Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture has an answer for everything. It is a fact that the Chinese Book of Sui refers to the Liuqiu Islands. It is also a fact that Lequios and Ryukyu are the European and Japanese versions of Liuqui respectively. Tim has an answer for those facts. Let's take a look at his arguments and see if they hold up.
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| https://thegodculturephilippines.com/流求-was-never-ryukyu-the-real-identity-of-ancient-liuqiu/ |
🪶 THE SMOKING QUILL | June 17, 2025
流求 Was Never Ryukyu: The Real Identity of Ancient ‘Liuqiu’
How the Chinese Book of Sui Was Misinterpreted by Centuries of Scholars — And Why the Philippines, Not Okinawa, Was the True Kingdom of the Flowing Dragon
📜 The Name That Floated Across the Sea
The ancient Chinese toponym 流求 (Liúqiú) appears prominently in the Book of Sui (636 AD). For centuries, it has been missassigned as the origin of the modern Ryukyu Kingdom (琉球). But just because later records equated the names does not mean they referred to the same place.
We’re here to set the record straight. Let's test the data.
🧭 What the Book of Sui Actually Said
In 607–608, the Sui Dynasty launched three voyages to a place they called Liuqiu:
"The country of Liuqiu is situated amidst islands in the sea, to the east of Jian'an. One may arrive there by five days’ travel by water…"That rules out Okinawa immediately.
▶️ Ryukyu is 2–3 days closer to China by sail. ▶️ Five days from Fujian puts you in Batanes or Northern Luzon. That's not a little problem for the Ryukyu theory, it fails!
Full Section Translation:
"Book of Sui: [English Translation from Wikipedia]
"A detailed description of an island kingdom called "Liuqiu" may be found in the Book of Sui. Chinese Liuqiu was first attested in the Book of Sui (636), which stated that Sui China had sent expeditions to what it called Liuqiu (流求) three times in 607 and 608. 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:
"The country of Liuqiu is situated amidst islands in the sea, in a location that should be east of Jian'an County, to which one may arrive with five days' travel by water. The land has many caves. Its king's clan name is Huansi, and his given name is Keladou; it is not known how many generations have passed since he and his have come to possess the country. The people of that land call him Kelaoyang, and for his wife, [they] say Duobatu. His place of residence they call Boluotan Grotto, with threefold moats and fences; the perimeter has flowing water, trees and briars as barriers. As for the domicile of the king, it is sixteen rooms large, and engraved with carvings of birds and beasts. There are many Doulou trees, which resemble the orange but with foliage that is dense. The country has four or five chiefs, who unite several villages under their rule; the villages have [their own] little kings.'"
"The people have deep eyes and long noses, seeming to be rather akin to the Hu, and also having petty cleverness. There is no observance of hierarchy of ruler and minister nor the rite of prostrating oneself with one's palms pressed together. Fathers and children sleep together in the same bed. The men pluck out their whiskers and beards, and any place on their bodies where they happen to have hair, they will also remove it. The adult women use ink to tattoo their hands in the design of insects and serpents. As for marriage, they use wine, delicacies, pearls and shells to arrange a betrothal; if a man and a woman have found pleasure in each other, then they get married."
Zhu Kuan, the leader of the first Sui expeditions to "Liuqiu", originally wrote the name with the characters 流虬 or "flowing dragon" because the shape of the island reminded him of a dragon floating on the sea. While Okinawa is a long and thin island that later commentators also associated with a dragon, Taiwan is an oval-shaped island rather than dragon-shaped."
Wikipedia then clarifies: "There is no scholarly consensus on what specific territory "Liuqiu" refers to in the Book of Sui and History of Yuan." There is no definitive position of Ryukyu as the Liuqiu.
There are six main arguments that Tim employs as proof Batan Island specifically is Liuqiu. Once again his theories conflict because earlier he theorized Lequios is the entire northern half of Luzon Island. Is there a bifurcated Luzon or is Lequios Batan Island?
1. The Shape of the Island
2. Five days from Fujian puts you in Batanes or Northern Luzon
Tim asserts this and does not prove it. Depending on the current, the wind, and the type of ship being used five days from the coast of China could land one in Okinawa. Liuqiu is said to be
east of Jian'an County.
Batan and the rest of the Philippines is to the Southeast. For some reason Tim continues to think east of China means southeast of China. The two directions are not the same and in older writings a difference is made between them.
3. Doulou Trees
The Book of Sui says
There are many Doulou trees, which resemble the orange but with foliage that is dense.
Tim says there is no such tree in Okinawa.
No such plant native to Okinawa.
But in the Philippines? That’s duhat (Syzygium cumini):
Turns orange before ripening
Dense canopy
Known locally as duat, dungboi, lomboi, longboi — depending on dialect.
Tim provides a link to a plant known as duhat which he says is the Doulou tree. But we find this tree is not native to the Philippines while it is native to China.
Distribution- Introduced into the Philippines.- Found throughout the Philippines, planted, and in many regions spontaneous.- Probably of prehistoric introduction from Malaya.- Native to Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Queensland, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam.
This says the plant was introduced to the Philippines in prehistoric times which is kind of odd. How would anyone know that? Regardless, this tree does not fit the description of the Doulou tree.
The Book of Sui indicates the Doulou tree is like an orange. Presumably that means an orange tree. The Mandarin Orange tree grows in China. The Citrus depressa grows in Okinawa and Southwest Japan. I won't declare that is the doulou tree but since that tree is said to "resemble the orange." It's a better candidate than the duhat which isn't even native to the Philippines. Ultimately there is not enough information given to exactly identify the Doulou tree.
4. Cultural Anthropology of Liuqiu
Tim lists the anthropological traits of the Liuqiu Islanders and compares them between the inhabitants of Batan and Ryukyu. Also note that in this chart Tim conflates Batanes and Luzon. So, is Liuqiu Batan Island or does it also include Luzon? Why can't Tim get this straight?
Tim also says there was no tribal rule in Ryukyu but there was in Batan/Luzon. This is wrong. While the Book of Sui was written in the 7th century, as late as the 14th century there were warring factions in Okinawa. The island was not united until the 15th century.
In the second half of the fourteenth century, when the heretofore unnoticed “Ryukyu” burst upon the stage of history like a comet to become the cornerstone of East Asia, the island of Okinawa was, in fact, divided into three rival domains. Based in the northern, central, and southern parts of the island, the rulers were known as King of the North [Sanhoku-ō]; King of the Middle [Chūzan-ō]; and King of the South [Sannan-ō].
The Ryukyu Kingdom-Cornerstone of East Asia, pg. 5
Unified in the fifteenth century under the king of Chūzan, by the sixteenth century the Ryukyu Kingdom extended from the Amami island group in the north to the Sakishima group in the south.
The Ryukyu Kingdom-Cornerstone of East Asia, pg. 7
Tim says Ryukyuans don't drink wine while Batan and Luzon peoples do. That is wrong. A Korean who shipwrecked on Okinawa says one fort had a large wine cellar overflowing with jugs of wine.
The eyewitness account of Cho Tukseng, a Korean rescued from shipwreck in 1462, said of the hōko: “There is a fort built at the side of the river. In its inner rooms are kept large pieces of porcelain; the wine cellar is filled to overflowing with jugs of wine; and the magazine is stuffed with iron armor, javelins, swords, bows, and arrows.”
The Ryukyu Kingdom-Cornerstone of East Asia, pg. 42
Even though that story takes place eight centuries after the Book of Sui was written it is not unreasonable to believe they had some kind of wine. Practically every culture drinks its own type of wine.
The Liuqiu women are said to tattoo their hands with serpents which Tim says cannot be the Ryukyuans who used floral patterns. He provides no proof for that assertion. In 1582 Francis Gaullé sailed through the Lequios Islands and said they painted themselves just like the Visayans of Luzon Island.
Being past the fair Islands, we held our course East and East and by South, for two hundred and forty miles, until we were past the length of the Islands Lequios, sailing about fifty miles from them, as the said Chinar told me, that those islands called Lequios are very many, and that they have many and very good Harbours, and that the people and inhabitants thereof have their faces and bodies painted like the Bysayas of the Islands of Luzon of Philippines, and are appareled like the Bysayas, and that there are also mines of gold; he said likewise that they did often come with small ships and barkes laden with Bucks and Harts hides; and with gold in grains of very small pieces, to trade with them on the coast of China, which be assured me to be most true, saying that he had been nine times in the small Island, bringing of the same wares with him to China; which I believe to be true, for that afterwards I inquired thereof at Macau, and upon the coast of China, and found that he said true. The furthest or uttermost of these Islands both Northward and Eastward lie under 29 degrees.
Being past these Islands, then you come to the Islands of Japon whereof the first lying West and South is the Island of Hirado, where the Portuguese use to trade. They [the Japanese islands] are in length altogether one hundred and thirty miles, and the furthest Eastward, lies under thirty-two degrees [latitude]. We ran still East, and East by North, until we were past the said one hundred and thirty miles.
As for the rest of their customs and manners, Tim's own chart says "no record" for one entry and "unknown" for another. Yet he marks an X and denies those were customs in Ryukyu. With no proof that is unsubstantiated and methodologically weak. Claims need proof.
5. Linguistics
Tim's next argument involves linguistics.
📍 Toponym Breakdown: Matching Names
Huansi (king’s clan name) ≈ Hangsa (Ivatan for a surgeonfish — common symbolism for leadership and maritime connection)
Duobatu (queen’s name) ≈ Datwaw (place name in Babuyan even), Batoy, or Vatuy (rock, boulder, or rocky formation — feminine metaphors)
Boluotan Grotto (royal palace) ≈ Balogan, a cave-rich zone in Babuyan Claro — still used in local Ivatan speech
More important than diving into speculative linguistics is to consider what the whole passage says.
The land has many caves. Its king's clan name is Huansi, and his given name is Keladou; it is not known how many generations have passed since he and his have come to possess the country. The people of that land call him Kelaoyang, and for his wife, [they] say Duobatu. His place of residence they call Boluotan Grotto, with threefold moats and fences; the perimeter has flowing water, trees and briars as barriers. As for the domicile of the king, it is sixteen rooms large, and engraved with carvings of birds and beasts.
That is a description of a large castle. Where is the large castle on Batan Island? The royal palace in Okinawa is called Shuri Castle. While this not a description of that castle it's pretty close. Okinawa has a castle building culture.
THE EAST ASIA TRADE SPHERE AND THE EMERGENCE OF GUSUKU
Gusuku on the World Heritage List
On November 30, 2000, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, meeting in Cairns, Australia, added Okinawa’s “Gusuku Sites and Related Proper- ties of the Ryukyu Kingdom” to the World Heritage List. The designation applied to five gusuku sites, including Shuri Castle, Nakijin, Katsuren, Zakimi, and Nakagusuku (see Figure 1.1), as well as to Sēfa Utaki shrine, the Tama Udun Royal Mausoleum, the Sunuhiyan Utaki stone gate, and the royal residence and garden at Shikinaen, for a total of nine World Heritage sites.
Distributed throughout the area from Amami to Miyako and Yaeyama in Sakishima, with the heaviest concentration on the island of Okinawa, gusuku (sometimes called gushiku or suku) resembled the type of walled fortified castles built with stone that were developed in Japan during the Warring States Period [ca. 1450 to 1603 CE]. There is debate as to whether originally they served as sacred sites, dwellings, or forts, but the five gusuku at Shuri, Nakijin, Katsuren, Zakimi, and Nakagusuku are known to be representative of the fortified stone castles built during the time when the kingdom was emerging.
Gusuku may be categorized into two groups, either as small, single- enclosure structures, or as large, multiple-enclosure structures. All five of the sites admitted to the World Heritage List are large, multiple-enclosure gusuku. Currently, more than three hundred gusuku sites in Amami and the Ryukyus have been confirmed, and the era in which they were built is known as the Gusuku Period. There is extensive discussion on the exact time of the period’s beginning, but it was sometime in the eleventh or twelfth centuries.
The Ryukyu Kingdom-Cornerstone of East Asia, pgs. 10-11
Again, while this castle building period post-dates the Book of Sui there is a building comparable to a castle being described. That is no where to be found in Batan or Luzon.
6. There is no scholarly consensus on what specific territory "Liuqiu" refers to in the Book of Sui and History of Yuan.
This would seem to be a cut and dry argument that Liuqiu could include the Philippines. But that is not the case. The Chinese have several names for the Philippines.
- Aside from 三洲, Ma-i also consists of the islands of Pai-p'u-yen (巴布延, Hokkien POJ: Pa-pò͘-iân, Mandarin Pinyin: Bābùyán, "Babuyan"), P'u-li-lu (波利略, Hokkien POJ: Po-lī-lio̍k, Mandarin Pinyin: Bōlìlüè, "Polillo"), Lim-kia-tung (林加延, Hokkien POJ: Lîm-ka-iân, Mandarin Pinyin: Línjiāyán, "Lingayen"), Liu-sung (呂宋, Hokkien POJ: Lū-sòng, MandarinPinyin: Lǚsòng, "Luzon") and Li-ban (盧邦, Hokkien POJ: Lô͘-pang, Mandarin Pinyin: Lúbāng, "Lubang").[23] It was said that these islands had contacts with Chinese traders from Canton (Guangdong) as early as 982 AD.
- Liusung (呂宋, Hokkien POJ: Lū-sòng, Mandarin Pinyin: Lǚsòng) was the name ascribed by the Chinese to the present-day island of Luzon. It originated from the Tagalog word lusong, a wooden mortar that is used to pound rice. When the Spanish produced maps of the Philippines during the early 17th century, they called the island Luçonia which was later respelled as Luzonia, then Luzon.
Notice that the islands called Ma-i are TO THE SOUTH. While Liuqui is to the East.
That's from Wikipedia but the references are all there. They lead to a book called "Chau Ju-Kua: his work on the Chinese and Arab trade in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, entitled Chu-fan-chï." Between pages 159 and 162 the names of the Philippine Islands are given.
On page 162 we see Northern Formosa is named Liu-kiu!
There are no goods of any special importance to be got there; the people are, moreover, given to robbery, for which reason traders do not go there; but the natives, from time to time, take whatever they can get together in the way of yellow wax, native gold, buffalo tails and jerked leopard meat to San-su for sale.
pg. 163
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| pg. 162 |
There is no doubt that the country here called Liu-k'iu is Formosa, the indications furnished by our author are quite conclusive on this point. The name Liu-k'iu was used by the Chinese-prior the sixteenth century-to designate all the islands from the coast of Fu-kien to Japan. Hervey St. Denis, Ethnographie, I, 414. Our author has taken nearly textually all this chapter- with the exception of the two last paragraphs -from Sui-shu, 81, 10-13, which relates to the period extending from A. D. 581 to 617.
pg. 163
After Ryukyu had joined the tributary system, it appears marked as “Greater Liuqiu” [大瑠球] on the Map of the Land of Liuqiu [琉球国図, Ch. Liúqiúguótú] in Liúqiú túshūo [琉球図説, J. Ryukyu zusetsu, Maps of Ryukyu, mid- sixteenth century] by a Ming-period geographer named Zhèng Rùocéng [1503–1570]. On the lower left of the map, the much larger Taiwan is labeled “Little Liuqiu” [小瑠球]. During and after the Tang dynasty, the name Liúqiú (sometimes written with other characters such as 琉求 and 瑠求) was often applied to a wide region that included the island of Taiwan. However, once the Chūzan king joined the Ming tribute system, it became the name of the kingdom based on the island of Okinawa. On maps, what is now the island of Okinawa was clearly labeled Liúqiú Guó [琉球国, J. Ryukyu koku, Land of Ryukyu].
The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia, pg. 23
Note that "the name Liúqiú was often applied to a wide region that included the island of Taiwan." That does not include Luzon or any region of the Philippines. The Chinese never named the Philippines Liuqiu.
This is another article that attempts to answer hard questions. In this case, the Book of Sui. But Tim only obscures the truth. He calls this a Smoking Quill suggesting it is conclusive proof that the Philippines is the Chinese Liuqiu. But we see that's not the case. The historical record testifies against Tim quite loudly and persistently. It's just more smoke to fog up the room by Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture.
