Sentence:  The <WSD>tanka</WSD> is a small boat, almost as wide as long, and differing therein much from the sharp and narrow canoes of the Malays. The crew generally consists of an elderly woman, who sits or stands at the stern, rotating with a vigorous and experienced arm the long oar which is the great propeller of all boats in the Celestial Empire. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A kind of boat used in Canton, about 25 feet long and often rowed by tanka women; junk.