Daqin
Daqin ( Chinese 大秦 , Pinyin Dàqín , W.-G. Ta-ch'in , also Ta-ts'in) is the ancient Chinese name for the Roman Empire and the Middle East . It literally means "Great Qin ", Qin being the name of the founding dynasty of the Chinese Empire.
Since the opening of the Silk Road in the 2nd century AD, the Chinese have considered the Roman Empire to be a civilized counterpart to the Chinese Empire. The Romans formed one end of the trade route and the Chinese the other, hence the "mirror image" name.
Apparently, China never managed to reach Rome directly in ancient times, although General Ban Chao led an expedition of 70,000 soldiers to the Caspian Sea in AD 97 . Ban Chaos envoy, Gan Ying , approached Rome even further, as far as the Black Sea coast . Gan Ying left a detailed account of the Roman Empire, but it probably generally relied on second-hand information.
The name Daqin for Rome was used on Chinese maps such as the Sihai-Huayi-Zongtu map well into the 16th century.
literature
- Leslie, DD, Gardiner, KHJ: "The Roman Empire in Chinese Sources", Studi Orientali , Vol. 15. Rome: Department of Oriental Studies, University of Rome, 1996
- Pulleyblank, Edwin G .: "The Roman Empire as Known to Han China", Journal of the American Oriental Society , Vol. 119, No. 1 (1999), pp. 71-79