Winds of Zaiton: Navigation Meteorology and Official Prayer Rituals in Jiuri Mountain Inscriptions
Geographical coordinates: Quanzhou Prefecture, Jiuri Mountain, Fengzhou, Zaiton Port, Houzhu Harbor, Yanfu Temple, Zhaohui Temple Have you ever wondered how ocean-going fleets decided when to depart in an age before satellites and weather radar? They used a mountain. Jiuri Mountain, a small peak west of Quanzhou. On its cliffs are carved 78 inscriptions. Not poems. Records of a Song-Yuan dynasty state institution: wind-praying. Every winter-spring transition, the Prefect of Quanzhou led customs officials up Jiuri Mountain. They prayed to the sea god and waited for the monsoon. When the wind turned, hundreds of ships weighed anchor simultaneously, heading for the South Seas, India, and Arabia. ...