The Hindu-Arabic Numerals c9.92

c9.92

Greece must also have had early relations with China, for there is a notable similarity between the Greek and Chinese life, as is shown in their houses, their domestic customs, their marriage ceremonies, the public story-tellers, the puppet shows which Herodotus says were introduced from Egypt, the street jugglers, the games of dice,⁶ the game of finger-guessing,⁷ the water clock, the music system, the use of the myriad,¹ the calendars, and in many other ways.² In passing through the suburbs of Peking to-day, on the way to the Great Bell temple, one is constantly reminded of the semi-Greek architecture of Pompeii, so closely does modern China touch the old classical civilization of the Mediterranean. The Chinese historians tell us that about 200 B.C. their arms were successful in the far west, and that in 180 B.C. an ambassador went to Bactria, then a Greek city, and reported that Chinese products were on sale in the markets there.³ There is also a noteworthy resemblance between certain Greek and Chinese words,⁴ showing that in remote times there must have been more or less interchange of thought.