Interpreting the Mute Shipping Languages:the Decorations on Ancient Vessels in China and the U.K.

Vessel decorations recorded the shifts of oceanic aesthetic and beliefs in different countries and regions,therefore serving as valuable cultural relics and tangible shipping documents.By comparing the boat eyes and colorful paintings on the Chinese vessels with the figureheads on the British ones,this article explored the ornaments on the ancient ships in China and the U.K.which played an important role in the eastern and the western shipping history.The results showed:Both China and the U.K.valued the shipping spirit of enterprise,courage and loyalty,but differed in their understanding of the relationship between humans and the ocean,and therefore developed different approaches in their exploration of the ocean.The contrastive studies unveiled the deep roots for the varied navigational traditions and beliefs in the two countries and proposed new perspectives in researching the eastern and western shipping cultures.