Illustrated Gazetteer of the Maritime Countries (Vol. 40)

Although these lands are far apart, their customs are not very different. The Book of Han original: "Ban Shu," referring to the history of the Western Han Dynasty by Ban Gu states that the King of Jibin An ancient kingdom in the Kashmir or Gandhara region ruled from the city of Xunxian. Its people are skilled at decorative carving and engraving, the construction of palaces, and the weaving of woolen rugs original: "ji," a type of heavy woolen fabric or carpet and fine embroidery. They take great pleasure in wine and food. They use gold, silver, copper, and tin to make vessels. In their markets, they use gold and silver as currency; the obverse of their coins depicts a man on horseback, while the reverse depicts a human face.

Among those whose temperament and products are similar to Jibin are the kingdoms of Wuyi Alexandria Prophthasia, in modern-day Afghanistan/Sistan and Anxi Parthia, ancient Persia. The coins of Wuyi specifically feature a human head on the obverse and a horseman on the reverse. Anxi also uses silver for currency; its coins depict the face of the King on the obverse and the face of his Consort on the reverse.

Today, the nations of England, France, and Holland are highly skilled at manufacturing pocket watches original: "lian biao," literally "chain-meters," referring to mechanical timepieces, reaching the very limits of technical ingenuity. Their woven woolens and similar goods are of peerless refinement. The foreign silver coins original: "yang qian," referring to the Spanish silver dollars and other European trade coins then circulating in China they use are also cast in silver, with the reverse featuring either a human face or the face of a King. In this regard, their customs are identical [to those of the ancient Western kingdoms].

Furthermore, the Book of Han records that the people of Anxi write horizontally on parchment original: "hua ge," literally "painted/marked leather" to keep records. The commentator Yan Shigu A famous Tang Dynasty scholar (581–645 AD) noted that the writing of the various "Western Barbarian" nations and the people of Linyi An ancient kingdom in central Vietnam in the south is all written horizontally.