View source for Sampan

{{Short description|Form of boat from Southeast Asia}}
{{For|the Chinese/English bilingual newspaper|Sampan (newspaper)}}
{{Distinguish|text=the commune in France [[Sampans, Jura]]}}

[[Image:YangtzeSampan.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Sampan on the [[Yangtze River]] (Chang Jiang), [[China]]]]

{{Infobox Chinese
| c = 舢舨
| p = Shānbǎn
| poj = Sam-pán
| y = Sāan báan
| j = Saan1 baan2
}}

[[File:蘭陽博物館所展示的漁船模型.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Model of sampan in [[Lanyang Museum]]]] 
A '''sampan''' is a relatively flat-bottomed wooden [[boat]] found in [[East Asia|East]], [[Southeast Asia|Southeast]], and [[South Asia]]. It is possibly of [[China|Chinese]] or [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] origin.<ref name="manguin2012"/> Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be [[Houseboat|used as a permanent habitation]] on inland waters. The design closely resembles Western hard [[Chine (boating)|chine]] boats like the [[scow]] or [[punt (boat)|punt]]. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers and are often used as [[traditional fishing boat]]s. It is unusual for a sampan to sail far from land, as they do not have the means to survive rough weather.

It is sometimes claimed that the word "sampan" is derived from the [[Cantonese]] term ''sāam báan'' ({{lang|zh|三板}}), literally "three planks",<ref>[https://www.m-w.com/dictionary/sampan Merriam Webster online dictionary]</ref> but this is likely to be a [[false etymology]].<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |last=Hoogervorst |first=Tom |date=2012 |title=Southeast Asia in the ancient Indian Ocean world |publisher=University of Oxford |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b8b47816-7184-42ab-958e-026bc3431ea3}}</ref> A possible [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] origin of the word has been suggested, as it is attested in an [[Old Malay]] inscription from 684 CE.<ref name="manguin2012">{{cite book |last1=Manguin |first1=Pierre-Yves |editor1-last=Prakash |editor1-first=Om |editor2-last=Chattopadhyaya |editor2-first=D. P. |chapter=Asian ship-building traditions in the Indian Ocean at the dawn of European expansion |title=History of science, philosophy, and culture in Indian Civilization |volume=III, part 7: The trading world of the Indian Ocean, 1500-1800 |pages=597–629 |date=2012 |publisher=Pearson |location=Delhi, Chennai, Chandigarh |quote=Another well-known word of possible Austronesian origin is ''sampan'', attested in a 684 CE old Malay inscription, which also appears in Tamil and Sri Lankan (as it does in Khmer, Thai, Burmese, Mon and Chinese).}}</ref>

Sampans may be propelled by poles, oars (particularly a single, long [[stern sculling]] oar called a ''yuloh'' (simplified Chinese 摇橹/ traditional Chinese 搖櫓)<ref>[https://www.simplicityboats.com/ScullYulohaboat.htm "How to Scull a Boat"], ''WOODEN BOAT'' #100, June 1991.</ref>) or may be fitted with outboard motors.

Sampans are still in use by rural residents of [[Southeast Asia]], particularly in [[Malaysia]], [[Indonesia]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Myanmar]], [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Vietnam]].

[[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]] communities in Southeast Asia also use the term sampan for their boats. Large boats such as ''[[sampan panjang]]'', ''kolek'' and ''perahu panjang'' are used and built by the Malays and [[Orang Laut]] living in their coastal villages.

==Image gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Sampan-01.png|Traditional ''hongtou'' (red-head) sampans of [[Shanghai]], [[China]]
File:Indonesian Sampan.jpg|A contemporary sampan comes back from fishing, on the north coast of [[Java]]
File:Japon-1886-32.jpg|Japanese sampan-like river boat. Dating from before 1886
File:Sampan under sunset Hong Kong.jpg|Small sampan still being used for passenger transportation between islands in [[Hong Kong]]
File:Sampan.jpg|[http://digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/ref/collection/chung/id/20798/rec/67 A Sampan in Shanghai, China] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113230046/http://digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/ref/collection/chung/id/20798/rec/67 |date=2013-11-13 }}
File:Boats in Barishal Bangladesh (3).JPG|[[Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]] fishermen resting in the shade of a sampan in [[Barishal]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Casco (barge)]], Filipino version of Sampan
*[[Sampan panjang]], Malay boat

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Sampans}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140108074301/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fassitt/cranks/cranky_sampans.html "Cranks with Planks presents Sampans -n- Yulohs" (via Wayback Machine)] (includes excerpt from G.R.G. Worcester's ''Junks and Sampans of the Yangtse.'')

{{Fishing vessel topics}}
{{Fisheries and fishing}}{{Indonesian traditional vessels}}
{{Austronesian ships}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cantonese culture]]
[[Category:Indigenous boats]]
[[Category:Types of fishing vessels]]
[[Category:Ships of China]]