Small and remote, the Maldives did not enter the Chinese world until Wang Dayuan’s visit in 1330-31. Decades later, the Zheng He Voyages (1405-1433) followed to visit this island kingdom, and brought its tributary envoys to Beijing. Take the Maldives as a case, angle and approach, this talk on one hand examines the Chinese knowledge of the island kingdom by highlighting Chinese toponymy, local products including coconuts, coir ropes, dried fish, cowrie shells, and ambergris, ship without nails, and women, thus providing a valuable glimpse of medieval Maldives; on the other hand, the talk introduces the Sino-Maldivian interactions, both politically and economically. In conclusion, the Maldives symbolizes the heyday of the Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean and the Chinese […]