...and because the Emperor does not covet their profits, these distant people hold him in high regard, and the offering of tribute remains constant.

Notes on Lands Beyond the Imperial Jurisdiction original: 職方外紀 (Zhifang Waiji); a famous world geography published in 1623 by the Jesuit missionary Giulio Aleni, which introduced many Western concepts and biblical stories to China

To the west of the Indus River, there is a great nation called Persia original: 百爾西亞 (Bai'erxi'a). In the earliest times of the ancient peoples, all humanity lived together, and their language was one. After the Great Flood, human ingenuity gradually increased, and people's hearts grew fond of the unusual. In that land, they created a high tower, wishing to reach the very heights of heaven. The Lord 天主 (Tian Zhu): literally "Lord of Heaven," the term adopted by Jesuit missionaries to refer to the Christian God detested their growing pride and consequently confused the speech of the people into seventy-two different languages. Each group, according to their language, scattered in all five directions. To this day, the ruins of that site still exist, called Babel original: 罷百爾 (Babaier), which translates as "Confusion," referring to the confusion of the world's tongues.

In its earliest days, Persia was known as Babylonia original: 罷鼻落你亞 (Babiluoniya). Its borders were immensely wide, and its capital city had one hundred and twenty gates. Even if one were to ride a horse at full speed, they could not complete a circuit of the city walls in a single day. Within the kingdom, there was a garden built in mid-air, supported from below by stone pillars. Above, it held soil and rocks; and among the pavilions, ponds, plants, trees, birds, and beasts, there were none... The text likely intended to conclude with "none that were not present," referring to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon