The Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands and Zhongsha Islands are distributed in the vast South China Sea and are the main components of the South China Sea Islands in my country. They are customarily combined and called the Southwest Zhongsha Islands.
The Zhongsha Islands in southwest China have been our country’s sacred territory since ancient times. Facts have proved that the Chinese people were the first to discover these islands and reefs, and have long used these islands and reefs as bases for fishery production and residence. They have been diligently developing and operating these islands and reefs for generations. The Chinese government was the first to implement measures to control these islands and reefs. jurisdiction and exercise of sovereignty. The Zhongsha Islands in southwest China have always been under the jurisdiction of the People's Government of Guangdong Province in my country. When Hainan was established as a province in 1988, these islands and reefs and their waters were immediately placed under the jurisdiction of Hainan Province.
(1) The Chinese people were the first to discover and develop these islands and reefs
According to ancient records, as far back as the Qin and Han Dynasties, my country had already had large-scale ocean navigation, trade and fishery production activities , the South China Sea has become an important maritime route at that time. Since then, the Chinese people have frequently sailed on the South China Sea and passed through the South China Sea islands. They were the first to discover these islands, reefs and shoals and named them.
The "Book of Han Geography" written by Ban Gu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 32-92) has records of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sending envoys to sail to overseas countries from the South China Sea. The book completely describes the sailing route starting from Xuwen, Guangdong, passing through the South China Sea, visiting several countries, and reaching as far away as Conavern and Sri Lanka in southeastern India today.
In 226 AD, Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period sent Zhu Ying and Kang Tai to visit Southeast Asian countries. The fleet sailed through the South China Sea to Funan (now Cambodia) and other countries, and established friendly relations with these countries. After Kangtai returned to China, he wrote "Biography of Funan" based on his experience, which accurately recorded the geographical conditions of the South China Sea Islands.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, social and economic conditions were tight and foreign exchanges increased. Especially after the compass was used in navigation in the early Song Dynasty, navigation and production in the South China Sea became more frequent. At that time, the shipping routes in the South China Sea and the locations and names of the islands had been investigated and recorded in detail. Zhou Qufei of the Southern Song Dynasty recorded in "Lingnan Daida" (written in 1178): "...the Eastern Ocean Sea has Changsha and Shitang for tens of thousands of miles." The "Changsha" and Shitang" refer to the South China Sea islands. . Changsha is a coral island mainly composed of sand islands, and Shitang is a coral reef mainly composed of atolls. It pointed out: “In the fifth year of Zhenyuan (789 AD), Qiong was appointed as the governor’s office, and this is why. ...As far as Jiyang (today's Sanya City), it is the extreme end of the sea, and it falls back to the mainland. There is a state outside, called Wuli, and Sujilang. It faces Champa in the south, Zhenla in the west, and in the east lies thousands of miles of sand and thousands of miles of stone beds. In the vast distance, the sky and water are the same color." This not only points out that thousands of miles of sand and thousands of miles of stone beds are my country's South China Sea Islands, and it also shows that as early as the Tang Dynasty, the southwest Zhongsha Islands were placed under the jurisdiction of Zhenzhou (renamed Jiyang Army in the Song Dynasty) of Hainan Island.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, my country. There are countless records of the South China Sea Islands in many maps, borrowings and local chronicles. In terms of maps, Zheng He sailed the South China Sea for a long time during his "seven voyages to the west" in the Ming Dynasty. He drew the "Zheng He Navigation Chart", which was later included in Mao Yuanyi's "Military Preparations". "Zhi". This map shows the names and relative positions of Shixing Shitang, Wansheng Shitang Island, Shitang and other island groups, which have been clarified in the "General Map of the Four Seas" in Chen Lunjiong's "Hai Guo Wen Jian Lu" in the Qing Dynasty. The place names and locations of the four major archipelagoes are plotted. At that time, the Dongsha Islands were called "Qishatou", the Xisha Islands were called "Qizhouyang", the Nansha Islands were called "Shitang", and the Zhongsha Islands were called "Changsha". On the basis of carrying out large-scale national map surveys, the government compiled a variety of maps, including the "Comprehensive Map of the Qing Dynasty in China and Foreign Countries" in 1716, the "Qingzhi Provincial Map" in 1724, and the "Qing Dynasty Map" in 1767. In official maps such as "The Map to Unify the World in Ten Thousand Years", "The General Map of Fuzhou and County Halls Drawn by the Qing Dynasty" in 1800, and "The Map of the Qing Dynasty to Unify the World" in 1818, the South China Sea is drawn in the southeast of Hainan Island. The islands are included in China's territory.
In terms of ancient books, the followers of Zheng He's "Seven Voyages to the West" wrote "Xingcha Xinglan" and Ma Ci wrote "Yingya Shenglan". ", Gong Zhen's "Xiyang Fan Guo Zhi" and other books, the records of the South China Sea and the South China Sea Islands have left us with valuable information about the navigation works that appeared at that time, such as "Haicha Yulu" written by Gu Gu in 1527. Huang Zhong's "Haiyu" and other books have detailed descriptions of navigation, island and reef distribution and geographical features in the South China Sea. The coastal defense works that appeared at that time all regarded the South China Sea islands as the "gateway" and "natural moat" of my country's coastal defense. In the 1830s, the book "Coastal Defense Collection" listed the Xisha Islands and other islands as my country's coastal defense areas.
In terms of local chronicles, the Ming and Qing dynasties were the era when local chronicles were at their peak. , many local chronicles compiled by the government, such as "Guangdong Annals", "Qiongzhou Prefecture Annals", "Wanzhou Annals", etc., all contain information on the Zhongsha Islands in the southwest and are listed as affiliated islands of Hainan Island. There is a record in the Zhengde Chronicles of the Ming Dynasty that "the coastal defense camp was established in Wanzhou" in the seventh year of Zhengde of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty (1512 AD). It can also be seen from Zhengde's "Qiongtai Chronicles" that Xisha and Nansha Islands were regarded as my country's coastal defense areas at that time.
The Chinese people have a long history of developing the Zhongsha Islands in the southwest. According to archaeological discoveries, there is a Tang and Song Dynasty site on Ganquan Island in the Paracel Islands, and a batch of Tang and Song porcelain, iron pot fragments and other production and production equipment were unearthed. Daily necessities.
This irrefutably proves that at least since the Tang and Song Dynasties, our people have lived and produced in the Xisha Islands and have long been the masters of the Zhongsha Islands in the southwest. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, our people had preserved a large number of relics on various islands. A large number of copper coins, porcelain and other daily necessities from the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been unearthed on Yongxing Island, Treasure Island, Coral Island, East Island, Beidao and other islands and reefs in the Paracel Islands; also on the main islands of the Paracel Islands Remains of ancient temples built by Chinese fishermen have been discovered. There are fourteen ancient temples in Zhaoshu Island, North Island, South Island, Yongxing Island, East Island, Chenhang Island, Guangjin Island, Coral Island, and Ganquan Island alone. Remains of ancient temples have also been found on Taiping Island, Zhongye Island, Nanwei Island, Nanyao Island, Xiyue Island, etc. in the Nansha Islands. Some of these temples were built in the Ming Dynasty, and most were built in the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, many stone tablets from the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China were excavated on some islands and reefs of the Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands. Most of these stone monuments were monuments erected by government or military officials who came to inspect the island at that time.
The history of our people's development of the Zhongsha Islands in southwest China can also be strongly proved from the "Geng Lu Bo" which has been copied from generation to generation. "Geng Lu Bo" is a navigation needle scripture for fishermen along the coast of my country. According to research, the existing manuscript "Geng Lu Bo" was produced in the late Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty and can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. It records in detail the names, exact locations, navigation needle positions (course), and watch numbers (distance) of the islands and reefs of the Southwest Zhongsha Islands. For example, the handwritten manuscript "Genglubo" written by Qionghai fishermen Su Deliu, Lu Honglan, etc. specifically indicates the main routes and characteristics of the islands and reefs for sailing to the Xisha, Nansha, and Zhongsha islands. The most direct historical witness of the Sand Islands.
(2) Our country’s government was the first to exercise jurisdiction and exercise sovereignty over these islands and reefs
The history of our country’s government’s administrative jurisdiction and exercise of sovereignty over the Southwest Zhongsha Islands can be traced back to a long time ago. As early as the Tang and Song Dynasties, the South China Sea Islands were under the effective jurisdiction of our government.
During the Han Dynasty, in the first year of Yuanfeng of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty (AD 110), Zhuya and Dan'er counties were established in Hainan, marking the beginning of the central government's direct rule over Hainan Island and the South China Sea Islands. Since then, with the development of production and advancement of navigation technology, our people have often sailed in the South China Sea and lived and produced in the Paracel Islands and Nansha Islands. The relationship between the South China Sea Islands and the mainland of the motherland is getting closer and closer, and rulers of all generations have continuously deepened their understanding of the South China Sea and the South China Sea Islands.
By the early Tang Dynasty, Hainan Island had built Yazhou in the north, Danzhou in the west, and Zhenzhou (now Sanya City) in the south. Zhenzhou, formerly Linzhen County, was a great cause of the Sui Dynasty. In the third year (AD 607), Linzhen County was added. In the fifth year of Wude, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty (AD 622), the county was changed into a state, and its name was Zhenzhou. "Old Tang Book·Geography" (Lingnan Road: Zhenzhou) has records that Zhenzhou has jurisdiction over the southern sea area of ??Hainan Island. Since then, the administrative jurisdiction of the Central Plains Dynasty over the South China Sea Islands has never been interrupted. In the twelfth year of Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty (AD 724), the meridian survey conducted by Seng Yixing and others reached as far south as the South China Sea and the South China Sea Islands, and relevant constellations were observed and measured in the South China Sea. This is an exercise of sovereignty.
In the Song Dynasty, Yazhou, which was located in the north of the island during the Tang Dynasty, moved southward and changed Zhenzhou to Yazhou. Later it was renamed Zhuyajun, and later it was changed to Jiyangjun. The Jiyang Army directly administers the South China Sea Islands. At that time, the Northern Song Dynasty court ordered the navy to patrol to the "Jiuruluo Prefecture" (today's Xisha Islands). This was the earliest patrol activity of our navy.
In the Yuan Dynasty, in the fifteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1278 AD), Qiongzhou in Hainan was changed to Qiongzhou Road. The Jiyang Army still controls the South China Sea Islands. At that time, most of the military systems in the Song Dynasty had been changed to different states, but the Changning Army in Sichuan Province and the Nanning (now Danzhou City), Wan'an (now Wanning County), and Jiyang (now Sanya City) armies in Huguang Province had not been changed. , is a method of managing the frontier with a special administrative system, which shows that the rulers attach great importance to coastal defense and frontier. Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, personally sent the famous astronomer Guo Shoujing to the Xisha Islands to conduct astronomical surveys, which showed that the sovereignty belonged to the Yuan Dynasty.
In the early Ming Dynasty, Hainan established a unified local administrative agency - Qiongzhou Prefecture, which was subordinate to Guangdong
Restore Yazhou, Danzhou, and Wanzhou. The South China Sea Islands were placed under the jurisdiction of Wanzhou under the jurisdiction of Qiongzhou Prefecture. It is clearly divided into four major island groups (now Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands), including "Nanao Qi", "Qizhou Yang", "Wanli Changsha" and "Wanli Shitang".
In the early and middle stages of the Qing Dynasty, the Ming system basically remained unchanged. By the late Qingming Dynasty, Dongsha Islands was under the jurisdiction of Huizhou. The Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands, and Zhongsha Islands are still under the jurisdiction of Wanzhou in Hainan. Since then, the South China Sea Islands have been under the jurisdiction of two different state-level local administrative agencies.
During the Republic of China, after the Revolution of 1911, the Guangdong Provincial Government announced that the Paracel Islands would be placed under the jurisdiction of Ya County, Hainan (now Sanya City). In 1921, the southern military government reiterated this decree. After the end of the Second World War, in accordance with the spirit of the Cairo Declaration of 1947 by China, Britain and the United States and the Potsdam Proclamation of July 1945, the Chinese government appointed a high commissioner to receive the Xisha Islands and held a reception ceremony on the island. Re-erect a monument of sovereignty; station troops and set up a fishermen service station on Taiping Island, the largest island in the Nansha Islands.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, our government continued to exercise sovereignty over the southwest Zhongsha Islands and its waters. On March 24, 1959, the "Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands and Zhongsha Islands Office" was established on Yongxing Island in the Xisha Islands.
Since then, government administrative agencies have begun to exercise sovereignty on the islands, organize development and construction work, and strengthen administrative jurisdiction over the islands and reefs of the Southwest Zhongsha Islands and their adjacent waters. On March 4, 1969, it was renamed "Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands Revolutionary Committee of Guangdong Province". On October 22, 1981, with the approval of the State Council, the "Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands, and Zhongsha Islands Office" was established on Yongxing Island. As a county-level office dispatched by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government, it is directly led by the Hainan Administrative Region Office. Hainan was established as a province in 1988. The jurisdiction of Hainan Province includes 19 cities and counties in Hainan Island and the islands and reefs of the Paracel Islands, Nansha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and their sea areas. On September 19, 1988, the name was changed to "Hainan Province Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands and Zhongsha Islands Office". At present, the administrative setup system equivalent to a county-level dispatch office is still followed, and the office is still located on Yongxing Island in the Xisha Islands.
Geographic location