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A Roman Legacy in China?
Whenever one mentions the Silk Road, images are conjured up of caravans travelling
across the central Asian plains carrying silk and other goods from the faraway East and
many fascinating books have been written about this trading highway, not least by Marco
Polo.
In recent years, another fascinating story has come to light in Yongchang County, in
Gansu Province. The ancient North Silk Road passes through the county and it had been
noted that many of the villagers of Liqian village have pale skins, green eyes and
European features. Tests were said to have found that the DNA of some of the
inhabitants was 56 per cent Caucasian in origin. One villager, Cai Junnian, is nicknamed
Cai Luoma (the Roman) because he is green-eyed and light skinned.
Figure 1.
Cai Junnian's green eyes give a hint he may be a descendant of Roman mercenaries who allegedly
fought the Han Chinese 2,000 years ago. Photo: NATALIE BEHRING from Telegraph newspaper webpage - see
link below.
This reiterated a theory by historian Homer H. Dubs in 1941 that Roman soldiers, who
had been captured by the Chinese, founded Liqian (possibly from ‘legion’). Also, in a
geography book of the eastern Han Dynasty, it was recorded that “local people call the
ancestors of the Roman prisoners-of-war ‘Lijian’, this being the Chinese name for
something or someone of Greco-Roman origin. Dubs speculated that after losing the
battle of Carrhae (north of Syria) in 54 BC, an estimated 10,000 Roman prisoners were
sent to Margiana (now Turkmenistan) to man the frontier. Later the nomadic Xiongnu
chief, Zhizhi, established a state further east near modern day Taraz (in Kazakhstan).
Dubs states that a Chinese account describes ‘about 100 men’ fought to defend Zhizhi’s
wooden-palisade fortress against Han forces in the Battle of Zhizhi in 36BC. Chinese
chroniclers refer to the capture of a "fish-scale formation" of troops, a possible reference
to the "tortoise" phalanx formation perfected by legionaries.
Archaeologists planned to conduct digs
in the region, along the ancient Silk
Route, to search for remains of forts or
other structures built by the fabled
army.
Figure 2. How Romans may have reached Liqian - from
"We hope to prove the legend by
digging and discovering more evidence
of China's early contacts with the
Roman Empire," Yuan Honggeng, the
head of a newly-established Italian
Studies Centre at Lanzhou University
in Gansu province, told the China
Daily newspaper a few years ago.
Telegraph newspaper webpage - see link below.
There are, however, conflicting views
on this and DNA tests conducted in
early 2007, in an attempt to find the genetic evidence supporting this claim, showed a
negative result. That study concluded: - ‘Overall, a Roman mercenary origin could not
be accepted as true according to paternal genetic variation and the current Liqian
population is more likely to be a subgroup of the Chinese majority, Han’.
Note the incorrect spelling of 'Parthian Empire'
Maurizio Bettini, a classicist and anthropologist from Siena University, has dismissed the
theory as "a fairy tale". "For it to be indisputable, one would need to find items such as
Roman money or weapons that were typical of Roman legionaries," he told the Italian
newspaper La Republica. "Without proof of this kind, the story of the lost legions is just
a legend."
So it seems that opinions are still divided on this mystery.
However, for all the romance of the story, it might well be true. People don't move very
much unless they're forced to by war, famine or natural disaster. That's why there are still
a lot of people called Evans in Wales, and McDonald in Scotland; they've stayed near the
spot where their surnames first emerged half a millennium or more ago.
The Romans left behind their DNA in Britain. The same goes for other civilisations;
green and blue-eyed Afghans claim descent from Alexander the Great's troops, who got
as far as India in the 4th century BC, so there is no reason to disbelieve them, either.
From a more personal point of view about the subject and closer to home, two members
of NZCFS visited Yongchang in 2011. Deborah Rhode, vice president of Christchurch
Branch and Dave Bromwich, now NZCFS president and treasurer of Hawkes Bay
branch, were in Gansu and Shaanxi monitoring and evaluating NZCFS co-operative
health projects, and also visiting the Shandan Baille school.
They spent 3 days in Yangchang but came away with more questions than answers!
Deborah continues: “We visited the 'new' reconstruction of the old city, and also the
village itself where the farmers in the photographs actually lived. Not many people were
around during the day, but there was one elderly woman who was being visited by her
son. As Dave speaks Chinese we were able to visit with them and they invited us in to
her house. It was very modest. But what caught my eye was the very attractive brick floor
in a herringbone pattern. I don't know why this caught my eye.... but it was enough for
me to Google it. I discovered it had been a popular pattern in Roman times!! (and
perhaps first designed by them) - more for the ancient Roman theory I thought! I have
of course since noticed it in many places in China..... but..... how did it get there?!!
“The Museum was quite new, and
actually very well curated. It gave
a very compelling argument for
the Roman legion theory. At the
time I was quite prepared to
believe it all. (It’s only in
retrospect that I have become
somewhat more sceptical).
Whether the legend is true or not, I
think what's being made of it is
fascinating!”
She continues, “At first I was
totally believing of the story
researched by a respected
American academic that the area might have been settled by remnants of a Roman
Legion.
But on reflection and seeing the incredible amount of money, time and effort that is being
poured into the area to 'recreate' the town, to make the idea real, I am more sceptical that
it is perhaps a wonderful idea for a tourism promotion. I have since heard that almost a
complete town has been created! And that area of China doesn't have many big tourist
attractions…..
Figure 3. Herring-bone pattern in floor of museum,
Yongchang, Gansu
“On travelling around China, I have seen so many Chinese people with significantly
western features, and of course the Gansu corridor was, throughout history, travelled by
people of all origins, so many half-Chinese babies would have been expected.
I think it’s a great story - and I still kind of want to believe it! But in the museum, it was
all photographic and conjectural - what was missing were material artefacts. And that
seems strange from a 'Roman' town.
I don't know enough Chinese to know about any linguistic remnants - I don't think it was
mentioned in anything I read.
“I still think it’s worth a visit, and I think it makes an interesting story. From an
anthropological point of view - even if the story isn't true in itself – it’s fascinating what
has been done with it and how it’s fast "becoming real"!! After all - history is always
created by man's interpretation.”
Figure 4. Debora Rhode with Chinese ladies in Yongchang, Gansu.
Is the hair colour original?
And finally, on a very amusing
note, Deborah says, “We did
notice how many women (and
some young men) did indeed
have either reddish hair or red
tints. When we found one
young woman who seemed
very comfortable chatting with
us (at the museum I think) Dave commented on this. She
said - "Oh yes, we often colour
our hair because we prefer it to
plain black”!
But Dave also remembers that
she said only 60% dyed their
hair, while 40% were naturally
red-haired! So the jury is still
out on the case.
Figure 5 Dave Bromwich in Yongchang, Gansu
province, with Chinese villagers. European features?
Teri France, January 2014
Related Articles
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Harry Mount: Roman blood runs through Chinese – and British – veins Telegraph
newspaper blog, 25 Nov 2010
Have the descendants of Rome's lost legion been found in China? Article on
Telegraph newspaper website, 02 Feb 2007