SHREDS & Leftovers (english)

The Chinese and the Barbarian (Background)

Dubs had found out that in the annals of the Han dynasty there is the record of the capture of a Hun city, by the chinese army, in 36 BC named Zhizhi. The city is now known as Dzhambul, located close to Tashkent, in Uzbekistan. 

Many prisoners were taken during this battle and it appears that the Chinese were so struck by the military skills of those warriors that they moved them, after enlisting, further east, in a place that by imperial decree was named Li-Jien in Gansu province. 

The legionaries numbered 145, and formed a garrison protecting the inhabitants from Tibetan raids. It was uncommon for Chinese to name their cities after barbarian names: the only two other known cases, Kucha and Wen-Siu, occurred where large colonies foreigners had settled.

It made a deep impression on Dubs that the Chinese recorded that they found palisades of tree trunks, and that the enemy had used a previously unseen battle formation at the gates of the city, namely a 'testudo' of selected warriors forming a cover of overlapping shields in front of their bodies in the first row and over the heads in the following rows. 

These facts are reported in the biography of Chen Tang, one of the victorious Chinese generals, written by the historian Ban Gu (32 – 92 AC).

During excavations in 1993 some fortifications were unearthed as well as a trunk fixed with stakes, possibly dating back to the time of the arrival of the legionaries. The trunk was a kind of hoist used by the Romans to build fortifications, but was unknown in China. It is now on display in the Lanzhou museum. And even more: Lanzhou University has conducted DNA tests on the population of Zhelaizhai and findings show that 46% of them have genetic sequences that are similar to Europeans.

This mysterious legend is the dramatic setting of 'The Chinese Barbarians' and the fictional interpretation of what might have happened.

It is the story of one of these 145 Roman soldiers accompanied by his fellow members, who joined the Chinese army and helped them against their enemies.