ABSTRACT
China had rich contacts with Zoroastrians during the first millennium CE. A broad array of Classical Chinese sources describes Zoroastrianism and more broadly Persian culture. These offer us a glimpse into how the Chinese imagined the religion. The Chinese descriptions generally confirm much of what we already know about the religion and Sasanian society, but the Chinese were particularly repulsed by consanguineous marriage and burial practices in Zoroastrianism. Nevertheless, the religion became integrated into Chinese society from the seventh century, after which time it became a mysterious cult to what was originally a foreign fire god.
