The Chinese impression of the Daqin

people, from the Ming Dynasty

encyclopedia Sancai Tuhui (The

caption reads: The Country of Da

Qin, is where western businessmen

are gathering. The king wraps his

head by cloth in pyramid shape. This

land produces coral, gold, brocade

with pattern, silk cloth (without

pattern), pearls, etc. )

Daqin (大秦國) appears at the

Western edge of this Chinese world

map, the Sihai Huayi Zongtu.

DaqinFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daqin (Chinese: 大秦; pinyin: Dàqín; Wade–Giles: Ta4-ch'in2;alternative transliterations include Tachin, Tai-Ch'in) is the ancientChinese name for the Roman Empire or, depending on context, the Near

East, especially Syria.[1] It literally means "Great Qin", Qin (Chinese: 秦;

pinyin: Qín; Wade–Giles: Ch'in2) being the name of the founding dynastyof the Chinese Empire. Historian John Foster defined it as "...the RomanEmpire, or rather that part of it which alone was known to the Chinese,

Syria."[2]

Contents

1 History

2 See also

3 Footnotes

4 References5 Further reading

6 External links

History

Following the opening of the Silk Road in the 2nd century BC, theChinese thought of the Roman Empire as a civilized counterpart to theChinese Empire. The Romans occupied one extreme position on thetrade route, with the Chinese located on the other.

China never managed to reach the Roman Empire directly in antiquity,although general Ban Chao sent Gan Ying as an envoy to "Daqin" in 97AD. Gan Ying did not reach Daqin, he stopped at the coast of a largesea, because "sailor(s) of the Parthian west border" told him that thevoyage to cross the sea might take a long time and be dangerous. GanYing left a detailed account of the Roman Empire, but it is generallyconsidered to have been based on second hand information:

The Kingdom of Da Qin (the Roman Empire) is also called Lijian.As it is found to the west of the sea, it is also called the Kingdomof Haixi ("West of the Sea"). The territory extends for severalthousands of li. It has more than four hundred walled towns. Thereare several tens of smaller dependent kingdoms. The walls of the

towns are made of stone. They have established postal relays at intervals, which are all plastered and

whitewashed. There are pines and cypresses, as well as trees and plants of all kinds.[3]

Gan Ying gives a very idealistic view of Roman governance which is likely the result of some story he was toldwhile visiting the Persian Gulf in 97 AD. He also described, less fancifully, Roman products:

Their kings are not permanent. They select and appoint the most worthy man. If there are unexpectedcalamities in the kingdom, such as frequent extraordinary winds or rains, he is unceremoniouslyrejected and replaced. The one who has been dismissed quietly accepts his demotion, and is notangry. The people of this country are all tall and honest. They resemble the people of the MiddleKingdom and that is why this kingdom is called Da Qin. This country produces plenty of gold [and]silver, [and of] rare and precious [things] they have luminous jade, 'bright moon pearls,' Haijirhinoceroses, coral, yellow amber, opaque glass, whitish chalcedony, red cinnabar, green gemstones,gold-thread embroideries, woven gold-threaded net, delicate polychrome silks painted with gold, andasbestos cloth.They also have a fine cloth which some people say is made from the down of 'water sheep' [= seasilk], but which is made, in fact, from the cocoons of wild silkworms (= wild silk). They blend all sortsof fragrances, and by boiling the juice, make a compound perfume. [They have] all the precious andrare things that come from the various foreign kingdoms. They make gold and silver coins. Ten silvercoins are worth one gold coin. They trade with Anxi [Parthia] and Tianzhu [North-western India] bysea. The profit margin is ten to one. . . . The king of this country always wanted to send envoys to theHan, but Anxi [Parthia], wishing to control the trade in multi-coloured Chinese silks, blocked the route

to prevent [the Romans] getting through [to China].[3]

In later eras, starting in 550 AD, as Syriac Christians settled along the Silk Road and founded mission churches,

Daqin or Tai-Ch'in is also used to refer to these Christian populations rather than to Rome or the Roman church.[1]

So, for example, when the Taoist Tang Emperor Wuzong closed Christian monasteries in the mid-9th century, the

imperial edict commanded:[4]

As for the Tai-Ch'in (Syrian Christian) and Muh-hu (Zoroastrian) forms of worship, since Buddhism

has already been cast out, these heresies alone must not be allowed to survive."[5]

The name "Daqin" for Rome was used on Chinese maps as late as the 16th century, such as the Sihai Huayi Zongtu.The identification of "Daqin" with the Western Roman Empire, Byzantium, or the Church of the East varies with theera and context of the document.

To the Chinese, the capital of Daqin was "An-tu", or Antioch, the first great Christian city.[6]

See also

Christianity in ChinaDaqin Pagoda

Nestorian Stele (Memorial of the Propagation in China of the Luminous Religion from Daqin)History of the Han DynastyMarcus Aurelius

Seres and Serica, Latin Roman words for Chinese and China, respectivelySino-Roman relations

Zhang Qian

Footnotes

1. ̂a b Jenkins, Philip (2008). The Lost History of Christianity: the Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in theMiddle East, Africa, and Asia - and How It Died. New York: Harper Collins. pp. 64–68. ISBN 978-0-06-147280-0.

2. ^ Foster, p. 3

3. ̂a b Hill (2009), p. 25.

4. ^ Philip, T.V. (1998). "Christianity in China" (http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1553&C=1363). East of the Euphrates: Early Christianity in Asia. Retrieved 2008-11-30.

5. ^ Foster, John (1939). The Church in T'ang Dynasty. Great Britain: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.p. 123.

6. ^ Foster, p. 4

References

Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century

Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265. Draft annotated English translation. [1](http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html)

Hill, John E. (2009). Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later HanDynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.

Yule, Henry. (1886). Cathay and the Way Thither. Downloaded 22/12/04 from:http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/III-2-F-b-2/V-1/ and http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/III-2-F-b-2/V-2/.

Further reading

Leslie, D. D., Gardiner, K. H. J.: "The Roman Empire in Chinese Sources", Studi Orientali, Vol. 15. Rome:Department of Oriental Studies, University of Rome, 1996

Pulleyblank, Edwin G.: "The Roman Empire as Known to Han China", Journal of the American OrientalSociety, Vol. 119, No. 1 (1999), pp. 71–79

External links

Accounts of Daqin in the Chinese history of the Later Han Hou Hanshu [2](http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html#sec11)

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