Alessandro13
Around 97 AD, a Chinese general ordered ambassador Gan Ying to travel westward to establish direct contact with the Roman Empire.

公元97年左右,一位中國將軍派遣使節(jié)甘英向西行進,試圖與羅馬帝國建立直接聯(lián)系。

The ambitious mission, however, ran aground on the coasts of a mysterious country called Tiaozhi, which some historians place on the Persian Gulf and others on the Black Sea.
In any case, when Gan Ying asked to embark for the Roman Empire, he was dissuaded by local guides: "The sea is immense. If you encounter favorable winds, you can cross it in three months, but if not, the journey can take up to two years. For this reason, those who embark always carry provisions for three years. Also, there is something in the sea that makes men nostalgic: many think back to their homes and many lose their lives on the journey."
Frightened by this information, Gan Ying decided to return to China, where he recounted a series of rumors he had heard about the Romans. Had he continued his journey, the two most powerful empires in the world could have established diplomatic relations.

然而,這項雄心勃勃的使命卻在名為條支的一個神秘國家的海岸擱淺,一些歷史學家認為這個國家位于波斯灣,而另一些則認為是黑海。
無論如何,當甘英提出要啟程前往羅馬帝國時,被當地向導勸阻了:“大海浩瀚無垠。如果順風的話,三個月就能橫渡,但如果風向不利,旅程可能長達兩年。因此,出海的人總是攜帶三年的給養(yǎng)。而且,海上有些東西會讓人懷舊:許多人會想念家鄉(xiāng),許多人在旅途中喪生?!?br /> 被這些信息嚇到后,甘英決定返回中國,并向人們講述了自己聽聞的一系列關于羅馬人的謠言。如果他繼續(xù)前行,世界上兩個最強大的帝國本可以建立外交關系。
(譯注:條支是西亞的一個古國名,泛指時為古地名,位于今霍爾木茲海峽處。這個國家曾在公元前64年被羅馬所滅。此外,在《漢書》等古籍中也有關于條支的記載,描述了其地理位置、城市風貌和物產等。在漢代,條支有時也被用來指稱波斯及大食(即阿拉伯)地區(qū)。另一種說法認為,條支可能是指塞琉古王朝,這個王朝在中國古代也被稱為條支或敘利亞王國。塞琉古王朝是亞歷山大帝國分裂后形成的一個國家,其統(tǒng)治區(qū)域包括了兩河流域、波斯等地。然而,這一說法與條支作為獨立國家的傳統(tǒng)認知存在差異,因此并非所有學者都接受這一觀點。)