The Roman and Han empires saw an exchange of trade goods, information, and occasional travelers, as did the later Eastern Roman Empire and various Chinese dynasties. These empires inched progressively closer in the course of the Roman expansion into the ancient Near East and simultaneous Han Chinese military incursions into Central Asia. Mutual awareness remained low and firm knowledge about each other was limited. Only a few attempts at direct contact are known from records. Several alleged Roman emissaries to China were recorded by ancient Chinese historians. The indirect exchange of goods along the Silk Road and sea routes included Chinese silk, Roman glassware (example pictured) and high-quality cloth. Roman coins minted since the 1st century AD have been found in China. A coin of Maximian and medallions from the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius were found in Vietnam. Roman glasswares and silverwares have been discovered at Chinese archaeological sites dated to the Han period. Roman coins and glass beads have also been found in Japan.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Roman_relations

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1025:

Bolesław I the Brave became the first King of Poland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_I_the_Brave

1689:

Provincial militia and citizens gathered in Boston, and arrested officials of the Dominion of New England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1689_Boston_revolt

1958:

Controversial American poet Ezra Pound was released from St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he had been incarcerated for twelve years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Pound

1996:

Israeli forces shelled Qana, Lebanon, during Operation Grapes of Wrath, killing more than 100 civilians and injuring more than 110 others at a UN compound. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qana_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

paint oneself into a corner: (idiomatic) To create a predicament or problem for oneself; to do something that leaves one with no good alternatives or solutions. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paint_oneself_into_a_corner

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion (to which few members of other civilizations were converted) but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.   --Samuel P. Huntington https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_P._Huntington