evidence: China is the first to have discovered, named, and explored and exploited Nanhai Zhudao: There is no archaeological or textual evidence of any Chinese ship sailing across the South China Sea before the tenth century. All the early navigation was conducted by Malay, South Asian and Persian merchants.15Michael Flecker, ‘Early Voyaging in the South China Sea: Implications on Territorial Claims’, ISEAS – Yusok Ishak Institute Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre, 08/2015, https://www.iseas.edu.sg/ (checked: 28/08/2024). The current Chinese names of the rocks and reefs are either translations/transliterations of English names or names that were chosen by Chinese government committees in 1947 and 1983. For example, ‘Money Island’ in the Paracels is named after a manager of the East India Company (William Taylor Money) and the Chinese name Jinyin Dao [金银岛] is simply a translation. Zengmu Ansha [曾母暗沙], an underwater feature that is officially the southernmost point of Chinese territory is simply a transliteration of the English name ‘James Shoal’ (the Chinese name was revised from Zengmu Tan in 1947).