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In the early 15th century, China's giant ships sailed in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, with voyages as far away as Hormuz, the Gulf of Aden and the coast of East Africa. When Zheng He launched his first voyage in 1405, Portugal had not yet begun to explore new routes to Asia, and Western Europe had not set foot in the Indian Ocean. In the centuries before the 15th century, all routes between East Asia and West Asia were in the hands of Asians. This book reveals the routes known as the "Maritime Silk Road" by later generations during this period, as well as the development history of civilizations along the routes. For a long time, the "Maritime Silk Road" running through Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean has been overshadowed in people's minds by the Western-dominated Mediterranean and Atlantic routes. This route has a long history and plays a vital role in the exchange and construction of civilizations along the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Since ancient times, voyagers from East Africa to East Asia have followed the monsoon rhythm of the Indian Ocean, communicated with each other across extremely long distances, exchanged what they had, and connected various civilizational regions with each other at the economic, political and cultural levels. Compared with the Atlantic route, the "Maritime Silk Road" in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific still lacks relevant research and is almost blank in many aspects. And because records are sparse and confusing, people today know very little about the specific locations of various countries along this route in history. Despite this, the understanding and research of this route still has far-reaching significance. This book focuses on the history of the Indian and Pacific Oceans from ancient times to the Portuguese colonial era, and rigorously analyzes the various factors that affected the changes in ancient shipping routes, the reasons for the rise and fall of civilizations along the "Maritime Silk Road", and the connections between them. In addition, the author of this book also introduces in detail the various ancient navigation technologies along the coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as the various trade goods circulating on the trade routes. Many contents are intertwined, painting a clear and specific picture for readers.