Vietnam Binh Chau Tang Wreck

In 2013, a violent storm unearthed a shipwreck near Binh Chau in Quang Ngai, Central Vietnam. The discovery immediately captured the attention of local villagers and triggered a wave of artifact scavenging. Unfortunately, many of the recovered items sustained varying degrees of damage.

Mr. Lam Du Xenh, a local ceramics collector, seized the opportunity to acquire a wide range of ceramics from the wreck. Despite their condition, the collection provided valuable insights into the ship's cargo. Remarkably, Mr. Lam also salvaged remnants of the wooden vessel, now preserved under a large open shelter at his home. In 2014, I visited Mr. Lam along with collector friends from Singapore and had the opportunity to examine the artifacts.

The ceramic assemblage from the wreck closely resembles that of the Tang Belitung wreck, comprising primarily: Changsha painted wares, Yue greenware, Xing-type white wares and Guangdong greenwares. However, it should be noted there were some Sancai figurines.

The ship's construction appears distinct from the Belitung Dhow, likely reflecting Southeast Asian shipbuilding techniques. Among the cargo were numerous Guangdong green-glazed jars bearing black inked Arabic inscriptions on the base. Linguistic experts have suggested these inscriptions are likely prayers for safe passage, further indicating the involvement of Arab merchants in Tang maritime trade.

Traces of Arab presence in Guangzhou during the Tang Dynasty remain evident today. The Arabic-style Guangzhou Huaishen Mosque (广州怀圣清真寺), with its lighthouse feature, once guided ships entering the port. Located near Guangta Road (光塔路), this area was historically associated with foreign traders. Several street names in the vicinity still reflect the types of business and trade conducted there.

Binh Chau ewers are more elongated with rounded shoulders, while Belitung versions are stouter with squarish shoulders. Some Binh Chau ewers also feature dish mouths, a design popular during the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods.

Notably, an ancient pier site in Changsha, widely believed to date to the 5 Dynasties, recently yielded vessels bearing this abstract splash decoration. This discovery suggests that such products first appeared in the late Tang period and continued to be produced into the 5 Dynasties.

A Yue bowl fragment recovered from the wreck suggests a potential later dating, possibly during the early Five Dynasties period. The bowl bears incised characters, one resembling "Qian" (乾) and another possibly showing the first four strokes of "Heng" (亨). If accurate, the wreck could be dated between 917 and 925 A.D., during the early reign of the Kingdom of Nanhan (南汉), which lasted from 917 to 971 A.D.

Mr. Yang Yang (杨洋), a Ph.D. candidate from Jingdezhen Ceramic University, recently proposed that the second character might be "Fu" (符) rather than "Heng." Upon closer examination, I agree with his assessment. Interestingly, a Japanese report on the Nishimura Project concerning the Chau Tan wreck illustrated the missing half of the bowl. When combined with the existing fragment, the character indeed appears to be "Fu."

An anatomical analysis of the recovered ship timber conducted by Dr. Jun Kimura has concluded that the vessel’s construction reflects Southeast Asian shipbuilding technology. For the Belitung wreck, there is broad consensus that the cargo was loaded at either Guangzhou or Yangzhou in China. However, this assumption does not hold for the Binh Chau wreck when one considers the social and political context of the late 9th century.

During this turbulent period, the Tang Dynasty was marked by instability and chaos. One of the most devastating rebellions, led by Huang Chao, occurred between 878 and 884. In 878, Huang Chao sacked Guangzhou, and according to Arab geographer Abu Zaid, many Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Parsees perished. Since Guangzhou served as the principal port for maritime trade to Southeast Asia and beyond, the rebellion’s impact on foreign commerce would have been catastrophic. As foreign traders fled China, many took refuge in Annam (the ancient name for northern Vietnam), where they continued their trading activities. One may speculate that the inscriptions on the green-glazed jars—appealing for divine intervention and protection for the goods—reflect the sense of helplessness felt by Arab traders facing an increasingly precarious and perilous trading environment.

John S. Guy, in his book Oriental Trade Ceramics in South-East Asia from the V&A Museum, cites a recorded source in which a Chinese official petitioned the Emperor, stating that "lately the precious and strange goods brought by ocean junks have mostly been taken to Annam to be traded there," and called for action against Annam. This account hints at significant changes within the maritime trading networks of the region. It suggests that an intra-regional trade arrangement may have emerged, whereby Chinese goods were shipped to Vietnam and reassembled for onward transshipment to other parts of Southeast Asia and even the West.

The Kingdom of Champa, which controlled central and southern Vietnam, likely played a role in this evolving network. With well-established diplomatic ties to China and a history of sending tribute missions, the Cham were known as accomplished seafarers actively engaged in maritime trade. For example, the Kaladi inscription of 909 mentions foreigners from South Asia (Kalinga, Singhala, Dravidians) as well as from mainland Southeast Asia (Champa, Khmer, and Mon communities residing in the Brantas delta in East Java) who participated in trade. During my travels in Vietnam, I encountered Tang/5 Dynasties Yue and Changsha wares, as well as Northern Song Yaozhou bowls excavated in central Vietnam. Despite these findings, little research has been done on Vietnam’s role in maritime trade during the Tang and Yuan periods. This gap leaves an important part of the puzzle missing—a fuller picture of the regional maritime trade network remains to be assembled.

The ceramic cargo recovered from the wreck comprises Changsha, Yue, Xing-type, and Guangdong wares—a typical assemblage for the period. Changsha wares remain the most popular, prized for their painted decorations that catered to the aesthetic preferences of consumers, particularly those in the Middle East. In contrast, the Yue green wares from this wreck are limited in variety: bi-base bowls form the bulk of the assemblage, with only a few other vessel forms (such as ewers) represented. Moreover, both the Yue and Xing-type wares appear to be of inferior quality compared to those recovered from the Belitung wreck. For instance, the Xing-type white wares here display a glaze with a more yellowish tinge rather than the characteristic snow-white finish observed in Belitung specimens. Guangdong green jars of various sizes and accompanying basins continued to serve as important export items.

Produced in kilns located in Tongguan town—approximately 30 km from Changsha in Hunan province—Changsha ware (also known as Tongguan kiln ware, 铜官窑) was one of the most widely distributed ceramic products during the Tang period. Archaeological excavations have documented their presence as far afield as Vietnam, Thailand, Sumatra, Java in Indonesia, South Asia, the Middle East, and even the eastern coast of Africa. These wares are renowned for their painted iron-brown and copper-green (or applique) motifs, which adorn vessels covered with a transparent glaze. The glaze itself varies from a light, transparent yellowish-green to a milky white tinged with blue. Often, a white slip is applied to conceal the coarse body before glazing, though this glaze tends to peel—particularly in areas bearing brown decoration—and fine glaze crazing is common. Notably, the Changsha pieces found in this wreck are dated later than those from the Belitung wreck, and they are distinguished primarily by abstract brown/green splash decorations, with only a few examples featuring floral, vegetal, or bird motifs.

Some of the more rare Changsha from the wreck

Zhejiang’s Yue kilns boast a long tradition of greenware production that archaeological evidence traces back to at least the Zhou period. After periods of intermittent disruption and warfare, potters developed a mature form of greenware during the Eastern Han period—a development that is widely regarded as marking the birthplace of porcelain. Since the Tang Dynasty, Yue ware has been highly esteemed by the literati. In the 9th century, the finest Yue wares were known as Mise porcelain (秘色瓷), literally “secret colour porcelain.” Lu Guimeng (died AD 881) celebrated these wares in his poem “秘色越器” (Mise Yueqi), describing the production environment and the subtle, tree-like green tones of the vessels. Bushell’s translation captures the atmosphere:

During the 9th century, Yue ware reached its first peak in both quality and quantity. As a recognized “branded” product, its price was considerably higher than that of typical Changsha ware in both domestic and international markets. Consequently, Yue wares catered to a high-end international clientele, and only relatively small quantities were exported during this period. The specimens from the Belitung wreck exemplify the superior quality of Yue products—the thin body, elegant form, and refined glaze attest to this craftsmanship, even if some glaze degradation is evident today.

In contrast, the Yue-type wares found in the Binh Chau wreck are few in number and display a limited variety of forms. The most common vessel is a bowl with a bi-shaped bottom, yet these pieces exhibit crude potting and uneven glazing. In some cases, darker paste suggests that a portion of these wares may have been produced in other provincial kilns. Alternatively, the inferior quality could reflect a period of economic disruption and societal instability due to numerous uprisings. It is worth noting that the quality of Yue ware later improved significantly, reaching a new peak during the Five Dynasties/Northern Song period—as evidenced by the fine Yue wares recovered from the Cirebon wreck.

Xing-type white wares comprised only a small portion of the cargo, yet they represented the highest standard of white ware production during the Tang Dynasty. Lu Yu (陆羽), in his treatise on tea (《茶经》), famously compared the glaze of Xing white ware to “silver and snow” (若邢瓷类银, 越瓷类冰). Its popularity is further attested in the ancient historical text Guo Shi Bu (国史补) by Li Zhao (李肇), who noted that Xing white wares from Neiqiu (内丘)—one of the main production sites in Hebei—were used by both rich and poor (内丘白瓷瓯, 端溪紫石砚, 天下无贵贱通用之). The mid-Tang period marked the peak production phase for Xing wares, a golden age characterized by a wide variety of vessel types and excellent quality. Many bowls, cups, and plates were thinly potted and featured shapes that echoed those found in Middle Eastern gold and silver wares—a stylistic borrowing not unique to Xing, but also seen in Yue and Yaozhou productions. The highly accomplished skills of Xing potters are clearly evident in the pieces recovered from the Belitung wreck, which perfectly mirror the ancient descriptions with their snow-white glaze and elegantly thin forms.

By the time of the Binh Chau wreck in the late Tang period, the quality of Xing-type wares had deteriorated. The glaze now exhibits a more typical yellowish tone, and the vessels are more heavily potted and less refined than their earlier counterparts. Nonetheless, they remain of a higher quality than the Yue wares from the same wreck. Ultimately, however, the Xing kilns were unable to reclaim their former glory, and by the 5 Dynasties period, their position as the preeminent white ware production site was supplanted by the Ding kilns.

Guangdong greenwares also form an important part of the ceramic assemblage. These wares are similar to those found in the Belitung wreck. They were produced in kilns located near the tributaries of the Pearl River Delta. One significant kiln site is the Guanchong kiln (官冲) in Xinhui (新会). The glaze on these vessels is notable for its snake-skin-like, uneven, and runny appearance. Interestingly, excavations on Tuan Chau Island in Halong Bay, Vietnam, have revealed that similar Guangdong-type greenwares were also produced locally. However, the pieces from the Binh Chau wreck exhibit some differences in both form and glaze when compared to those from Tuan Chau.

The Binh Chau cargo represents a significant discovery, providing concrete evidence of the ceramic assemblage exported during the closing years of the Tang Dynasty. This find offers valuable insights into the quality and types of ceramic wares produced for export. In the cases of Changsha and Xing wares, the wreck marks the final phase of their illustrious roles in international trade. Their legacy is evident in the milestones they set for Chinese porcelain production: the high-fired polychrome decoration of Changsha wares and the transparent white glaze of Xing wares were technical innovations that eventually led to the development of blue and white and copper red underglaze decorations. Conversely, Yue ware had not yet reached its zenith, a peak that would only come during the 5 Dynasties and Northern Song periods. Meanwhile, Guangdong greenwares continued to be a critical export item well into the Northern Song period.

VIETNAM BINH CHAU (CHAU TAN) TANG WRECK