Sino-Roman relations and Simpson family: Difference between pages

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[[Image:C-SimpFamily.png|right|thumb|250px|The Simpson Family]]

'''Sino-Roman relations''' started first on an indirect basis with the opening of the [[Silk Road]] during the [[2nd century BC]]. [[China]] and [[Roman Empire|Rome]] progressively inched closer with the [[embassy|embassies]] of [[Zhang Qian]] in [[130 BC]] and the military expeditions of China to [[Central Asia]], until general [[Ban Chao]] attempted to send an envoy to Rome around [[100]]. Several Roman embassies to China were recorded by a number of ancient Chinese [[historian]]s, the first one on record came from the [[Roman emperor]] [[Antoninus Pius]] and arrived in AD [[166]].

The '''Simpson family''' is the family featured in the [[United States]] [[animated sitcom]] ''[[The Simpsons]]''. The Simpson [[nuclear family]] consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. They live at [[742 Evergreen Terrace]] in the [[fictional town]] of [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield, USA]], and their phone number is [[A Tale of Two Springfields|[phone]]].

== Nuclear family ==

==Development of the Silk Road==

*[[Homer Jay Simpson]], father

*[[Marge Simpson|Marjorie "Marge" Bouvier Simpson]], mother (see also [[Bouvier family]])

*[[Bart Simpson|Bartholomew Jo-Jo "Bart" Simpson]], oldest child

*[[Lisa Simpson|Lisa Marie Simpson]], middle child

*[[Maggie Simpson|Margaret "Maggie" Simpson]], youngest child

== Pets ==

[[Image:EuthydemusI.jpg|right|thumb|230px|Coin depicting the [[Greco-Bactrian]] king [[Euthydemus]] (230-200 BC)]]

The two "starring" pets are [[Santa's Little Helper]], a dog the Simpsons adopted in the show's [[Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire|first episode]], and a cat named [[Snowball (The Simpsons)|Snowball II ]].

As well, the family has been shown owning several different fish, turtles and hamsters, although none of them have names or are ever featured in a main plot; they are mainly one-off jokes or small plot details.

The first major step in opening the Silk Road between the East and the West came with the expansion of [[Alexander the Great]] deep into Central Asia, as far as the [[Fergana Valley]] at the borders of the modern-day [[Xinjiang]] region of China, where he founded in [[329 BC]] a Greek settlement in the city of [[Alexandria Eschate]] "Alexandria The Furthest", [[Khujand]] (also called Khozdent or Khojent - formely Leninabad), in the modern state of [[Tajikistan]]. The [[Greeks]] were to remain in Central Asia for the next three centuries, first through the administration of the [[Seleucid Empire]], and then with the establishement of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] in [[Bactria]]. They kept expanding eastward, especially during the reign of [[Euthydemus]] (230-200 BC), who extended his control to [[Sogdiana]], reaching and going beyond the city of Alexandria Eschate. There are indications that he may have led expeditions as far as [[Kashgar]] in [[Chinese Turkestan]], leading to the first known contacts between China and the West around [[200 BC]]. The Greek historian [[Strabo]] writes that ''"they extended their empire even as far as the [[Seres]] (China) and the Phryni"'' ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+11.11.1 Strabo XI.XI.I]).

*'''Hamsters''': In "[[Duffless]]", Lisa is shown buying a purple [[hamster]]. Later on in the episode, Bart is also shown owning a brown hamster. Lisa was also shown with a brown hamster in the episode "[[Don't Fear the Roofer]]". In ''[[Bart vs. Thanksgiving]]'', Lisa's poem "Meditations on Turning Eight" includes reference to a dead hamster named Snuffy.

==Zhang Qian's embassy==

*'''Fish''': The family is shown owning fish (usually [[goldfish]]) in several episodes, but various family members only mention the fish a few times, including "[[Rosebud (The Simpsons)|Rosebud]]", "[[Lisa Gets an "A"|Lisa Gets an 'A']]", "[[Little Big Mom]]" and "[[I, D'oh-Bot]]".

*'''Turtles''': In "[[Lisa on Ice]]", Homer gives Bart his turtle back. This is the last time that specific turtle is ever shown or mentioned. In "[[Don't Fear the Roofer]]", Bart has a dead turtle that he says he just found. And in "[[Treehouse of Horror XVII]]", Homer tells Bart he fell on Bart's turtle.

*'''Bullfrog''': Bart is shown with a [[bullfrog]] in a bottle in the episode "[[The Crepes of Wrath]]". He later releases a bullfrog in Australia in the episode "[[Bart vs. Australia]]".

Other animals once owned by the Simpsons are:

[[Image:HanHorse.JPG|thumb|230px|A horse of the Late [[Han Dynasty]] (1st-2nd century AD)]]

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Cinnamon|Cinnamon]]'', a [[guinea pig]] (a childhood pet of [[Marge Simpson|Marge's)]]

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Snuffy|Snuffy]], a hamster

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Pinchy|Pinchy]], a [[lobster]], in ''[[Lisa Gets an "A"]]''.

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Laddie|Laddie]], a dog, in ''[[The Canine Mutiny]]''

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Mojo|Mojo]], a [[monkey]], in ''[[Girly Edition]]''.

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Duncan .28Furious D.29|Duncan]], a horse, in ''[[Saddlesore Galactica]]''

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Princess|Princess]], a horse, in ''[[Lisa's Pony]]''

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Stampy|Stampy]], an [[elephant]], in ''[[Bart Gets an Elephant]]''

*[[List of animals in The Simpsons#Chirpy Boy|Chirpy Boy]] and Bart Jr., bird-eating lizards, in ''[[Bart the Mother]]''

*25 puppies from [[Santa's Little Helper]]

*''She's the Fastest'', mother of the 25 puppies

*Unknown number of puppies from breeding of [[Santa's Little Helper]] and [[Julius Hibbert|Dr. Hibbert]]'s dog

*''Bart Junior'', a frog. When [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] and [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa's]] school is [[Sex segregation|segregated]] by [[gender]], Bart says that he can go walking around with Bart Junior hanging out. He then pulls out Bart Junior the frog, who says (in the subtitles) that he thought Bart was talking about his [[penis]].

== Extended family ==

The next step came around [[130 BC]], with the embassies of the [[Han Dynasty]] to Central Asia, following the reports of the ambassador [[Zhang Qian]] (who was originally sent to obtain an alliance with the [[Yuezhi]] against the [[Xiong-Nu]], in vain). The Chinese emperor [[Emperor Wu of Han China|Wudi]] became interested in developing commercial relationship with the sophisticated urban civilizations of Ferghana, Bactria and Parthia: “The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana ([[Dayuan]]) and the possessions of [[Bactria]] (Daxia) and [[Parthia]] (Anxi) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed homes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China” ''Hou Hanshu'' ([[Later Han History]]).

=== Homer's parents ===

*[[Abraham Simpson|Abraham "Abe" Simpson]], Homer's father

*[[Mona Simpson (The Simpsons)|Mona Simpson]], Homer's mother

===Herbert Powell===

The Chinese subsequently sent numerous embassies, around ten every year, to these countries and as far as [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Syria]]. “Thus more embassies were dispatched to Anxi ([[Parthia]]), Yancai (who later joined the [[Alans]]), Lijian ([[Syria]] under the [[Seleucids]]), Tiaozhi ([[Chaldea]]) and Tianzhu (northwestern India)… As a rule, rather more than ten such missions went forward in the course of a year, and at the least five or six.” ''Hou Hanshu'' (Later Han History).

[[Image:herb_powell.gif|right|200px|thumb|Herbert Powell]]

'''Herbert "Herb" Powell''' (voiced by [[Danny DeVito]]) is Homer's half-brother. He first appeared in ''[[Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?]]'', but has not been seen since the end of [[The Simpsons (season 3)|Season 3]]. But he was mentioned in the episode "[[The Heartbroke Kid]]", when Homer was listing family members who need to lose weight. He bears many resemblances to Homer, though he is less rotund, has a full head of hair, and is significantly more intelligent. Herb was the product of a short-lived affair between Homer's father, [[Abraham Simpson]], and a [[carnival]] prostitute. He was adopted by Edward Powell and his wife, and Mona insisted on concealing his existence from the young Homer. Herb worked his way through college as a janitor and other odd jobs. Eventually, Herb found his calling in life, and became a businessman. He founded Powell Motors, a car company based in [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] of which he remained CEO. Later, after Homer discovered that he had a half-brother, he sought Herb out. Herb was overjoyed to learn that he had a birth family and bonded with his nieces and nephew. Under the advice of Herb, Homer helped design a car, which failed miserably and bankrupted the company turning Herb into a street vagrant. He re-appeared in the episode ''[[Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes?]]'', and briefly settled in the Simpson household (despite his intense and continuing antipathy toward Homer). Herb borrowed a sum of money from Homer and began to develop a device that was able to analyze [[baby]] speech and translate it into comprehensible [[English language|English]]. Herb built his invention based on the observations he made of [[Maggie Simpson]] and it proved to be entirely feasible. He proceeded to mass-produce his new [[Product (business)|product]] and managed to regain his fortune.

Herb is apparently unaffected by the so-called "Simpson gene", a [[Y-chromosome]] defect that reduces the intelligence of male members of the family, as described in ''[[Lisa the Simpson]]''. This meant to prove that not all male Simpsons are affected by the defect, since Dr. Simpson says that it affects 'only' men, not all men. (However, as Homer has what is generally considered to be slightly above average intelligence when not suffering from constant, acute brain trauma caused by an [[HOMR|invasive crayon]], it seems that Homer is also unaffected by the chromosome.) This is ambiguous of whether Homer's son Bart might have been affected by the Simpson gene on not.

The "Silk Road" essentially came into being from the [[1st century BC]], following these efforts by China to consolidate a road to the Western world and India, both through direct settlements in the area of the [[Tarim Basin]] and diplomatic relations with the countries of the Dayuan, Parthians and Bactrians further west.

=== Abbie Simpson ===

==Chinese silk in the Roman Empire==

[[Image:SimpsonsAbbie.png|left|200px|thumb|Homer with Abbie.]]

'''Abbie''' is [[Homer Simpson]]'s English [[half-sister]] from "[[The Regina Monologues]]". She looks like a female version of Homer (or Homer in [[drag]]) and although the two act similarly she is half- [[United Kingdom|British]]. It should be noted that while she is obviously a [[biological process|biological]] Simpson (aside from her [[appearance]] and [[personality]], she was born only about a year after [[Abraham Simpson|Grampa]]'s affair with her mother) she is not officially recognized by the family and never explicitly called a Simpson; the audience is merely left with a strong indication.

=== Amber Pigal-Simpson ===

[[Image:Menade.JPG|thumb|230px|Menade in silk dress, [[Naples]] National Museum.]]

'''Amber''' is Homer's 'Vegas wife' from the episode [[Viva Ned Flanders]]. Homer and [[Ned Flanders]] went to [[Las Vegas]] for a weekend, got drunk, and married two women. Ned's Vegas wife's name is '''Ginger Flanders'''. In [[Jazzy and the Pussycats]], it is revealed that she died of a drug overdose.

=== Frank/Francine/Mother Shabubu ===

Intense [[Roman commerce|trade with the Roman Empire]] followed soon, confirmed by the [[Roman]] craze for Chinese [[silk]] (supplied through the [[Parthians]]) from the [[1st century BC]], even though the Romans thought silk was obtained from trees:

In the episode "[[Lisa's First Word]]", while discussing the possibility of moving from their small apartment due to lack of space because of the arrival of Lisa, Homer says that Lisa can have Bart's room, and Bart will sleep with us until he's 21. Marge asks "Wouldn't that warp him?" And Homer replies, "My cousin Frank did it, and he was fine." He then says that Frank became Francine in 1976. After this line he then says that Francine joined a cult, and that he thinks his name is 'Mother Shabubu' now.

=== Great Aunt Hortense ===

: "''The [[Seres]] (Chinese), are famous for the woolen substance obtained from their forests; after a soaking in water they comb off the white down of the leaves... So manifold is the labour employed, and so distant is the region of the globe drawn upon, to enable the Roman maiden to flaunt transparent clothing in public''" ([[Pliny the Elder]] ([[23]]–[[79]], The Natural History).

'''Great Aunt Hortense''' is a part of only one episode ([[Bart the Fink]]), in which she dies. The Simpson family expects to inherit her estate, but instead each member is given $100 (except for [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]]). The rest was given to [[Ann Landers]] (as stated in Hortense's will).

=== Uncle Arthur ===

The [[Roman Senate|Senate]] issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds: the importation of Chinese silk caused a huge outflow of gold, and silk clothes were considered to be decadent and immoral:

'''Uncle Arthur''' is the children's uncle. Therefore, he would be either Marge or Homer's brother or cousin. However, Homer is an only child (at least, [[Herb Powell|Herb]] and Abbie are not seen regularly). It seems more likely that he is [[Marge Simpson|Marge's]] brother. She presently has only two sisters ([[Patty and Selma|Patty]] and [[Patty and Selma|Selma]]) and has only mentioned him once; but she was quite ashamed and said she would never speak of him again, which makes it more likely that he was her relative, not Homer's. Uncle Arthur is deceased. He used to have a saying, "Shoot 'em all and let God sort 'em out," until one day he put his theory into practice, and it took 75 federal marshalls to bring him down".[http://www.snpp.com/episodes/1F19.html] Another possibility is that Uncle Arthur was a great-uncle.

=== Dr. Simpson ===

: "''I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one's decency, can be called clothes... Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's body''" ([[Seneca the Younger]] (c. [[3 BC]]–[[65|AD 65]], Declamations Vol. I).

[[Image:Simpson women.png|200px|right|thumb|The Simpson women (Dr. Simpson is third from left), a highly successful group.]]

'''Dr. Simpson''', the chief of complicated surgeries at the invasive care unit, first seen in "[[Lisa the Simpson]]". In the episode, Homer is devastated when he can't find any successful Simpson men to prove to Lisa that there is no genetic condition causing intelligence deterioration. As a last ditch effort, he grabs Dr. Simpson, who explains that the defective Simpson gene is only on the [[Y Chromosome]]. She makes a brief cameo appearance in "[[Catch 'em If You Can]]".

=== Uncle Hubert ===

The Roman historian [[Florus]] also describes the visit of numerous envoys, included ''[[Seres]]'' (Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor [[Caesar Augustus|Augustus]], who reigned between [[27 BCE]] and [[14|14 CE]]:

'''Uncle Hubert''''s funeral was attended by the family in the Tracey Ullman short, "[[The Tracey Ullman Show shorts#The Funeral|The Funeral]]".

:''"Even the rest of the nations of the world which were not subject to the imperial sway were sensible of its grandeur, and looked with reverence to the Roman people, the great conqueror of nations. Thus even [[Scythians]] and [[Sarmatians]] sent envoys to seek the friendship of Rome. Nay, the [[Seres]] came likewise, and the [[Indians]] who dwelt beneath the vertical sun, bringing presents of precious stones and pearls and elephants, but thinking all of less moment than the vastness of the journey which they had undertaken, and which they said had occupied four years. In truth it needed but to look at their complexion to see that they were people of another world than ours."'' ("Cathey and the way thither", [[Henry Yule]]).

=== Uncle Tyrone ===

A maritime "Silk Route" opened up between Chinese-controlled [[Jiaozhi]] (centred in modern Vietnam, near [[Hanoi]]) probably by the [[1st century]] AD. It extended, via ports on the coasts of India and [[Sri Lanka]], all the way to Roman-controlled ports in [[Egypt]] and the [[Nabataean]] territories on the northeastern coast of the [[Red Sea]]. The ''[[Hou Hanshu]]'' records that the first Roman envoy arrived in China by this maritime route in AD [[166]].

'''Uncle Tyrone''' is a cynical elderly Simpson relative who lives in [[Dayton, Ohio]]. Judging from his age and appearance, he is most likely Abe's brother. The family intends to visit him during his birthday in the episode "[[Catch 'em If You Can]]", but he hasn't been seen since. When the Simpsons were singing "[[Happy Birthday]]" to him he said "Why won't I die."

===Cyrus Simpson===

==The expedition of Ban Chao==

[[Abraham Simpson]]'s older brother. Cyrus crashed his fighter into Tahiti in World War II's [[Pacific Theater of Operations|Pacific Theater]] during a kamikaze raid. He has 15 wives.

=== Orville Simpson ===

[[Image:BanChao.jpg|thumb|200px|Portrait of the Chinese general '''Ban Chao''' ([[32]]-[[102]]).]]

'''Orville Simpson''' is Homer's grandfather from "The Old Country", which appears to be [[Northern England]] or [[Scotland]]. He was seen in [[Much Apu About Nothing]]

=== Sven Simpson ===

In [[97]], the Chinese general [[Ban Chao]] crossed the [[Tian Shan]] and [[Pamir]] mountains with an army of 70,000 men in a campaign against the Xiongnu ([[Huns]]). He went as far west as the [[Caspian Sea]] and the region of [[Ukraine]], reaching the territory of [[Parthia]], upon which event he reportedly also sent an envoy named [[Gan Ying]] to [[Daqin]] ([[Rome]]). Gan Ying left a detailed account of western countries, although he probably only reached the [[Black Sea]] before turning back.

The earliest known ancestor of the family. He married Claretta Ethridge.

=== "Old Tut" Simpson ===

Gan Ying left an account on [[Rome]] ([[Daqin]] in Chinese), which may have relied on second-hand sources. He locates it to the west of the sea:

Father of Orville, as shown in [[The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album]], he resembles his grandson [[Abraham Simpson| Abe]].

:"Its territory is covers several thousand ''[[Li (Chinese unit)|li]]'' (a ''li'' is around half a kilometre), it has over 400 walled cities. Several tens of small states are subject to it. The outer walls of the cities are made of stones. They have established posting stations... There are pines and cypresses." (Hou Hanshu, cited in Leslie and Gardiner).

=== Howland Simpson ===

He also describes the Roman practice of democracy, their physical appearance and riches:

Mentioned in [[Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy]], acording to [[Abraham Simpson|Abe]] , invented the recipe for Simpson and Son Tonic that he and Homer sell in this episode,as a subsitute for holy water. Named in [[The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album]] . Father of "Old Tut" Simpson.

:"As for the king, he is not a permanent figure but is chosen as the man most worthy... The people in this country are tall and regularly featured. They resemble the Chinese, and that is why the country is called Da Qin (The "Great" [[Qin]])... The soil produced lots of gold, silver and rare jewels, including the jewel which shines at night.. they sew embroidered tissues with gold threads to form tapestries and damask of many colours, and make a gold-painted cloth, and a "cloth washed-in-the-fire" ([[asbestos]])." (Hou Hanshu, cited in Leslie and Gardiner).

=== Garwood Simpson ===

Finally Gan Ying determines Rome correctly as the main pole at the western end of the [[Silk Road]]:

:"It is from this country that all the various marvellous and rare objects of foreign states come." (Hou Hanshu, cited in Leslie and Gardiner).

Father of Howland, grandfather of "Old Tut" Simpson.

The Chinese army made an alliance with the [[Parthia]]ns and established some forts at a distance of a few days march from the Parthian capital [[Ctesiphon]], and were to hold the region for several years. In [[116]], the Roman Emperor [[Trajan]] advanced into Parthia to Ctesiphon and came within one day's march of the Chinese border garrisons, but direct contacts never took place.

=== Rupert Simpson ===

==First Roman embassy==

Father of Garwood, son of Sven he married Winifred Running Goat.

[[Image:PtolemyWorldMap.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Ptolemy]]'s world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy's ''Geographia'' (circa [[150]]), indicating "Sinae" ([[China]]) at the extreme right, beyond the island of "Taprobane" ([[Sri Lanka]], oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (Southeast Asian peninsula).]]

=== Bill Simpson===

With the expansion of the [[Roman Empire]] in the middle-east during the [[2nd century]], the Romans gained the capability to develop shipping and trade in the [[Indian Ocean]]. Several Roman ports have been excavated on the coast of India.

'''Bill Simpson''' is Abe's brother, apparently a [[communist]], as mentioned in [[Million Dollar Abie]].

Note: "Bill Simpson" was also the pseudonym used by Homer when he worked as a [[Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?|food critic]] for [[The Springfield Shopper#Newspapers|The Springfield Shopper]], apparently because on his typewriter, the "E" key didn't function.

Several Romans probably travelled farther to the East, either on Roman, Indian or Chinese ships. The first embassy of Romans to China is recorded in [[166]], sixty years after the expeditions to the west of the Chinese general [[Ban Chao]]. It came to [[Emperor Huan of Han China|Emperor Huan]] of [[Han China]], "from ''Antun'' (Emperor [[Antoninus Pius]]), king of [[Daqin]] (Rome)". Although, as Antoninus Pius died in [[161]], while the convoy arrived in [[166]], it may have been from [[Marcus Aurelius]], who was emperor in [[166]]. The confusion arises because Marcus Aurelius was formally adopted by his predecessor and took his names as additional names.

== Other relatives ==

The mission came from the South, and therefore probably by [[sea]], entering China by the frontier of [[Jinan]] or [[Tonkin]]. It brought presents of [[rhinoceros]] [[horn]]s, [[ivory]], and [[tortoise]] [[Animal shell|shell]], which had probably been acquired in [[Southern Asia]]. About the same time, and possibly through this embassy, the Chinese acquired a [[treatise]] of [[astronomy]] from [[Daqin]] (Chinese name of the Roman Empire).

[[Image:Simpson men.png|right|200px|thumb|The Simpson men, a less than successful group.]]

*'''Great Uncle Chet''', the owner of an unsuccessful shrimp company (Abe's brother)

*'''2nd cousin Stanley''', who shoots birds at the airport

and a group of unnamed relatives are mentioned in the episode "[[Lisa the Simpson]]", when Homer tries to prove to Lisa that not all Simpsons are failures. Also, in the episode "[[Bonfire of the Manatees]]", Homer leaves Bart, Lisa, and Maggie with 'relatives' whose names are never revealed. They live in the country and seem well-off, but they don't physically resemble the Simpson or Bouvier families. It is revealed that they are related only because the Simpson's dog, Santa's Little Helper, is a brother of this family's dog. The Simpsons family tree, depicted in the Simpsons publication "Uncensored Family Album" has many other family members in it.

== Non-canonical ==

China was clearly known to Roman [[cartography|cartographers]] of the time, since its name and position is depicted in [[Ptolemy]]'s ''Geographia'', which is dated to ''c.'' [[150]]. It is located beyond the ''Aurea Chersonesus'' ("Golden [[Peninsula]]"), which refers to the [[Southeast Asia]]n peninsula. It is shown as being on the ''Magnus Sinus'' ("Great Gulf"), which presumably corresponds to the known areas of the [[China Sea]] at the time; although Ptolemy represents it as tending south-east rather than north-east. Trade throughout the [[Indian Ocean]] was extensive from the [[2nd century]], and many Roman trading ports have been identified in [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]], through which the Roman embassy passed.

=== [[List of one-time characters from The Simpsons#Hugo Simpson|Hugo Simpson]] ===

'''

==Other= RomanMaggie embassiesJunior ===

'''Maggie Junior''' is Maggie's daughter in the future, in the episode "[[Bart to the Future]]". She looks exactly like Maggie normally does, even wearing the same kind of clothes.

==References==

[[Image:PtomelyAsiaDetail.jpg|thumb|300px|Detail of Asia in [[Ptolemy]]'s world map. Gulf of the [[Ganges]] left, Southeast Asian peninsula in the center, China Sea right, with "Sinae" (China).]]

<references/>

* "The Simpsons Archive" on:

Other embassies may have been sent after this first encounter, but were not recorded, until an account appears about presents sent in the early [[3rd century]] by the Roman Emperor to the [[Cao Rui|Emperor Taitsu]] of the [[Kingdom of Wei]] (reigned [[227]]&ndash;[[239]]) in Northern China. The presents consisted of articles of glass in a variety of colours. While several [[Roman Emperors]] ruled during this time, the embassy was most likely sent by [[Alexander Severus]]; since his successors reigned briefly and were busy with civil wars.

** [http://www.snpp.org/guides/homer.file.html Homer]

** [http://www.snpp.org/guides/marge.file.html Marge]

** [http://www.snpp.org/guides/bart.file.html Bart]

** [http://www.snpp.org/guides/lisa.file.html Lisa]

** [http://www.snpp.org/guides/maggie.file.html Maggie]

{{Simpsons characters}}

Another embassy from Daqin is also recorded in the year [[284]], which allegedly brought "tribute" to the Chinese empire. This embassy presumably was sent by the Emperor [[Carus]] ([[282]]&ndash;[[283]]), whose short reign was occupied with war with [[Persia]].

[[Category:Families in The Simpsons]]

==See also==

* [[Foreign relations of imperial China]]

* [[Ptolemy world map]]

* [[Kangnido map]]

* Later Han History, [[Hou Hanshu]].

[[ca:Els Simpsons]]

==External links and references==

[[de:Die Simpsons (Familie)]]

* [[Henry Yule]]. ''Cathay and the Way Thither''. 1915.

[[ru:Семья Симпсонов]]

* http://www.silk-road.com/artl/romanenvoy.shtml

* [http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/e/w/ewg118/li-chien.pdf Rome, China, and Roman Li-chien]

* [http://www.friends-classics.demon.co.uk/news_romans_in_china.htm Did the Romans settle in Yongchang County, Gansu Province, China?]

* [http://yuhe.home2.cernet.cn/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=471 The Romans in China. They came&#65292;saw and settled]

* [http://www.archaeology.org/9905/newsbriefs/china.html Romans in China?]

* [http://www.100megsfree4.com/farshores/aromchin.htm Digging For Romans In China]

[[Category:Ancient Roman foreign relations]]

[[Category:History of China]]