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This article offers an attempt at a new approach to the historical origins of the Portuguese presence in Macao, seeking to displace the dominant narrative that fuels the “legend of Macao” through an analysis centered on networks, documentary sources, and diplomatic contexts. Revisiting the arguments presented in “Reframing the Origins of Macao” and articulating them with new research on the dates of the Sino-Portuguese settlement and the carta-relación of Father Gregório Gonçalves, Jin Guoping and Wu Zhiliang propose to examine, in an integrated manner, the role of ambergris in the process of Macao's foundation and the institutional bases for accommodating the Portuguese, such as the foreign quarters in Suzhou, which would offer legal precedents for Macao. The methodological approach combines the reassessment of new and difficult-to-access archival sources with a critical reading of the diplomatic practices and religious trajectories involved in the early Portuguese presence. In terms of findings, the authors present evidence that allows for a more precise dating of the carta-relación, dated as From Lisbon, 26 November 1573, and discuss its origin, location, and the nationality of its sender, situating it between 1572 and November 1573. These elements help to situate the moment and conditions of the Sino-Portuguese settlement, contributing to a reconfiguration of the historical framework. By proposing an interpretive framework that engages with diplomatic networks, the logistics of ambergris, and models of institutional accommodation, the article questions readings consecrated by tradition and offers a more complex framing of the origins of the Portuguese presence in Macao.

This article proposes a new reading of the dates associated with the "discovery" of Japan, traditionally fixed at 1543, arguing that this consensus has been constructed primarily from Japanese and Iberian sources, with less attention paid to contemporaneous Chinese evidence. To fill this gap, the authors provide a new annotated translation of *Teppōki* (鐵炮記, "Chronicle of the Arquebus"), complementing it with the identification and discussion of a Chinese source published in 1592 that addresses the introduction of the arquebus and the production of gunpowder in Bungo. The methodology combines textual criticism and interlinguistic comparison among Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese documentation, aiming to reconstruct the political and commercial contexts of Sino-Luso-Japanese contacts, especially during periods of maritime restrictions imposed by the Ming dynasty. The authors highlight that Chinese sources, although rarely describing the first landings directly, offer crucial information on mercantile networks and circulation dynamics, allowing for the contextualization of the Luso-Asian trajectory from Liampó (Shuangyu) and the role of intermediaries such as Wang Zhi (Wang Zhi / GohĿ). It is concluded that the dates should be reassessed in light of these networks and alternative chronologies, offering a more nuanced perspective on the chronology and mechanisms of the Portuguese arrival in Japan.

The article proposes "The Birth Certificate of the Name of Macau" by confronting traditional historiography on the origins and etymology of the toponym with a new primary document: an autograph letter by Fernão Mendes Pinto, written from Macau on November 20, 1555, and addressed to the rector of the College of Goa, Father Baltazar Dias. The research argues that, by revealing the earliest and most stable spelling of the term, the missive serves as key evidence to overcome competing variants regarding the original form of the name. Methodologically, the authors combine paleographic and comparative analysis of preserved copies (notably two held at the Biblioteca da Ajuda, Lisbon), verifying internal writing discrepancies ("ama quão," "ama cuao," "amaquã," "amaquan") and concluding that the signature and handwriting are attributable to Fernão Mendes Pinto himself, qualifying the text as an original document. Additionally, a reconstruction of archaic spellings and the phonetic evolution of the toponym is undertaken within the Lusitanian context—with attention to the transition from Amacao/Macão/Macao—integrating later testimonies (letters and reports) and prior discussions. As a result, the letter reveals the form "amaquão," related to Amagang/Yamagang, offering a documentary basis for reassessing the etymology and chronology of the name's transformation.

This article analyzes the Chinese perception of the three major European maritime powers—Portugal, Spain, and Holland—that arrived in the Far East during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Designated by the authors as the "three maritime musketeers," these actors established the first direct contacts with Ming China, triggering a process of mutual representation in a context of profound cultural asymmetry. Adopting a perspective inverse to traditional Eurocentric studies, the research focuses on the collective Chinese imaginary and the terminology used to classify the newcomers, such as *fulangji* (the Portuguese), *lüsong* (the Spaniards), and the "red-haired barbarians" (the Dutch). Through the examination of primary sources, including accounts by local authorities, travel literature, and testimonies of mandarins who interacted with the Macau entrepôt, the study explores the impact of Sinocentric mentality on the cartography and political geography of the period. The authors argue that these narratives were fundamental to the construction of the image of the exotic "other" within the imperial tributary system. By documenting the earliest impressions recorded by Chinese brushes, the article offers an essential contribution to the understanding of mentalities and the evolution of geographical knowledge in China, evidencing how intellectual isolation was gradually challenged by these encounters and missed encounters in the South China Sea.

The article critically examines the so-called "(de)cannibalization" of the Portuguese during the first Sino-Portuguese contacts in the context of Ming dynasty China, particularly the recurrence, in Chinese sources, of descriptions of alleged cannibalism practiced by the Europeans. The authors argue that such narratives should not be taken as direct evidence, but understood as products of historiographical and political-discursive processes: the circulation of accounts, subsequent reinterpretations, and the possible instrumentalization by Canton authorities and anti-Portuguese imperial censors. Methodologically, the text reconstructs the genesis and evolution of Chinese information, making a systematic comparison between different Chinese chronicles and compilations and contemporary Portuguese records. Based on the analysis of a set of references—including the work *Yueshan Congtan* (attributed to Li Wenfeng)—the authors demonstrate how the allegation may derive from ambiguous geographical references, local rumors, and successive rewritings, sometimes without verifiable basis. It is concluded that the "official rumor" of cannibalism functioned more as a mechanism of legitimation and othering than as historical testimony, contributing to correct historiographical readings that reproduced these sources without questioning.

This article analyzes the presence and role of Liampó (Shuangyu/Two Islands) in Sino-Portuguese relations between 1524 and 1541, a period marked by a documentary void following the military conflicts of 1521–1522 and preceding the destruction of the settlement by a Chinese expedition in 1548. The authors argue that, despite the scarcity of Portuguese accounts concerning the early days of Liampó, official Chinese sources allow for the reconstruction of a framework in which Portuguese merchants, integrated into Asian maritime networks, would have participated in irregular trade along the southern coast of China, capitalizing on the dynamics of the "foreign barbarians" (fanyi 番夷) and the reorientation of routes after the collapse of official relations. Methodologically, the study proceeds through a comparative and chronological reading of Chinese documentation, with emphasis on reports and memoranda associated with maritime defenses (including references to Zhu Wan and passages preserved in later works), cross-referenced with scattered evidence of Portuguese provenance, such as information attributed to Fernão Mendes Pinto's Peregrinação. As its main findings, the article proposes the plausibility of an effective beginning linked to 1524, relates Liampó to the consolidation of "support points" for Luso-Chinese trade along the coast, and explains the process of militarization and harassment that would culminate in the eradication of the settlement.