Did Ancient Rome and China interact

[guy]

Although it is unlikely that ancient Romans and Chinese actually met, there is good evidence that there was at least some transfer of goods. (See threads below.)

Here is an wonderful video describing the possible interactions between the two ancient cultures. This video was consulted by Dr Raoul McLaughlin who has done excellent work on potential ancient Roman trade with both China and India. The Roman focus begins at 36:00:

 

 

 

 

[caldrail]

Well, we know that China received one embassy from Rome - quite an achievement back then - and they record one Roman ship arriving on their coasts. There's evidence that a few Chinese traders made it to the eastern fringes of the Roman Empire, but an interesting tale is about an official tasked with seeking military assistance from the Romans. He arrived at the Persian Gulf and asked if he could reach Rome by sea. Yes, the sailors told him, but you had to go around Africa and that would take at least three months with favourable winds and more than a years rations would be advisable. The official went away considering the Roman Empire too far away, but notice the important thing - the Persian Gulf sailors knew about navigating around Africa.

Then  of course is the somewhat apocryphal tale of how the Parthians tried to keep Trajan and Pan Ch'ao from finding out they were both in the same region two days march apart with powerful armies. Needless to say, the Parthians were alarmed that both these mighty empires might decide to cooperate.

Edited June 12, 2022 by caldrail