Chapter 764 Human Courage and Wisdom
After paddling the simple oars around the sea and inspecting the quality, Bifang towed the boat back to the shore.
Then he used a planer to shave off some uneven parts of the edge of the boat, the cabin and the bottom of the boat. The originally black hull immediately turned milky white, and its appearance improved by more than one level.
Manager Phils looked on with envy.
Exchanging a tree for a beautiful canoe personally polished by a legendary adventurer like Bifang is a really lucrative business.
It will be placed at the entrance of the resort, and touching it is not prohibited. After a long time, the hull will be covered with pulp, and its value will rise to a higher level. Isn't it more advanced than a tree?
Maybe there is more than one.
Looking at Bifang who returned to the shore and started processing another palm tree, Fields enthusiastically handed him a bottle of opened mineral water.
"Thanks."
Bifang was working hard and was a little thirsty, so he took the water bottle and drank it in one gulp. Before he could find a trash can, Phils had already snatched the bottle and helped dispose of the trash.
Bifang: “…”
If Bifang didn't know what Fields was really thinking, he would definitely think that he was a little suspicious.
The second canoe was made in exactly the same way as the first, first burning it and then planing it, but the resulting hull shape was completely different.
At least that's what the spectators saw. The first canoe had its ends raised high and looked quite huge, but this one was much shorter, only about half the height of the first one.
[Why did Lao Fang make two canoes?]
[Yes, replace it? ]
[How do you replace this thing? Does one ship fix the other? ]
[I know this! Use chains to connect the boats together to increase their stability! ]
【What is the burning of Red Cliff? 】
Bifang did not give a direct answer, but instead talked about another story.
"There are three major archipelagos in the Pacific Ocean. The first is Melanesia, which includes today's New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, etc.; the second archipelago is Micronesia, which includes today's Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Guam, etc.; the last one is Polynesia."
"At least 5,000 years ago, ancient humans from southern China passed through our treasure island, around 3000 BC, then the rate ice, around 2000 BC, and then the Indonesian archipelago, all the way south, and finally split into four branches."
"One group turned westward and occupied Madagascar around 300 AD; one group went eastward via New Guinea and settled in Melanesia; one group went northward via Melanesia and settled in Micronesia; and the last group continued eastward, occupying almost all the remaining viable islands in the Pacific, and developed into Polynesia."
"Among the four branches, the Polynesians had the most extensive expedition. They only rested briefly in Melanesia before continuing eastward from Fiji, first occupying Tonga and Samoa in Western Polynesia, and then discovering the Society Islands and the Marquesas Islands."
"When they got here, they split into two groups. One group used the Marquesas Islands as a base and moved north to occupy Hawaii. Another group used the Pitcairn Islands and Henderson Island as bases and occupied Easter Island, the most remote island in the world. The last group moved south to occupy New Zealand around 1200 AD, thus bringing an end to the 4,000-year colonial journey of the Polynesians."
"This migration was one of the most massive in human history . Thousands of years ago, when navigation technology was still relatively underdeveloped, these Nanyang people were able to sail tens of thousands of miles and occupy all the viable islands in the Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean on Earth."
Many of the islands mentioned by Bifang, except for Hawaii and Easter Island, are quite unfamiliar.
But this does not prevent the audience from imagining what a huge migration journey it was.
A few tiny canoes sailed across the ocean just to find a glimmer of hope for survival.
"Given the technical level of the Polynesians, they never mastered the construction technology of keel boats, nor invented navigation tools such as compasses, sextants, and marine clocks. It is incredible that they conquered the South Pacific with just this simple canoe."
“In fact, we have greatly underestimated the human desire for survival, as well as the courage and wisdom inspired by this desire.”
"If you take out your cell phone and look at the world map, you will find that, except for Hawaii and New Zealand, the other islands within the Polynesian Triangle are only a tiny bit in size."
Bifang raised his little finger, symbolizing the size of the densely packed islands.
"With such a small area, the resources above are definitely not enough to support the development of human society. In order to develop, the Polynesians have no choice but to turn their attention to the ocean."
"Because the accumulation of civilization was too limited, the only thing the Polynesians could offer was a canoe carved out of a whole log."
"Ordinary canoes have slow sailing speeds and poor stability, and they are probably not capable of facing the rough waves of the South Pacific. At this time, the Polynesians made a simple yet explosive invention, which is the outrigger technology!"
[So those people in the Pacific are all Chinese? ]
[Fuck, our ancestors are awesome! ]
[I think Lao Fang might want you to pay more attention to the outrigger he mentioned (dog head)]
It was not the same as what one would imagine it would attract, but Bifang did not care about it and instead explained it.
"Strictly speaking, it can't be counted that way, but our ancestors did originally live on the same land." Bifang said with a smile, "I remember that in 2010, six French Polynesian warriors came back to 'visit relatives'."
"At that time, the six Austronesian people of Polynesia sailed in antique canoes, following the footsteps of their ancestors, from South Tahiti in French Polynesia in the South Pacific, across the Pacific Ocean. It took four months and 16,000 nautical miles to reach the Fuzhou Mawei Passenger Terminal."
[Hiss, so awesome? ]
[It’s a bit strong ]
[It turns out that Lao Fang is not the first one to do this (Legendary value decreases)]
[No, crossing Point Nemo and crossing the Pacific Ocean are two different concepts... And Lao Fang, do you have no supplies? ]
[Indeed, the two cannot be compared.]
"From the archipelago to China, this is enough to prove a great fact, that is, the canoe is completely capable of crossing the Pacific Ocean. It was a convenient means of transportation on the sea in ancient times, and our ancestors mastered the skills of driving it."
"The canoes back then could have taken humans from land to any island in the Pacific Ocean, and that's no exception today, even Point Nemo."
"Well, I'm getting off topic. I was just trying to introduce outrigger canoes."
[You continue (laughs)]
Bifang scraped off a layer of bark and continued.
"Because they are made from a single tree, canoes are generally slender, hollowed out from a single log, so they are less likely to leak and fall apart. But a single hull is still prone to capsizing in the waves."
"Thousands of years ago, our clever Polynesian ancestors invented the outrigger, which is a two-piece wooden spars attached to the hull , connecting the hull to the side of the boat, with the side of the boat acting as a counterweight and support."
"These parts are tied together with a rubber rope that is extremely elastic and durable. This improved canoe can maximize the stability and wind and wave resistance of the boat without increasing its size."
"I made two canoes in order to realize this framework and develop it further to form a simple platform for free movement, so our second canoe will have a different shape."
By the ninth day, the second canoe was complete.
Looking at the hull shape that was completely different from the first one, everyone realized how big the so-called change was.
