Sheep Emerging from the Ground and Various other Miracles. The Roman Empire in Chinese Sources – Texts beyond the Official Histories before the 6th Century C.E.

Abstract

The relationship between the two great empires traditionally regarded as the endpoints of the ancient Silk Roads—namely China and Rome—has attracted scholarly attention since the 19th century. One of the central pillars of this discourse is the Chinese term Daqin 大秦 (“Great Qin”), which is often simplistically equated with the Roman Empire. Much of the scholarship relies almost exclusively on a limited group of Chinese sources, namely the official dynastic histories, thereby overlooking the complexity of the term and the broader context in which it was used.
However, in addition to these frequently cited official historical chronicles, various geographical descriptions, Daoist treatises, encyclopaedias, Buddhist sūtras, and other documents dating from before the 6th century also contain passages on Daqin. The analysis of these sources and the study of their perceptions of Daqin remain underrepresented in current research. This study therefore offers the first annotated Hungarian translation and in-depth analysis of texts outside official historical chronicles, with particular emphasis on those written before the 6th century.
The aim is to shed light on the complexity of the concept of Daqin and to explore how segments of Chinese society beyond the immediate imperial elite—though still within the uppermost social strata—may have imagined the westernmost parts of the known world through a mixture of factual and fictional elements. The main findings show that non-dynastic sources often present narratives similar to those found in dynastic histories, highlighting the authority of dynastic works as a model of knowledge and thus followed by other genres. At the same time, these texts reflect a Sino-centric worldview in which the people of Daqin, despite being described as magnificent both in appearance and conduct, were nevertheless classified as hu 胡, a term used for the ‘barbarian’ tribes living around China’s borders.
However, regarding this aspect, different interpretations also emerge. For example, the Daoist text Taijing jinye shendanjing 太清金液神丹經 describes a Chinese merchant’s journey to Daqin, portraying its wealth as superior to the ones of the Middle Kingdom and that Daqin’s king even ridiculed the products presented to him by the Chinese merchant. Additionally, numerous other novelties can be found in the non-dynastic texts. First, the lists of Daqin’s products found in these texts are more detailed and varied than the ones in official histories. Second, the descriptions of products associated with Daqin, often resemble those later attributed to Persia, supporting the view that in the first centuries C.E. Daqin functioned as the origin of all mythical goods, a role which was taken over by Persia from the 6th to 8th centuries onwards. Third, what these lists demonstrate is that the products attributed to Daqin fit into a complex Chinese cultural setting, since some of them, such as corals and pearls, were traditional symbols of wealth, and others were part of the Buddhist seven treasures (qi bao 七寶) that carried religious meanings beyond their material value. Finally, the ambiguity surrounding the geographical location of Daqin in these sources suggests that it is best understood not as a clearly defined place, but as a conceptual space characterised by Hellenistic cultural traits and a range of wondrous features; however, it lacks a clear geographical position or the exact way to reach it. This supports the evidence displayed by the Roman-related archaeological finds unearthed in China that the two empires were connected by a complex web of intermediary actors and that their relations fluctuated in terms of frequency and intensity during various periods.