Whenever Chinatown in Manila is mentioned, what comes to the mind of people nowadays would be Ongpin Street in Binondo, which became the symbol of Chinatown in Manila since 1923. Formerly Sacristia Street, Ongpin Street was named in honor of Roman Ongpin. Before that, was there a Chinatown in Manila? Where was it, if ever? […]
Evangelization, or the spread of Christianity, played a critical role in the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. Unable to discover spices and gold in the islands, Spanish authorities had considered abandoning the colony. But the priests’ persuasion that the Philippines could be used as a stepping stone to propagate Christianity in China eventually […]
This is a list of names of ancient places in the Philippines recorded in Dong Xi Yang Kao, starting from the departure point at Yue Gang (月港) in Zhangzhou (漳州), sailing through coastal areas from north to south. This list identifies for us the places most well-known to early Chinese traders (biggest number is in […]
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was a period of great maritime explorations in China. Tulay previously featured Zheng He’s seven voyages to the Western Ocean (Nov. 15, 2011 issue). Unlike the great European maritime explorations with imperialistic ambitions, the Ming explorers sailed the South Seas to establish trading networks beyond China’s empire.The Spaniards, the British, the […]
The Philippines in Selden Map 《東西洋航海圖》(Tulay, April 5-18, 2016 issue) article described the importance of the Philippines as China’s connection to the world in its ancient maritime silk route. The map’s origins – who drew it up and who had commissioned it – is a puzzle that historians are still trying to decipher. We had […]
The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), as of last count, listed the Philippines as having more than 7,500 islands. Some of our islands are now disputed territory. To combat China’s “historic” claim to these islands, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has been using ancient maps of the Philippines, including the Selden […]