Christianity in Europe Christians were part of the Protestant tradition. Russia is the largest Christian country in Europe by population, followed by Germany and Italy. Since at least the legalization of Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, Europe has been an important centre of Christian culture, even though the religion was inherited from Africa and the Middle East and important Christian communities have thrived outside Europe such as Oriental Orthodoxy and the Church of the East since the time of Christ. Christian culture has been an important force in Western civilization, influencing the course of philosophy, art, and science.
The Raksha Country and the Sea Market fishermen shipwrecked on an unknown island, among other stories. According to Qing dynasty critic Feng Zhenluan (), "The Raksha Country and the Sea Market" comprises "two disconnected episodes". In the first, "zhiguai"-like episode, the protagonist Ma Ji encounters the monsters of the Raksha Country; the second, written in the "chuanqi" fashion, concerns Ma's voyage to the sea market, his subsequent romance with a dragon princess and their eventual parting of ways. Several commentators have suggested that the titular "sea market" is imaginary. Giles notes that it "is generally understood in the sense of "mirage", or some similar phenomenon". Liana Chen