According to the Hou Hanshu, the Chinese history of the later Han Dynasty, The Hou Hanshu also recorded:
Description of Rome
Gan Ying also gave the following description of Roman customs and natural products:
"Their kings are not permanent. They select and appoint the most worthy man. If there are unexpected calamities in the kingdom, such as frequent extraordinary winds or rains, he is unceremoniously rejected and replaced. The one who has been dismissed quietly accepts his demotion, and is not angry. The people of this country are all tall and honest. They resemble the people of the Middle Kingdom and that is why this kingdom is called Da Qin . This country produces plenty of gold silver, rare and precious they have luminous jade, 'bright moon pearls,' Haiji rhinoceroses, coral, yellow amber, opaque glass, whitish chalcedony, red cinnabar, green gemstones, goldthread embroideries, rugs woven with gold thread, delicate polychrome silks painted with gold, and asbestos cloth. They also have a fine cloth which some people say is made from the down of 'water sheep,' but which is made, in fact, from the cocoons of wild silkworms. They blend all sorts of fragrances, and by boiling the juice, make a compound perfume. all the precious and rare things that come from the various foreign kingdoms. They make gold and silver coins. Ten silver coins are worth one gold coin. They trade with Anxi and Tianzhu by sea. The profit margin is ten to one.... The king of this country always wanted to send envoys to Han, but Anxi , wishing to control the trade in multi-coloured Chinese silks, blocked the route to prevent getting through ."
Analysis
notes that it ended with a detailed description of the Mediterranean coral industry. Gan Ying traveled about the time that the Emperor Nerva adopted Trajan as his successor, but neither of them abdicated for bad omens; the "kings" according to him resemble the Sages of legendary Chinese antiquity more than any Roman institution.
The silkworms of the Greek island of Cos were cultivated in antiquity, but the product was never comparable to Chinese silk. However, this reference appears to be to the very rare and beautifully golden sea silk, which is also referred to in the 3rd century history, the Weilüe.
