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Yes, marsvigilia, we know that. I'm looking for the specific name that would distinguish Chinese barbarians from other barbarians.
What did the Romans call China?
Ross Martinek
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Quote:Yes, marsvigilia, we know that. I'm looking for the specific name that would distinguish Chinese barbarians from other barbarians.
Doormats in waiting?
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Tony Dah m
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Quote:Triarius:d77xgp51 Wrote:Yes, marsvigilia, we know that. I'm looking for the specific name that would distinguish Chinese barbarians from other barbarians.
What did the Romans call China?
The Greeks and Romans called the Chinese "Seres" and China "Serica".
~Theo
Both many times "Seres" actually seemed to refer more to the Indians, for example in the context of the use of elephants and also the import of silk, which often came from India rather than China. In some cases, one cannot attribute Seres to any known tribe or peoples. It is just the case that the Romans were making observations on the very edge of their known world, and at the outer limit of experience judgments are always fuzzy, so are Roman references to the Seres.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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That's the problem with asking a question of academically oriented folks… There is always the risk that there will be more answers than you need…and none of them quite fit :roll:
:lol: Been there, done it myself, got the T-shirt.
So here it is more specifically:
If a Roman of the early Principate (reigns of Augustus through Claudius) wanted to refer to China, specifically, what name would he/she use?
Ross Martinek
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The Romans called Eastern Asia, Serica. And the Chinese called the Roman Empire, Daqin.
Nicholas De Oppresso Liber
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Quote:If a Roman of the early Principate (reigns of Augustus through Claudius) wanted to refer to China, specifically, what name would he/she use?
I suspect that China and the Chinese simply did not play a significant enough of a differentiated role. Suppose someone where to ask the current American English term for a resident of the northern suburbs of Beijing.
OR maybe no one thought to write it down on one of the surviving documents.
OR once again I may be completely wrong. It seams to be happenning with greater frequency. Just ask my kids.
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Tony Dah m
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Looks interesting. But beware, the download is monstrous!
hock:
Les Romains et la Chine, réalités et mythes
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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Stefan, that would be nice—but I don't read French.
Ross Martinek
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Quote:Stefan, that would be nice—but I don't read French.
Wouldn't life be so much easier if we all just spoke Latin?
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Tony Dah m
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