East China Sea

The East China Sea lies between the Asian mainland and the first island chain of the western Pacific. Its western shore follows the coasts of China and Korea; Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands close the east, and Taiwan marks the southern edge. Several passages open the basin to neighboring waters: the Korea Strait reaches the Sea of Japan, the Taiwan Strait joins the South China Sea, and gaps among the Ryukyus enter the Philippine Sea.

The broad continental shelf covers most of the sea and receives the Yangtze, Qiantang, Min and other rivers. Their fresh water carries silt and nutrients across a shallow floor toward the Okinawa Trough. Fisheries around the Zhoushan Islands drew boats from many coastal districts, while ports at the mouths of major rivers linked the sea to dense agricultural interiors. Currents and seasonal winds shaped routes toward Korea, Japan and the Ryukyus.

During the fourteenth to early nineteenth centuries the basin supported tribute missions, fishing, salt transport and coastal commerce. Chinese charts called it the Eastern Sea; Ming-era maps also used the name Great Ming Sea, and Ryukyuan mariners knew it as the Ryukyu Sea. Even before regular European steam navigation, these familiar regional names already described a busy maritime world of islands, estuaries and fishing grounds.