Official contact with China was first recorded in 1372, and for 500 years until 1872, the island submitted tribute to the emperor and was conferred status in return.
琉球與中國正式接觸，根據記載是在明洪武五年（一三七二年），一直到一八七二年，其間五百年一直接受中國皇帝冊封，朝貢不絕。