大秦 / Da Qin

Overview

大秦 / Da Qin enters the wiki as the Han-era name this source uses for the far-western polity identified with the Roman Empire. The page is about the Chinese exonym and knowledge frame, not a duplicate history of Rome.

Current Profile

Hanji 771 presents Da Qin as the destination of Gan Ying’s mission under Ban Chao. Gan Ying does not reach Da Qin directly; he reaches the western boundary of Parthia / Anxi and turns back after hearing that the onward sea route is long and dangerous.

The episode also explains the name through the Hou Hanshu description that the people were tall, regular, and “like China,” which lets Han writers map a distant western polity through a familiar prestige term. That makes Da Qin a useful page for the wiki because it captures a knowledge category: Rome as imagined, named, and mediated from the Eastern Han side.

Key Characteristics

• Han-era exonym used in this source for the Roman Empire.
• Named as Gan Ying’s far-western mission target but not reached directly.
• Explained through resemblance language in the cited Hou Hanshu passage rather than through direct diplomatic familiarity.
• Known in this episode through Parthian route mediation and Gan Ying’s report.
• Distinct from Qin State despite sharing the “Qin” character.

Evidence

• Identification: Hanji 771 identifies Da Qin with the Roman Empire.
• Mission target: Hanji 771 says Ban Chao sends Gan Ying toward Da Qin.
• Mediated knowledge: Hanji 771 says Gan Ying turns back after Parthian officials describe the dangerous sea route, so the Han report remains indirect.
• Name explanation: Hanji 771 cites the Hou Hanshu phrase “有类中国” to explain why the name Da Qin was used.
• Later contact notice: Hanji 771 notes a later Roman/Da Qin envoy reaching Luoyang under the emperor identified by the host as Marcus Aurelius.

Qualifications

This page records Da Qin as a Han knowledge category in Hanji 771. It does not settle the larger historical debate over every place or polity covered by the term, and it does not merge Da Qin into the full Roman Empire page. The later envoy and Marcus Aurelius notice remains source-scoped here.

What Changed

• Created the page from Hanji 771 as the Han exonym and far-western target behind Gan Ying’s mission.

Relationships

• Roman Empire - polity identified with Da Qin in this source.
• 甘英 - envoy sent toward Da Qin but stopped short.
• 班超 - commander who sponsors the mission toward Da Qin.
• 安息 / 帕提亚帝国 - intermediary between Gan Ying and the Da Qin route.
• 中介路线门控 - concept explaining why Da Qin remains mediated knowledge in the episode.
• 秦国 - unrelated Chinese polity that the page distinguishes from this far-western exonym.