Stern-post (axial) rudder
Timón axial de codaste
- Date
- c. 100 CE · confidence medium
- Place
- Canton (Guangzhou), China
- Credited to
- Southern Han shipbuilders
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A steering blade mounted on the stern axis that pivots on a vertical post, replacing side-mounted steering oars. It allows large ships to be steered with little effort and to sail against the wind.
A ceramic model from a Canton tomb (1st century CE) is the earliest evidence; the 12th-century European rudder may have been an independent invention.
What it led to
- Large junks and Chinese ocean-going navigation across the Indian Ocean
- Adoption in Europe around 1180 (possibly independently), a precondition for caravels and the age of exploration
- Steering of tall merchant ships by a single helmsman
- Combination with the compass and watertight compartments in the Chinese nautical package
Built on
- Hinge and door pivotc. 2500 BCE
- Steering oar (side rudder)
- Flat-bottomed junk
Made possible
- Watertight bulkhead compartmentsc. 700
- Stern-mounted rudder in Europec. 1180
- Caravelc. 1440
- Ocean-going junk
- European stern-post rudder