Originally Posted by Ironduke

From the Wei-lio (written before 429 C.E.), for 220-264 C.E.:

Formerly T'iao-chih [Babylonia] was wrongly believed to be in the west of Ta-ts'in [Roman Syria]; now its real position is known to be east. Formerly it was also wrongly believed to be stronger than Ar-hsi [Arsacids, or Parthia]; now it is changed into a vassal state said to make the western frontier of Ar-hsi. Formerly it was, further, wrongly believed that the Jo-shui [Dead Sea] was in the west of T'iao-chih; now the Jo-shui is believed to be in the west of Ta-ts'in. Formerly it was wrongly believed that, going over two hundred days west of T'iao-chih, one came near the place where the sun sets; now, one comes near the place where the sun sets by going west of Ta-ts'in. The country of Ta-ts'in, also called Li-kan [Syria], is on the west of the great sea [Indian Ocean] west of Ar-hsi and T'iao-chih. From the city of Ar-ku [Uruku, modern Warka] , on the boundary of Ar-hsi one takes passage in a ship and, traversing the west of the sea, with favorable winds arrives [at Aelana, modern Elat, on the Gulf of Aqaba] in two months; with slow winds, the passage may last a year, and with no wind at all, perhaps three years. This country is on the west of the sea whence it is commonly called Hai-hsi [Egypt]. There is a river [the Nile] coming out from the west of this country, and there is another great sea [the Mediterranean]. In the west of the sea there is the city of Ali-san [Alexandria]. Before one arrives in the country one goes straight north from the city of U-tan [Aden]. In the south-west one further travels by a river which on board ship one crosses in one day [again the Nile]; and again south-west one travels by a river which is crossed in one day [still the Nile]. There are three great divisions of the country [Delta, Heptanomis, Thebaid]. From the city of Ar-ku one goes by land due north to the north of the sea; and again one goes due west to the west of the sea; and again you go due south to arrive there. At the city of Ali-san, you travel by river on board ship one day, then make a round at sea, and after six days' passage on the great sea [the Mediterranean], arrive in this country. There are in the country in all over four hundred smaller cities; its size is several thousand li in all directions of the compass. The residence of their king lies on the banks of a river estuary [Antioch-on-the-Orontes]. They use stone in making city walls. In this country there are the trees sung [pine], po[cypress], huai [sophora?], tzu [a kind of euphorbia?]; bamboos, rushes, poplars, willows, the wu-t'ung tree, and all kinds of other plants. The people are given to planting on the fields all kinds of grain. Their domestic animals are: the horse, the donkey, the mule, the camel, and the mulberry silk-worm. There are many jugglers who can issue fire from their mouths, bind and release themselves, and dance on twenty balls. In this country they have no permanent rulers, but when an extraordinary calamity visits the country, they elect as king a worthier man, while discharging the old king, who does not even dare to feel angry at this decision. The people are tall, and upright in their dealings, like the Han [Chinese], but wear foreign dress; they call their country another "Middle Kingdom" [probably from "Mediterranean" or "Middle of the Land"].

They always wished to send embassies to Zhongguo [China], but the Ar-hsi [Parthians] wanted to make profit out of their trade with us, and would not allow them to pass their country. They can read foreign books. They regulate by law public and private matters. The palace buildings are held sacred. They hoist flags, beat drums, use small carriages with white canopies, and have postal stations like the Han. Coming from Ar-hsi you make a round at sea and, in the north, come to this country. The people live close together. They have no robbers and thieves; but there are fierce tigers and lions that will attack travellers, and unless these go in caravans, they cannot pass the country. They have several times ten small kings. The residence of their king is over a hundred li in circuit. They have official archives. The king has five palaces, ten li apart from each other. The king hears the cases of one palace in the morning till being tired at night; the next morning he goes to another palace; in five days he has completed his round. Thirty-six generals always consult upon public matters; if one general does not go to the meeting, they do not consult. When the king goes out he usually gets one of his suite to follow him with a leather bag, into which petitioners throw a statement of their cases; on arrival at the palace, the king examines into the merits of each case. They use crystal in making the pillars of palaces as well as implements of all kinds. They make bows and arrows.

The following dependent small states are enumerated separately, viz., the kings of Ala-san [Alexandria-Euphrates, or Charax Spasinu], Lu-fen [Nikephorium], Ch'ieh-lan [Palmyra], Hsien-tu [Damascus], Si-fu [Emesa], and Ho-lat [Hira]; and of other small kingdoms there are very many; it is impossible to enumerate them one by one. The country produces fine ch'ih [hemp or hemp cloth]. They make gold and silver money; one coin of gold is worth ten of silver. They weave fine cloth, and say they use the down of water-sheep in making it; it is called Hai-hsi-pu [cloth from the west of the sea]. In this country all the domestic-animals come out of the water. Some say that they do not only use sheep's wool, but also the bark of trees [vegetable fiber?] and the silk of wild silk-worms in weaving cloth, and the Ch'u-shu, the T'a-teng, and Chi-chang class of goods [serge or plush rugs?] of their looms are all good; their colors are of brighter appearance than are the colors of those manufactured in the countries on the east of the sea. Further, they were always anxious to get Han silk for severing it in order to make hu-ling [damask, gauze?], for which reason they frequently trade by sea with the countries of Ar-hsi. The sea-water being bitter and unfit for drinking is the cause that but few travellers come to this country. The hills in this country produce inferior jade-stones of nine colors, viz., blue, carnation, yellow, white, black, green, crimson, red, and purple. The Chiu-se-shih[nine-colored stones] which are now found in the I-wu-shan belong to this category. During the third year of Yang-chia [134 C.E.] the king and minister of Su-le [Kashgar?] presented to the court each a golden girdle beset with blue stones [lapis lazuli] from Hai-hsi, and the Chin-hsi-yu-chiu-t'u says: the rare stones coming from the countries of Chi-pin [Afghanistan?] and T'iao-chih [Babylonia] are inferior jadestones.

The following products are frequently found in Ta-ts'in: Gold. Silver. Copper. Iron. Lead.

Tin. Tortoises. White horses. Red hair. Hsieh-chi-hsi. Tortoise shell. Black bears. Ch'ih-ch'ih.P'i-tu-shu. Large conches. Ch'e-ch'u. Carnelian stones. Southern gold. King-fishers' gems. Ivory.

Fu-ts'ai-yu. Ming-yueh-chu. Yeh-kuang-chu. Real white pearls. Amber. Corals. Ten colors of opaque glass, viz., carnation, white, black, green, yellow, blue, purple, azure, red, and red-brown. Ch'iu-lin

Lang-kan. Rock crystal. Mei-kuei [garnets?]. Realgar and orpiment. Five colors of Pi. Ten kinds of Jade, viz., yellow, white, black, green, a brownish red, crimson, purple, gold, yellow, azure, and a reddish yellow. Five colors of Ch'u-shu [rugs?]. Five colors T'ao-pu. Five colors of T'a- teng[rugs?]. Chiang-ti. Nine colors of Shou-hsia t'a-teng. Curtains interwoven with gold. Gold embroideries. Five colors of Tou-cHan [Chinese]g. Damasks of various colors. Chin-t'u-pu [Gold colored cloth?]. Fei-ch'ih-pu. Fa-lu-pu. Fei-ch'ih-ch 'u-pu. Asbestos cloth. O-lo-te-pu. Pa-tse-pu. To-tai-pu. Wen-se-pu. I-wei-mu-erh. Storax. Ti-ti-mi-mi-tou-na. Pai-fu-tzu. Hsun-lu. Yu-chin.Yun-chiao-hsun, in all 12 kinds of vegetable fragrant substances.

After the road from Ta-ts'in had been performed from the north of the sea by land, another road was tried which followed the sea to the south and connected with the north of the outer barbarians at the seven principalities of Chiao-chih [Cochin China (South Vietnam)]; and there was also a water-road leading through to Yi-chou and Yung-ch'ang [in the present Yunnan]. It is for this reason that curiosities come from Yung-ch'ang. Formerly only the water-road was spoken of; they did not know there was an overland route. Now the accounts of the country are as follows. The number of inhabitants cannot be stated. This country is the largest in the west of the Ts'ung-ling. The number of small rulers established under its supremacy is very large. We, therefore, record only the larger ones. The king of Ala-san [Charax Spasinu] is subject to Ta-ts'in. His residence lies right in the middle of the sea. North you go to Lu-fen [Nikephorium] by water half a year, with quick winds a month; it is nearest to the city of Ar-ku [Uruk, modern Warka] in Ar-hsi [Parthia]. South-west you go to the capital of Ta-ts'in [Antioch-on-the-Orontes]; we do not know the number of li. The king of Lu-fen [Nikephorium] is subject to Ta-ts'in. His residence is 2,000 li distant from the capital of Ta-ts'in. The flying bridge across the river [the bridge over the Euphrates at Zeugma] in Ta-ts'in west of the city of Lu-fen is 230 li in length. The road, if you cross the river, goes to the south-west; if you make a round on the river, you go due west. The king of Ch'ieh-lan [Palmyra] is subject to Ta-ts'in. Coming from the country of Si-t'ao [Sittake] you go due south, cross a river, and then go due west to Ch'ieh-lan 3,000 li; when the road comes out in the south of the river, you go west. Coming from Ch'ieh-lan you go again straight to the country of Si-fu [Emesa] on the western river 600 li; where the southern road joins the Si-fu road there is the country of Hsien-tu [Damascus] in the south-west. Going due south from Ch'ieh-lan and Si-fu there is the "Stony Land" [Arabia Petraea]; in the soil of the Stony Land there is the great sea [Red Sea] which produces corals and real pearls. In the north of Ch'ieh-lan, Si-fu, Si-pan [Ktesiphon] and Uk-man [Ecbatana] there is a range of hills extending from east to west [the Taurus Mountains]; in the east of Ta-ts'in as well as of Hai-tung [the country on the eastern arm of the Great Sea, i.e., on the Persian Gulf] there are ranges of hills extending from north to south [the Zagros Mountains].

The king of Hsien-tu is subject to Ta-ts'in. From his residence you go 600 li north-east to Si-fu. The king of Si-fu is subject to Ta-ts'in. From his residence you go to Ho-lat [Hira] north-east 340 li, across the river. Ho-lat is subject to Ta-ts'in. Its residence is in the north-east of Si-fu across the river. From Ho-lat north-east you again cross a river to Si-lo [Seleukia]; and north-east of this you again cross a river. The country of Si-lo is subject to Ar-hsi [Parthia] and is on the boundary of Ta-ts'in. In the west of Ta-ts'in there is the water of the sea [the Mediterranean]; west of this is the water of a river [the Orontes]; west of the river there is a large range of hills extending from north to south [the Lebanon]; west of this there is the Ch'ih-shui [Jordan River?]; west of the Ch'ih-shui there is the White Jade Hill; on the White Jade Hill there is the Hsi-wang-mu; west of the Hsi-wang-mu there is the rectified Liu-sha [the "Flying Sands"]; west of the Liu-sha there are the four countries of Ta-hsia, Chien-sha, Shu-yu and Yueh-chih. West of these there is the Hei-shui [Black or Dark River] which is reported to be the western terminus of the world.