Sheep Growing out of the Ground and Other Wonders: The Roman Empire in Pre-6th Century Non-Dynastic Chinese Sources

Hoppál, Krisztina and Pap, Melinda and Boros, Gábor Péter (2025) Sheep Growing out of the Ground and Other Wonders: The Roman Empire in Pre-6th Century Non-Dynastic Chinese Sources. ACTA ORIENTALIA ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE, 78 (1). pp. 1-44. ISSN 0001-6446

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Abstract

The Chinese perception of Daqin – widely accepted to denote the Roman Empire in pre-6th century texts – has been at the center of scholarly attention for a substantial time now. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of previous analyses focused on standard dynastic histories. Besides these texts compiled at the imperial court, however, numerous other sources, including geographical treatises, religious texts, and encyclopedias also mention Daqin, and provide differing accounts of the distant land. Therefore, the present paper provides a comprehensive analysis of these non-dynastic accounts of Daqin including a completely new translation of the Chinese texts and an in-depth comparison of dynastic and non-dynastic accounts providing valuable additions to the previously known picture of Daqin.

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