The Vietnam Binh Chau (Chau Tan) Late Tang Wreck

By: NK Koh

Published: 17 Jan 2016 | Updated & Revised: 26 May 2026

Discovery and Initial Recovery

In 2013, a violent storm exposed a shipwreck on the beach of Binh Chau in Quang Ngai province, central Vietnam. The discovery quickly drew the attention of local villagers, triggering a frantic wave of illicit pot-hunting. Consequently, most of the artifacts salvaged from the site suffered varying degrees of damage.

Amid this chaos, local ceramics collector Mr. Lam Du Xenh seized the opportunity to acquire a diverse range of wares from the site. Although many pieces were broken, they provided a remarkably comprehensive sample of the ship's cargo. Mr. Lam even managed to salvage remnants of the vessel's wooden hull, which he now preserves in a large, open shelter at his home. In 2014, accompanied by fellow collectors from Singapore, I had the privilege of visiting Mr. Lam to inspect these artifacts and examine the structural timbers firsthand.

The ceramics mix from this wreck is similar to that from the Tang Belitung wreck. It consisted of mainly Changsha painted wares, Yue Greenware, Xing type white wares and Guangdong greenwares. The construction technology appears to differ from the Belitung Dhow and likely of the Southeast Asian ship building technology.

Cargo Composition and Ship Structure

The ceramic assemblage from the Binh Chau wreck bears a striking resemblance to the famous Tang-era Belitung wreck. It primarily comprises:

• Changsha painted wares (Hunan province)
• Yue greenwares/celadons (Zhejiang province)
• Xing-type white wares (northern China)
• Guangdong green-glazed utility wares

However, while their cargoes are textually similar, the physical vessels themselves differ substantially. Preliminary observations indicate that the Binh Chau ship was constructed using Southeast Asian shipbuilding technology, contrasting sharply with the West Asian stitched-plank dhow construction of the Belitung vessel.

Among the Binh Chau cargo, a large number of Guangdong green-glazed jars feature black ink Arabic inscriptions on their bases. Epigraphic experts suggest these inscriptions are religious invocations or prayers seeking safe passage for the vessel and its goods. This discovery adds valuable material evidence to the historical narrative of active Arab merchant involvement in Tang maritime networks.

Traces of this historical Arab presence remain visible in Guangzhou today. The lighthouse of the Huaisheng Mosque (广州怀圣清真寺), built in an Islamic architectural style, historically guided foreign vessels entering the Guangzhou port during the Tang Dynasty. The mosque stands near Guangta Road (光塔路), an area where foreign merchants historically congregated, settled, and operated specialized markets—a history still reflected in the local street names today.

Dating the Wreck

The Binh Chau wreck can be reliably dated to the second half of the 9th century (late Tang Dynasty), placing it roughly 50 to 70 years later than the Belitung wreck, which is securely tied to 826 CE. This chronological gap is demonstrated by a comparative analysis of the Changsha wares from both sites:

Ceramic Feature Belitung Wreck (c. 826 CE)
Transparent light brown/yellow glaze with a green cast Creamy
Decorative Style: Meticulous iron-brown and copper-green painting of clouds, birds, floral motifs and abstract Arabic scripts Rapid

Binh Chau Wreck (Late 9th Century)
Glaze Typology: milky-white glaze with a subtle blue cast
Decorative Style: abstract brown and green splashes—a style Chinese scholars classify as a hallmark of late-stage Changsha production

This late Tang designation is further supported by recent terrestrial archaeology in China. An ancient pier site discovered in Changsha, dated to the Five Dynasties period (907–960 CE), yielded identical Changsha vessels featuring these abstract color splashes. This suggests that while the style emerged in the closing decades of the Tang Dynasty, production continued seamlessly into the early 10th century.

A small group of bowls in the Binh Chau cargo retain the classic yellow glaze seen in the Belitung wreck, but their execution differs. These transitional pieces feature foliated rims and distinct unglazed rings on their inner bases, an optimization for stack-firing inside the kilns.

Furthermore, the profiles of the ewers have evolved. The ewers from the Belitung wreck are stout and upright with angular, squared shoulders. In contrast, the Binh Chau ewers are elongated and slender with gently rounded shoulders. Several exhibit "dish-mouth" rims, a design feature that surged in popularity among various regional Chinese kilns during the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods.

Refining the Date: Epigraphic Evidence

Though initially inconclusive, a fragment of a Yue celadon bowl provided a critical breakthrough. The vessel features incised characters on its base. While the first character was clearly identified as Qian (乾), the second character was initially interpreted as the first four strokes of Heng (亨). Had this been correct, it would point to Qianheng (917–925 CE), a reign mark of the Southern Han (南汉) Kingdom during the Five Dynasties period.

Correction & Update: PhD candidate Mr. Yang Yang (Jingdezhen Ceramic University) has since re-examined the fragment and correctly identified the second character as fu (符). The reign mark is actually Qianfu (乾符), which corresponds to the years 874–879 CE. This epigraphic evidence places the Binh Chau wreck precisely in the late 870s, firmly within the tumultuous final decades of the Tang Dynasty.

The Port of Assembly: A Shift in Maritime Trade

The identification of the ship's timbers as Southeast Asian by Dr. Jun Kimura introduces an interesting historical puzzle. While it is widely accepted that the Belitung cargo was loaded directly at a major Chinese administrative hub like Guangzhou or Yangzhou, the same cannot be assumed for the Binh Chau vessel due to the political instability of late 9th-century China.

Between 878 and 884 CE, the devastating Huang Chao Rebellion threw the Tang Empire into chaos. Huang Chao's forces sacked Guangzhou in 878 CE. The contemporary Arab geographer Abu Zaid records that tens of thousands of foreign Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians perished in the uprising. Because Guangzhou was the primary gateway for Western trade, this cataclysm disrupted traditional commercial routes, forcing foreign merchants to flee China.

Many of these displaced traders relocated to Annam (modern-day northern Vietnam), using its ports to maintain access to Chinese commodities. The ink inscriptions on the Binh Chau jars seeking divine protection may well reflect the anxiety of Arab merchants navigating this volatile trade environment.

This regional shift is supported by historical text. John S. Guy, in Oriental Trade Ceramics in South-East Asia, notes a memorial sent by a Chinese official to the imperial court:

"Lately the precious and strange goods brought by ocean junks have mostly been taken to Annam to be traded there..."

This indicates that the traditional Tang maritime network had fractured into decentralized, intra-regional trade routes. Instead of sailing directly to China, international merchants may have gathered at alternative ports in Vietnam, where Chinese goods were brought by local coastal networks and re-assembled for long-distance transport.

The Kingdom of Champa, which controlled central and southern Vietnam, was a central player in this network. Renowned as skilled mariners, the Chams maintained regular tributary relations with China while conducting trade throughout the region. This cosmopolitan maritime environment is detailed in the Kaladi inscription of Java (dated 909 CE), which notes that communities of Cham, Khmer, Mon, and South Asian merchants lived and worked together in the Brantas Delta.

My own travels in Vietnam have confirmed the presence of Tang and Five Dynasties Yue, Changsha, and northern Yaozhou wares excavated from sites across central Vietnam. The specific role of Vietnamese ports as transshipment hubs during the transition from the Tang to the Song Dynasties remains an open field of study, and the Binh Chau wreck provides a major piece of this historical puzzle.

Maritime silk route during the Tang Period

Analysis of ceramics in the Wreck

The ceramics cargo consisted of Changsha, Yue, Xing-type and Guangdong wares. This is the typical cargo assemblage which is consistent with what we would expect for this period. Changsha wares remained as the most popular ceramics wares with painted decorations that appealed to the asethetic needs of consumers especially those from the middle east. The Yue green wares found in this wreck appeared to be quite limited in variety, with bi-base bowls forming the bulk and some other vessel forms such as ewers. The quality of the vessels in terms of glaze and potting is also comparatively inferior to that from the Belitung wreck. Similarly, the Xing-type white wares are also inferior to that from the Belitung wreck. What is most striking is that the glaze has a more yellowish tinge as compared to the snow white glaze of those from the Belitung wreck. Guangdong green jars of varying sizes and basins continued to be important export items.

Changsha wares were produced in kilns in Tongguan town about 30km from Hunan Changsha. It is also termed Tongguan kiln (铜官窑). Changsha ware is one of the most widely distributed ceramics product of the Tang period. Archaeological excavations revealed their presence in Vietnam, Thailand, Sumatra and Jave in Indonesia, South Asia, Middle East and even east coast of Africa. It is famous for its painted iron-brown and copper-green and/or applique motifs on vessels covered with transparent glaze. The glaze range from a transparent light yellowish with tinge of green to a milky white with tinge of blue. A white slip is usually applied to conceal the coarse body before the glaze is applied on the vessel. The glaze has a tendency to peel off, especially in those areas painted brown. Fine glaze crazings is prevalent. As mentioned earlier, those found in this wreck is dated later than that from Belitung. The most distinctive characteristics are vessels decorated with abstract brown/green splashes. Only a small number with floral/vegetal or bird decoration were found.

Some of the more rare Changsha from the wreck

Zhejiang Yue kilns have a long tradition of greenware production which based on archaeological evidence could be traced to at least the Zhou period. After a long period with intermittent disruption and chaos caused by wars, the potters finally produced a mature form of greenware by Eastern Han period. It is widely believed to be the birth place of porcelain wares. Yue ware is highly regarded and widely praised by the literati since the Tang Dynasty. During the 9th century, the best Yue ware was called Mise porcelain, literally meaning secret colour porcelain. Lu Guimeng (died A.D. 881) in his poem "秘色越器" Mise Yueqi (secret colour Yue ware) mentioned that Yue wares were fired in misty and windy autumn and described the colour of yue ware as "green from trees despoiled from thousand peaks". The translation by Bushell of the poem:

"The misty scenery of late autumn appears when the Yue kilns are open,

The thousand peaks have been despoiled of their bright colour for the decoration of the bowls.

Let us take them out at midnight to collect the falling dew,

Or fill up the cups with wine in emulation of Ji Zhong San (Ji Zhong San is referring to Ji Kang, one of the 7 saints of Bamboo groves)"

The 9th century is also the duration which Yue achieved its first peak in production in terms of quality and quantity. As a recognised "branded" product, its price is much higher than a typical Changsha ware both domestically and internationally. Hence, it catered more to the high end international market and comparatively much smaller quantity was exported during this period. Those found in the Belitung wreck is representative of the quality of Yue wares. Although the glaze has degraded, its superb quality in terms of thin potting and elegant form is apparent.

The quantity of Yue type wares found in the Binh Chau wreck is relatively few and of limited variety. The most common form is the bowl with bi-shape bottom. The quality is hardly inspiring and definitely of much more inferior quality as compared with those from the Belitung wreck. The potting is more crude and the glaze generally uneven. Looking at the darker paste on some of the pieces, the likelihood that some may have been produced in some other provincial kilns cannot be precluded. It may also be the result of interim deterioration in the quality of Yue products due to the destruction to the economy and unstable societalenvironment inflicted by numerous uprisings of the common folks. The quality improved and reached a new peak during the 5 Dynasties/Northern Song period as can be substantiated by the fine Yue wares from the Cirebon wreck.

Xing-type white wares only constituted a small quantity in the cargo. Xing white ware represented the highest standard of white ware production during the Tang Dynasty. Lu Yu (陆羽) in his treatise on tea (茶经) compared Xing white glaze to silver and snow (若邢瓷类银, 越瓷类冰). It's popularity was noted in the ancient historical text (国史补) by Li Zhao (李肇) who commented that Xing white wares from Neiqiu (内丘) (one of the main production Xing ware production site in Hebei) were used by the rich and poor (内丘白瓷瓯, 端溪紫石砚, 天下无贵贱通用之)．Mid Tang was the peak production phase for Xing wares. In terms of varieties and quality of the vessels, this was the golden period for Xing wares. Many of the items such as bowls, cups and plates were thinly potted and uses shapes found in Middle East gold and silver wares. This borrowing of form from another medium was not unique to Xing but also adopted by other kilns such as Yue and Yaozhou. We can get a glimpse of the highly accomplished skill of the Xing potters through the Xing wares found in the Belitung wreck. Indeed it mirrored the description as found in the ancient texts. The glaze is snow white and the vessel form both thin and elegant.

By the time of the Binh Chau wreck in late Tang, the quality of Xing-type wares has also deteriorated. The glaze has a more typical yellowish tone. The vessels are more thickly potted and form not as elegant as that of the past. But in term of quality, they are still much better than that of Yue wares from this wreck. However, unlike Yue ware, Xing kilns failed to recover its past glory and its position as the pre-eminent white wares production site was replaced by Ding during the 5 Dynasties period.

Guangdong greenwares are also part of the ceramics assemblage. They are similar to those found in the Belitung wreck. The main production sites of such large jars were kilns located in the vicinity of tributaries of the Pearls river delta. One important kiln site excavated was the Guanchong kiln (官冲) in Xinhui (新会). The glaze has a characteristically snake skin-like uneven and runny appearance . Excavations in Vietnam Halong Tuan Chau Island revealed that similar Guangdong type greenwares were also produced in kilns there. However, those from the Binh Chau wreck appear to have some differences in the form and glaze from those Tuan Chau type.

Concluding Comments

The Binh Chau cargo is an important find which provides physical evidence of the ceramic assemblage that was exported during the closing years of Tang Dynasty. It enable one to have a clearer understanding of the quality and type of ceramics wares that were produced for export. For Changsha and Xing wares, it represented the last phase of their illustrious role in the export trade. What they left behind were huge footprints and milestones in the history of Chinese porcelain production. The high fired polychrome decoration of Changsha and the transparent white glaze of Xing are necessary technical innovation which finally led to the successful production of blue and white and copper red underglaze decoration. As for Yue ware, it had yet to achieve its most glorious moments during the 5 Dynasties and Northern Song period. Guangdong greenwares continued to be an important export item till the Northern Song period.