Chapter 69 68 Zhang Qian Travels to the Western Regions

In the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, some of the Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty knew a little about the situation in the Western Regions (now Xinjiang and the area west of Xinjiang) from their conversations.They said that there was a Yuezhi (sound yue-zhi) country, which was defeated by the Huns, fled westward, and settled in the Western Regions.They had enmity with the Huns and wanted revenge, but no one helped them. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought, since the Yueshi is in the west of the Xiongnu.If the Han Dynasty could unite with the Yuezhi and cut off the connection between the Xiongnu and the countries in the Western Regions, wouldn't that mean cutting off the right arm of the Xiongnu?

So, he issued an imperial edict, soliciting capable people to contact Yuezhi.At that time, no one knew where the Yuezhi Kingdom was or how far it was.It takes a lot of courage to take on this task. A young doctor (official name) Zhang Qian (sound qian) thought it was a meaningful thing and applied first. With him taking the lead, the others became more courageous, and a hundred warriors joined the conscript.There was a Hun named Tang Yifu in Chang'an who was also willing to go to Yuezhi Kingdom with Zhang Qian. In 138 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian with more than a hundred people to find Yuezhi.But to get to Yuezhi, you must pass through the territory occupied by the Huns.Zhang Qian and the others walked carefully for a few days, but they were still found and surrounded by the Huns, and they all became prisoners.

The Huns did not kill them, but sent people to separate them and take care of them. Only Tang Yifu lived with Zhang Qian for more than ten years. As time went by, the Huns did not control them so strictly.Zhang Qian discussed with Tang Yi's father. Seeing that the Huns were not on guard, they rode two fast horses and fled. They ran westward for dozens of days, suffered a lot, and escaped from the territory of the Xiongnu. They did not find the Yuezhi, but broke into another country called Dawan (in today's Central Asia). Dawan and the Xiongnu are close neighbors, and the locals understand the Xiongnu dialect.Both Zhang Qian and Tang Yifu could speak the Hun dialect, so it was very convenient for them to talk.They met the king of Dawan. The king of Dayuan had heard that the Han Dynasty was a rich and powerful country. Kashgar Lake and Aral Sea), and then from Kangju to Yueshi.

After the Yuezhi was defeated by the Huns, they moved to Daxia (now northern Afghanistan) and established the Great Yuezhi Kingdom, not wanting to fight against the Huns any more.King Da Yueshi was not interested in Zhang Qian's words, but because Zhang Qian was an envoy from the Han Dynasty, he received him very politely. Zhang Qian and Tang Yifu lived in Da Yuezhi for more than a year, and went to Daxia once, and saw many things they had never seen before.But they failed to persuade the Da Yuezhi Kingdom to deal with the Xiongnu together, so they had to come back.After passing through the border of the Huns, he was detained for a period of time. Fortunately, civil strife broke out in the Huns, so he escaped and returned to Chang'an.

Zhang Qian spent thirteen years outside before returning.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that he had made great contributions and appointed him as a doctor of the Taizhong. Zhang Qian reported in detail the situation of the countries in the Western Regions to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.He said: "I saw bamboo sticks produced in Qiongshan (in present-day Sichuan Province, Qiongyin qiong) in Daxia and fine cloth produced in Shudi (present-day Chengdu, Sichuan). The local people said that these things were brought by merchants from Tianzhu (which is now from India)." He thought that since Tianzhu could buy things from Shu, it must be not far from Shu.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to set off from Shu with gifts to make friends with Tianzhu.Zhang Qian divided the troops into four teams and went to Tianzhu separately.The four groups of people traveled two thousand miles each, but they couldn't find it.Some were beaten back by local tribes. When a group of people heading south reached Kunming, they were also blocked.The envoys of the Han Dynasty bypassed Kunming and arrived in Dianyue (in the eastern part of Yunnan today).The previous generation of the king of Dianyue was originally from the state of Chu, and had been cut off from the Central Plains for several generations.He was willing to help Zhang Qian find the way to Tianzhu, but Kunming blocked him and couldn't pass.

When Zhang Qian returned to Chang'an, Emperor Wu of the Han thought that although he did not find Tianzhu, he made friends with Dianyue, who had never been in contact with him, and was very satisfied. After Wei Qing and Huo Qubing wiped out the main force of the Huns, and the Huns fled to the north of the Great Desert, many countries in the Western Regions saw that the Huns had lost power, and they were unwilling to pay tribute and taxes to the Huns.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took this opportunity to send Zhang Qian to the Western Regions again.In 119 B.C., Zhang Qian and several of his deputies took the banners of the Han Dynasty, brought three hundred warriors, two horses each, and more than ten thousand cattle and sheep, as well as gold, coins, silk, satin, etc. Cloth and other gifts to make friends with the Western Regions.

When Zhang Qian arrived in Wusun (in Xinjiang), the king of Wusun came out to meet him.Zhang Qian gave him a generous gift and suggested that the two countries become relatives and jointly deal with the Xiongnu.King Wusun only knew that the Han Dynasty was far away from Wusun, but he didn't know how strong the Han Dynasty was.He wanted to get help from the Han Dynasty, but he didn't dare to offend the Huns, so the Wusun monarch and his ministers discussed the matter of jointly dealing with the Huns for several days, but they still couldn't make a decision. Afraid of wasting time, Zhang Qian sent his deputies to contact Dawan, Da Yueshi, Khotan (in today's Hotan area of ​​Xinjiang, tian sounded tian) and other countries with gifts.

King Wusun also sent several translators to help them. These many deputies have been away for several days and have not returned.King Wusun first sent Zhang Qian back to Chang'an. He sent dozens of people to visit Chang'an with Zhang Qian, and also brought dozens of tall horses to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was already very happy to see them, and seeing the big horse sent by King Wusun, he treated Wusun's envoy especially favorably. A year later, Zhang Qian fell ill and died.The deputies sent by Zhang Qian to various countries in the Western Regions also returned to Chang'an one after another.The deputies counted the places they had visited, and they had been to thirty-six countries in total.

Since then, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has sent envoys to visit the countries in the Western Regions every year, and the Han Dynasty has established friendly exchanges with the countries in the Western Regions.There was also an endless stream of envoys and businessmen sent from the Western Regions.Chinese silk and silk fabrics were transported to West Asia via the Western Regions, and then transported to Europe. Later, people called this route the "Silk Road".