A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed Chinese and Malay wooden

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. The design closely resembles Western hard chine boats like the scow or punt. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers and are often used as traditional fishing boats. It is unusual for a sampan to sail far from land, as they do not have the means to survive rough weather. Some think that "sampan" is the Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese word 舢舨, or "shan-ban" in "Pinyin" (standard) pronunciation). Of the two characters, "舢" (shan, literally "mountain-like") means ocean-going large ship, and "舨" (ban, literally "return") means small boat for shuttling between the ship and shore. Since the small boat is necessary for the big ship where deep water port was not available, it became one word meaning "the small boat for the big ship". Later it was generalized for small flat-bed boats. Others think that the word "sampan" is derived from the original

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

term ''sāam báan'' (), literally "three planks", but this is likely to be a folk etymology. Pierre-Yves Manguin has pointed out possible Austronesian origin of the word, attested in a Malay inscription from 684 CE. Sampans may be propelled by poles, oars (particularly a single, long sculling oar called a ''yuloh'' (simplified Chinese 摇橹/ traditional Chinese 搖櫓) "How to Scull a Boat"
''WOODEN BOAT'' #100, June 1991.) or may be fitted with outboard motors. Sampans are still in use by rural residents of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, particularly in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. In the Malay community in Southeast Asia, they also use the term sampan for their boats. Large boats such as '' sampan panjang'', ''kolek'' and ''perahu panjang'' are used and built by the Malays and Orang Laut living in their coastal villages.

Image gallery

Image:Sampan-01.png, Traditional ''hongtou'' (red-head) sampans of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

File:Indonesian Sampan.jpg, A contemporary sampan comes back from fishing, on the north coast of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

File:Japon-1886-32.jpg, Japanese sampan-like river boat. Dating from before 1886 File:Sampan under sunset Hong Kong.jpg, Small sampan still being used for passenger transportation between islands in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

File:Sampan.jp
A Sampan in Shanghai, China
File:Boats in Barishal Bangladesh (3).JPG, Bangladeshi fisherman resting in the shade of a sampan in Barishal .

References

External links

"Cranks with Planks presents Sampans -n- Yulohs" (via Wayback Machine)
(includes excerpt from G.R.G. Worcester's ''Junks and Sampans of the Yangtse.'') {{Authority control Cantonese culture Indigenous boats Types of fishing vessels Chinese words and phrases Ships of China

Image gallery

See also

References

External links