فصلنامه تاریخ روابط خارجی
پیاپی 68-69 (پاییز و زمستان 1395)

Researchers place the beginning of Iran-China relations and the following development of the Silk Road at Jang Chians visit to the territories to the west of of the Han Empire in the 2nd century B.C. But it is safe to assume that prior to this visit there existed contacts which set the stage for trade via the Silk Road. Studying Chu folk culture and observing its resemblance to Indian and Iranian tradition and its similarity to Zoroastrianism, archeological findings, existing information in Greek and Chinese books, namely those obtained from transcripts of Cyrus Cylinder inscribed on two pieces of horse leg bones in Gurbanunggut desert in the north of Xinjiang, all reveal indirect contacts between Iranian and Chinese culture since the Achaemenians. As Chinese trade with the Sogdians grew in the 3rd century B.C, and following Alexander the Great’s military campaing and the expansion of Greek rule, the contact between the two civilizations started and so did the life of the Silk Road. Thus, the current research seeks to study the role of the Achaemenians and Sogdians in the formation and developmento of the Silk Road based on archeological and historical evidence.

According to Parthian documents Sino-Iranian relations date back to 2500 years ago. The Silk Road was significantly under the Parthian control and facilitated Iran-China communications. The Iranians and Chinese have long known the art of pottery, and due to vast relations between the two lands under the Parthians, it is quite conceivable that immense artistic exchange in pottery techniques, forms and color had occurred. The current article seeks to describe the status of the art of pottery under the Han and Parthian dynasties and evaluate the mutual impact of these two on one another. The research aims to find commonalities and the degree to which the two civilizations bore upon each other in the field of pottery. It appears that some forms and glazes used in Parthian earthwares found their way into China, as their trace is observed on porcelain works under the Han dynasty. This research is fundamental by nature and employs descriptive-analytical method to study the Parthian and Han porcelain works. It uses library sources and archived documents in order to indicate that from mid-Parthian and late-Han eras innovative trends were observed in the two regions’ pottery craft which attests to the interaction and mutual impact of the two civilizations.

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.

After Yazgerd III’s rout at the hand of Muslims and upon his death in Marv (651 A.D), a number of House Sassanid members set off for China and were admitted by Emperor Gaozong of Tang (649-683 A.D) to settle in the Chinese territory and were granted the right to establish Fire Temples (Atashkadeh), and practice their religion and rituals. However, prior to their migration to China, a certain Alopen with his entourage had entered the city of Chang-An, the capital city of Tang dynasty, in 635, a few years before the Battle of al-Qadissiyah. These early settlers were Nestorian Christians who, as attests the stone monument ‘Sian-Fu’, had brought with themselves holy scripture and images, and were granted leave to meet Emperor Taizong (626-649 A.D). The outcome of this meeting was the settlement of the first Iranian emigrés, estabslishment of the first church in Chang-An and translation of the first Christian scripture into Chinese. The current research draws upon primary sources, including the Sian-Fu monument, in order to narrate the presence of Nestorian Christians as early signs of Iranian cultural presence in Chinese sources. The findings reaffirm the influential role played by the Nestorian Christians on education and cultural stage of China.

History attests to longstanding ties between Iran and China. For various reasons, namely trade by land and sea routes, in the Islamic era Muslims set off for China and some wrote down their observation in the course of their journey through this ancient land. Among the travellers who produced written acounts of their travels was Soleiman Tajer Sirafi (the merchant from Siraf) whose memoir of China was compiled in the book Selsela-t-o-Tavaikh, aka Akhbar-o-Sin val Hend (News from China and India. A melange of myth and reality this book is an account of Chinese economic, social, cultural and judicial life in the thrid century (AH). The descriptive-analytical account of China in that era reveals a country under a tyrannical monarchy enjoying vast income grossed from per capita tax and monopoly over commodity. As regards education, unlike many other world regions, literacy was quite prevalent in China, and its economy prospered on its unique tax system and agriculture and handicrafts. Last but not the least, China’s judicial system was systematically capable.

The third century (AH) marked the beginning of a fresh start in the history of geographical accounts of the Islamic civilization; for the first time, Muslim geography scholars shifted toward general and descriptive geography. According to researchers geographical works of the third and fourth centuries (AH) could be divided into Iraqi and Balkhi schools, each with distinct specificities. In contrast to Balkhi School, the Iraqi School geographers made efforts to describe regions beyond the Islamic territories; China was among these regions which enjoyed special attention. Hence, the current research employs historical analytical-descriptive method to study, in a comparative context, the works of ibn Khardazbeh, ibn Rasteh, ibn Faqih, Yaghoubi, Masoudi and Jihani, in order to find answer to the question as to how China was depicted in them? What were the source of information for the geography journalists of this School, and how did they gather their data? What resemblance, or difference is discernible in their accounts of China? Studies indicate that the geographers of this School found their reports on the historical, economic and social geography of China, and had a myriad of ways for collecting their information.

Mongol invasion of China transformed the relations of these country with other nations on many levels and in various aspects. Close amical ties between the Ilkhanate in Iran and the Mongolian Yuan rulers in China promoted the relations between the two countries and propoelled it to its climax. Muslim Iranians served in a myriad of official position, e.g, ministers, governors, sevretaries and army commanders, under Ogedi Khan. The research method is descriptive-analytical and its main focus is on the exchange of science and arts, such as medicine, astrology, painting and printing between Iran and China and the promotion of Farsi language in China. Farsi grew to be so influential in Yuan bureaucracy and military that assumed the thrid position after Turkish-Mongolian and Chinese languages.

Vast expanses of Chinese territory and its people alluringly resonated with Iranian ancient literature, both poplular and elitist. China’s natural, trade and cultural attraction, its remote inaccessible location and the lack of hostility and war between the two lands contributed to China’s more pronounced status within the Iranian society. In this regard, China’s pagodas and temples, the allure of its beautiful women indulged Iranian collective psyche and set the stage for imagination to run wild in poem and prose, as well as enriching the oral and written Iranian fiction. The current research seeks answers as to how these factors were reflected in popular Iranian fictions. Deliberating on this issue and attempting to find its roots could shed light on how Chinese culture bore upon Iranians during different epochs. The image indicates the heart of Iranian aesthetics which gives a subjective account of the cultural history. Through library archives, and by surveying the history of Chinese temples and beautiful women and their impact on literary figures’ thought, the author has studied selected fictions from the sixth to twelfth centuries. Each fiction reflects and represents the collective thought and aesthetic mind of the people of a specific century and is, without a doubt, an unbreakable chain of meaning in Iranian popular culture.

The huge impact of miniature on visual arts and its vast reach are thrown into relief when artists turn it into a practical art and use it to adorn other forms of artistic expressions. Since Iranian crockery is tightly connected to people’s lives, and due to their various shapes, they have had boundless uses, and are of aesthetic value. As bilateral ties between Iran and China were promoted and Chinese white and blue crockery found their way into Iran, decorative and embelishment styles of pottery underwent fundamental transformations. It is a known fact that creative Safavid artists incorporated Chinese designs into Iranian plans and style and rendered products more palatable to the Iranians. As the miniature artists represented the daily life and realities of their era, the usage of these pottery products were subconciously embodied in their miniatures. Hence, the current article uses descriptive-analytical method and draws upon library archives to assess the impact of Chinese white and blue crockery on Iranian crockery and miniature.

Prior to the establishment of the Qajar dynasty and during the entire 19th century political relations between Iran and China were non-existent; the reason has been ascribed to domestic crisis in both countries and their decline as a result of buckling under foreign powers due to their weak sea power. Nevertheless, a perusal of translated works on Chinese history and european written travel accounts along with the account of some Qajar dignitaries’ journey to China in the 19th century reveal inconsistent actions and practices. What concerns the current research is to study and analyze the resonation of Chinese history with official Qajar translations. Was the Iranian attitude toward China a continuation of ancient-civilizational thinking, or was it the fruit of modern developments and and roughly similar issues of the countries in the 19th century? Who ordered the translations, and, who read them? The findings suggest that the reason for Qajar Kings’ interest in the translation of the texts on China could be found in a common historical tie, manifested in the form of ancient civilization, the Imperial rule, guarded (Mahrousah)territories, social patterns and tranditions of life, commonalities in the two territories and the great appeal of Chinese medicine for Iranians on the one hand, and, the Chinese crackdown on Muslim movements in her territory on the other hand, piqued Nadir al-din Shah’s sensitivity to the issue of China.

While Iran-China relations stretch far back in history, in the wake of the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 Iran suspended its relations with China as Iran feared the expansion of Communism, furthermore, the bitter memories of USSR interventions during the Second World War still rankled. Years later, as Iran and the USSR commenced amical relations cultural and economic ties expanded, as a result of which, the frightening image of a communist takeover was shattered, which, led to restrained cultural relations between Iran and China bearing fruit on 20 November 1957 with the signing of the first cultural agreement between the two countries. This agreement provided for the promoting of cultural, educational, scientific, technical, artistic and sport relations during the Pahlavi period.These relations continued well until 21 June 1978 when the Islamic revolutionary zeal climaxed and the ensuing political ambience pushed these relations into oblivion. The current article has benefited from archived documents at the National Library of Iran and has used archival-analytical research method to shed light on different aspects of Sino-Iranian cultural relations during the Pahlavi era and analyze the outcome of the relations for the two countries.