Relations Sino-Persian relations

1 relations

1.1 parthian era
1.2 sasanian era
1.3 islamic era
1.4 people s republic of china , islamic republic of iran

relations
parthian era

the 138–126 bce travels of zhang qian west, mogao caves, 618–712 ce mural.

the chinese explorer zhang qian, visited neighbouring countries of bactria , sogdiana in 126 bce, made first known chinese report on parthia. in accounts parthia named Ānxī (chinese: 安息), transliteration of arsacid , name of parthian dynasty. zhang qian identifies parthia advanced urban civilization, equates of dayuan (in ferghana) , daxia (in bactria).

anxi situated several thousand li west of region of great yuezhi (in transoxonia). people settled on land, cultivating fields , growing rice , wheat. make wine out of grapes. have walled cities people of dayuan (ferghana), region contains several hundred cities of various sizes. coins of country made of silver , bear face of king. when king dies, currency changed , new coins issued face of successor. people keep records writing on horizontal strips of leather. west lies tiaozi (mesopotamia) , north yancai , lixuan (hyrcania). (shiji, 123, zhang qian quote, trans. burton watson).

following zhang qian s embassy , report, commercial relations between china, central asia, , parthia flourished, many chinese missions sent throughout 1st century bce: largest of these embassies foreign states numbered several hundred persons, while smaller parties included on 100 members… in course of 1 year anywhere 5 6 on ten parties sent out. (shiji, trans. burton watson).

the parthians apparently intent on maintaining relations china , sent own embassies, starting around 110 bc: when han envoy first visited kingdom of anxi (parthia), king of anxi dispatched party of 20,000 horsemen meet them on eastern border of kingdom… when han envoys set out again return china, king of anxi dispatched envoys of own accompany them… emperor delighted @ this. (shiji, 123, trans. burton watson).

parthians played role in silk road transmission of buddhism central asia china. shih kao, parthian nobleman , buddhist missionary, went chinese capital luoyang in 148 ce established temples , became first man translate buddhist scriptures chinese.

sasanian era

like predecessors parthians, sasanian empire maintained active foreign relations china, , ambassadors persia travelled china. chinese documents record thirteen sasanian embassies china. commercially, land , sea trade china important both sasanian , chinese empires. large numbers of sasanian coins have been found in southern china, confirming maritime trade.

on various occasions, sasanian kings sent talented persian musicians , dancers chinese imperial court. both empires benefited trade along silk road, , shared common interest in preserving , protecting trade. cooperated in guarding trade routes through central asia, , both built outposts in border areas keep caravans safe nomadic tribes , bandits.

during liang dynasty in china, in 547 persian embassy paid tribute liang, amber recorded originating persia liang shu (book of liang).

there record of several joint sasanian , chinese efforts against common hephtalite enemy. following encroachments nomadic turkic on states in central asia, see looks collaboration between chinese , sasanian forces repel turkic advances. documents mt. mogh note presence of chinese general in service of king of sogdiana @ time of arab invasion.

following invasion of iran muslim arabs, peroz iii, son of yazdegerd iii, escaped along few persian nobles , took refuge in chinese imperial court. both peroz , son narsieh (chinese neh-shie) given high titles @ chinese court. @ least in 2 occasions, last 1 possibly in 670, chinese troops sent peroz in order restore him sasanian throne mixed results, 1 possibly ending in short rule of peroz in sistan (sakestan) have few remaining numismatic evidence. narsieh later attained position of commander of chinese imperial guards , descendants lived in china respected princes.

islamic era

tang sancai vase displaying central asian , persian influence. 8-9th century. guimet museum.

after islamic conquest of persia, persia continued flourish during islamic golden age , relations china continued. in 751, abbasid caliphate ruled persia in dispute tang dynasty of china control of syr darya region during battle of talas. commander of abbasid army zayid ibn salih, persian, while commanders of tang army gao xianzhi, goguryo korean, alongside li siye , duan xiushi, both chinese. after abbasids won battle, relations improved , there no more conflicts between china , persians.

a large number of central asian , persian soldiers, experts, , artisans recruited mongol yuan dynasty of china. of them, known semu ( assorted officials ) occupied important official posts in yuan state administration. 1 of famous settlers persia sayyid ajjal shams al-din omar, identified ancestor of many chinese hui lineages , of yunnan s panthay hui population. famous descendant zheng he, became ming dynasty s famous explorer.

relations continued during ming dynasty.

the famous maragheh observatory in maragheh, iran, known have had chinese astronomers working there alongside iranian astronomers, , iranian astronomical instruments being used astronomers in china. safavid iranian art partly influenced chinese art extent. shah abbas had hundreds of chinese artisans in capital esfahan. 300 chinese potters produced glazed tile buildings, , hundreds of others produced metalwork, miniature paintings, calligraphy, glasswork, tile work, , pottery. e. sykes s persia , people : in seventeenth century, shah abbas imported chinese workmen country teach subjects art of making porcelain, , chinese influence strong in designs on ware. chinese marks copied, scratch article means of proving of persian manufacture, chinese glaze, hard iron, take no mark.

of chinese li family in quanzhou, li nu, son of li lu, visited hormuz in persia in 1376, married persian or arab girl, , brought quanzhou. li nu ancestor of ming dynasty reformer li chih.

people s republic of china , islamic republic of iran

diplomatic links between china , iran have been maintained 20th , 21st centuries formation of both people s republic of china , islamic republic of iran, in 1949 , 1979 respectively.