The earliest rudders in China were what is called 'balanced' rudders. This means that part of the blade projected in front of the post. Such rudders are easier to use, but Europeans did not adopt them until the nineteenth century. One of the earliest ships to use such a rudder was the Great Britain of 1843. The British were in the forefront when it came to adopting Chinese inventions for naval use, with this as well as the square-pallet chain pump as a bilge pump and watertight compartments in hulls. It is no exaggeration to say that the superiority of the British Navy was to a large extent due to its readiness to adopt Chinese inventions more rapidly than other European powers.