Liúqiú

Liuqiu or Lewchew (Chinese: 流求, 琉求, or 琉球; pinyin: Liúqiú) is the name historically given by Chinese writers to a territory in the region of the East China Sea, sometimes in mythical or legendary contexts. The name is currently used for the Ryukyu Islands.

A detailed description of an island kingdom called "Liuqiu" may be found in the Book of Sui. The Book of Sui places the report on Liuqiu second to last within the chapter on "Eastern Barbarians" (Dongyi), following the report on Mohe and preceding the report on Wa (Japan). The text describes the territory of Liuqiu and its people as follows:

There is no scholarly consensus on what specific territory "Liuqiu" refers to in the Book of Sui and History of Yuan. Bi-yu Chang notes that "Some scholars believe that the record of 'Liuqiu' referred to Taiwan, while some say it was a reference to what are now the Ryukyu Islands ... and others suggest that it was a general term referring to islands in the East China Sea and nearby waters".

The Ryukyu Islands are known as such because they amount to the maximum extent of the Ryukyu Kingdom; the Yongle Emperor gave the king of Chūzan, Shō Hashi, the title "King of Liuqiu" in 1428.

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