If there are unexpected calamities in the kingdom, such as frequent extraordinary winds or rains, he is unceremoniously rejected and replaced.
This country produces plenty of gold [and] silver, [and of] rare and precious [things] they have luminous jade, 'bright moon pearls,' Haiji rhinoceroses, coral, yellow amber, opaque glass, whitish chalcedony, red cinnabar, green gemstones, goldthread embroideries, rugs woven with gold thread, delicate polychrome silks painted with gold, and asbestos cloth.
The king of this country always wanted to send envoys to Han, but Anxi [Parthia], wishing to control the trade in multi-coloured Chinese silks, blocked the route to prevent [the Romans] getting through [to China].
[8] Gan Ying traveled about the time that the Emperor Nerva adopted Trajan as his successor, but neither of them abdicated for bad omens; the "kings" according to him resemble the Sages of legendary Chinese antiquity more than any Roman institution.
The silkworms of the Greek island of Cos were cultivated in antiquity, but the product was never comparable to Chinese silk.