从上古到中世纪时期,著名的“丝绸之路”把远东和地中海沿岸各国联结在一起。这时期罗马、拜占庭(东罗马)、阿拉伯和波斯(伊朗)在海上丝绸之路所作出的贡献屡见记述。然而,中国船队的功绩也不可低估。在公元一世纪末,一位中国使节由陆路到达位于波斯湾顶部一个叫做迦莱辛的小国,这个国家与安息国紧密结合在一起,不过却是独立的。这位中国使节调查研究航行波斯湾及地中海的一些可能性,但被迦莱辛人泼了冷水,他们夸大了从中国航行到这些地区的危险。①实际上,中国比绝大多数国家早得多拥有出色的商人和战舰。从公元前二世纪起,中国 From antiquity to the Middle Ages, the famous “Silk Road” links the Far East with the countries on the Mediterranean coast. The contributions of Rome, Byzantine (East Rome), Arabs and Persia (Iran) over the Maritime Silk Road during this period have been repeated. However, the merits of the Chinese fleet can not be underestimated. At the end of the first century AD an envoy of the Chinese arrived by land over land to a small country called Calales on the top of the Persian Gulf. The country was closely associated with the Sabbath but was independent. The Chinese envoys were investigating some of the possibilities of navigating the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea, but were cold-eaten by the Cales-Sinners, who exaggerated the danger of sailing from China to these regions. In fact, China has far better businesswomen and warships than most. From the second century BC, China