Looking back at the relationship between China and Taiwan through the history of maps, the earliest Chinese depiction of Taiwan appeared during the Ming dynasty in 1592 on a map of seacoast defenses. Clearly shown on this map were some small islands off Keelung and the Tanshui River. At that time Taiwan was referred to by the Ming as the "lesser Ryukyu kingdom."
往前推，若由地圖的歷史看中國與台灣的關係，中國繪製的台灣地圖最早出現在 1592 年明朝萬曆年的一幅海防圖，圖上清楚描繪出基隆外海的數個小島和淡水河，當時台灣被明朝稱為「小琉球國」。