If Ancient China and the Roman Empire expanded to each other until they had a land border, would they likely be allies and friendly toward each other, or would they attempt on conquering each other?

如果古代中国和罗马帝国扩张，成为接壤的邻国，彼此会友好结盟还是互相征伐？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Nguyễn Đình Quý

At their largest extent during the same time, the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty of China were only separated about 2000 to 3000 kilometers. The Han dynasty knew way more about the Roman Empire than vice versa. And China at that time decided to LAUNCH A DIRECT INVESTIGATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

罗马帝国和汉代中国在疆土最鼎盛时期的距离只有2000到3000公里。汉朝对罗马帝国的了解远远多于罗马帝国对汉朝的了解。汉朝决心对罗马帝国进行直接调查。

The land we call “X injiang” today was called the Western Regions by Han dynasty, and governed by a Protector-General. The one holding it in 97 A.D sent an official envoy to the Roman Empire after he received reports about the spawn of a great state in the west. The envoy, named Gan Ying, never made it to the Roman territories cuz he was deceived by the Persians to think that Roman Egypt was way farther than he thought. But he did noted down things about it. And from his reports and reactions from the Protector-General, we know that China didn’t want war with Rome.

今天我们称之为“新 疆”的地方，在汉代被称为西域，由都护将军管理。公元97年镇守新 疆的都护将军在听说西方出现了一个大国的消息后，向罗马帝国派遣了一名官方特使。这名特使名为甘英被波斯人误导，认为罗马埃及远比他想象中的更远，所以最终没能踏上罗马帝国的土地。但他还是记录了一些见闻。从他的报告和都护将军的回应中，我们知道中国并不想和罗马开战。

China did not want war because the mission to Rome wasn’t to inspect its military or geographical advantages. China heard from Persians that the Romans used Chinese silk and that they produced valuable goods desired by Chinese traders. Also, the Han dynasty regarded Rome as its western equal empire, and sought to establish alliance. Well, the Han had to deal with many enemies from the north, and they thought these enemies’ territory extended to near Roman land as well, so an alliance would provide China valuable support. Because Gan Ying was tricked to think that Rome was farther than he thought, the Protector-General concluded that the distance was too impractical for any friendship.

中国不想打仗，因为甘英去罗马的任务并不是为了考察罗马的军事或地理优势。中国从波斯人那里听说罗马人使用中国的丝绸，而且罗马人生产了中国商人想要的贵重商品。汉朝也将罗马视为可以和中国媲美的西方帝国，想和罗马结盟。汉代时，中国面临着许多来自北方的敌人，他们认为这些敌人的领土延伸到了罗马附近的土地，所以结成联盟可以为中国提供宝贵的支持。而甘英被骗了，以为罗马比他想象的还要远，所以都护将军断定两国距离实在过于遥远，不可能结成盟友。

Romans didn’t know a lot about China, or at least I think so because Chinese wrote a lot on them in official texts while they didn’t do the similar thing. Yes they did write about China, but most were about Chinese products; Chinese ancient texts were about the Roman political structure and even descriptions of their characteristics (height, honesty, etc.). And since the Roman Empire was expansionist at the time of Gan Ying, I don’t think they would call Han China a friend.

罗马人对中国并不太了解，至少我是这么认为的，因为中国人在官方文件中写过很多关于罗马的内容，但罗马并没有。没错，他们确实写过关于中国的文章，但大多数都是有关中国产品的；而中国的古代文献记录的是罗马的政治结构，甚至还记录了罗马人的特征(身高，诚信等)。由于罗马帝国在甘英时期主张对外扩张，我认为他们不太可能和汉朝结成盟友。

Wiebe de Boer

The Romans were expansionists. There were however neighbours of the Romans they kept practically untouched. You can attempt to compare of that era and see how that would have worked out.

Though there was a tug of war with the Parthians, even the Parthians apart from early wars and battles and later wars, the Romans didn’t move against, with the borders peaceful for neigh a good century save for an interlude. The Romans were even briefly allies with the Parthians. Which had briefly been negotiated before, but then failed. How is that for change of events. It was then in the interest of both to keep the peace.

罗马人是扩张主义者。但也有些罗马邻国几乎没有受到过罗马的影响。你可以试着比较一下那个时代，看看结果如何。

罗马人与帕提亚人曾相互较劲，但除了早期的大小战役和后期的战争外，罗马人也并没有采取任何行动，两国的边境在近一个世纪里都是和平的。罗马人甚至还和帕提亚人短暂结盟过。双方进行过协商，最后失败了。局势为什么会变化呢？当时，维护和平对双方都有利。

The Sassanids however were an entirely different creature. There was almost continuous on again and off again wars.

Qin one can be certain would have behaved like the Sassanids. Peace? Hell no. They would have fought eachother to a standstill.

The Han dynasty were expansionists too. When two expansionists meet, you can bet on it, that they wouldn’t remain friendly forever.

但萨珊王朝则完全不同，战争几乎没有休止过。

可以肯定，秦朝也和萨珊王朝一样行事。和平？根本不存在。他们会互相厮杀，争个你死我活。

汉朝也是扩张主义者。当两个扩张主义者彼此相遇，绝不可能保持友好关系。

Frank Branson

Probably very little antagonism, if any.

For one thing, their forces would have been very far away from home. It would have been difficult to sustain an offensive. Remember, horse riders didn’t even have the benefit of the stirrup back then.

可能会有一点对抗吧。

首先，他们的军队远离故土，长途跋涉，想要发起进攻是很难的。记住，那时候的骑兵都还没有马镫呢。

But we even have some data on this in the sense that the Han Empire bordered another empire, the Kushans, and this very much an expanding empire at the time. The two empires worked together to defeat barbarians and only came into conflict once, which was more of a personal matter. The Kushan emperor had done the Han a couple of favors and asked for the hand of a Han princess in return. He was rebuffed (and it’s not clear if the request ever reached the court or was just rejected by the Protector-General in the region).

但我们有一些数据表明汉帝国与另一个帝国—贵霜帝国接壤，而贵霜帝国在当时也是一个正在不断扩张的帝国。这两个帝国一起打败了蛮族，只发生过一次冲突，而且更多的是因为个人问题。贵霜皇帝帮了汉朝几个忙，求娶汉朝公主作为回报，但被拒绝了（目前还不清楚他的请求是否已被呈报朝廷，还是被当地的都护将军拒绝的）。

Having lost face, the Kushan emperor marched his troops to the most distant Chinese outpost of Kashgar, intending to take it. The Chinese were ready for them though and via a scorched-earth policy forced them to give up the siege. There was no further conflict as far as we know.

失了面子的贵霜皇帝派军队打到了中国最遥远的前哨喀什，打算占领喀什。当时中国做好了准备，通过焦土政策迫使他们放弃围困。据我们所知，后来双方没有发生进一步的冲突。

David M. Prus

I think that while a war would not be impossible and could be attempted by one emperor or another, for the most part they would try for a friendly trading relationship. Logistics prevented any sort of effective invasion, and the unsubdued tribes of Central Asia, as well as the powerful empires on China’s northern flank and Persia to the Roman southern flank, would really make invasion impossible.

At best we would have a battle of Talas situation: mostly fighting alongside local nations for control over key trading cities, and a quick end to hostility when third parties enter the fray (the Abbasids relied on Tiban support to defeat the Tang, but the Tibans grew so powerful the Abbasids and Tang joined forces against them)

我认为，虽然战争不是不可能的，皇帝们也许会有打算，但在多数情况下，他们还是会尝试建立友好的贸易关系。后勤运输的问题阻止了外敌的有效入侵，中亚地区尚未被征服的部落以及中国北面的强大帝国和罗马南面的波斯，都使得入侵难以实现。

最好的情况是，我们会有一场塔拉斯之战：主要是跟当地国家一起争夺对主要贸易城市的控制，当第三方也加入战局时，双方会迅速收起敌意（阿巴斯王朝依靠吐蕃的支持来击败唐朝，但吐蕃逐步强大后，阿巴斯王朝和唐朝又联手起来对抗吐蕃）。

David Farnsworth

Neither.

Not allies, but also no attempt to conquer the other.

The Romans were focused on the Mediterranean and kee a periphery around it (to keep out the barbarians). The Chinese were focused on the China mainland, and kee a periphery around it (to keep out the barbarians).

For the Romans, even the Persians/Parthians were out of range. The Romans clashed with them, sure, but only intended to keep them at bay. Same goes for the Chinese.

都不会。

双方不会结成盟友，也不会试图征服对方。

罗马人专注于地中海地区，在地中海周围保持警备(防止野蛮人入侵)。而中国人专注于中国大陆地区，在周围保持警戒(防止野蛮人入侵)。

罗马人甚至对波斯人/帕提亚人都没有想法。当然，罗马人确实也跟他们发生过冲突，但只是为了牵制他们。中国人也是如此。

When I was in graduate school in the 1990s, I came across an interesting essay already old (from the 1950s) by a Western historian of China opining that a certain village in China’s northwest may have been settled by Roman legionnaires. Because the village’s ancient name included the Chinese characters for Alexander’s Greeks (whom they had heard about). According to the thesis, Roman legionnaires had been captured by the Persians in a clash in Mesopotamia circa 1st century bce, and been pressed into service for the Persians, who were then using them in Central Asia, where they encountered some Han Chinese operating at the extreme far west of THEIR holdings, and were AGAIN captured and carried back to China, again put into service, and then finally mustered out, married local Chinese women, and settled down.

上世纪90年代我还在读研究生的时候，我读到过西方一位中国历史学家写的一篇有趣的论文，这篇论文已经很老了(上世纪50年代的文章)，他认为中国西北部的某个村庄可能是罗马军团士兵的定居处。因为这个村庄的古代名字中包含了亚历山大希腊人的汉字(他们听说过)。这篇论文称，罗马军团的士兵大约在公元前1世纪在美索不达米亚的一场冲突中被波斯人俘虏，被迫为波斯人干活，一开始他们在中亚，结果遇到了在波斯领地最西边作战的汉人，他们再次被俘并被带回中国，最后他们娶了当地的中国妇女并定居下来。

Now, I don’t know what to make of this, but it is surely a highly romantic tale, and it MIGHT have happened.

Some years later, I was amused to read that the leaders of that self-same village in NW China had heard the tale of Romans, decided it was true, built a mock Roman arch, and sat back to wait for the tourist dollars!

现在，我也还不清楚事实的真相，但这肯定是一个非常浪漫的故事，可能真的发生过。

几年后，我又读到一件有意思的事，中国西北部那个村庄的领导人听说了罗马人的故事，认为这是真的，特意建造了一座罗马式拱门，等着游客上门好收钱呢！

Michael Ciao

Chinese dynasties sort of all stopped by the time they reach the Western Territoty (injiang), through thousands of years and many different empires, they all stopped once they reached that far west.

It is forbidden barren lands with fierce nomadic tribes beyond, not worth the time and trouble. Those nasty tribal warriors are also the barbarians who sacked Rome.

在数千年的时间和不同的帝国时期，中国各朝各代打到西部领土（新 疆）时就都停下了继续前进的脚步。

那是荒无人烟的贫瘠土地，再往外就是凶残的游牧部落，不值得帝国军队在那花费时间和精力。那些凶残的部落勇士正是洗劫了罗马的野蛮人。

Paul Lee

Chinese are historically peaceful in their approach, but Mongols were conquerors. The Roman legions would have been no match for a strategically more advanced Mongol cavalry shooting its bow and arrows.

中国人在历史上喜好和平，但蒙古人确实四处征伐。罗马军团根本无法与战术上更为先进的蒙古骑兵相抗衡。

Brian McSwiggen

Lets say the Romans during their prime are able to reach China, assuming the Empire remains stable would they be able to conquer China?

In fact, the Romans did reach China during the Roman Empire, though the vast majority of their interactions were indirect. They traded through intermediate empires, and occasionally sent emissaries to each other. Knowledge was limited, but the two certainly did interact.

我们假设罗马人在鼎盛时期能够到达中国，假设帝国一直保持稳定，那么他们能够征服中国吗？

事实上，在罗马帝国时期，罗马人确实来过中国，但他们的多数互动都是间接进行的。他们通过中间帝国进行贸易，偶尔互相派遣使者。虽然了解有限，但两者确实有过互动。

However, better yet, there may have even been a military conflict between the two! You see, after the disasterous Battle of Carrhae, some 10,000 Roman soldiers were captured by the Parthians and sent to guard the eastern Parthian empire. Roughly 20 years later, a Han commander reported fighting a group of soldiers fighting in a “fish-scale formation,” similar to the Roman testudo formation. The Han commander defeated and captured them, taking them into China.

While this theory of military contact has never been proven, it remains one possible actual, historical fight between a Roman legion and Han dynasty forces.

而且更妙的是，两国之间甚至可能发生国军事冲突！卡雷战役之后，有大约一万名罗马士兵被帕提亚人俘虏并被派去守卫东帕提亚帝国。大约20年后，一位汉朝指挥官报告说，敌方有一群士兵采用“鱼鳞队形”作战，类似于罗马的“龟甲”队形。汉朝统帅打败并俘虏了他们，将他们带进了中国。

此次军事接触从未得到证实，但也许罗马军团和汉朝军队之间真的发生过战斗。