01-21-2013, 10:11 PM
A Research Paper that analyses the Chinese sources with references to Rome and Byzantium. (From Academia.edu)
http://www.academia.edu/1945062/The_Roma...se_Sources
The Roman Empire according to the Ancient Chinese Sources
BY HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD – JANUARY 18, 2013
POSTED IN: ARTICLES
The Roman Empire according to the Ancient Chinese Sources
By Krisztina Hoppál
Acta Antiqua Hungarica, Vol. 51 (2011)
Abstract: Through a careful examination of the accounts of Daqin ( 大秦 ) – presumably the Roman Empire – and Fulin ( 拂菻 ) – 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 interpretation of the name of that mysterious country but also add details about its geography, administration, economy – including agriculture, domesticated animals and products –, trade and the envoys sent by Daqin ( 大秦 ) 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.
Introduction: In the present paper I would like to give a brief introduction of five classical Chinese sources, namely the Hou Han shu ( 後漢書 ), the Wei lüe ( 魏略 ), the Jin shu ( 晉書 ),the Wei shu ( 魏書 ), and the Song shu ( 宋書 ), that provide us more or less information about the Roman Empire. As compared to the description of Daqin ( 大秦 ), probably the Roman Empire in the Chinese records, with the Roman authors’ 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 emphasize 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 present 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 and our recent knowledge of the Roman Empire. The information supported by western auctors and archaeological data from Roman sites could reflect on the authenticity 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.
This appears to be a more measured and scholarly approach rather than the sensationalism that usually characterizes articles on this topic. However, short of a time machine, I doubt this topic will ever be settled to everyone's satisfaction.
:wink:
Narukami
http://www.academia.edu/1945062/The_Roma...se_Sources
The Roman Empire according to the Ancient Chinese Sources
BY HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD – JANUARY 18, 2013
POSTED IN: ARTICLES
The Roman Empire according to the Ancient Chinese Sources
By Krisztina Hoppál
Acta Antiqua Hungarica, Vol. 51 (2011)
Abstract: Through a careful examination of the accounts of Daqin ( 大秦 ) – presumably the Roman Empire – and Fulin ( 拂菻 ) – 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 interpretation of the name of that mysterious country but also add details about its geography, administration, economy – including agriculture, domesticated animals and products –, trade and the envoys sent by Daqin ( 大秦 ) 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.
Introduction: In the present paper I would like to give a brief introduction of five classical Chinese sources, namely the Hou Han shu ( 後漢書 ), the Wei lüe ( 魏略 ), the Jin shu ( 晉書 ),the Wei shu ( 魏書 ), and the Song shu ( 宋書 ), that provide us more or less information about the Roman Empire. As compared to the description of Daqin ( 大秦 ), probably the Roman Empire in the Chinese records, with the Roman authors’ 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 emphasize 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 present 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 and our recent knowledge of the Roman Empire. The information supported by western auctors and archaeological data from Roman sites could reflect on the authenticity 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.
This appears to be a more measured and scholarly approach rather than the sensationalism that usually characterizes articles on this topic. However, short of a time machine, I doubt this topic will ever be settled to everyone's satisfaction.
:wink:
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Burbank CA
