Foreign Relations History

Foreign Relations History

Sogdia: The Link between China and Pre-Islamic Iran

Document Type : Scientific - research article

Author
PhD student in Ancient Languages and Culture, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Member of Iranology Department of the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia
Abstract
Iran and China has always been considered as two ancient civilizations and their relations have been recorded in official Chinese historiography. The author reviewed some pre-Islamic Chinese sources  and has found out that Sogdians were crucial in bonding these two ancient civilizations. In this regard, the Sogdians were the first to transmit the news of the Sassanid Iran to China through land roads. Furthermore, according to Chinese sources the Sassanid Iran was perceived as a Bhuddist land while we know Zoroastranism prevailed at the time, though some Chinese sources scantily mentioned Zoroastrianism. Therefore, this inaccurate image must have been rendered by eastern civilizations (the Sogdians) for the Chinese who due to their immense distance had cultivated their distinct trade, religious, cultural and bureaucratic systems.
Keywords

Volume 17, Issue 69 - Serial Number 68
دو شماره در یک جلد
Autumn 2016
Pages 59-79

  • Receive Date 17 September 2017