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The relations between the Mediterranean and China in ancient times refer to the relations between the Greco-Roman world and China, the theme addressed by the two groups of papers in this book.
The first group of papers collects, compiles, and comments on the data regarding the relations between the ancient Mediterranean world and the dynasties of the Central Plain of China from the perspective of Chinese historical records, while the second group discusses the relations between the Mediterranean world and the nomadic tribes from Northern China.
Down to the sixth century the understanding of the Mediterranean world by China's dynasties of the Central Plains was very vague. Various legends were current, the majority of which came from the imaginations of the Chinese themselves and revealed how much the Chinese at that time desired to know the Mediterranean world. In contrast, Greek and Roman historians also had a very vague understanding of the dynasties on the Central Plain in China.
In contrast, the relations between the Mediterranean world and the nomadic tribes beyond the Great Wall were relatively close. The so-called Steppe Route had already formed by the end of the 7th century BCE at the latest, with merchants and envoys coming and going, and tribes in particular migrating, all of which deepened not only mutual understanding, but also established a bridge for communications between the civilizations of East and West.
The nomadic tribes did not leave their own literature behind them and so our understanding of their relations with the Mediterranean world mainly derives from the records of Western historians. There are many points that require deliberation, but there is no doubt that material contacts were substantial.
The mutual vague understanding between the dynasties of the Central Plain and the Mediterranean world forms a sharp contrast with the close relationships between the nomadic tribes beyond the Great Wall and the Mediterranean world, and the early relations between Mediterranean and China appear to us in such a context.