I am not a Chinese.

I am a white Caucasian of Irish and English descent, born & bred in New
Zealand (a country tucked away at a remote corner of the globe and located far, far away
from the South China Sea). The international media has constantly presented the Western
countries a skewed & biased perspective of the conflict in South China Sea. I would like to
implore my fellow whites anywhere in the world (caucasians of European, American descent)
to examine the following historical facts with an open mind, free from any political agendas
(ie. oh, China is a communist country, anything they do must be evil!), racial discomfort (ie.
oh, the greedy slint-eyed chinks are, ching chong flied lice, at it again), geopolitical bias (ie.
Im American: me good, china bad).
Back in 1998 (a decade before China began construction on the islands and none of us have
ever heard of Paracel Islands or the Spratly Islands), a couple of American whites
(specifically John Norton Moore, Myron H. Nordquist etc) published a book called
'Security Flashpoints : Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation'. This book is
based on a conference jointly sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for
Oceans Law and Policy and the Center for National Security Law, University of Virginia
School of Law. This book presented historical facts that support Chinas claim on these
islands.
Below are excerpts taken directly from pages 148 to 174 of this book. I have transcribed and
typed these over the course of many weeks. Unfortunately, I have omitted the many
references, footnotes and bibliographic materials (I cant get around the typeset) that were
provided by the editors.
This book is available as a hardcopy at http://www.brill.com/security-flashpoints
or
https://www.amazon.com/Security-Flashpoints-Islands-MilitaryConfrontation/dp/9041110569/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470287399&sr=11&keywords=Security+Flashpoints%3AOil%2C+Islands%2C+Sea+Access%2C+and+Military+C
onfrontation+%28Center+for+Oceans+Law+and+Policy%29

Here are the excerpts in their entirety:

CHINAS TERRITORIAL TITLE AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES
From my point of view, there is no question that China owns the Paracel Islands and the
Spratly Islands and they are in fact Chinese territory. I will tell you why step by step.
China acquired title to the South China Sea islands by virtue of China's discovery of and longtime effective and reasonable exercise of sovereignty over them. China discovered these
islands possibly as early as in the primitive times thousands of years ago, no later than
during the Han Dynasties (206 BC - 220 AD), and began exercising jurisdiction over them, at
latest, during the North Song Dynasty (960 - 1127 AD). There was never any question of the

status of the South China Sea islands as Chinese territory prior to the 1930s when France
and later Japan unlawfully occupied some of the islands by force. After the Japanese
surrender and withdrawal in 1945, the Chinese government resumed authority over these
islands and their status remained undisputed for years. However, in part because of the
discovery of potential oil and gas deposits in the South China Sea, many of the islands and
other features, especially those of the Spratly Islands, became objects of invasion,
occupation, and claims by other nations, notably by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and
Brunei.
The media and commentators are aware of Chinas historical claims, but they often raise the
question: Where are the proofs? The proofs are right there, but they are often ignored. I am
now going to offer some proofs with regard to Chinas discovery of and exercise of
sovereignty over the South China Sea islands. It is true that, unlike the Europeans, the
ancient and modem Chinese did not have the habit of recording and documenting activities
which well deserved documentation; we nevertheless have some valuable historical books
and records that suffice to prove Chinas control of the islands in question. This is not a
proper forum for evidentiary presentation, nor am I in a position to produce the evidences
identified below, but I believe that if the disputes should ever be submitted to an
appropriate international dispute resolving body, such evidences will be producible.
Chinas Discovery of and Earlier Expeditions to the South China Sea Islands
While it is hard to determine exactly at what point the Chinese discovered the island groups
in the South China Sea, there were already destinations of Chinese expeditions during the
East Zhou Dynasty (770 - 221 BC), which comprised the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476
BC) and the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC). This indicates that these islands might
perhaps have been discovered by the Chinese even earlier.
In Yi Zhou Shu (Scattered Books of the Zhou Dynasties), a series of seventy-one volumes
written in the early Qin Dynasty, it was recorded that in the Xia Dynasty [21st century 16th century BC] the tributes from the South Sea [by the southern barbarians to the Xia
rulers] were zhuji dabei [pearl-carrying shellfish]," turtles and hawksbill turtles, and these
tributes continued through the Shang Dynasty (16th century - 11th century BC), the Zhou
Dynasties (11th century - 221 BC) comprising the West Zhou (11th century - 771 BC) and the
East Zhou (770 - 221 BC), and the Qin (221 - 206 BC) and Han (206 BC - 220 AD) Dynasties.
According to Yi Zhou Shu, six southern barbarian peoples were ordered to contribute pearlcarrying shellfish, hawksbill turtles, and other rarities to the rulers of the West Zhou
Dynasty. Dai mao was described in Nanzhou Yiwu Zhi (Records of Rarities of the Southern
Territories) as "living in the southern sea (sheng nan fang hai zhong), which denotes the
Paracel and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
The famous Shi Jing, a collection of classics of poems of the Spring and Autumn Period, also
made a reference to the South China Sea: Yan yu Nanhai" (orders or words [from the Chu

rulers] to the South Sea). No matter what was originally meant by the words Yan yu
Nanhai" in Shi Jing, it appears evident that more than two thousand years ago, the Chinese
rulers and people were at least aware of the Nanhai, which referred to the South China Sea
and the islands therein.
In Zuo Zhuan (Zuo's Commentaries), another set of classics of the Spring and Autumn Period
believed to be authored by Zuo Qiuming, a well-known historian of Confucius's
contemporary, it was stated that hehe Chu Guo, fu you man yi, yan zheng Nanhai, yi shu
zhu Xia. Xia is the abbreviated form of Hua Xia, another name for Zhong Guo or China.
When properly translated, the quoted passage means that the illustrious Chu state
appeased the barbarians to make expeditions to the South China Sea [islands], in order to
make them belong to the various parts of China.
There was a third relevant set of classics of the Spring and Autumn Period titled Guo Yu
(Statements of the States), also believed to have been authored by Zuo Qiuming. It had 21
volumes and contained statements of nobles of the West Xia Dynasty and the various states
in the Spring and Autumn Period. One of the statements made a similar reference to the
South China Sea: Hehe Chu Guo, er jun lin zhi, fu zheng Nanhai, xun ji zhu Xia" - The
illustrious Chu state was commanded by its emperor; it appeased [the barbarians] and made
expeditions to the South China Sea [islands]; and its commands reached various parts of
China). Professor Wang Hengjie of the Central Institute for Minority Nationalities, based on
archaeological findings in the Paracel Islands in 1991, concludes that the Chu state of the
Spring and Autumn Period not only conquered the 'barbarians' in southern China, but also
made expeditions in the South China Sea [islands] to include [them] as part of China. He
continues:
Chinese people from the Hainan Island and southern China had a long history of engaging in
production and living in the Paracel and Spratly areas. . . . Since the remote primitive era,
they had been engaging in fishing there, catching hawksbill turtles and other rare marine
products needed by the central government, and giving them as tributes to the central
government; after they died in the South China Sea, they were buried on the islands; the Chu
state back in the Spring and Autumn Period had already controlled and occupied the South
China Sea [islands].
The archaeological discovery of relics made in the primitive era and pre-Han eras, and the
references in ancient Chinese books to ancient tributes collected from and expeditions to
the Nanhai, all support the conclusion that by the Spring and Autumn Period and the
Warring States Period (770 - 221 BC), particularly during the Chu state's prosperity, the
Chinese rulers and people were already in control of the South China Sea islands, the
discovery of which might have taken place in a much earlier primitive era.
Chinese Activities in the Pre-Song Eras

According to a Chinese professor, in the 200s BC, particularly during the West Han Dynasty
(206 BC - 23 AD), China's sea-going navigation was already relatively highly developed.
Chinese ships and crews sailed as far as to [what is now] Sri Lanka, necessarily passing the
South China Sea and the Paracel and Spratly Islands on their way to and from each
destination, and in their practice of navigation and production, they discovered the South
China Sea Islands." It might be more accurate to say that the Chinese in the Han era rediscovered" rather than discovered the South China Sea Islands because their ancestors
might have already discovered those islands and reefs. What is certain is that the sailors of
the Han Dynasty knew of the existence of the South China Sea islands.
During the reign of Emperor Wudi of West Han (156 BC - 87 BC, reigning 140 - 87 BC), the
Chinese continued to sail in the South China Sea, which was the only path to destinations
around and beyond the Sea. Time and time again they re-discovered" or re-encountered
the vast range of islands, reefs and banks in the Paracels and Spratlys area, renamed the
South China Sea Zhanghai and peacefully and continuously exercised sovereign jurisdiction
over these islands for a long time. In the reign of Emperor Guangwudi of the East Han
(reigning 25 - 55 AD), General Ma Fubo (ie. General Ma Yuan was sent to lead a naval fleet
to conquer the barbarians in Rinan Prefecture (now central and north Vietnam) in 43 AD.)
After the conquest, Han officials were stationed there on a permanent basis.
Xie Cheng, in his Hou Han Shu (Books of the Latter Han Dynasty) recorded that Chen Mao,
the Biejia (a rank of officials lower than Cishi) of Jiaozhi Province (covering most parts of
Guangdong and Guangxi as well as the central and northern parts of Vietnam) of Han,
accompanied Zhou Chang, the Cishi (the highest official of a province) of Jiaozhou Province
(the same area of jurisdiction as Jiaozhi which was being replaced with the name Jiaozhou at
the time), in their naval inspection and patrolling cruise to the islands in the South China Sea
xing bu Zhanghai".
In his book titled Yiwu Zhi (Records of Rarities), Yang Fu of the East Han Dynasty (23 - 220
AD) described the geographical features of the South China Sea islands: Zhanghai qitou,
shui qian er duo cishi" (There are islets, sand cays, reefs and banks in the South China Sea,
the water [there] is shallow and filled with magnetic rocks or stones). The term qitou was
the collective name used by ancient Chinese to denote islets, reefs, shoals and the like in the
oceans. The term cishi literally means magnetite, or magnetic rocks or stones." It was
vividly used in Yiwu Zhi to refer to the fact that ancient Chinese ships sailing to the South
China Sea got stranded by the reefs, shoals and banks as if the ships were attracted by
lodestones or magnetic rocks.
The Paracel and Spratly islands were further described in two famous books published in the
period of Three Warring States (220 - 280 AD) respectively titled Nanzhou Yiwu Zhi (Records
of Rarities in the Southern Boundary) and Funan Zhuan (Journeys to and from Funan (now
Cambodia)). In Nanzhou Yiwu Zhi, authored by Wan Zhen of the Wu state (222 280 AD)
were recorded the encounters of Chinese expedition sailors of the Han Dynasties (206 BC -

220 AD) on their way back from the Malay Peninsula to China: Dongbei xing, ji da qitou, chu
Zhanghai, zhong qian er duo cishi" (Sailing northeastward, one would encounter a large
number of islets, reefs, shoals and banks becoming visible and noticeable in the South China
Sea, where [the water is] shallow and filled with magnetic rocks.)
Funan Zhuan was written by Kang Tai , one of the famous ancient Chinese navigators of the
Wu state. In 226 AD, Kang Tai and Zhu Ying were dispatched on diplomatic missions by
Emperor Huangwu via the South China Sea to Funan (now Cambodia) where they met
diplomatic envoys from the state of Tianzhu (now India), and numerous other states. Kang
Tai observed in his Journey to and from Funan:
Zhanghai zhong, dao shanhu zhou, zhoudi you panshi, shanhu sheng qi shang ye (In the
South China Sea, there are coral islands and reefs; below these islands and reefs are rocks
upon which the corals were formed).
In a work authored by Pei Yuan of the Jin Dynasties (265 - 420 AD) and entitled Guangzhou Ji
(Chronicles of Guangzhou), it was similarly stated: Shanhu Zhou, zai [Dongguan] Xian nan
wubai li, xi youren yu haizhong pu yu, de shanhu" (Shanhu Zhou [The Coral Islands and
Reefs] lie five hundred lis south from the County of Dongguan; in the old days [prior to the
Jin] people were catching fish in the [South China] Sea, and they got corals).
The Jin people already knew the geographical location of the Paracel and Spratly Islands by
their nearest distance (500 ancient lis from Dongguan County, a coastal county south of
Guangzhou). They were also already calling the islands in the South China Sea by the
collective name Coral Islands and Reefs, the earliest scientific naming of such islands
known today. Further, the pre-Jin people of China, at least before 265 AD, were already
engaging in fishing and other production activities in the South China Sea islands area. The
local government of the Jin Dynasties (265 420 AD) was also exercising jurisdiction over
the Paracel and Spratly Islands by sending patrolling naval boats to the surrounding sea
areas. In Guangdong Tong Zhi (The General Records of Guangdong) authored by Hao Yiilin, it
was reported that Bao Jing, the Administrator of Nanhai, the highest official in charge of the
South China Sea affairs) of the Jin Dynasties, went on patrolling and inspection voyages in
the South China Sea (xing bu ru hai).
Archaeologists found in the South China Sea islands Chinese-made potteries, porcelains and
other historical relics originating, inter alia, in the Southern Dynasties (420 589 AD), the Sui
Dynasty (581 618 AD), the Tang Dynasty (618 907 AD), the Song Dynasties (960 1279
AD), the Yuan Dynasty (1206 - 1368), the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the Qing Dynasty
(1644 - 1911) and modern times (1912 onwards). It is thus apparent that by the fifth century,
Chinese people were already engaging in production activities in the South China Sea islands
and were perhaps living in some of the islands as well. The Chinese navy force of the Song
state of Southern Dynasties (420 - 479 AD) was also patrolling the Paracel and Spratly islands
in the South China Sea area. In his Wudi Lei (In Memory of Wudi), Xie Lingyun (385 - 433 AD),

a poet of the Song state of the Southern Dynasties, referred to the Chinese navys activities
in the South China Sea by the words Zhou shi Zhanghai (Naval soldiers patrolling in the
South China Sea). In the Tang Dynasty, the Paracel and Spratly Islands were already placed
under the jurisdiction and authority of the Qiongzhou Prefecture (now Hainan).
The Song Dynasties
Chinas administration of the South China Sea continued into the North and South Song
Dynasties (960 1279 AD), during which references to the South China Sea islands were
made in numerous chronicles, records and historic books. In the well-known Zhu Fan Zhi
(Records of the Various Barbarian Peoples), a book written in the year of 1225 by Zhao Rushi,
the Paracels were named Qianli Changsha", and the Spratlys Wanli Shitang or Wanli
Shichuang". Changsha literally means long ranges of shoals, while Shitang and Shichuang
both literally mean atolls surrounding a lagoon. The context in Zhu Fan Zhi in which Qianli
Changsha" and Wanli Shitang appeared is quoted below:
In the 5th year of Zhenyuan [of the Tang Dynasty, ie. in the year of 789 AD], Qiong was
named the capital [of Hainan], and that has been followed to date.... [When one] reaches
Jiyang, that would be the southernmost point of Hainan [Island], and there would be no
further road on the land. Beyond [Jiyang], there are zhous [islands in the sea], and they are
respectively called Wuli and Sujilang. To the south is Zhancheng; to the west is Zhenla; and
to the east are Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang. The [Changsha and Shitang] area is vast
and without a limit, and the sky and water meet with the same color. Ships and boats sailing
through the area are solely dependant on the compass to guide their navigation. Days and
nights the compass has to be carefully observed, because even a slightest error may make a
difference between life and death.
Wuli Zhou and Sujilang (ie. Sumijilang, an ancient transliteration of Sa Karang or Sa Bat
Karang) Zhou are small islands off the coast of central-northern Vietnam. Zhancheng is
located in central-southern Vietnam. Zhenla is the ancient name for Cambodia. Because of
the somewhat ambiguous descriptions, there may be different interpretations as to what
Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang were meant to denote. Some Western sinologists and a
few Chinese authors hold that Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang both denote the Paracel
Islands. Those who believe that both groups belong to Paracel Islands probably have taken
Jiyang or Hainan Island as the viewing point: logically, they would find that Zhancheng (of
Vietnam) is in the south, Zhenla (Cambodia) is in the west, while the Paracel Islands are in
the east.
However, if one strictly takes Jiyang as the viewing point, the ambiguous paragraph quoted
above could be even more confusing: to the west of Jiyang, one would not find Zhenla, but
central-northern Vietnam; and neither the Spratlys nor the Paracels lie to the east of Jiyang
- they are in fact southeast of Hainan. The ancient Chineses understanding of the
orientation of the east, west, south and north might not be exactly the same as that as

understood today, and their descriptions of geographical objects could be sometimes

inaccurate. This is still true even among some contemporary Chinese, especially those with
less or no modern education. Qianli Changsha is not to be taken as an exact measure of
one thousand lis" of shoals, nor is Wanli Shitang to be understood to represent an accurate
scale of ten thousand lis" of coral atolls. They were so called just as names which were
typically colored with permissible literary and artistic exaggerations and rhetorics in the
Chinese language. If the author of Zhu Fan Zhi could write, from the point of view of Jiyang,
that Cambodia, which is in fact southwest of Jiyang, was to the west, there is no reason why
he couldn't mean that Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang, which he described as being to
the east (of Jiyang, if one may so interpret), referred to the Paracel and Spratly Islands
even if they are in fact southeast of Jiyang.
Another possibility might be that the viewing points could have changed from Jiyang to
Zhancheng, or from place to place referred to in Zhu Fan Zhi. Zhancheng is truly to the south
of Jiyang and/or the Wuli Zhou and Sumijilang Zhou; Zhenla is exactly to the west of
Zhancheng; more or less to the east of both Zhenla and Zhancheng are the Paracel and
Spratly Islands. In any event, most Chinese historians and legal scholars believe that the
words Qianli Changsha (Thousand Li Shoals) refer to the Paracel Islands while the words
Wanli Shitang (Ten Thousand Li Atolls) referred to the Spratly Islands. Qianli Changsha
and Wanli Shitang included at least part of the South China Sea islands, and they were
considered Chinese territory. In an official chronicle book published in the Southern Song
Dynasty (1127 - 1279) titled Qiong Guan Zhi (Records of the Qiong Prefecture and its
Jurisdiction), it was specifically mentioned that the Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang were
under the jurisdiction of the Qiong Prefecture (now Hainan Province). Similar references can
also be found in such Song-related books as Song Hui Yao Ji Gao (Selected Manuscripts of
the Digests of the Song Dynasties), Song Shi (The History of the Song Dynasties), and Zhu
Fan Tu (Maps of the Various Barbarian Peoples, the Northern Song Dynasty).
It must be noted that there did not appear to be any uniform designation for the Paracel or
Spratly group. Sometimes the words Shitang or Shichuang were used to designate the
Spratly Islands; at other times, they were used for the Paracel or Zhongsha Islands. So were
with the words Changsha. The actual group of islands which these words referred to must
be determined in the concrete context in which they were used. In Zhu Fan Tu and its
illustrations which were charted in the Song Dynasties, it was stated that Shichuang,
Changsha zhi xian, Jiao Yang, Zhu Yu zhixian, meaning that "The dangerous water areas of
the Shichuang and Changsha are the outer limits of the Jiaozhi Sea and the Natuna Islands".
Here, Shichuang denotes the Paracel Islands whereas Changsha symbolizes the Spratly
Islands. Jiao Yang (Jiao Sea) is an abbreviated form of Jiaozhi Yang (Jiaozhi Sea), the sea area
west of the Paracel Islands. In the words Zhu Yu, Zhu was the traditional transliteration of
Datcu; Yu means islands. The combination of these two words refers to the Datcu Islands
(now Natuna Islands). The above passage means that once one passes the dangerous water
areas of the Paracel and Spratly Islands, one reaches the sea boundaries between China and

foreign countries. This interpretation is supported by the following quotation from the Song
scholar Zhou Qufei's 10-volume work entitled Lingwai Daida (1178 AD), a hard-to-translate
title which literally means Substitute Replies from Lingwai (now Guangdong and Guangxi):
Among those foreign states which are rich in resources and treasures, none is comparable
with the state of Dashi, the next is the state of Shepo, and next comes the state of Sanfoqi,
followed by the other states. Sanfoqi is the strategic pass for communications between
various states via sea routes. [Here is how] to travel from Sanfoqi to China: One would sail
by boats northward, pass the upper and lower Datcus and the Jiaozhi Sea, and then
respectively enter the territory of China [on the sea]. To reach Guangdong, one would go
through Tunmen; to reach Quanzhou, he would go through Jiazimen. From Shepo to China:
Sailing northwest for some distance, passing the Twelve Rock-Islets, and meeting the sea
route between Sanfoqi and China right before the Datcu Islands. From the state of Dashi to
China: Taking small boats southbound, reaching the state of Gulin, changing large boats and
sailing eastward, arriving at the state of Sanfoqi, and then taking the same sea route to
enter China. Other tributary states such as Zhancheng and Zhenla are all close south of the
Jiaozhi Sea, and their distances to China are far shorter than half of those of the state of
Sanfoqi and Shepo, while the distances of Sanfoqi and Shepo to China are again shorter than
half of the distance between the state of Dashi and China. To travel from the various foreign
states to China, one can complete the round trip in one year, with the only exception of the
state of Dashi, the round trip between which and China must take more than two years to
complete (emphasis added).
Sanfoqi denotes the kingdom of Sriwidjaja which existed on part of what is now Sumantra
Island with Palembang as the center. Shepo state was located in Java and part of Sumantra.
The state of Dashi refers to the empire of Taziks, and the word Dashi comes from the
Persian word Tazi and was used since the Tang and Song Dynasties to denote the Arabian
Empire. Tunmen is in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and was a gateway to Guangzhou. Shier Zishi
(Twelve Rock-Islets) refers to the small islets north of the Karimata Islands near Java. Gulin
state is the Chinese transliteration of the kingdom of Kulam which existed on the southwest
coast of India. Shang Xia Zhu (Upper and Lower Datcus) and Zhu Yu (Datcu Islands) both
refer to the Natuna Islands. Quanzhou is located in Fujian Province. Zhancheng was a state
in central-southern Vietnam and part of Cambodia with Qui Nhon as its capital. Zhenla was
in most part of what is now Cambodia.
The sea route between Sanfoqi and Guangdong and Fujian was newly opened up in the
Song Dynasties. Part of the new sea route, ie. that between Zhancheng and Guangdong and
Fujian, was the same as the old one. From Sanfoqi to Zhancheng, the old sea route was
along the coasts of Malay Peninsula and Indo-China, while the newly developed sea route
would pass the Natuna Islands and then immediately enter the domain of China in the South
China Sea, namely, the Spratly Islands water area which was then called Changsha Hai
(Changsha Sea). Along this new sea route, one would then exit the Chinese territory in the
Changsha Sea area, passing Zhancheng on the central-southern Vietnamese coast, proceed

through the Jiaozhi Sea, and then re-enter the Chinese territory in the Paracel Islands water
area called Shitang Hai (Shitang Sea). The major difference between the new route and the
old one is that using the new route, one would enter China's territory on the sea twice, once
in the Spratly Islands area and the other in the Paracel Islands area, whereas along the old
coastal sea route between Sumantra and Zhancheng, one did not need to enter and
traverse China's Changsha Sea (Nansha) area, instead, he only needed to enter China's
territory once in the Shitang Sea (Xisha) area.
The words li Shang Xia Zhu yu Jiao Yang, naizhi Zhongguo zhi jing" mean that by using the
new sea route, one could enter the territory of China both after passing the Upper and
Lower Datcus and after traversing the Jiaozhi Sea."
Taking both Zhu Fan Tu and Lingwai Daida into consideration, one can conclude that in the
Song Dynasties, where the dangerous zone of the Shitang Sea (Paracel area) and the Jiaozhi
Sea met was considered the sea boundary between China and the Jiaozhi Sea, and where
the dangerous zone of the Changsha Sea (Nansha) started was considered the sea boundary
between Natuna Islands and China. Once one reached those sea boundaries, one then
reached Chinese territory. It is thus evident that no matter how one is to interpret the
words Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang in the famous Zhu Fan Zhi, both Paracel Islands
and Spratly Islands were within the boundary of the Song Empire.
The Yuan Dynasty
Chinese activities in and concerning the South China Sea islands increased in the Yuan
Dynasty (1279 - 1360). The official Yuan Shi (History of the Yuan Dynasty) completed in the
Ming era not only contained a geographical description of the South China Sea islands, but
also recorded that the Navy of the Yuan had made inspections and patrols of the Qizhou
Yang (Paracel Islands) and Wanli Shitang (Spratly Islands). The Shi Bi Zhuan"
(Supplementary History) of the work recorded that Chinese naval forces: [sic] izhou Yang,
Wanli Shitang, li Jiaozhi Zhancheng jie. ru Hundun Dayang, Ganlan Yu, Jialimada, Julan
deng shan, zhubing famu, zao xiao zhou.... (...sailed through the Qizhou Yang and Wanli
Shitang, passing the territory of Jiaozhi and Zhancheng.... [They then] landed such islands as
Hundun Dayang, Ganlan Island, Jialimada and Julan, where they stationed and cut down
lumbers to build small boats....)
Qizhou Yang and Wanli Shitang respectively refer to the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands.
The word shan" means the islands in and surrounding the South China Sea. Jialimada refers
to the Kalimantan Island (Borneo). The above passage indicates the scope of naval activities
of the Yuan Dynasty in the South China Sea.
Wang Dayuan, a prominent Chinese navigator in the Yuan Dynasty who made numerous
voyages to the South China Sea and beyond, recorded the Yuan naval inspection and patrol

activities in his one-volume publication entitled Dao Yi Zhi Lue (Abridged Records of Islands
and Barbarians). He stated:
The base of Shitang originates from Chaozhou.It is tortuous as a long snake lying in the sea,
and across the sea it reaches various states, and it is popularly called: Wanli Shitang.
According to my estimates, it is less than ten thousand lis.... Its veins can all be traced. One
such vein stretches to Java, one to Boni and Gulidimen, and one to the west side of the sea
toward Kunlun in the distance.... One would be safe to avoid it, and dangerous to come
across it.
Here, Boni denotes Burni, a kingdom which then existed in what is now Brunei and its
vicinity on the Kalimantan Island. Gulidimen was another kingdom on the Kalimantan.
Kunlun denotes the Kunlun Islands (Con Son Islands) which are located outside the mouth of
the Mekong River some 200 nautical miles away from Saigon. Given the description that the
three veins of the Wanli Shitang each respectively extends to Kalimantan, Java and the
western part of the South China Sea looking over the Kunlun Islands in the distance, it is
evident that Shitang and Wanli Shitang refer to, or at least include, the Spratly Islands.
According to another source, an expeditionary force" was dispatched to Java in 1292:
Records of the voyage report that it sailed through Chi'chou yang" (the ocean of the seven
islands) and the Wanli shif[sic]tang (Myriad on ten thousand li rocks). The Chi'chou yang"
[now spelled Qizhou Yang] (Seven Islands) were the seven islands of the present Paracel
Islands and Wanli shih-t'ang" [now spelled Wanli Shitang] apparently referred to the
present Spratly Islands.
Wang Dayuan further recorded that when the navy of the Yuan Empire was patrolling the
South China Sea islands and sea zones near Kalimantan, you bing zu bai yu ren, buneng qu
zhe, sui liu shan zhong" (there were more than a hundred sick soldiers who could leave and
had to stay on the islands"). Given only the number of soldiers who could not further take
part in patrolling due to ailment, which was already over one hundred, one can imagine the
scale of patrols by the Yuan navy in the Spratly Islands area.
In 1279, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty sent the famous high-level official and
astronomer, Guo Shoujing, to the South China Sea to survey and measure the islands and
the surrounding sea area. Guo's base of survey was exactly located in the Paracel Islands. His
activities were well recorded in Yuan Shi and are discussed in some detail by some Chinese
historians and legal scholars. This type of state-sponsored surveys constituted a form of
exercise of sovereignty over the South China Sea islands concerned.
According to Yuan Shi, the South China Sea islands were within the boundary of the Yuan
Dynasty. Maps published in the Yuan era invariably included the Changsha (the Paracels)
and the Shitang (the Spratlys) within the domain of Yuan. Such maps included the Yuandai
Jiangyu Tu Xu (Map of the Territory of the Yuan Dynasty Illustrated), the Sheng Jiao Guang

Bei Tu (also a map of the Yuan Dynasty) of 1330 by Li Zemin, the Hunyi Jiangli Tu
(Consolidated Maps of Territories) of 1380, and the authoritative Yu Di Tu (The Maps of the
Territory [of Yuan]) drawn and illustrated by Zhu Siben. Professor Wu Fengbin of Xiamen
University writes:
In addition to the illustrations of Shitang and Changsha in the Dongnan Hai Yi Tu [Map of the
Seas and Barbarians in the Southeast] of the Yu Di Tu, Zhu Siben of the Yuan Dynasty in the
Xinan Hai Yi Tu [Map of the Seas and Barbarians in the Southwest] also drew illustrations of
Shitang. This Shitang" is located west of Boni (Brunei), north of Pinggaolun (Natuna
Islands), southwest of Puer (the Philippines), and northeast of Zhimen (the Chaoman
Island off the east coast of the Malay Peninsula). From the point of view of the above
geographical locations, coupled with the support of historic books, the term Shitang refers to
the Spratly Islands. Zhu Siben stated in his Zi Xu (Self-Illustrations) appended to the Maps
that the barbarians and foreign territories which presented tributes to the imperial court [of
the Yuan] were located at Zhanghai zhi dongnan, shamo zhi xibei" [southeast of the South
China Sea and northwest of the desert]. Now that the foreign States were located outside
the South China Sea, the Shitang (the Spratly Islands) in the South China Sea naturally was
within the boundary of the territory of the Yuan Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty
Relevant local annals and other historic materials of the Ming Dynasty (1367 - 1644) and the
Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) continued to contain references to the South China Sea islands
as Chinas territory. The Qiongzhou Fu (Qiongzhou Prefecture) (ie. the name of the highest
administrative authority in Hainan) exercised jurisdiction over the Paracel and Spratly
Islands throughout the Ming and Qing Dynasties. For example, a Tang Zhou of the Ming
Dynasty recorded in his Zhengde Qiong Tai Zhi (Records of Qiongzhou and Taiwan During
the Reign of Emperor Zhengde) that the sphere of jurisdiction of the Qiongzhou Prefecture
included the Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang. Qiong Guan Gu Zhi (Ancient Records on
the Jurisdiction of Qiongzhou [Fu]) written in the same era contained the same information.
According to Guangdong Tong Zhi (General Records of Guangdong Province) prepared by Jin
Guangzu of the Qing Dynasty, in the Ming era, Wan Zhou (a sub-prefecture) of Qiongzhou
Prefecture not only had jurisdiction over the Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang, but also
had authority over the Changsha Hai, Wantang Hai" (Changsha Sea and Wantang Sea),
ie. the sea areas respectively surrounding the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. Various
maps and charts drafted in the Ming Dynasty also continued to indicate that the South
China Sea islands were Chinese territory. For example, in an atlas entitled Hunyi Jiangli Lidai
Guodu zhi Tu (Consolidated Map of Territories and Geography and Capitals of Past Dynasties)
prepared in 1402 by Li Hui and Quan Jin of the Ming Dynasty, the South China Sea islands
were all included within the boundary of China. On the map, there are three places in the
South China Sea respectively marked Shitang," Changsha, and Shitang".

According to Chinese experts, from the geographical locations [of these places] as marked
on the map, the first Shitang denotes the Dongsha Islands, Changsha denotes the Paracel
Islands, and the second Shitang denotes the Spratly Islands. Wubei Mishu Dili Fu Tu (A
Geographical Map Annexed to the Secret Manual on Defense Preparations), another Ming
map published in the year of 1637, also included the entire South China Sea islands as part
of the Ming Empire's territory.
Zheng He's Seven Voyages to the Pacific and Indian Oceans are well-known. The sea routes
in the South China Sea were the only paths which Zheng He and his fleet had to take. In fact,
Zheng Hes fleet used the Paracel and other islands in the South China Sea as stop-over
points during their voyages to and from the Indian Ocean and other destinations. According
to Bruce Swanson, a US naval historian, the sea routes followed by Zheng He's naval
captains had been known and used for several centuries. Since the Song dynasty, in fact, the
routes had been systematized into two major sea lanes: the East Sea Route and the West
Sea Route. Each was subdivided into a major and minor route. With respect to the
significance of Zheng Hes voyages to the South China Sea islands, Professor Greenfield
observed:
When the famous Chinese navigator Cheng Ho [ie. Zheng He] of the Ming Dynasty ... sailed
seven times through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean between 1403 and 1433, his
fleet passed through the Paracel and Spratly Islands on several occasions and the locations
of these two islet groups were recorded on a detailed map drawn between 1425 and 1430
(the exact year cannot be determined). The Paracels were referred to as Shih-t'ang" (Rocks)
and Wansheng shih-t'angyu (Islands of ten thousand rocks), and the Spratly as Shihsing
shih-t'ang (Stone star rocks). A subsequent Ming dynasty publication on the products and
geography of the sea entitled Haiyu" (On the Sea) also clearly described the location of
these islet groups. The text explicitly states that the Wanli changsha (Myriad on ten
thousand li sand banks) is located southeast of Wanli shih-tang (Myriad on ten thousand li
rocks). The Spratly Islands are indeed located south-east of the Paracels.
It deserves mentioning that Zheng Hes voyages were governmental activities. Zheng He
himself was a high level eunuch official in the Ming court. It was on official missions that he
travelled through the Paracels and Spratlys to and from various countries.
The navy of the Ming Dynasty continued to patrol the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands and
their vicinity. The navy of Hainan Garrison Force (Hainan Wei) in the Ming Dynasty was in
particular responsible for inspecting and patrolling as well as exercising jurisdiction over the
entire South China Sea. For example, the Ming era Wan Zhou Zhi (Records of the Wan Zhou
Sub-Prefecture) recorded that in the 4th year of Emperor Xuande (1429), the Nainan
Garrison Force sailed to Xianluo (now Thailand) on official missions, and that "tributes
from such tributory states as Xianluo, Zhancheng and Mancijia would be transported to
Qiongzhou on the Sea, and would be then re-transported to Beijing on the land. The Ming

navy would have passed through the South China Sea islands on their voyages to and from
Thailand and other places.
In the Ming official Qiongshan Xianzhi (Records of the Qiongshan County) authored by Li Xi
(Ailo), it was recorded that Guangdong bin da hai, hai wai zhuguo jie neishu (Guangdong
is adjacent to the grand [South China] Sea, and the territories beyond the Sea all internally
belong [to the Ming state]), and that Gong tong bing wanyu, ju jian wushi sou, xunluo hai
dao ji wan li" (the General led more than ten thousand soldiers and fifty huge ships to patrol
several ten thousand lis on the South China Sea). The patrolled area included the Spratly
Islands, the Paracel Islands and the Zhongsha Islands.
The Qing Dynasty
Chinese activities in the South China Sea further increased and their knowledge about it
enhanced in the Qing Dynasty (1640 - 1911). The geographical positions of the Paracel
Islands and Spratly Islands were once again depicted in a book entitled Haiguo Wenjian Lu
or Haikuo Wenchien Lu (Notes on Lands across the Sea), which was authored by the famous
Qing scholar Chen Lunjiong and published in 1730. Chen Lunjiong charted a set of maps
called Sihai Zongtu" (General Maps of the Four Seas"), which referred to the Paracel group
of islets as Qizhou Yang," and the Spratly group as Shitang. Chen was the first known
Chinese to have identified the South China Sea islands into large groups: the Qi or the
Nan'ao Qi ( ie. Dongsha Islands), the Shatou (ie. the Nanxu Shayin of the Dongsha Islands),
Qizhou Yang (ie. Paracel Islands), Changsha ( ie. Zhongsha Islands) and Shitang (ie. Spratly
Islands). It should be noted that on the chart, Qizhou Yang was drawn in the west of the
South China Sea, thereby denoting the whole or part of the Paracel Islands; Shitang was
marked in the south of the South China Sea between Wenlai (ie. Brunei) and Kunlun Islands,
which is more or less the location of the Spratly Islands.
In the 24th year of Daoguang Emperor (1844), the Qing official Xie Qinggao orated and Yang
Bingnan recorded a book entitled Hai Lu (Illustrations of the Sea), in which the South China
Sea islands were described into four groups: Jichuan, Dongsha, Changsha and Shitang.
While some Chinese authors disagree as to the corresponding islands vis-a-vis the groups of
Jichuan and Dongsha, they all agree that Changsha refers to the Paracel Islands and Shitang
the Spratly Islands. During the same period of Daoguang's reign (1821 - 1851), a sea chart
entitled Yiban Lu (Particular Illustrations) and prepared by Zheng Guangzu contained the
marks of Luoji," Dongsha, Xisha, and Shitang, which were positioned respectively in
the locations of Dongsha, Zhongsha, Paracel and Spratly Islands.
Numerous history and geography books of the Qing Dynasty all stated without exception
that the South China Sea islands were Chinas territory, and that the sphere of jurisdiction of
the Qiongzhou Prefecture or the Wan Sub-Prefecture under it included the Paracels and the
Spratlys. For example, Jin Guangzus General Records of Guangdong mentioned earlier
stated that Wanzhou you Qianli Changsha Wanli Shitang" (the sub-prefecture of "Wanzhou

has jurisdiction over the Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang). The Changsha Sea and Shitang
Sea are both outside of the East Sea by the town [of Wanzhou]). Here, the East Sea denotes
the sea area between Wanzhou and the Paracels. The Paracels and the Spratlys and their
surrounding waters are indeed outside of this zone. Similarly, Ming Yis Records of the
Qiongzhou Prefecture recorded that Wanzhou you Qianli Shitang, Wanli Changsha, wei
Qiong Yang zuixian zhi chu) (Wanzhou has jurisdiction over the Qianli Shitang and Wanli
Changsha. These are the most dangerous areas in the Qiong Sea). In Xu Jiagans Yang Fang
Shuo Lue (A Brief Introduction to Defense on the Sea), the names of Qianli Shitang and
Wanli Shitang were used. These two places were said to be the natural moat of the Yue Sea
and are known as most dangerous and difficult areas, where caution must be exercised by
all who talk about ocean defense. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662 - 1722) of the
Qing Dynasty, the Navy of Guangdong (Canton) was responsible for patrolling the South
China Sea. It was recorded that in the years of 1710 to 1712, the Vice-Admiral of the
Guangdong Navy (Guangdong Shuishi Fujiang) Wu Sheng personally led his fleet to the
Paracel Islands and the vicinity to patrol the sea area: (Zi Qiongya, li Tongku, jing Qizhou
Yang and Sigeng Sha, zhou zao sanqian li gongzi xunshi, difang ningmii) ([The fleet]
started from Qiongya [of Hainan] by way of Tonggu, passing through the Qizhou Yang [the
Paracel Islands] and the Sigeng Sha, traveling three thousand lis, with [General Wu Sheng]
leading the patrol personally, and maintaining peace of the region).
In 1909, the Liang Guang Zongdu (Governor of both Guangdong and Guangxi) Zhang Renjun
sent the naval officer- in-charge, Li Zhun, to the Paracel Islands area, where his crew
identified and renamed 15 islands and islets. Stone markers were erected there, Chinese
flags were raised and cannon-shooting ceremonies were held to re-demonstrate China's
sovereignty over the islands.
The Qing Government on several occasions went to the rescue of foreign ships and/or
their crews which were caught in distress in the South China Sea. For example, in the 20th
year of Emperor Qianlong (1755), the Qing Government rescued sixteen foreign sailors
whose ships had been wrecked by gales or storms in the Paracel Islands area. In the 27th
year of Qianlong (1762), the Governor of Guangdong once again ordered his subordinates
to rescue some ships from Xianluo (now Thailand) which had met with mishap in Qizhou
Yang (the Paracel Islands).
In 1883, the Qing Government lodged strong protests against Germany when the Germans
were conducting survey activities in the Paracel and Spratly areas; as a result of such
protests, the Germans had to terminate their survey activities. An unequal treaty of 1887
which the Qing Government was forced to conclude with France for the delimitation of
boundaries between China and Vietnam (then An'nam and Tonkin) expressly provided that
the islands east of a delimitation line should belong to China. What we call Paracel and
Spratly Islands today are all located east of the Sino-Tonkin delimitation line.

During the reign of the Qing Emperor Tongzhi (1862 - 1874), the Qing Customs and General
Revenue Office planned to establish lighthouses in the Dongsha Islands for facilitating
navigation in the South China Sea. In 1908, upon request by foreign states, the Customs of
the Qing made plans for erecting lighthouses on the Paracel Islands for the same reason of
providing convenience to navigation.
In 1910, the Qing Government decided to zhao lai hua shang cheng ban dao wu (invite
Chinese merchants to contract for the administration of the development affairs of the
South China Sea islands). Meanwhile, it demanded that guan wei baohu weichi, yi zhong
lingtu, er bao quanli (officials shall provide protection and maintenance in order to
highlight [Qings] territory and to protect [Qing's] titles and interests).
Qings authority over the South China Sea islands was further supported by numerous Qing
maps which invariably included the Paracels and Spratlys within the boundary of China.
These maps range from the Da Qing Zhong Wai Tianxia Quan Tu (The Complete SinoForeign Maps of the Great Qing) of 1709 to the Da Qing Tianxia Zhonghua Ge Sheng Fu Zhou
Xian Ting Dili Quan Tu (The Complete Geographical Maps of the Provinces, Capital Cities,
Prefectures, Counties and Tings of the Whole China of the Great Qing) of 1905.
In short, the Qing government, like its predecessors, not only claimed but actually exercised
sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. That sovereignty was never challenged by
Chinas neighbouring states throughout the history of the Qing Dynasty.
Here ends the excerpts in their entirety.