The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze

G. R. G. Worcester lived in China more than 30 years where he work as a river inspector for Costums Departmet. In 1947 this book (2 vol.)  was published: The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze. A Study in Chinese Nautical Research. Shanghai: Statistical Department of the Inspectorate General of Customs. In almost 500 pages on this first edition we find over 200 plates and maps inscribed by the Inspector General of Customs.

G. R. G. Worcester viveu na China mais de 30 anos tendo trabalhado como inspector dos serviços de alfândega. Foi dessa experiência que resultou a obra The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze onde estão registadas mais de 250 tipos de embarcações de juncos e sampanas que sulcavam o Yangtze e também o delta do rio das Pérolas havendo várias referências a Macau, nomeadamente sobre as lorchas.

The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze is the definitive work on the river craft of China, lavishly illustrated with photographs, diagrams and maps. Eager to record folk customs before they disappeared forever, Worcester recorded over 250 types of river craft, noting that “some of the finest types, as a result of the last few difficult years, have gone for ever, particularly the many varieties of deep-draught salt-junks and, of course, the lorchas, and many others.” A shorter version of Volume I was first published in 1940 under the same name; this 1947 edition was published as part of a series on Chinese Maritime Customs. Another edition was published in 1971 by Naval Institute Press.