the Zhejiang Province. The city was formerly called Mingzhou (明州), which, based on the bronze weight, seems to have been Sinan ship’s port of departure.

To summarize the above discussions, the Sinan ship was a merchant vessel that departed Mingzhou (present day Ningbo), China in 1323 for Hakata, Japan. The ship was laden with various merchandise that would be used to raise money for the reconstruction of Tofukuji. Accordingly, most of the goods date from the early 14th century, and none later than 1323. Moreover, the selection of merchandise seems to reflect the tastes of the Japanese.

This section will discuss the types of medium found among the Sinan Shipwreck Collection. Ceramics constitute the majority of the artifacts, and thus have received the most attention, in terms of both exhibitions and academic research. A total of 20,600 items of various types have been retrieved so far. Of these, there are just seven Goryeo celadons and two Japanese potteries, with all of the other items being products from China. These can be categorized into the following types: celadon (12,350 pieces), porcelain (5,200 pieces), black-glazed ware (500 pieces), jun-glazed stoneware (180 pieces), brown-glazed stoneware (2,280 pieces), white-glazed ware with black decorations (9 pieces), and earthenware (190 pieces) (Jeong Yangmo 1991, 385-386). Celadons and porcelains are the two largest categories, followed by brown-glazed stoneware. Whereas the celadons and porcelains could have been export items, the brown-glazed stoneware was probably used as storage containers on the ship (Jeong Yangmo 1991, 385).

Most of the recovered celadons were produced from the Longquan (龍泉) kilns or related sites in Zhejiang Province. In the Southern Song period (1127-1279), the Longquan kilns produced high quality “plum green” celadons, under the influence of the Song imperial kilns. During this time, the body of the celadons became thinner while the glaze became thicker. Beginning in the Yuan period, however, the Longquan celadons generally became less sophisticated, growing distinctively larger in shape with a thicker body. This period is also characterized by the use of new decoration techniques, wherein designs are applied separately or mottled patterns are made on the surface (Kim Yeongmi 2005, 19-21) (Figs. 5-10). Most of the Longquan celadons from the Sinan shipwreck are from the Yuan period, but there are also some from the Southern Song, as well as some Yuan pieces that reflect the influence of the Southern Song. Chinese celadons were in great demand in Japan at the time. Similar to the Sinan ship, many sunken ships near Japan have also been found to be carrying Longquan celadons (e.g., the site near Kurakizaki in Kagoshima Prefecture, see National Museum of Japanese History 2005, 48-50). Moreover, a number of celadons similar to those in the Sinan Shipwreck Collection have been found around Kamakura, including the piece currently preserved in Shomyoji (稱名寺) of Kanagawa Prefecture (National Museum of Japanese History 1998, 70-79). As the tea and incense cultures flourished in the 14th century, the demand for karamono (唐物), or Chinese craftworks, increased among upper class Japanese, and a substantial portion of karamono were celadons (Saeki Koji 2003, 199-226).

Most of the porcelains recovered from the Sinan ship are thought to have been produced in Jingdezhen and, unlike the celadons, the majority of them were produced in the Yuan period. Although the celadons outnumber the porcelains among the artifacts, there are more high-quality porcelains than celadons (Jeong Yangmo 1991, 385). The porcelains can be divided into two types: qingbai ware (靑白磁, bluish white porcelains) (Figs. 11-14) and white porcelain. Some of the qingbai wares have rare shapes that have not been found anywhere else. One exemplary piece is a porcelain dish from Jingdezhen with underglaze copper-red decoration of two leaves and a verse couplet. But only half of the verse is written on the dish, so it must have originally been produced as a set of two dishes (National Museum of Korea 2008, 98-101) (Fig. 11). Notably, among the 5,300 porcelain pieces, there are no examples of the blue-and-white ware, which implies that the shipwreck occurred before the production of the blue-and-white porcelains began. The absence also supports the argument that blue-and-white porcelains did not appear until after 1320.

The ceramics recovered from the Sinan shipwreck also include 500 pieces of black-glazed wares, such as Jianyao (建窯) wares (Fig. 15). Jianyao was a renowned site for the production of black-glazed wares from the Five Dynasties (907-960) to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The lustrous brownish-black glaze, made with iron-rich compounds, naturally created various designs during the firing process. The Jianyao wares became famous as the trend of tea drinking became more popular, and they were especially coveted by the Japanese. Today, black-glazed wares are more popularly known by the Japanese term tenmoku (天目), reflecting the Japanese people’s fondness for this style of ceramics. The Sinan Shipwreck Collection also includes wares produced in various other kiln sites in China, including Tiedian (鐵店), Qilizhen (七里鎭), Cizhouyao (磁州), and Jizhou (吉州) (Figs. 16-18).

The seven Goryeo celadons include a maebyeong, bowl, cup stand, headrest, and water dropper. They were probably produced by the Sadang-ri kiln in Gangjin and the Yucheon-ri kiln in Buan, from the 12th to the 13th centuries. Therefore, the production of these items predates that of the Chinese wares, possibly because the Japanese were importing Goryeo celadons that had earlier been exported from Korea to China. There were also two items of Japanese pottery, or setoyaki (瀬戸焼).

The collection also includes 729 metal objects, including a bottle, incense burner, bronze mirror, scale, cup, spoon, ewer, candle stand, kitchen utensils, and a statue of Buddha. Among these, the bottles, incense burners, and bronze mirrors were probably part of the cargo being imported, considering their material and shape. Within the cargo, the number of metal objects is not substantial, if the copper coins are excluded. However, these items reveal a few intriguing factors.

First, many of the metal objects imitate the shape and design of bronze antiquities. This style is related to the revival of ancient bronze wares that prevailed beginning with the Song Dynasty, when it became fashionable to collect bronze wares. This trend is evidenced by the compilations of the following catalogues: Kaogutu (考古圖, Illustrated Catalogue of Examined Antiquities) and Chong xiu Xuanhe bogutu (重修宣和博古圖, Revised Illustrated Catalogue of Xuanhe Profoundly Learned Antiquities). The bronze wares (Figs. 19-22) from the Sinan shipwreck show that this trend for antiquities was also reflected in newly produced bronze wares, and demonstrate that this fashion had spread to neighboring countries (Kubo Tomayasu 2007, 272-273).4

The metal items also allude to the nationality of the people on board the ship. Among the various kitchen utensils that were found, there is an object similar to a modern-day frying pan, with a perforation indicating where a wooden handle may have been attached. Another tool resembles a ladle, only slightly larger and wider, with many holes in the middle. This item was probably used to scoop noodles or deep-fried food. These two objects are similar to Chinese cooking utensils, suggesting that at least some of the people on board the ship were Chinese. Moreover, the fact that the kitchen utensils were concentrated towards the rear of the vessel is useful for understanding the structure of the Sinan ship.

In addition, the artifacts also include some bronze bells that were likely used for Buddhist rituals. These bells, along with the Buddhist rosaries and Buddha statues that were found, suggest that Japanese monks were on board. Other items, such as Japanese sword hand guards, called tsuba, and a sheath, further attest to the presence of Japanese on the ship. Meanwhile, the Goryeo bronze spoons indicate that there may also have been Goryeo people on board (Murai Shosuke 2000, 96).

The metal items also include chisels, either circular or oval in shape, and about 20 to 30 cm long. These tools are made of tin, nickel, iron, or zinc, and some are inscribed with the maker’s name, the material, and the weight. These were likely being imported for use as implements for making Buddhist images or other Buddhist crafts.

Moreover, although not included in the total number of metal items, the bronze coins merit discussion. As mentioned, prior to the decipherment of the wooden tablets, the inscriptions on the coins were used to speculate the dates of the shipwreck. The coins constitute a vast proportion of the artifacts recovered from the Sinan shipwreck. In all, about 28 tons of copper coins were excavated. The coins range in date from huoquan (貨泉), which were circulated from 14 C.E., to Zhida tongbao (至大通寶), which were produced between 1308–1311. The 66 cases and 229 types of copper coins discovered in the Sinan shipwreck all represented currencies that were produced during the course of the Chinese dynasties and were actually in use.

The Japanese imported a considerable amount of coins from China, usually offering gold as payment. While the Song government had prohibited an excessive outflow of money, the Yuan had no such restriction. Starting from the Yuan’s first expedition to Japan, Japanese merchants would purchase copper coins from Yuan China, despite the hostile political relationship between the two countries. Japan had two reasons for importing these coins. First, the Japanese actually used the Chinese coins as currency. From the middle of the 10th century, Japan did not produce any currency (at least not officially). However, the demand for currency continued to increase, due to the expansion of commerce and the growth of usury (Min Tu Ki 1977, 19-20). Second, it was cheaper for the Japanese to buy coinage from China than to produce it themselves. Thus, the Japanese imported large quantities of Chinese coins for domestic circulation. Today, every so often, coin-filled jars from the 14th and 15th century are unearthed in Japan, and most of the coins are imported Chinese copper coins (National Museum of Japanese History 2005, 136-145). It is also possible that the Chinese copper coins were used as raw materials in Japan (Sakuraki Shinichi 2007, 206-211). The huge sum of coins retrieved from the Sinan shipwreck seems to attest to this.

Other recovered items include a wooden box that contained ceramics; various stone artifacts, such as a portable grinding stone for tea leaves; dice made from animal bones; and some miscellaneous fruit seeds and timbers. The latter were likely trade items used as medicinal herbs or spices, some of which were no doubt for consumption by the passengers. The red sandalwood, a high quality timber produced in Southeast Asia, was probably being imported to make miniature Buddha statues or accessories.

2011 marked the 35th anniversary of the announcement of the discovery of the Sinan ship. In the course of those 35 years, research on the recovered artifacts has advanced considerably, and the objects have been introduced to the general public through various channels. Since the excavation was first launched in 1976, every step of the process has been widely documented by mass media, and public interest has grown accordingly. The National Museum of Korea has contributed to the process by gathering and organizing the research materials for the further development of the excavation. In 1977, the museum selected items that had been recovered during the third stage of excavation and held a special exhibition entitled Cultural Relics Found off the Sinan Coast, to share the successful recovery of the artifacts with the public (National Museum of Korea 1977). Then, in October of the following year, the museum held an international conference about the Sinan shipwreck, bringing together 14 specialists from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and the United States to present papers on the history, ceramics, and construction of the ship (National Museum of Korea 1978). Although the discussions were somewhat limited, since the excavation was still in progress, the conference was a still a very meaningful event that suggested directions for future research.

Also in 1978, the Gwangju National Museum was opened, and its permanent exhibition was the artifacts recovered from the Sinan shipwreck. In 1981, the Mokpo Conservation Laboratory, now the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage (국립해양문화재연구소) was established.5 Moreover, in 1986, when the National Museum of Korea moved into a larger space (the former Joseon Government-General building), a permanent exhibition room was installed to house the “Yuan Chinese Artifacts from the Sinan Coast.”

The recovered artifacts have also received a great deal of international attention. In 1983, as the excavation was nearing its completion, a traveling exhibition called Discovery of the Century: Cultural Relics Recovered from the Sinan Seabed (世紀の発見 新安海 底引揚げ文物) was jointly organized by the National Museum of Korea, Tokyo National Museum, the Japanese daily Chunichi Shimbun (中日新聞), and NHK (日本放送協會, Japan Broadcasting Corporation). The exhibition opened in three Japanese cities—Tokyo, Nagoya, and Fukuoka—representing the first time the Sinan shipwreck artifacts were exhibited abroad.

In 2005, the National Museum of Korea reopened at its current location in Yongsan, with a permanent exhibition of the Sinan Shipwreck Collection in two rooms of the Asian Arts gallery. The exhibited items include various types of ceramics, as well as historical documents attesting to the cultural and historical significance of the artifacts. Curator Kim Yeongmi, a specialist in Chinese ceramics, has organized various themed exhibitions to illuminate different aspects of the collection. For instance, in 2007, the exhibition Jingdezhen Qingbai Porcelain: The Beauty of Pure White Blooming in Blue focused specifically on the qingbai wares recovered from the Sinan shipwreck (National Museum of Korea 2008), while the 2008 exhibition A Vessel for the Soul: Sinan Incense Burner explored the incense culture of East Asia through a display of the collection’s incense burners and related objects (National Museum of Korea 2008). Then, in 2010, the permanent exhibition was reorganized under the name The Rediscovery of Sinan Shipwreck Ceramics. This exhibition announced the discovery of seven more kiln sites, in addition to the five known sites, of the recovered ceramics. And in 2011, the exhibition entitled Tea, Incense, and Carrying the Soul: Longquan Ware from the Sinan Wreck examined the Longquan celadons from various perspectives.

At present, the Sinan Shipwreck Collection of the National Museum of Korea is displayed in two exhibition rooms. One room exhibits the materials related to the cultural context of the Sinan ship and its excavation, and the other mainly displays the ceramics. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Sinan ship’s discovery, the museum is planning a special exhibition to shed light on maritime trade in East Asia.