Roman Empire in Chinese Sources

Acta Ant. Hung. 51, 2011, 263305 DOI: 10.1556/AAnt.51.2011.34.5

0044-5975 / $ 20.00 2011 Akadmiai Kiad, Budapest

KRISZTINA HOPPL

THE ROMAN EMPIRE ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT CHINESE SOURCES

Summary: Through a careful examination of the accounts of Daqin () presumably the Roman Empire and Fulin () Byzantinum , we can depict a picture of how the Chinese imagined another ancient empire far away in the West. The Chinese annals not only give information on and the interpreta-tion of the name of that mysterious country but also add details about its geography, administration, econ-omy including agriculture, domesticated animals and products , trade and the envoys sent by Daqin () people. Such a description could be remarkable on its own but the accounts also emphasise the similarities between the two great empires that might have originated in their same cultural level.

Key words: Chinese sources, Roman Empire, trade, envoy In the present paper I would like to give a brief introduction of five classical Chinese sources, namely the Hou Han shu (), the Wei le (), the Jin shu (), the Wei shu (), and the Song shu (), that provide us more or less information about the Roman Empire. As compared to the description of Daqin (), probably the Roman Empire in the Chinese records, with the Roman auctors descriptions of the Eastern part of the Empire, we can discover a large number of similarities.

Since the early 19th c. Sino-Roman relations and the ancient Chinese sources of Daqin have been considerably popular fields of research. Although most of these works give a useful translation of the Chinese chronicles, they mostly emphasise linguistic problems. For this reason these publications do not give a complete picture of the connections between Daqin and the Roman Empire.

By using the great and influential achievements of earlier scholars in the pre-sent work I would like to offer another point of view. My idea is not to translate the records of Daqin and add commentaries or to sum up the several problems connected to this field: specialists have already done the hard work, have carefully analysed the texts and pointed out the numerous linguistic and identificational problems. The only remaining task is to analyse the accounts by another approach. It is not more than a word-to-word comparison between the descriptions provided by Chinese annalists

264 KRISZTINA HOPPL

Acta Ant. Hung. 51, 2011

and our recent knowledge of the Roman Empire. The information supported by west-ern auctors and archaeological data from Roman sites could reflect on the authentic-ity of these Chinese Histories and might help to solve some of the several problems. However, the present work is only a small part of a complete comparison of how the Chinese and Romans imagined each other.1

I. A SHORT REFLECTION ON THE HISTORY OF SINO-ROMAN RELATIONS

One of the most detailed works is still China and the Roman Orient. Researches into their Ancient and Mediaeval Relations as Represented in Old Chinese Records by the first compiler of ancient Chinese chronicles, F. Hirth.2 In his elaborate work there are various Chinese descriptions including not only the Roman Empire but the Byzantine world, too. In 2000 Arkenberg digitalised the translations provided by F. Hirth for the East Asian Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E.1642 C.E.3 While it is also available online, it only includes the translations without the Chinese originals, as well as essays and references. At the same time there are some typing errors, too.

In the first decades of the 20th c., the famous sinologist . Chavannes re-evalu-ated the interpretations of the a Hou Han shu4 and the Wei le,5 and also added de-tails to the identificational problems of place names and date of the Wei le.

Following the first pioneers, in 1915 P. Pelliot published his researches on the relations between Lijian () and Daqin.6 Similarly, P. Boodberg brought out his results in the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies in 1936.7

The monumental studies published by K. Shiratori in 1956 essentially changed the images of Daqin. In A Study on Tiao-chih he made an examination of Tiaozhi () as the neighbour of Daqin.8 Chinese Ideas Reflected in the Ta-chin Accounts gives an excellent summary of the results of this field. At the same time he points to the utopistic elements of the description of Daqin.9 The Geography of the Western Region Studied on the Basis of the Ta-chin Account outlines the problems

1 For the above reasons I have not retranslated the Chinese texts or dealt with linguistic and iden-

tificational problems. I have used a summary of the translations provided by F. Hirth, D. D. Leslie, K. H. J. Gardiner, and J. E. Hill completed with some own ideas. Although, because of the limits of the paper, it is not possible to include the Chinese originals, I have given the classical Chinese characters princi-pally used in the original texts provided by F. Hirth whenever it was reasonable.

2 HIRTH, F.: China and the Roman Orient. Researches into their Ancient and Mediaeval Relations as Represented in Old Chinese Records. Hong Kong 1885.

3 ARKENBERG, J. S.: East Asian Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. 1642 C.E. 2000. http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/romchin1.html

4 CHAVANNES, .: Les pays dOccident daprs le Heou Han chou. TP 8 (1907) 149244. 5 CHAVANNES, .: Les pays dOccident daprs le Wei lio. TP 6 (1905) 519571. 6 PELLIOT, P.: Li-kien, autre nom du Tats. TP 16/5 (1915) 690691. 7 BOODBERG, P.: Two notes on the History of the Chinese Frontier. HJAS 44 (1936) 283307. 8 SHIRATORI, K.: A Study on Tiao-chih. MRDTB 15 (1956) 123. 9 SHIRATORI, K.: Chinese Ideas Reflected in the Ta-chin Accounts. MRDTB 15 (1956) 2472.

THE ROMAN EMPIRE ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT CHINESE SOURCES 265


of various place names and their identification,10 while in A New Attempt at the So-lution of the Fu-lin Problem K. Shiratori investigated the relations between Daqin and Fulin ().11

E. H. Schafer defined the different products of the Roman Empire using the Chinese records of Daqin. The Pearl Fisheries of Ho-pu published in 1952 con-tains the list of Roman pearls,12 while in 1963 he collected the numerous products of the western countries,13 although principally from the reign of Tang Dynasty (). In 1971 Y. Harada also made a research on the pearls of Daqin.14

The monumental work on Chinese civilisation published by J. Needham15 in-cludes a comprehensive overview of the Daqin accounts, however, accepting the achievements of F. Hirth without reservation. In 1999 E. G Pulleyblank also made a huge step towards the interpretation of place names by collecting and analysing the Chinese chronicles.16

Although in some publications on Sino-Roman trade relations there is also a chapter on Daqin according to the Chinese records, in most cases they only repeat previous works, as J. Thorley in his study The Silk Trade between China and the Roman Empire at its Height, circa A.D. 90130.17 Although he proposed some new ideas on these questions, he neglected the linguistic background of the ancient Chi-nese sources.

In his essay published in 1978 on Sino-Roman trade relations, J. Ferguson18 unfortunately did not include the Chinese records of the Romans.

In contrast with the previous authors, M. G. Raschke gives a hypercritical syn-thesis of the theories about Daqin and the connections between Rome and China in his dissertation.19 At the same time in the Trade and Expansion in Han China Y. Y offers an eastern aspect of Sino-Roman contacts,20 just like Zhu Jieqin () and Zhang Xinglang () in the Zhongxi jiaotong shike huibian ( ) summarising the achievements of F. Hirth.21

10 SHIRATORI, K.: The Geography of the Western Region Studied on the Basis of the Ta-chin Ac-

count. MRDTB 15 (1956) 73155. 11 SHIRATORI, K.: A New Attempt at the Solution of the Fu-lin Problem. MRDTB 15 (1956) 156

329. 12 SCHAFER, E. H.: The Pearl Fisheries of Ho-pu. JAOS 72 (1952) 155168. 13 SCHAFER, E. H.: The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of Tang Exotics. Los Angeles

1963. 14 HARADA, Y.: East and West (II). MRDTB 29 (1971) 5779. 15 NEEDHAM, J.: Science and Civilisation in China. Vol. 1. Cambridge 1961. 16 PULLEYBLANK, E. G.: The Roman Empire as known to Han China. JAOS 119.1 (1999) 7179. 17 THORLEY, J.: The Silk Trade between China and the Roman Empire at its Height, circa A.D.

90130. G&R 2.18 (1971) 7180. 18 FERGUSON, J.: China and Rome. ANRW II. 9.2. (1978) 581603. 19 RASCHKE, M. G.: New Studies in Roman Commerce with the East. ANRW II. 9.2 (1978) 604

1233. 20 Y, Y.: Trade and Expansion in Han China. Los Angeles 1967. 21 (ZHU JIEQIN) (ZHANG XINGLANG): (Zhongxi jiaotong

shike huibian). (di yi ce). (Beijing) 2003.

266 KRISZTINA HOPPL


The complex analysis of the Daqin and Fulin accounts was published in The Roman Empire in Chinese Sources by D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner.22 Although it is a detailed collection of this field, it does not include the Chinese and western originals, and uses the preconception of Daqin as the entire Roman Empire.

Recently another complex dissertation on Chinese sources was put forward by J. E. Hill. He gave a complete translation and a detailed examination of the Hou Han shu in 2003,23 and the Wei le in 2004,24 both of them available online. Furthermore, in Through the Jade Gate to Rome. A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. An Annotated Translation of the Chronicle on the Western Regions in the Hou Hanshu he offered a more specified analysis of the Hou Han shu.25

II. INTRODUCTION INTO THE CHINESE SOURCES

Starting the analysis of the Daqin accounts, we have five sources compiled during the 2nd6th c. C.E. Two of them referred to the period between the 3rd5th c. C.E. and typically these contemporary sources are the most detailed (see Diagram 1).

III.1. The Hou Han shu

The Hou Han shu was compiled by Fan Ye (),26 who lived between 398 and 445 during the reign of the Liu-Song Dynasty (). In his work juan ()27 8628 and 88, the chapter of Xi yu zhuan (),29 contains several pieces of information about the Romans. There are numerous descriptions of the countries from Khotan to the Roman Empire in the division of the westernmost world, altogether 22 realms.

22 LESLIE, D. D. GARDINER, K. H. J.: The Roman Empire in Chinese Sources. Rome 1996. 23 HILL, J. E.: The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. The Xiyu juan Chapter on the

Western Regions from Hou Hanshu 88. 2003. http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_ han_shu.html

24 HILL, J. E.: The Peoples of the West from the Weilue by Yu Huan . A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE Quoted in zhuan 30 of the Sanguozhi. Published in 429 CE. 2004. http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html

25 HILL, J. E.: Through the Jade Gate to Rome. A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. An Annotated Translation of the Chronicle on the Western Regions in the Hou Hanshu. Lexington 2009. Other works: DUBS, H.: A Roman City in Ancient China. London 1957; BALL, W.: Rome in the East. The Transformation of an Empire. London New York 2000; YOUNG, G. K.: Romes Eastern Trade. International commerce and imperial policy, 31BC AD 305. London New York 2001.

26 The texts in the several editions are not entirely assigned to him, the chapter of Zhi () is the work of another compiler. See HIRTH (n. 2) 67.

27 Meaning chapter, volume, scroll. 28 : (Hou Han shu: Juan liushiliu Nan man Nan yi

Liezhuan di qishiliu). HIRTH (n. 2) 9798. 29 : HIRTH (n. 2) 98101.



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

number ofcharacters

HHSWLJSWSSS

Diagram 1 Quantitative comparison of the Daqin () accounts

During the investigation of the text it should be considered, that in the 7th c. some new commentaries were added to the original work, and although it was printed during the reign of the Song Dynasty, there are many other copies. In his monumen-tal work in 1885, F. Hirth compared the different editions of the Hou Han shu and he did not find remarkable changes in them.30

III.2. The Wei le

The Wei le was compiled by the historian Yu Huan () before the year 297 C.E.31 The division on the western countries contains the records of Daqin. Although the original version of his work is lost, the San guo zhi (), which summarised the history of the Wei, Shu and Wu Dynasties (,,), is quoted in the geo-

30 HIRTH (n. 2) 610. The relating chapters of the Hou Han shu in Chinese: HIRTH (n. 2) 97101. In Chinese on the even pages, and in English on the odd ones: HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) 258.

31 On the date of the Wei le CHAVANNES: Les pays dOccident daprs le Wei lio (n. 5) 519520.

268 KRISZTINA HOPPL


graphical accounts.32 In the surviving work Yu Huan does not refer to the sources of his information, but presumably he never left the boundaries of China. Hence he had only second hand data from the earlier histories and the descriptions of travellers and merchants.33

Regarding the authenticity of the Wei le F. Hirth assumes that at least one other text existed, but besides this the whole work is not less reliable than other clas-sical records in the period.34 Although there is some uncertainty about the original text of the Wei le and its compiler Yu Huan, the remaining version of this work is one of the most detailed sources of Daqin.

III.3. The Jin shu

The third important history is the Jin shu,35 compiled during the 7th c. Although the information on Daqin refers to the interval between 265 and 419 C.E., it is more reticent than the Hou Han shu and the Wei le. The compiler of the Jin shu was Fang Xuanling (), who lived between 549 and 618 and was followed by Fang Qiao ().36

III.4. The Wei shu

The history of the Northern Wei Dynasty (), the Wei shu37 refers to the period between 386 and 556, still in many ways it uses the statements of the Hou Han shu and the Wei le.38 The compiler was Wei Shou (), the annalist in the court of the Northern Qi Dynasty, who lived between 506 and 572. As his family name suggests, he was a descendant of the former Wei House. However, the accuracy of the recent version of the Wei shu, which was issued in the 11th c., is strongly questionable, since 29 chapters are missing. Although this gap was filled with the relevant parts of the Bei shi () compiled during the 7th c., there are some differences between the two texts.39

32 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi Zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 110114. The San guo zhi was compiled by Chen Shou (), who died before 297, while Pei Songzhi () reprinted this work in 429 C.E. HIRTH (n. 2) 1314.

33 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html#aboutText 34 HIRTH (n. 2) 1415. 35 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan).

HIRTH (n. 2) 101102. 36 Fang Qiao died in 648 C.E. HIRTH (n. 2) 16. 37 : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di Jiushi Xi yu).

HIRTH (n. 2) 103104. 38 HIRTH (n. 2)17. 39 HIRTH (n. 2) 17; WILKINSON, E.: Chinese History. A Manual. Princeton 2000, 811.



III.5. The Song shu

The fifth Chinese record of Daqin, the Song shu was compiled by Shen Yue (), the historian of the Liang Dynasty () during the 6th c.40 Like the Jin shu, the Song shu also includes only little information on the Romans, and refers to the period between 420 and 478.41

IV. THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE TEXTS

Although by using the Chinese sources it is roughly possible to picture how an an-cient empire could imagine another one, far away in the West, one should treat these kinds of information carefully.

As parts of the standard histories, the above works42 were compiled by the offi-cers of the Historiography Bureau based on the materials collected during the previ-ous dynasties. Furthermore the different groups of chapters were formed to satisfy various purposes and to show a different point of view.43 The information on Bar-barians and other foreign nations is usually in the Liezhuan (), the section of memoirs, and in the monographs called Zhi (). Since, in many cases, alternative sources were lacking, the compilers used archaic data from the archives of former dynasties or based themselves on earlier sources by means of the scissors-and-paste method.44 Moreover, these standard histories were not always devoid of historical mistakes and misunderstandings.

In addition the surviving works could have been modified. As F. Hirth stated during the examination of the Hou Han shu, it is impossible to trace the texts back to their first origin. At the same time he points out that the textual errors and changes can be considered as oversights. Since, in his opinion, the Chinese scholars were more responsible and literate than the monks in the West, such errors are less frequent.45

V. THE MEANING OF THE TERM DAQIN

The common feature of the Chinese histories displayed above is that they use the term Daqin to denote a great empire in the west.

40 : (Song shu: Juan Jiushiqi Liezhuan di wushiqi yi man).

HIRTH (n. 2) 102. 41 HIRTH (n. 2) 16. 42 Although the Wei le, compiled by the historian Yu Huan, is not considered as one of the

canonical histories: CHAVANNES: Les pays dOccident daprs le Wei lio (n. 5) 519520. 43 LOEWE, M.: Introduction. In TWITCHETT, D. FAIRBANK, J. K. (eds.): The Cambridge History

of China. Vol. 1. The Chin and Han Empires, 221 B. C. A. D. 220. Cambridge 2008, 120, here 34. 44 WILKINSON (n. 39) 501507. 45 HIRTH (n. 2) 89. For more details, see LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 1924.

270 KRISZTINA HOPPL


The first allusion to this state is in juan 86 of the Hou Han shu.46 According to the text in the year 120 the king of the Shan () Empire sent an embassy to the Han () Court. He offered musicians and magicians from a country called Daqin which is the west of the sea ().47 Moreover, the Wei le already mentioned jugglery as a major feature of the Daqin people.48

It is widely accepted among the scholars of this field that the name Daqin, i.e. Great Qin (), refers to the Roman Empire. Although it is still a subject of debate whether it means the entire empire with Rome as its capital or only the eastern prov-inces.49 Or perhaps, as J. E. Hill suggests, depending on the context, the term Daqin could be translated as the city of Rome, Roman territory or the Roman Empire.50

The character of Qin is possibly an allusion to the name the Great Qin Empire which the Chinese used in this period for themselves.51 However, it should be noted that, as Loewe stated, the Chinese very rarely used the term Qin for themselves, be-cause of its rigour, and more commonly denominated themselves as Zhongguo ( ).52

Moreover the Hou Han shu,53 as the Wei le54 and the Jin shu55 gives a so-called explanation for using the term Daqin: the people of this state are tall and open-hearted just like the Chinese, although they wear hu ()56 clothes. The Wei shu57 also emphasises that the Daqin people are honest and tall and their carriages and flags are like the Chinese ones, which is why the foreign nations gave the name Daqin.

46 Although the Shi ji () and the Han shu () also mentioned conjurors, they used the term

Lixuan (), not Daqin to name the foreigners home. See: : (Shiji: Juan yibaiershisan Dayuan di liushisan); and : (Qian Han shu: Juan jiushiliu shang Xi yu Liezhuan di liushiliu shang). HIRTH (n. 2) 97.

47 : (Hou Han shu: Juan liushiliu Nan man Nan yi Liezhuan di qishiliu). HIRTH (n. 2) 98.

48 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong yi Zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111.

49 It is not the main topic of this paper to overview the different arguments in this debate or to identify the exact position of Daqin. There is a great summary of the various opinions in LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) XXIXXVI and 232.

50 HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) 256. 51 PELLIOT, P.: La thorie des quatre fils du Ciel. TP 22/2 (1923) 97125, here 119120. 52 LOEWE (n. 43) 20. To the history of Qin Empire, see BODDE, D.: The State and Empire of

Chin. In TWITCHETT, D. FAIRBANK, J. K. (eds.): The Cambridge History of China. vol. 1. The Chin and Han Empires, 221 B. C. A. D. 220. Cambridge 2008, 20102.

53 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba). HIRTH (n. 2) 100.


55 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan). HIRTH (n. 2) 101.

56 I.e. foreign, not Han. 57 (Wei shu: Juan yibaier Liezhuan di jiushi Xi yu). HIRTH (n. 2)

103.



Another interpretation of the texts and a possible reason for the term Daqin is that by the growing geographical knowledge the Chinese began to realize that there was another civilized empire resembling theirs.58

VI. DESCRIBING DAQIN

VI.1. Geography

Besides the explanation of the name Daqin all of the five Chinese sources describe the geography of this westernmost state. According to them Daqin is located at Haixi (), i.e. west of the sea.59 Furthermore the Wei le also indicates that it is west of Anxi (), Tiaozhi and the Great sea ().60 Besides these data the Hou Han shu gives more details.61 3400 li () west of Anxi there is the kingdom of Aman (). 3600 li west of Aman one reaches Sibin (), from here one must turn south and cross a river, and travel 960 li southwest to the kingdom of Yuluo (). This is the extreme west frontier of Anxi, where one should proceed southwards by sea and then reach Daqin. (Map 1)

The Wei le also informs about the location of Daqin.62 It says that from the city of Angu (), which is on the border of Anxi, one must take a ship and directly cross Haixi. The journey takes two months with favourable winds, although with slow winds it may last one year, and without wind perhaps three years. The country is the west of the sea, which is why it is commonly called Haixi. There is a river run-ning out of the west of this country and there is also another great sea. The city of Chisan () is in Haixi and before you reach this country you must go north to the city of Wudan (). In the southwest you cross a river by boat, which takes one day, and then another river southwest, which is another day. So altogether there are three major cities.63 (Map 2)

By the land route from the city of Angu one must go north to Haibei () and then turn west towards Haixi and then head south to reach the city of Wuchisan

58 Y, Y.: Han foreign relations. In TWITCHETT, D. FAIRBANK, J. K. (eds.): The Cambridge His-

tory of China. Vol. 1. The Chin and Han Empires, 221 B. C. A. D. 220. Cambridge 2008, 377462, here 379 and PULLEYBLANK: The Roman Empire (n. 16) 71.

59 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba). HIRTH (n. 2) 99. The Jin shu locates Daqin at the west of the west sea (), while the Song shu only says that Daqin and Tianzhu () are far away on the western ocean (). See: : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan). and : (Song shu: Juan Jiushiqi Liezhuan di wushiqi yi man); HIRTH (n. 2) 101, 102.




63 F. Hirth translated the character du () as division, not as city. HIRTH (n. 2) 69, 111.

272 KRISZTINA HOPPL


Map 1 Localisation of Daqin according to the Hou Han Shu.

Based on LESLIEGARDINER (n. 21) 311.

Map 2 Sea route according to the Wei le.




Map 3 Land route according to the Wei le.


(). It takes one day to cross the river by boat, then make a round at sea and after crossing the Great sea you reach Daqin, which generally takes six days. (Map 3)

There are numerous studies on the identification of the place names listed above.64 However there is still not an adequate solution to these questions. Due the difficulties, there are many different points of view, however, the exact determinations of these places would not have influenced how the Chinese imagined the Romans. Moreover, the analysis of the other parts of these texts in their complexity might mean a huge step towards the precise identifications.

Three of the chronicles include a chapter on the incorrect beliefs of the former sources, e.g. the Han shu () mentioning legendary places in the far west. For instance the Ruoshui (), i.e. Weak Water,65 Liusha (), i.e. Flowing Sands,66

64 For the Hou Han shu: e.g. HIRTH (n. 2) 140, 149151, 154155, 159; PULLEYBLANK, E. G.:

The consonantal system of Old Chinese. Asia Major 9 (1963) 58144, 206265, here 77 and 221; LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 251253; HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) 220222, 227233, 243251, 481483. For the Wei le: e.g. HIRTH (n. 2) 155158, 180183; LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 180186; PULLEY-BLANK: The Roman Empire (n. 16) 76; HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_4 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_7 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_8 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_9 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_11 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_12

65 In the Hou Han shu and in the Wei le. See: : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba). and : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong yi Liezhuan sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 100, 114.

66 In the Hou Han shu and in the Wei le. : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba). and : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong yi Zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 100, 114.

274 KRISZTINA HOPPL


Map 4 Vassal states in the Wei le. In HIRTH (n. 1) 209.

Xi Wang Mu (), i.e. Mother of the Western King.67 These fabulous places re-flect on the Chinese idea of the terra incognita68 influenced by their own mentality and the concepts of Taoism.69

Besides the above information, there is a third geographical account in the analysed histories. The Hou Han shu,70 the Wei le,71 the Jin shu72 and the Wei shu73 all say that the territory of Daqin is several thousand li in all directions and has more than four hundred smaller cities. Furthermore there are numerous vassal states belong-ing to it. The Wei le even adds the list and the location of these kingdoms, namely Zesan (), Lfen (), Qielan (), Xiandu () Sifu () and Yuluo, and also says that there are many others.74 (Map 4)

67 In the Hou Han shu, Wei le and in the Wei shu. See: : (Hou

Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba). and : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong yi Zhuan di sanshi). and : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di Jiushi Xi yu). HIRTH (n. 2) 100, 114, 104.

68 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 273. 69 SHIRATORI: Chinese Ideas (n. 9); STEIN, R. A.: Remarques sur les mouvements du Taoisme

politicoreligieux au II sicle ap. J. C. TP 5.20 (1963) 321; RASCHKE (n. 19) 854. 70 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba). HIRTH

(n. 2) 99. 71 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong

yi Zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111. 72 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan).

HIRTH (n. 2)101. 73 Without mentioning the vassal states. : (Wei shu: Juan

yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di Jiushi Xi yu). HIRTH (n. 2) 103. 74 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong

yi Zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 112, 114.



It is likewise difficult to reasonably identify these states, even though there are many studies on this topic.75 Apart from the determinations of D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner, who think Zesan is Cyprus and Lfen is probably Cilicia,76 the places identified by most of the scholars line a trade (?) route. Although the text uses the term wang () to indicate their relation with Daqin,77 it is generally accepted that they are influential metropoleis or even provinces. This is more than reasonable con-cerning the distance between China and these places which hinders the transmission of information. It is also noteworthy that some scholars think these names could not refer to a region of an eastern province but the whole Roman Empire.78 Although in this case the distances mentioned in the text, however approximate they are, would be too exaggerated. J. E. Hill gives a possible interpretation of these accounts: de-pending on the textual background he stretches the interpretation of Daqin and Daqin du ().79

VI.2. The capital of Daqin

The histories also give information about the capital of Daqin. According to the Wei le it lies at the mouth of a river,80 while the Jin shu adds the extension of the city as over a hundred li.81 Expanding these descriptions, the Wei shu adds that the name of

75 E.g. HIRTH (n. 2) 149151, 190198; PELLIOT, P.: Note sur les anciens itinraries chinoise dans

lorient romain. JA 18/11 (1921) 139145, here 141142; SHIRATORI: A Study (n. 8) 9; SHIRATORI: The Geography (n. 10) 105110, 117; LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 189196, 268272; ZHU ()ZHANG () (n. 21) 143144; HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#15_1 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#15_2 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#16_1 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#16_2 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#16_3 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#17_1 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#17_2 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#17_5 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#19_1 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#17_7 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#17_8 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#18_1 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#19_3 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#20_1 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#20_3 http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#21_1

76 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 190192. 77 With the exception of Yuluo. 78 PELLIOT: Note (n. 75) 141142; LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 189. 79 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html#section17 80 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong

yi Zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111. 81 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan).

HIRTH (n. 2) 101.

276 KRISZTINA HOPPL


the capital is Andu (). Moreover, the royal city is divided into five smaller cities and the source also adds the dimensions of them.82

According to the Hou Han shu there are five palaces in the capital, ten li from each other.83 The Wei le repeats this information and also says that there is an office of archives.84 While the Jin shu does not give more details,85 the Wei shu86 reports in a different way: the residence of the king is in the middle of the city and there are eight high offices to rule over the four cities. And in the royal city there is also an of-fice which rules the four cities. D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner give another in-terpretation of the account. According to them, each city, including the royal city, has eight offices to rule over the four cities, more precisely the four divisions of the country.87

There are also numerous studies on the identification of the capital of Daqin. F. Hirth states that the city described above is Antiochia ad Orontem and the term Da-qin applies to the Roman East.88 However, he mainly based his opinion on the records of the Wei shu. Besides the linguistic considerations the Chinese chronicle referring to the period between 386 and 556 describes the extension of the capital, which is smaller than according to the former sources (only 60 li) because of the earthquake destroying the city of Antiochia ad Orontem in 532. Furthermore in his view the information of the four cities refers to the four regions of Antioch completed with the Suburbia. (Map 5)

D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner89 noted that the term Andu for the capital of Daqin only appears in the Wei shu. They also supposed that Andu refers to Augusta Antonina, and the capital of Daqin is Rome. J. E. Hill also accepted this last statement.90

It is more than complicated to take a side, however there are some further pieces of information in the sources that may help to resolve the problem.

VI.3. Administration

There are some details about the administration in the Hou Han shu:91 each day the king goes to the palaces to hear the cases, and he visits all of them within five days.

82 : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di Jiushi Xi yu).

HIRTH (n. 2) 103. 83 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).

HIRTH (n. 2) 99. 84 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong

yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111. 85 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan).

HIRTH (n. 2) 101. 86 : HIRTH (n. 2) 103. 87 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 102. 88 HIRTH (n. 2) 183. 207213. 89 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 186187. 90 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_14 91 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).

HIRTH (n. 2) 99.



Map 5 Map of Antioch based on excavations. In DOWNEY (n. 104) 761.

A man with a bag follows the royal carriage and every time when somebody has a matter to be reconsidered by the king, he throws an application into the bag. After the king has returned to the palace, he examines the contents of the bag, and decides whether the claims are legal or not. In every palace there is a department of archives and there are thirty-six generals to discuss the matters of the state.92 The king of Da-qin is not a permanent ruler, but chosen for his merits. When an unexpected calamity occurs in the country, such as the ordinary storms of wind and rain, the king is re-placed by another, without feeling angry about this. The Wei le93 emphasises that the previous king does not dare to show anger. It also adds that the king judges the cases from early in the morning till late in the night and the next day he goes to an-other palace. It takes five days to visit all of the palaces. He also consults the public matters with the thirty-six generals. If one of the generals does not take part in the consultation, he closes the meeting.

92 In the translation published by F. Hirth there are thirty-six generals responsible for the official

documents. HIRTH (n. 2) 41. 93 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong

yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111112.

278 KRISZTINA HOPPL


The Jin shu94 only repeats the previous data, however, the Wei shu95 adds more details. Every time when the necessities of the state demand this or any of the four regions has a matter to discuss, the king calls for the officials of the four cities. After the king has ratified their decision, it is put into effect. Every third year the king goes out and mingles with the public. If anyone has a matter to decide, the king judges. In minor cases he will censure, but in important cases will replace the responsible officer.

Comparing the description of the Wei shu with the text of the other sources, there are several differences between them. One possible reason for this is, as D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner suggest, that the Wei shu incorrectly used the term Andu for the capital of Daqin.96 However, it should be noted that the text refers to the period between the 4th and 5th c. when there were elementary changes in the Roman administration, in the eastern provinces as well as in the whole Roman Empire.

Moreover, D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner argue that the city of Antioch could not be the capital of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless the Chinese histories, be-cause they could not have the exact information on the Roman Empire, might have mistakenly considered a prosperous administrative centre as the capital of the Roman Empire. By the same token, only because of the linguistic considerations, it cannot be excluded that Andu refers to the city of Rome.97 Andu means Still City,98 which could roughly be compared to the Roman terms Urbs Roma Beata and Urbs Roma Felix more commonly used during the 4th c.

The selected passages of the Wei shu also raise other problems. It is still un-clear whether the five cities refer to the regions of the capital or to independent cities with walls around them. In any case it may be hypothesised, as by F. Hirth,99 that the Wei shu indicates four subdivisions and the royal residence on its own.

Nevertheless, comparing the account with the cityscape of Rome, there are some essential differences. Under Augustus reorganisation Rome was divided into four-teen instead of the former four city regions, although the Aurelian Wall did not in-clude the whole area of the XIV Regions, namely Regio VII and V, as well as I.100 Moreover, if the capital of Daqin refers to the City of Rome, the king would only have authority over the City, which is more likely a praefectus urbi, not the emperor of a state. So far as the term wang indicates the ruler of the Roman Empire, it is still uncertain which augustus it could be.

194 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan).

HIRTH (n. 2) 101. 195 : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di Jiushi Xi yu).

HIRTH (n. 2) 103. 196 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 187. 197 Although this would also mean that the data of the Wei shu refers to the period before 386. 198 K. Shiratori although in another context gave the interpretation of the term. See SHIRA-

TORI: Chinese Ideas (n. 9) 59. 199 HIRTH (n. 2) 210. 100 ROBINSON, O. F.: Ancient Rome. City planning and administration. London New York 2003,

78 and 19.



Map 6 Map of Antioch based on Strabos description.

In DOWNEY (n. 104) 761.

The emperors of the Western Roman Empire were often away from Rome,101 while the description of the Wei shu suggests that the royal duties mostly kept them in the capital. The rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire were principally resident in Constantinople, although if the term wang refers to the augustus of the Eastern Em-pire, Daqin du could not indicate Rome but Constantinople. Besides, the meaning of the five regions/cities and the consultative officers controlling them is still unclear. It might refer to the comitatus or rather the consistorium, at the same time the contri-bution of these bodies scarcely suits the records of the chronicle.102

It cannot be excluded that the four cities refer to the territorial villages of An-tioch, although there is only scanty information on their administration and local-ity.103 In case the Wei shu described five regions, not cities, as F. Hirth pointed out,104 Antioch could not be ignored again. Following Strabos description, Hirth surmised that the Regia on the island of Orontes was the main centre and the three principal di-visions on the southern side of the river, each surrounded by walls, and the Suburbia, which is not mentioned by Strabo, framed the four regions. Indeed, during the 4th c. there were essential changes in the life of Antioch. By raising new buildings the palace, built in the 3rd c. on the island of Orontes, was extended and the region of the Suburbia also became increasingly built-up. (Map 6) However, according to M. G. Raschke citing Downeys work, Hirth incorrectly matched Antioch with the se-lected passages of the Wei shu.105 Then again Downey in his topography did not con-

101 JONES, A. H. M.: The Late Roman Empire. 3 Vols. Oxford 1964, 329. 102 JONES (n. 101)367373. 103 LIEBESCHUETZ, J. H. W. G.: Antioch. City and Imperial Administration in the Later Roman

Empire. Oxford 1972, 119120. 104 HIRTH (n. 2) 210211. Although in this case the distances given in the source would be exag-

gerated. 105 Although incorrectly citing the Hou Han shu, not the Wei shu. RASCHKE (n. 18) 854.

280 KRISZTINA HOPPL


fute the existence of five regions, moreover, he emphasised the various problems of identifications and reconstructions.106

Accepting F. Hirths suggestion it cannot be excluded that there might be some connections with the eight-eight officers and the principales. This contribution of the prominent members of the city council had just become more influential in that pe-riod and started to efface the other councillors.107

Hence it is presumable that the capital of Daqin in the Wei shu might not be equal with Rome, but the descriptions of the other histories such as the Hou Han shu, the Wei le and the Jin shu could point to the City.

However, the passages of the above works about replacing the previous king whenever calamities come unexpectedly and named a more meritorious one108 might be comparable to the elevation of the optimus princeps. On this basis the duty of the new emperor is, by using the divina providentia, to find the most eligible successor. The resignation of the king might be due to a powerful governor, who by replacing him could attain a higher stage in his cursus honorum. However, the fact of replace-ment might also mean a utopistic interpretation of the rapid succession of Roman emperors during the 3rd c.109

The interpretation of the term wang as a Roman emperor is also accepted by J. E. Hill, who suggests that the thirty-six generals in the sources might be the consu-lares and the consilium principis110 However, the number of the amici principis was not permanent and defined, moreover, the emperor often consulted with other magis-trates and consiliums.111 Although it is also worthy of note that the number thirty-six might have been a pseudo-number in ancient China, meaning many or countless as some Japanese scholars have suggested.112

It is also possible that the thirty-six generals refer to the growing importance of the city council.113 According to the Antiochicus the structure of the city was founded upon the council as the tree on its roots.114 These curiales gave advice and appointed men to act the duties of the governor.115

106 DOWNEY, G.: A History of Antioch in Syria from Seleucus to the Arab Conquest. Princeton

1961, 612650. 107 LIEBESCHUETZ (n. 103) 172174. 108 J. E. Hill thinks this is not more than a fabulous story. HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.

washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#11_18 109 JONES (n. 101) 46; ALFLDY, G.: Rmai trsadalomtrtnet [The Social History of Rome].

Budapest 2002, 153. 110 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html

#11_26 and HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) 258 259. 111 CROOK, J.: Consilium Principis. Imperial Councils and Counsellors from Augustus to Dio-

cletian. New York 1975, here 104114. 112 More details: YANG LIEN-SHENG: Numbers and Units in Chinese Economic History. HJAS

12.1/2 (1949) 216225, here 218. 113 LIEBESCHUETZ (n.103) 101. 114 Libanius, Or. xi 133138. 115 Libanius, Or. xxxv 6; more detailed: LIEBESCHUETZ (n. 103) 167.



According to the Hou Han shu the thirty-six generals were responsible for the affairs of a whole state, not only a city. As such, this could also refer to the provincial assembly of Syria composed by the delegates of the seventeen cities.

Libanius also mentioned the eighteen tribes of Antioch, nevertheless their ap-pointment and role in the administration are still not clarified. At any rate they pre-sumably elected their own officers, who had to report to the governor.116

A possible reason why the Wei shu did not mention the thirty-six generals, although they could also have played a significant role in the 4th c. administration of Antioch, might be the reduction of the city magistrates power since the second half of the 4th c. Hence the source might not have deemed them important enough to al-lude to them.

The assumption that the term wang might have referred to a provincial governor could be proved by the selected passages of Libanius about the authority of the governor, who could even refuse to obey the emperor and not publish his edicts.117 Thus the Chinese chronicles might have believed that a provincial governor is the king of Daqin. Moreover it is also Libanius118 who mentioned that the governor could work with the jurisdiction and taxation during the whole night until the morning, just as the Wei le said. In Libanius works there is information about the duties of the governors: they had to listen to acclamations, sometimes demonstrations, and com-plaints. The latter usually took place in a public area such as the theatre. Starting from this it cannot be excluded that the Chinese histories mistakenly identified the public buildings of Antioch as the five palaces of Daqin.119 Moreover, in special cases, some of these public facilities could be used for a palatium. Just as Dio Cassius120 noted in connection with the earthquake in 115 C.E. According to the annalist Trajan had to leave his palace through the windows and live in the hippodrom for a few days.

Although the Romans often ascribed special meaning to natural phenomena, it is worthy of note that unexpected storms coming from the Mons Silpius and other disasters were quite common in the region of Antioch.121

If we accepted that the term Daqin du refers to Antioch, it would be easy to identify Daqin as the Roman Orient or the province Syria. However, it is more likely that the Chinese did not have enough information about the exact extension and the political system of the Roman Empire. Moreover, it is also possible that, as J. E. Hill suggested, the term Daqin referred to different things depending on the context. Hence it cannot be excluded that it was a greater unit than the Roman Orient but they did not know its precise extension.

116 LIEBESCHUETZ (n. 103) 123124. On their roles in Egypt: JONES (n. 101) 724. 117 See: Libanius, Or. xlviii 15. 118 Libanius, Or. xxvi 3334. 119 At the same time the five palaces might be in Rome as well. 120 Cassius Dio, Hist. lxviii 25. 5. 121 DOWNEY (n. 106) 1718, 653656.

282 KRISZTINA HOPPL


VII. LIFESTYLE IN DAQIN

The Hou Han shu122 and the Wei le123 give other details of the lifestyle in Daqin. According to them the people of Daqin have walled cities, they have a relay () every 10 li and a postal station () every 30 li like the Chinese. They travel by small carriages covered with a white canopy accompanied by beating drums and waving flags. The Wei le124 and the Jin shu125 also add that they understand the hu writing and have multi-storeyed public and private buildings.

The relays and postal stations in the sources could be compared to the Roman mutationes and mansiones.126 The Chinese tings () mentioned in our sources were originally built only for official use but occasionally private travellers could also rent them for a certain amount of money.127 A similar system was in use in the Roman Empire where an evectio or a diploma was necessary to lease the stations, while the official use was free.128

It is also interesting to compare the Roman images of raedae with the Chinese descriptions, e.g. the stone relief of a carriage in the village of Maria Saal, used for long-distance travel. (Fig. 1)

In the Jin shu129 there are also some details of the buildings: their walls were covered with opaque glass (), pillars were made of crystal () and the kings residence of coral (). However, there is still no consensus on the exact meaning of the terms above. Liuli () refers to both opaque glass and glass-like glaze, and shuijing () could mean crystal stone and crystal glass, too.130 J. Thorley sug-gested131 that the term shuijing in the sources might be an evidence that the Chinese confused crystal and glass.132

122 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).

HIRTH (n. 2) 100101. 123 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111. 124 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111. 125 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu

zhuan). HIRTH (n. 2) 101. 126 JONES (n. 101) 831. On their capacity: TILBURG, C.: Traffic and Congestion in the Roman Em-

pire. London New York 2007, 62. 127 Y: Trade (n. 20) 3233. On their use and equipment: LOEWE, M.: The Government of the Qin

and Han Empires: 221 BCE 220 CE. IndianapolisCambridge 2006, 109110. 128 JONES (n. 101) 830. On the officers: TILBURG (n. 126) 5761. About the cursus publicus:

KOLB, A.: Transport and communication in the Roman state: the cursus publicus. In ADAMS, C. LAURENCE, R. (eds.): Travel and Geography in the Roman Empire. London New York 2001, 96103.

129 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu zhuan). HIRTH (n. 2) 101.

130 On the different meanings of the various glass products: BRILL, R. H.: Some Thoughts on the Origin of the Chinese Word Boli. SRAA 2 (1991/1992) 129136, here 129130.

131 THORLEY (n. 17) 77. 132 The term shuijing is also mentioned in the Hou Han shu. Here the kings residence and the

pillars of the palace are made from crystal. : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba). HIRTH (n. 2) 99.



Fig. 1 Roman stone relief from the Virunum II cemetery

http://www.ubi-erat-lupa.org/site/datenblatt/datenblatt.asp?Nr=1107; cf. PICCOTTINI, G.: Grabstelen, Reiter- und Soldatendarstellungen sowie dekorative Reliefs

des Stadtgebietes von Virunum und Nachtrage zu: CSIR-Osterreich II/14.

However, it is more likely, as F. Hirth pointed out, that the histories used these terms for the ornaments and covers of buildings, not for their exact materials.133 In this case they might be comparable with the various Roman building materials such as the polychrome stuccos and wall mosaics especially used in the eastern part of the Empire.134 (Fig. 2)

VIII. POPULATION

The Hou Han shu,135 the Wei le136 and the Wei shu137 also describe Daqin as a densely populated area, where people live close to each other. Moreover, the locals are tall and virtuous, resemble the Chinese and wear embroidered/hu clothes. They shave their hair/beard and, as the Wei le138 adds, can use magic. Such details of Daqin people

133 HIRTH (n. 2) 239. 134 ADAM, J. P.: Roman Building: Materials and Techniques. London 2005, 224230. 135 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).


Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111. 137 : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di Jiushi Xi yu).


Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111.

284 KRISZTINA HOPPL


Fig. 2 Textile fragments from Szemlhegy. In ADAM (n. 133) 229.

could refer to their appearance or more likely to their intrinsic properties and civilisa-tion. The Chinese may well have claimed that the Daqin people originally came from China because they might have heard this from various foreign peoples who with this formulation may have wanted to emphasise that the Roman Empire was on the same cultural level as the Chinese.

According to D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner139 the passage on Daqin people who shave their hair is a mistake of the Chinese annalists, as this was not common among the Romans. As the two scholars point out, since the reign of Hadrian it had become more usual for the emperors to grow a beard.

However, this contradicts their argument that these passages presumably de-scribe the Daqin people, not the emperor of the state. Moreover, as F. Hirth suggested the records might refer to scraping their chin or simply cutting their hair. Both opin-ions might be the evidence of the Daqin peoples civilisation as emphasised earlier. At the same time it could refer to their appearance: although the emperors portrai-ture generally influenced the taste of common people, not everybody imitated them, especially not in the Hellenistic East.

The Wei le also adds details on the handcraft of the Daqin people when writes that they make bows and arrows.140 Although there is no similar information in the

139 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 48. 140 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 112.



other sources,141 it might be an interesting parallel with the famous Syrian archers during the Roman period.142

There is also an allusion in the histories to the public safety in Daqin. Accord-ing to the Hou Han shu143 and the Wei le144 there are no bandits but fierce tigers and lions who threaten travellers. These passages might fit the eastern regions of the Ro-man Empire. Although especially during the 4th c. various affrays between thieves and travellers were more common in the area of Antioch, the antique sources empha-sise the safety of the main routes.145 Moreover, wild animals such as tigers and lions were common in the mountains around Antioch so much so that the authors write about their role in amphitheatric games and other spectaculars.146 Hence it is possible that these beasts were more dangerous to the travellers than the bandits, just as the Chinese chronicles stated.

There is also an interesting passage in the Hou Han shu147 on the honest and re-liable traders of Daqin. This might be comparable with the Roman Empire, too, where trading was strictly controlled by the cursus publicus, comites commerciorum and praefecti annonae.148

IX. THE ECONOMY OF DAQIN

IX.1. Agriculture and domesticated animals

The Hou Han shu,149 the Wei le150 and the Wei shu151 all give information about the agriculture of Daqin. According to these records the region has many different types of trees, such as pine trees, cypresses, willows, bamboos and so on. Moreover, the in-habitants plant grain, breed horses, mules, camels, donkeys and silkworms.

141 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 71. 142 MYERS, A. E.: The Ituraeans and the Roman Near East. Reassessing the Sources. Cambridge

2010, 38. 143 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).


Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111. 145 J. Chrys. Hom. ad Stag. 2. 6. 146 DOWNEY (n. 106) 23. 147 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).

HIRTH (n. 2) 100. 148 JONES (n. 101) 824828; KOLB (n. 128) 96103. According Young the effect of the long-dis-

tance trade on the Roman foreign policy and the economic motivations are strongly questionable, although the Syrian caravan-trade could have played a more significant role. YOUNG (n. 25) 194197. On the prices of goods of the eastern trade during the 1st c.: YOUNG 199201.


150 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 111.

151 : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di Jiushi Xi yu). HIRTH (n. 2) 103.

286 KRISZTINA HOPPL


These passages might be parallel with the flora of the Roman Oriens. For in-stance the cypress was so common in the territory of Antioch that its exploitation was regulated by law.152

The Roman Near-East, especially the agriculture of province Syria could be compared to the descriptions of the Chinese sources. Pliny the Elder informs us that Syria could provide Egypt with wheat when it suffered from hunger.153

There they grew wheat, rice, millet, hemp and many other kinds of grain.154 Besides the cypress, some other famous trees were the Syrian sumach, acacia and the laurel, but spruce, fir and plane were quite rare.155 However, pines were not curiosity in Asia Minor, especially the timber of Mount Ida.156

In Syria the breeding of horses, donkeys, mules and camels was important. Apamea and Arabia were famous for their horses, Babylonia for its mules, Petra and the region of Gaugamela for their camels.157 Moreover, Libanius158 characterised Antioch as a famous centre of pasture and breeding.

Besides these pieces of information, the passage on silkworm breeding is still a disputed point of research, although the antique auctors mentioned silkworms held by Romans. Pliny the Elder gave a detailed report of silkworm raising on the island of Cos.159 So it could not be excluded that as the Hou Han shu, the Wei le, so the Wei shu write about the so-called Assyrian silk in Plinys text.160 But wild silk and the Chinese Bombyx Mori were presumably not equal, so they could not be confused.161 Although the Romans knew that the silk in Cos was made by silkworms, perhaps it was not evident for them that the special Chinese silk was made by cocoons, too.162

D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner emphasised that the existence of mulberry trees for silkworms is unlikely in the Roman Empire.163 However, according to F. Hirth the Morus Nigra occurred in the Roman Orient and even in Italia.164

In his explanation about the Chinese records on silkworm breeding J. Thorley165 suggested that it was a so-called trick by Parthian merchants. They lied to the Chi-nese that the Romans knew the secret of Bombyx Mori to prevent the overland trade

152 Cod. Iust. 11.78. 153 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xviii 63. 154 HEICHELHEIM, F. M.: Roman Syria. In FRANK, T. (ed.): An Economic Survey of Ancient Rome.

Vol. 4. Baltimore 1938, 121257, here 127130. 155 HEICHELHEIM (n. 154) 135. 156 BROUGHTON, T. R. S.: Roman Asia Minor. In FRANK, T. (ed.): An Economic Survey of Ancient

Rome. Vol. 4. Baltimore 1938, 499916, here 617. 157 HEICHELHEIM (n. 154) 152153. 158 Libanius, Or. xi 26. 159 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xi 7578. 160 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 225; HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) 479480. 161 MAGIE, D.: Roman Rule in Asia Minor. To the End of the Third Century After Christ. Prince-

ton 1950, 818. According to Dalby it was the Bombyx Arabia and the Bombyx Assyria. DALBY, A.: Em-pire of Pleasures. Luxury and Indulgence in the Roman World. New York 2002, 188.

162 HIRTH (n. 2) 255260. 163 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 227. 164 HIRTH (n. 2) 256. 165 THORLEY (n. 17) 7778.



between the two states. However, in his theory he probably overrated the Parthian in-fluence and authority, moreover, he did not count with the possibility of maritime connections.

It is also a problem that the Bombyx Mori is a domesticated animal of the Ro-mans in the Chinese chronicles, although it arrived to the west only in the 6th c. M. G. Raschke suggested that silkworm breeding was not a secret monopoly of the Chinese and many of the Central-Asian states knew it.166

Nevertheless the passages on growing mulberry trees and breeding silkworms in Daqin might not contradict the Roman reality. Since in China the importance of the Bombyx Mori was the same as of the other domesticated animals, it might not be a surprise that they mention it among the significant animals of Daqin. There is no information on growing mulberry trees, unless in connection to silkworms. Based on these it cannot be excluded that the Chinese information on the silkworms in Cos are not first-hand, so they did not know the exact method of Roman sericulture. Because of the partial information on silk production they naturally started to use their own terms for the Daqin silkworms, too. This could also explain that although there is no mention of silkworms in the Roman sources after the 1st c.,167 the Chinese chronicles presumably referring to the 2nd3rd c. still inform on it.

IX.2. Natural resources and other products

All of the five sources give an introduction of the products in Daqin, moreover the Wei le adds an extra product list.168 (Diagram 2)

IX.2.1. Metals, precious stones, gems and other materials

The most detailed list of metals, gems and precious materials in Daqin is offered by the Wei le,169 naming thirty-four items opposed to the fourteen mentioned in the Hou Han shu.170 By reporting seven items, the Jin shu171 only gives an essence of the previous lists, while the Wei shu172 transmits four, the Song shu173 three pieces of these precious materials. (Diagram 3)

166 RASCHKE (n. 19) 622623. 167 MAGIE (n. 161) 52. 168 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 112114. 169 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 112. 170 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).

HIRTH (n. 2) 100. 171 : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liushiqi Si yu

zhuan). HIRTH (n. 2) 101. 172 : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di jiushi Xi yu).

HIRTH (n. 2) 103. 173 : (Song shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di wushiqi yi man).

HIRTH (n. 2) 102.

288 KRISZTINA HOPPL


20

30

40

Diagram 2 Products of Daqin ()

metals

jade+minerals0

2

4

6

8

10

12

HHS WL JS WS SS

metals

pearls

jade+minerals

others

Diagram 3 Metals, pearls, minerals and other precious materials

IX.2.1.1. Metals

The Hou Han shu, the Wei le and the Jin shu all emphasise the importance of gold () in their product list. Moreover, the first two sources also mention silver () and give the exchange rate of gold and silver money.

Describing the mining of precious metals in the Roman empire J. Thorley174 emphasises the importance of the Hispanian and Balkanian gold mines. Nevertheless

174 THORLEY (n. 17) 76.



their mining also played a significant role in the eastern provinces of the Empire, for instance in the Nabatean region also mentioned by Strabo.175 In Asia Minor there was only a more insignificant quantity of gold and silver, but there is information on famous craftsmen in the province.176

According to J. E. Hill177 the 1:10 gold-silver exchange rate in the Hou Han shu and the Wei le is very close to Plinys 1:11 ratio,178 although as D. Rathbone stated, the ratio of 1:12 might have been most significant from Augustus time to Diocletian.179

Copper (), iron (), lead () and tin () only appear in the Wei le prod-uct list. In the Roman Empire there were copper fields in Kurdistan, Lebanon and other parts of the province Syria, and in the southern region of Palestine. Iron was found near Jericho and in the spring of the Jordan, the region of Beirut and princi-pally in the outskirts of Germanicia.180 Cyprian copper and iron from Pontus were prepared in Asia Minor. Moreover, Lydian iron was used for weapons. Tin was also processed in Asia Minor, in the area of Cilicia, on Cyprus, and Rhodus.181

J. E. Hill emphasised that China produced all these metals and had no need to import them.182 However, there is no mention in the sources that Daqin had exported all these products, to China or anywhere else. Moreover, as J. Ferguson183 showed, the possible trade between Rome and China was conducted by middlemen, so the existence of Roman objects in China should not be expected as evident.

The Wei le also mentions southern gold (), however, its identification is quite problematic. According to J. E. Hill southern gold might refer to bronze.

IX.2.1.2. Pearls

There are many different kinds of pearls named in all of the five sources, emphasis-ing their whiteness and brightness. Besides moonlight pearls (), genuine white pearls (), snake () or simply shining () pearls, as well as mother-of-pearl () also appear in the Wei le. Moreover, by simultaneously using dif-ferent names of pearls, the Wei le actually refers to various types of pearls. Yet the exact identifications are problematic and, as E. H. Shafer184 pointed out concerning

175 Strabo xvi, c784 26. 176 BROUGHTON (n. 156) 827829. 177 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html

#12_2 178 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxii 47. 179 RATHBONE, D.: Earnings and Costs: Living Standards and the Roman Economy. In BOWMAN,

A. WILSON, A. (eds.): Quantifying the Roman Economy. Methods and Problems. Oxford 2009, 299326, 302.

180 HEICHELHEIM (n. 154) 157. 181 BROUGHTON (n. 156) 826827, 622623. 182 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html

#12_12 183 FERGUSON (n. 18) 591. 184 SCHAFER: The Pearl (n. 12) 155.

290 KRISZTINA HOPPL


the meaning of mother-of-pearls, it is also possible that in some cases these terms re-ferred to some kinds of minerals.

Related to moonlight pearls Y. Harada stressed that they were bigger than the Chinese ones and also added that they were principally found in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.185 Furthermore, M. Szkely mentions the Alexandrian, Antio-chian and Palmyran jewellery workshops in her paper on the Roman pearl fashion.186

Pliny the Elder also deals with the pearls from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, Arabia and Persia, moreover he emphasises the brightness of the pearls from the Mare Rubrum.187 He stated that mother-of-pearl was most precious after dia-monds188 and writes about white stones too, such as the ceraunia, which fulgorem siderum rapiens, ipsa crystallina splendoris caerulei.189 At the same time Ammia-nus Marcellinus also mentioned Persian and Indian pearls.190

IX.2.1.3. Jades, gems and other minerals

In the Chinese chronicles there are also some allusions to the different jades in vari-ous colours. The Hou Han shu, the Wei shu and the Jin shu both mention the lumi-nous jade (), moreover, the Hou Han shu also adds the bluish green gems (). However, the exact meaning of this term is still not clear. . Chavannes iden-tified it as a kind of blue-green jasper,191 while J. E. Hill suggested the nephrite or peridot.192

The Wei le is much more detailed than the other histories. There are nine dif-ferent gems listed, however, their translation is quite problematic. The identification of cihuang () as orpiment and of xionghuang () as realgar is generally ac-cepted by the translators.193 Furthermore, the chronicles, just as the Hou Han shu, also mention amber ().

A detailed description of the different gems and minerals is offered by Pliny the Elder, who in connection with the eastern provinces emphasised the Syrian amber, cinnabar and alabaster,194 the amethyst of Egypt, Galatia, Petra, and Armenia which has a special type close to the crystals in colour195 and other gems from the Syrian and Assyrian region.196 He also writes about the agate in Cyprus, Phyrgia, Lesbos, Rhodus197 and mentions the greenish topaz from the region of the Mare Rub-

185 HARADA (n. 14) 72. 186 SZKELY, M.: Az igazgyngy Rmban [Pearls in Rome]. kor 2 (2006) 3237, here 35. 187 Plinius, Nat. Hist. ix 106, 113. 188 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 62. 189 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 134. 190 Amm. Marc. xxiii 6. 8586 . 191 CHAVANNES: Les pays dOccident daprs le Heou Han chou (n. 4) 182. 192 HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) 276277. 193 E.g. HIRTH (n. 2) 73; LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 208; HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.

washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#12_12 194 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 37, xxxv 40, xxxvi 61, xxxvii 143. 195 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 121122. 196 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 149, 150, 159161, 186. 197 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 141.



rum.198 Connected to the Persian jasper he remarks its sky-blue colour and also adds that the Phyrgian is purple, while the Cappadocian is azure purple.199

J. Needham suggested that the bright, luminous gems described by the Chinese annals might be the clorophane which contains calcium fluoride.200 J. Thorley noted that the mention of the existence of different jades in Daqin might have been the re-sult of a Parthian trick to hinder Sino-Roman trade relations, as jade was not known to the Romans.201 However, the scholar did not take into consideration that some of the chronicles refer to the period after the Sassanian conquer and that the term yu () could simply mean gem, too.

Both the Hou Han shu and the Wei le mentioned the liuli which in the latter one occurs in ten colours: red, white, black, green, yellow, bluish-green, dark blue, light blue, fiery red and purple. The term is often translated as opaque, not transpar-ent glass, although it might refer to a glass-like gemstone.202 Moreover, D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner point out that besides the term boli () used for transparent glass, depending on the context liuli could also mean a natural gemstone and pro-duced glass.203

Through the interpretation of term liuli the description of Daqin buildings in the Jin shu could also be noteworthy. The walls made from liuli might refer to a glass-like glaze which could be comparable with the various Roman building decoration techniques, such as polychrome stuccos and wall mosaics.204 Naturally it is still pos-sible that in other passages the term liuli referred to glass or a glass-like gemstone.

At the same time the identification of the term shuijing is also problematic. It could also mean crystal or transparent glass. J. E Hill suggested that it might refer to the glass produced in Daqin.205 Roman glass production was significant, especially in the Roman Orient as proved by Pliny the Elder206 and the Roman glass sherds found in the Peoples Republic of China.207

198 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 107108. 199 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 115. 200 NEEDHAM (n. 15) 199. 201 THORLEY (n. 17) 79. 202 NEEDHAM (n. 15) 200; HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/

weilue/notes11_30.html#12_12 203 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 213. 204 ADAM (n. 134) 224230. 205 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html

#12_12 206 Syrian sites: Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvi 190199. 207 E.g. LAING, E. J.: A Report on Western Asian Glassware in the Far East. BAI 5 (1991) 109

121, here 109; (AN JIAYAO): [Early Glass Vessels in China] (Kaogu Xuebao) 4 (1984) 414447, here 415; (GAN FUXI): (Sichou zhi Lu Cujin Zhongguo Gudai Boli Jishu de Fazhan). In (GAN FUXI) (): (Zhongguo Gudai Boli Jishu de Fazhan). (Shanghai) 2005, 246252; GAN, F.: The Silk Road and Ancient Chinese Glasses. In GAN, F. BRILL, R. H. SHOUYUN , T. (eds.): Ancient Glass Research along the Silk Road. Singapore 2009, 41108; HOPPL, K.: Rmaiak Knban? A gan-quani () 2. sr rmai vonatkozs veglelete [Romans in China? The Roman glass finding in grave 2 of Ganquan ()]. FA 54 (2008/2010) 131154.

292 KRISZTINA HOPPL


Furthermore, Pliny the Elder also mentions some glass-like minerals such as the cetionis from Aeolis, which sometimes looked like glass, sometimes like crystal or jasper. He also describes glass-like minerals among the leucochrysos, and informs that they were often replaced by glass.208

IX.2.1.4. Other precious products, not identified materials

Both the Hou Han shu and the Wei le mention the red coral () and the langgan () which, besides the identification as whitish chalcedony suggested by J. E. Hill, possibly meant a sort of coral.209 In the Roman Empire corals from Arabia and the Mare Rubrum were exported and a coral workshop in Magnesia was famous, although coral did not have real value for the Romans.210

The Chinese annals also listed ivory (), large cowries (), tortoise shell () and there are some products which are still difficult to identify. Such is the case of the haiji rhinoceros ()211 in the Hou Han shu the Wei le and the Jin shu, while the Song shu only mentions rhinoceros (). . Cavannes believed the term rhinoceros might refer to a mineral stone with magical features which could affray chicken when mixed with rice.212 According to D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gar-diner this special product rather meant simply the horn of rhinoceros.213 The idea of fighting cocks and rhinoceros seems more likely since, as Pliny also cited, the cocks mainly from Rhodus and Tangara were famous for their violent nature and their com-bats.214

The term white horses with red manes (215 and216) occurs only in the list of the Wei le and the Wei shu. F. Hirth in his translation separated the term into white horses and red hairs, but raised their connection.217

The Wei le also mentions the kingfisher feathers (),218 which is named in the Song shu, too.219 Although it is still not clear whether the term refers to

208 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxii 21, 23, xxxvii 156, 128. 209 See: LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 210; and HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.

edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#12_12 and HILL: Through the Jade Gate (n. 25) 273275. 210 BROUGHTON (n. 156) 829. 211 J. E. Hill related the term haiji () to the term xi () which means rhinoceros, and trans-

lated this as fighting cocks. HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/ notes11_30.html#12_12

212 CHAVANNES: Les pays dOccident daprs le Heou Han chou (n. 4) 181182. 213 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 202. 214 Plinius, Nat. Hist. x. 4750. 215 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 112. 216 : (Wei shu: Juan yibaier [yi] Liezhuan di jiushi Xi yu).

HIRTH (n. 2) 103. 217 HIRTH (n. 2) 73. 218 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi Zhuan di sanshi). More precisely kingfisher gems and feathers. HIRTH (n. 2) 112. 219 With different characters: . See: : (Song shu: Juan

jiushiqi Liezhuan di wushiqi yi man). HIRTH (n. 2) 102.



the kingfisher feathers or a kind of bluish-green gem similar to the colour of the bird, as F. Hirth and J. Needham suggested.220

There are some more special animals mentioned in the Wei le, such as the black bears (),221 or the more problematic shenkui (). In this case the latter might refer to the sea turtles or the tortoise shell. However, J. E. Hill proposed that it might have been used for divination.222 The Periplus also mentions the rhinoceros horn from the African area and the tortoise shell from the region of the Mare Rubrum among its trade products.223

Horses from Syria and Arabia were mentioned above and Pliny the Elder also adds some ideas connected to the bears such as the Spanish belief of using the bears brain as a magical poison or their fat as medicine. He also mentions Numidian bears, although their African origin is still doubtful.224

It is also problematic to identify the exact meaning of the term red chi (). D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner believed that it might be a sort of a reptile,225 while J. E. Hill suggested that it might refer to the leaves of the dracaena cinnabari, the so-called dragon-blood in the Roman world.226 This red resin is mentioned in both Plinys Natural History and the Periplus in connection with India.227 Hence it cannot be excluded that the Chinese annals identified the red chi as this Indian cinnabar which was used as a drug and a pigment, too. Especially since, according to the description provided by Pliny the Elder, there was a significant confusion between the real cinna-bar and the Indian dragons blood. So this might be a possible explanation why the Chinese annalists used the term red chi, meaning a small hornless or baby dragon, for the Indian cinnabar instead of the more common term long () meaning dragon.228

According to D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner the poison-avoiding rats ( ) in the Wei le might refer to weasels, while in E. H. Schafers and J. E. Hills opinion the term could be identified as mongooses. Moreover, E. H. Schafer also mentions the Persian mongooses sent to the Chinese Empire.229 There is an interesting allusion to weasels mentioned by Pliny, which were fed on rue when fighting with serpents for the mice.230 It is also Pliny who says that the Gallic weasel could be use-ful as an antidote for the sting of asp and another kind is an enemy of the serpents.

220 F. Hirth and J. Needham suggested the latter. HIRTH (n. 2) 73; NEEDHAM (n. 15) 203. 221 The term could also be translated as mysterious bears. 222 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html

#12_12 223 Periplus 34, 6. More details to the Periplus, see CASSON, L.: The Periplus of the Erythraean

Sea. Princeton 1989. 224 Plinius, Nat. Hist. viii. 130131. 225 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 203. 226 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html

#12_12 227 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxiii 116; Periplus 30. 228 SCHAFER: The Golden Peaches (n. 13) 133. 229 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 203; SCHAFER: The Golden Peaches (n. 13) 91, 136; HILL: The

Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#12_12 230 Plinius, Nat. Hist. viii 98.

294 KRISZTINA HOPPL


Furthermore, the flesh and maw of the latter could be used against the poison of ser-pents.231

Although some of the Daqin products in our Chinese sources are still problem-atic to identify it is worthwhile to emphasise the passages by Pliny connected to the most precious materials in the Roman world, which are close to the lists of the Chi-nese histories.232

IX.2.2 nem kell?

IX.3. Textiles

It is also the Wei le233 which gives the most detailed list of the various textiles and clothes of Daqin mentioning twenty-one products. The Hou Han shu234 names only six kinds of material, five of them also occur in the Wei le. Furthermore, both sources mention raw materials of animal origin used for threads, however, the Wei le is again more detailed.(Diagram 2)

The Hou Han shu describes fine threads made from the hair of water-sheep ( ), which according to the source is in fact from the cocoons of wild silkworms (). Extending this information on the hair of water-sheep the fine brocade made from this is called Haixi cloth () , the Wei le also mentions the co-coons of wild silkworms and the bark of trees (). The similar feature of the two passages is the description of the water-sheep cloth as a fine, veil-like textile (). The exact identification of the hair of water-sheep is still problematic. According to F. Hirth the term might refer to the byssus made from the pinna squamosa of the Mediterranean and Italian region.235

In 1912 Lajos Nagy during the excavation of the Szemlhegy mummy grave found a byssus-like material. Using microscopic analysis he realised that the fine tex-tile was different from the silk because its thread is pointed and it has dual refraction in polar light. L. Nagy suggested that the fine linen found at Szemlhegy might be the silk-like product of the pinna nobilis.236 (Fig. 3) However, J. E. Hill concluded during his research that there is no material that could be doubtlessly identified as byssus and Lajos Nagy mistakenly used the term for the textile of Szemlhegy.237 Further-more, . Chavannes emphasised238 the manufacture of bysuss was kept in secret and it is rather unlikely that the Chinese had any knowledge of it. He also suggested that

231 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxix.19. 232 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 204. 233 : (San guo zhi: Wei shu sanshi Wu wan Xianbei

Dong yi zhuan di sanshi). HIRTH (n. 2) 113. 234 : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu zhuan di qishiba).

HIRTH (n. 2) 100. 235 HIRTH (n. 2) 262263. Some scholars accept this identification, e.g. THORLEY (n. 17) 77;

FERGUSON (n. 18) 590. J. Needham writes about byssus-manufacturing. NEEDHAM (n. 15) 200201. 236 NAGY L.: Az aquincumi mmiatemetkezsek [The Mummy Burials of Aquincum]. Budapest

1935, 1820. 237 HILL: The Peoples (n. 24) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/appendices.html#d 238 CHAVANNES: Les pays dOccident daprs le Heou Han chou (n. 4) 183.



Fig. 3 Wall mosaic from Ostia. In NAGY (n. 235) 11.

the legendary agnus scythicus might come from the mysteriousness of bysuss-pro-duction. Besides this he could not exclude that the Chinese had heard about the leg-end of the agnus scythicus. M. G. Raschke rejects the byssus-identification and treats the wool of the water-sheep () as a legend.239

The wild silk produced by the cocoons of wild silkworms (), according to the passage in Plinys Natural History mentioned above, might refer to the silk-worms bred in Cos, while the bark of the trees, based on the opinion of D. D. Leslie and K. H. J. Gardiner, might be a tree grown in the Southern Asian region. More-over, the scholars pointed to the description of the silk from the tree by Strabo.240 The annalist writes about a kind of fine cloth dyed with the leaves of the trees241 which, if it existed, might have been a rare and precious material.242

The Hou Han shu, the Wei le, the Jin shu, and the Song shu all mention the so-called fire-washed cloth (/243). Researchers agree244 that it might re-fer to the fireproof textile called asbestos in the Natural History.245 However, even Pliny is vague whether the asbestos could be identified as a kind of textile or a mineral.

239 RASCHKE (n. 19) 854. 240 LESLIEGARDINER (n. 22) 71. 241 Strabo III c175 10. 242 BROUGHTON (n. 156) 823. 243 The latter only occurs in the Song shu. See: : HIRTH (n. 2)

102. 244 HIRTH (n. 2) 249251; CHAVANNES: Les pays dOccident daprs le Heou Han chou (n. 4)

183; SHIRATORI: A New Attempt (n. 11) 208209. 245 Plinius, Nat. Hist. xxxvii 124.

296 KRISZTINA HOPPL


Fig. 4 Tapestry decorated with metal thread. In SIPOS (n. 249) 47.

Besides these T. R. S. Broughton writes about the asbestos-producing manufactories in Cyprus.246 According to J. Thorley the special cloth was made in the manufacto-ries of Levant, and the Chinese cited it because of its rarity, not its practical usage.247

The gold threaded carpets and embroideries (/248/ 249) were mentioned by the Hou Han shu, the Wei le and the Jin shu, while in the Hou Han shu and the Wei le there is also information on the gold painted tapestry (/). The latter also mentions the gold woven jiangde canopies (). These textiles in the Chinese sources might be comparable with the Attalicae vestes and the Attalica aulaea woven with gold which were famous among the Romans. Pliny the Elder also writes of their special value.250 (Fig. 4)

The varicoloured damask () occurs in the list of the Hou Han shu and the Wei le. Furthermore, in the latter sources there are some unique materials not

246 BROUGHTON (n. 156) 823. 247 THORLEY (n. 17) 77. 248 In the Hou Han shu. : (Hou Han shu: Juan bashiba Xi yu

zhuan di qishiba). HIRTH (n. 2) 100. 249 In the Jin shu. : (Jin shu: Juan jiushiqi Liezhuan di liu-

shiqi Si yu zhuan). HIRTH (n. 2) 101. 250 Plinius, Nat. Hist. vii 196, viii 196; HIRTH (n. 2) 253254; DALBY (n. 161) 163. The gold woven

textiles also occur in Pannonia and its neighbourhood. There are fragments from Brigetio, Viminacium and Hetnypuszta. Details in JAK M.: A 2. sz. szarkofgban tallt fmfonal-tredkek termszettudom-nyos vizsglata [The natural scientific analysis of the fragments of metal thread found in sarcophagus 2]. In BORHY, L. SZMAD, E. (eds.): Brigetio kincsei. Budapest 1999, 2930; GEIJER, A. THOMAS, E. B.: The Viminacium Gold Tapestry. A Unique Textile Fragment from Hungary. In: Meddelanden fran Lunds Universitets Historiska Museum 19641965. Lund 1966, 223236; SIPOS, E.: Fmfonallal dsztett textil-tredkek Hetnypusztrl [A textile fragment decorated with metal thread from Hetnypuszta]. kor II. 4 (2003) 4750.



mentioned by other annals, such as the ten-coloured yellow, white, black, green, violet, red, purple-red, purple, golden-yellow and misty-yellow wool rug ( ), the multicoloured wool serge ( ), the multicoloured carpet (), the feichi cloth (), the falu cloth ( ), the feichiju cloth (), the aluode cloth (), the baze cloth (), the dudai cloth (), the wensu cloth (), the multicoloured tao cloth () and the varicoloured dou baldachin ().251 Moreover, the Wei le also emphasises the good quality of these textile products.

Although the identification of these Daqin textiles is problematic, the variety of the production could be compared to the cloth-industry in the Roman Oriens. The fine linens of Borsippa and Naarda in Babylonia, the long lasting cloth of Dura Europos, the textile manufactories in Laodicea, Byblos, Berytos, Tyros, the woven carpets and cloths of Nawrash and Tiberias, the chiffons and damasks of Uscha, Beth Mechuza and Scytopolis were famous all around the Roman world. There are data of the purple-dyed silk also from the Near-East.252 Furthermore, Egypt and Colchis were also important for their fine linens, Cilicia was a significant centre of textile production and there is also information of hemp trade in Ephesus.253 Pliny the Elder also mentions the Seres probably the Chinese silk, which was imported by the Romans, and was re-dyed because of its roughness.254

IX.4. Perfumes and herbs

The various perfumes, herbs and spices make up the third category of the Daqin prod-ucts.255 (Diagram 2) The slightly detailed group is at the end of the roughly thema-tised product-list. Only the Hou Han shu and the Wei le contain information, al-though the former names one, the latter eleven of th

Documents

Roman Empire in Chinese Sources