Je suis tombé sur une traduction anglaise anonyme du passage concerné des Annales des Han, à la base de la théorie du passage en Chine des survivants de Carrhae.
First of all, the relevant text is the "Han Shu" (History of the Han Dynasty) and not the "Hou Han Shu" (History of the Later Han Dynasty) as the article mistakenly claims. The passage is in the biography of Chen Tang, one of the two Han generals who led the battle against the Xiongnu Chanyu (king) Zhizhi. [Zhizhi Chanyu was his title, like "Chinggis Khan" - his real name (transliterated into Chinese) was Luanti Hutuwusi]
The next day, the Han army advanced to Zhizhi's fort on the bank of the Talas River, and set up camp three li (about 1.5 kilometres) from the fort. They saw five-coloured banners flying from the Chanyu's fort, and several hundred men in armour defending its ramparts. More than a hundred cavalry rode back and forth in front of the fort, and more than a hundred infantry performed drills at its gates in fish-scale formation. The Xiongnu defending the fort taunted the Han army, shouting, "Come and fight!" The Xiongnu cavalry charged the Han camp, but all the Han crossbowmen had their weapons loaded and aimed, so the cavalry backed off. The Han crossbowmen then moved in several times and shot volleys at the Xiongu cavalry and infantry at the gate of the fort, forcing them to withdraw into the fort. Han Generals Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang ordered the army to charge to the walls of the fort at the sounding of the drums and surround it on all four sides. Each unit would perform the task assigned to it: some digging tunnels under the walls, some blocking up the arrow ports in the walls. The pavises advanced in front, and the halberdiers and crossbowmen behind them. The crossbowmen laid down a supressing fire on the ramparts, driving the defenders off the walls. But there were also two wooden stockades outside the fort, from which the Xiongnu shot arrows at the Han attackers, killing or wounding many of them. The attackers then brought up f*gots and burned the stockades down. That night, several hundred Xiongnu cavalry attempted to break out of the siege (and seek reinforcements), but were wiped out by the Han crossbows. At first, the Chanyu had thought of fleeing to Kangju (a tributary state of the Xiongnu) upon hearing of the arrival of the Han army. But he then suspected that the king of Kangju would betray him to the Han as revenge for past grievances. He also heard that Wusun and all the other Central Asian states (that had once been dominated by the Xiongnu) had contributed troops to the Han expeditionary force, and realised that he had nowhere to run. (Before the battle) Zhizhi Chanyu had already evacuated the fort, but then returned to it, saying, "Why not hold out? The Han army has travelled far, and its supplies cannot sustain a long siege." The Chanyu then put on his armour and took his place on the walls, and even his queen and several tens of concubines took bows and shot at the besiegers. One of the Han crossbowmen shot the Chanyu in the nose, and many of his concubines were also shot dead. The Chanyu then came down from the walls and mounted his horse, directing the defense from his headquarters within the fort. By midnight, the stockades had been destroyed, but the Xiongnu defenders came up onto the rammed-earth walls of the fort and yelled battle cries. At this point, more than ten thousand Kangju cavalry arrived (the Kangju king had remained loyal to the Xiongnu after all) and deployed in more than ten places around the fort in support of the Xiongnu. In the night, they attacked the Han camp several times, but were beaten back each time. At dawn, fires were raised all around the fort, and the Han soldiers scaled the walls in high spirits and shouting their battle cries. The sound of bells and drums shook the earth. The Kangju reinforcements disengaged and fled the scene. The Han soldiers advanced behind pavises on all sides of the fort, and stormed it en masse. The Chanyu, with more than a hundred men and women in his entourage, retreated into his headquarters. The Han army set fire to the headquarters and then charged in. The Chanyu suffered severe wounds and died. An officer named Du Xun cut off the Chanyu's head. Inside the headquarters, the Han soldiers found two captive Han envoys, as well as the letter that Gu Ji (a Han envoy whom Zhizhi Chanyu had executed, provoking the Han expedition against him) and his mission had presented to the Chanyu. All the Han soldiers were allowed to keep whatever booty they found. The Xiongnu queen, crown prince and aristocrats were all beheaded, about 1,518 people in all. 145 Xiongnu were captured in battle, and more than a thousand surrendered. These prisoners were bestowed upon the kings of the fifteen Central Asian kingdoms who had participated in the expedition.
Il faut être imaginatif pour reconnaître des Romains dans l’affaire. Par ailleurs, ces « Romains » sont peu nombreux, alors que les chiffres des prisonniers concernent l’ensemble de la population capturée, hommes, femmes et enfants, des Xiongnu essentiellement. En prime, ils sont dispersés entre les différents roitelets alliés des Hans, donc peu susceptibles de se retrouvés regroupés en Chine. Le mythe s’éloigne encore un peu plus. Ceci dit j’aimerai bien avoir une traduction un peu plus « officielle » de ce texte.
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