Liu Xixiu
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Twentieth-generation transmitter of the watertight-bulkhead Fujian ship (fuchuan) building craft. After graduating from junior middle school he became an apprentice at the Zhangwan Shipyard, learning the watertight-bulkhead shipbuilding craft from his father, and completed his apprenticeship in 1979. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shuimigecangfuchuanzhizaojiyi in Ningdeshijiaocheng, Fujian: The traditional watertight bulkhead wooden sailing ship construction technique still survives today in Shenhu Town, Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, where wooden sailing ships are being designed according to traditional models. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, China's ocean-going wooden sailing ships were highly favored by merchants and envoys from many countries. The important reason was that Chinese sailing ships offered a high degree of safety, and this safety came precisely from the watertight bulkheads inside the ships. China's watertight bulkhead shipbuilding technique was introduced to the West by Marco Polo as early as the late 13th century. Ancient Quanzhou was long known for its thriving shipbuilding industry. According to the Xishan Zazhi (Records of the Western Hills) compiled during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, sea vessels built in the Quanzhou region during the Tianbao era (742-756) of the Tang dynasty already had "fifteen compartments" - that is, the hull was divided into 15 bulkhead compartments. Excavated artifacts prove that no later than the Song dynasty, sea vessels built in Quanzhou had already adopted a mature watertight bulkhead structure. The shipbuilding technique of Qihou Village, Zhangwan Town, Jiaocheng District, Ningde City, was introduced from southern Fujian during the Hongwu reign of the Ming dynasty and has been passed down from generation to generation ever since. During the Republic of China period (1912-1949), Zhangwan mostly built "sanweitou" (three-masted) wooden sailing ships of 200 to 300 tons. After the reform and opening-up drive began in the 1980s, the widespread adoption of metal-hulled ships caused the Fuchuan shipbuilding industry in Zhangwan to shrink steadily.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1957 in Ningde City, Fujian Province. Representative bearer of the watertight-bulkhead Fujian ship building craft, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is especially skilled at draughting various hull types, and his drawings of the Danzi, Jianzui, Houshi and Mengchong types have played an important role in transmitting the watertight-bulkhead shipbuilding craft. He has mastered the building techniques of many ship types that are on the verge of extinction, and he attaches importance to taking on apprentices and passing on the craft. Over the years he has provided material to many media outlets free of charge, supplied information on the watertight-bulkhead shipbuilding craft to doctoral students at Minzu University of China, and taken part in various exhibitions to promote fuchuan culture, thereby contributing to the promotion of the watertight-bulkhead shipbuilding craft. Within the documented technical tradition of Shuimigecangfuchuanzhizaojiyi in Ningdeshijiaocheng, Fujian: The so-called watertight bulkheads are the mutually independent, watertight compartments separated from one another by transverse partition boards inside the ship's hold. The use of watertight bulkheads not only increases the strength of the hull; even if one compartment strikes a reef and takes on water, the other compartments are not endangered, thus guaranteeing the safety of the vessel in navigation. At the same time, the watertight bulkheads serve as support points against the bending of the hull planking, further increasing the sturdiness of the sailing ship. Thereafter this technique was gradually adopted by the shipbuilding industries of countries around the world and exerted an important influence on the development of human seafaring. The sailing ships built here follow tradition in everything from hull design and selection of materials to construction techniques, exterior painting, and the various rituals observed during the building process: 14 bulkhead boards divide the ship into 15 compartments; below each bulkhead board, near the keel, there are two water-passage openings (guoshuiyan); and the seams between adjacent bulkhead boards are caulked tight with tung-oil putty and hemp rope to ensure that the compartments are sealed off from one another. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Zhangwan shipyard built large numbers of fishing vessels and cargo ships, many of them wooden sailing ships of more than 60 tons built with watertight bulkhead structures. With the development of modern transportation, wooden ships have increasingly lost the conditions in which they can survive, the wooden shipbuilding industry has declined accordingly, and the manufacturing technique has gradually been lost. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Building the three-masted sanweitou junk": In the Republican period the Zhangwan yards built two- to three-hundred-ton three-masted junks, whose hull and rig show the bulkhead structure at full scale. "Handed down through generations at Qi Hou village": The Zhangwan technique at Qi Hou village came from southern Fujian during the Hongwu reign of the Ming and has been handed down ever since, matching the migration routes of the Fujian coast. "Building fishing and cargo junks": After 1949 the Zhangwan yard built many fishing and transport junks, many of them watertight-bulkhead vessels above sixty tons, keeping the structure in daily use for half a century. "Drafting the danzi, jianzuishi and hou shi hull forms": The inheritor Liu Xixiu is expert at drafting the danzi, pointed-mouth, monkey-lion and mangong hull forms, and his drawings preserve hull shapes that would otherwise pass only by word of mouth.
Building the three-masted sanweitou junk
In the Republican period the Zhangwan yards built two- to three-hundred-ton three-masted junks, whose hull and rig show the bulkhead structure at full scale.
Handed down through generations at Qi Hou village
The Zhangwan technique at Qi Hou village came from southern Fujian during the Hongwu reign of the Ming and has been handed down ever since, matching the migration routes of the Fujian coast.
Building fishing and cargo junks
After 1949 the Zhangwan yard built many fishing and transport junks, many of them watertight-bulkhead vessels above sixty tons, keeping the structure in daily use for half a century.
Drafting the danzi, jianzuishi and hou shi hull forms
The inheritor Liu Xixiu is expert at drafting the danzi, pointed-mouth, monkey-lion and mangong hull forms, and his drawings preserve hull shapes that would otherwise pass only by word of mouth.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2018, Liu Xixiu was announced in the fifth batch of national representative bearers for Shuimigecangfuchuanzhizaojiyi, with Ningdeshijiaocheng, Fujian as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shuimigecangfuchuanzhizaojiyi in Ningdeshijiaocheng, Fujian: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Ningdeshijiaocheng, Fujian as its declared area, and Ningde Jiaocheng District Shuimigecangfuchuan Research Society as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, China's ocean-going wooden sailing ships were highly favored by merchants and envoys from many countries. The important reason was that Chinese sailing ships offered a high degree of safety, and this safety came precisely from the watertight bulkheads inside the ships. China's watertight bulkhead shipbuilding technique was introduced to the West by Marco Polo as early as the late 13th century.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen Fangcai | Jinjiang, Fujian | 03-1403 | Other regional school |
| Liu Xixiu | Ningdeshijiaocheng, Fujian | 05-2835 | This page |
| Huang Zongcai | Quanzhoushiquangang, Fujian | 05-2836 | Other regional school |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。