Roman descendants living in Gansu?
Source: Xinhua |
October 3, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IN a remote village in northwestern China, it might be surprising to see that Western-looking Chinese people stage ancient Roman dances and military parades that they've inherited from their ancestors.
And in the square of Liqian Village of Yongchang County of Gansu Province, a dozen Western-looking villagers - suited in armor and carrying shields - recently demonstrated a rare fish scale-shaped formation. Local villagers said the formation evolved from the military alignments of an ancient Roman army and is flexible enough to both attack and defend.
"It is amazing to see the merging of two great ancient cultures in this remote village," said Pamela McCourt Francescone, a visitor from Italy.
With deep-set green eyes and a long, hooked nose, Luo Ying, the 35-year-old lead performer, has a European look. His fellow villagers nicknamed him "Roman Prince."
"I believe that I am somewhat related to the ancient Romans," said Luo.
Situated along the Silk Road, a 7,000-kilometer-long trade route that linked Asia and Europe more than 2,000 years ago, the village stepped into the spotlight in the 1990s when archeologists found the remains of an ancient fort and a crowd of Western-looking people there.
DNA tests in 2005 confirmed that some of the villagers are indeed of foreign origin, leading many experts to conclude they are the descendants of the ancient Roman army headed by general Marcus Crassus.
In 53 BC, Crassus was defeated and beheaded by the Parthians, a tribe that occupied what is now Iran, putting an end to Rome's eastward expansion.
But a 6,000-strong army led by Crassus's oldest son apparently escaped and were never found again.
Though some anthropologists are convinced the foreign-looking villagers in Yongchang County are the descendants of the ancient army, others are not so certain.
In November 2010, the Italian Studies Center was jointly established by China and Italy at Lanzhou University in Gansu. One of its research programs focuses on the early descendants of the ancient Roman army in China. Professor Yuan Honggeng, head of the center, said they hope to prove the theory by digging to uncover more evidence of China's early contact with the Romans.
And in the square of Liqian Village of Yongchang County of Gansu Province, a dozen Western-looking villagers - suited in armor and carrying shields - recently demonstrated a rare fish scale-shaped formation. Local villagers said the formation evolved from the military alignments of an ancient Roman army and is flexible enough to both attack and defend.
"It is amazing to see the merging of two great ancient cultures in this remote village," said Pamela McCourt Francescone, a visitor from Italy.
With deep-set green eyes and a long, hooked nose, Luo Ying, the 35-year-old lead performer, has a European look. His fellow villagers nicknamed him "Roman Prince."
"I believe that I am somewhat related to the ancient Romans," said Luo.
Situated along the Silk Road, a 7,000-kilometer-long trade route that linked Asia and Europe more than 2,000 years ago, the village stepped into the spotlight in the 1990s when archeologists found the remains of an ancient fort and a crowd of Western-looking people there.
DNA tests in 2005 confirmed that some of the villagers are indeed of foreign origin, leading many experts to conclude they are the descendants of the ancient Roman army headed by general Marcus Crassus.
In 53 BC, Crassus was defeated and beheaded by the Parthians, a tribe that occupied what is now Iran, putting an end to Rome's eastward expansion.
But a 6,000-strong army led by Crassus's oldest son apparently escaped and were never found again.
Though some anthropologists are convinced the foreign-looking villagers in Yongchang County are the descendants of the ancient army, others are not so certain.
In November 2010, the Italian Studies Center was jointly established by China and Italy at Lanzhou University in Gansu. One of its research programs focuses on the early descendants of the ancient Roman army in China. Professor Yuan Honggeng, head of the center, said they hope to prove the theory by digging to uncover more evidence of China's early contact with the Romans.
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