Historically speaking, Sino-Philippine relations began in the 10 century A.D.

The
th

earliest known authentic date of these relations was 982 A.D., when several traders
from Ma-yi (believed to include Midoro, Batangas, Manila, and Pampanga) arrived in Canton Board on
an Arab ship and sold their valuable merchandise.

The Chinese traders praised the Filipinos for their honesty. This narrative pointed out
the honesty of the early Filipinos in their business transactions with the Chinese traders. This was
confirmed by another Chinese writer, Wang Ta-yuan.

During the reign of Zhu Di (Chu Ti), the Yung-lo Emperor in 1403-1423 when China
was expanding the boundaries of its domain, it was when he induced the countries visited
by his missions to pay tributes to the Ming court.

China’s greatest maritime explorer, Admiral Zheng He, also known as Cheng Ho, (1371-
1435), It was when he led seven expeditions from 1405-1433 in the south seas where he reached
the Philippines, Borneo, Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Indochina, India, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
It is said that Cheng Ho’s first expedition, which consisted of 62 ships, landed in the Philippines
in December 1405.

While in Jolo, one of his men, Pei-Pon-Tao (also known as Pun Tao King) died
and was buried in Jatti Tunggal, Jolo. Annually, on December 26, the Chinese of Jolo until
these days visit the tomb of Pei-Pon-Tao to pay homage to the forerunners of Sino-Philippine
relations.

Centuries of trade and personal relations with the Chinese inevitably led to
the enrichment of Filipino life and culture. An important influence that the Chinese
had on their culture was the art of cooking. Cooking techniques taught to Filipinos
include sauteed dishes, rice cakes, and noodle dishes (such as pancit). The Chinese
improved the culinary art of the early Filipinos.
 From them, the natives learned the roasting of pigs, the brewing of tea for drinking
and the cooking of dishes like pancit, lumpia, chopsuey, and okoy. The cultivation of
bataw, petsay, and upo. It is when they taught the Filipinos the usage of seasonings like toyo
(soy sauce) and tahuri, for the vegetable dishes like bataw, petsay, and upo.

Also. The Filipinos practiced a form of duck culture around Pateros and Taguig
in Rizal that resembled the Chinese, which includes the method of artificial incubation of
eggs.

In addition, Chinese family structures have had a significant impact on traditional

Filipino family structures.

The manufacture of gunpowder, the art of metallurgy, the use of porcelain,

gongs, lead, silver, tin, and certain occupations like blacksmithing and
goldsmithing in the country were learned from the Chinese.

They also taught the Filipinos kite-flying and other games including various
forms of gambling like jueteng, kuwaho, and pangginggi.

During the early times, the Filipino manner of dressing bore Chinese traces.

It includes the following:

The sleeved jackets (kangan) of the Filipino males, the loose trousers of the Muslim women
of Mindanao,
The following are originated by Chinese:

The use of slippers, wooden shoes (bakya), fans, and umbrellas

The social customs of the early Filipinos showed Chinese influence.

Among them were:

Marriage by Parents of Boys and Girls

The hiring of a go-between in martial negotiations

honor deceased ancestors

Employment of specialized maker at funerals.

-Certain existing social customs bear indications of Chinese origin like...

the blasting of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve

the beating of gongs in celebrating a feast

and the collection of tongs (percentage fee) by the owner of a gambling joint.

Bargaining between merchants and customers to obtain the price of goods is

another practice that the natives learned from them.
The linguistic influence of China on the Filipino language is quite exceptional.

About 1,500 Chinese loan words are included in the present vocabulary of the
Filipinos. These words usually refer to kinship and family ties, clothing, jewelry,
food and drink, agriculture and commerce, tools and trade, and abstract
ideas.Among these are as follows: ate (older sister), sanse (third older sister), kuya (older
brother), diko (second older brother), sangko (third older brother), suki (friend), gunting
(scissors), hiya (shame), pakyaw (wholesale), and susi (key).