Chapter 5 Section 3 Ban Chao and his son’s painstaking management of the Silk Road

During the period of Emperor Han Ming (58-75 A.D.), the national strength of the Eastern Han Dynasty was restored, and four armies were sent out to defeat the Xiongnu, which once again opened the door to the Western Regions.And reset the Western Regions Protectorate.In the fierce battle against the Huns, Ban Chao, who was a fake (representative) Sima, was both wise and brave, and emerged.He led a partial division to attack Yiwu (near today's Hami) and fight against Puleihai (Balikun Lake), making repeated military exploits.After the war, he was ordered to send an envoy to the southern countries in the Western Regions to fight for them to break with the Xiongnu and communicate with the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Ban Chao led 36 entourages and arrived in Shanshan first.King Shanshan was very enthusiastic about Banchao's mission at first, but soon he suddenly became cold.It turned out that the envoys of the Huns also arrived in Shanshan for activities, so that the king of Shanshan was between the two powers, and he didn't know what to do.After Ban Chao learned of this situation, he acted decisively and attacked the Xiongnu mission at night and wiped it out in one fell swoop.This decisive action prompted King Shanshan to make up his mind to sever relations with the Huns and re-establish friendship with the Eastern Han Dynasty.Afterwards, Ban Chao and his party arrived in Khotan.The king of Khotan attacked and killed the envoy sent by the Huns to supervise there.In the second year, Ban Chao rushed forward from the small road to Shule, deposed the Shule king established by the Huns, and re-established the son of the original Shule king who was killed by the Huns, thus winning the hearts of the Shule people.In 75 AD, the imperial court called Ban Chao back to the court.The whole country of Shule was terrified, and repeatedly tried to keep Banchao. When Banchao came to Khotan on his way back east, the princes of Khotan and the people blocked the way, and even hugged Banchao's horse's leg and wept, begging him to stay.Ban Chao finally complied with the people's sentiments, agreed to stay, and returned to Shule.Afterwards, under the unfavorable situation where the enemy was strong and we were weak, Ban Chao relied on Khotan, Shule and other countries that had good relations with the Han Dynasty, as well as more than a thousand reinforcements sent by the Eastern Han Dynasty, to force-land Shache, a vassal state of the Huns on the South Road, and defeated the Huns. The Qiuci reinforcements were sent to make the South Road of the Western Regions unimpeded.From 89 to 91 AD, Han general Dou Xian defeated the Huns, and the situation in the Western Regions improved.During this period, Ban Chao successfully repelled the 70,000 troops of the Da Yuezhi Guishuang Dynasty.Kucha in the North Road of the Western Regions fell to Banchao.The Eastern Han court appointed Ban Chao as the Protector of the Western Regions, stationed in Kucha.By AD 94, Yanqi and other countries had recovered better than the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the North Road in the Western Regions was finally unblocked again.Ban Chao went on an envoy in his prime and returned to Luoyang at the age of 70.His son Ban Yong inherited his father's career and continued to serve in the Western Regions.The activities of Ban Chao and his son in the Western Regions ensured the smooth flow of the land and silk roads, and made indelible contributions to the further communication of Chinese and Western cultural exchanges.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the southern route of the Silk Road was basically the same as in the Western Han Dynasty.The route of the North Road has changed.After leaving Yumen Pass, it passes through Yiwu (today's Hami) and Gaochang (today's southeast of Turpan), from here to the west, along the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, passing through Kucha, to Shule, and then crossing Congling to the west, to Dawan and Kangju , Yancai Zhuguo.From Gaochang to the north, it leads to Jinmancheng, the kingdom of Cheshi (now north of Jimsar, Xinjiang).The Eastern Han Dynasty set up post pavilions along the way to facilitate business travel, and large-scale farming in Shanshan North, Yiwu, Gaochang, Liuzhong (now Turpan South), as well as Houcheng, Qiuci, and Shule in the Cheshihou Kingdom .

What needs to be mentioned in particular is: in 97 AD, Ban Chao planned to establish direct contact with Daqin (Roman Empire), and specially sent his assistant Gan Ying to that long-known western power.Gan Ying took Tiaozhi to the head of the Persian Gulf.Just when he was "facing the sea and wanted to cross" ("Book of the Later Han" Volume 118 "Biography of the Western Regions"), he was dissuaded by Anxi's western sea merchants.They told Gan Ying that the sea is boundless, and it will take three months to cross it if the wind is favorable; if the wind is not favorable, it will take two years to cross.Therefore, those who cross the sea need to prepare three-year rations.In addition, deaths during voyages also occur from time to time.Gan Ying finally looked at the ocean and sighed, and stopped moving forward.Rest at this time, in the economic and cultural exchanges between China and the Roman Empire, is in the middle of the re-export status.In order to maintain his special status as a middleman, Anxi merchants did everything possible to obstruct Gan Ying's westward advance.At the end of the Han Dynasty, China developed the Silk Road westward, and the limit of its direct land extension is recorded in writing, which is the head of the Persian Gulf where Gan Ying went.