Chapter Du Huan’s 杜環 Perception of the Ecumene in the 8th Century

Abstract

This chapter deals with a preliminary analysis of the journey that Du Huan 杜環 took toward Western countries, during the Tang dynasty (618–907). In particular, it investigates the perception of the Mediterranean area, conceived as a transcultural and transnational territory, as reflected in the eyes of a Chinese traveller of the 8th century. Du Huan is thought to be one of the first Chinese travellers to have visited and recorded his observations about the north-western coast of Africa and other territories, under the influence and the control of the Arab-Islamic empire during the 8th century. His work reveals a prominent interest in the customs and habits of the local populations, which he described with great ability. Unfortunately, his work Jing xing ji has been almost completely lost except for a few extracts found in the Encyclopaedic History of Institutions (known as Tong dian) written by Du You – a relative of Du Huan, which was compiled in 801 CE. Du Huan’s manuscript gives a crucial contribution to the studies regarding China’s contacts with the rest of the world, in particular about the historical exchanges between China and Africa, and China and the Arab-Islamic world. (Song 2011, 8; Smidt 2001, 3). Furthermore, his writings testify to the extent of the knowledge of the far West (intended as the Mediterranean area) that the Chinese already had in the 8th century, and reflect Du Huan’s interest for new original aspects (never mentioned in earlier works), likely based on first-hand observations noted down by the author himself: for instance, the expressions related to concept of multi-culturalism and to the perception of religion appears in Du Huan’s description of the Arab-Islamic world, and in other sections.