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| Zhang Qian 張騫 | |
|---|---|
 Zhang Qian taking leave from emperor Han Wudi, for his expedition to Central Asia from 138 to 126 BC, Mogao Caves mural, 618 - 712. | |
| Born | 195 BC Hanzhong, Shaanxi, China |
| Died | 114 BC China |
| Occupation | Explorer and diplomat |
Zhang Qian (張騫; Wade-Giles Chang-k\'ien) was an imperial envoy in the 2nd century BC, during the time of the Han Dynasty. He was the first official diplomat to bring back reliable information about Central Asia to the Chinese imperial court, then under Emperor Wu of Han, and played an important pioneering role in the Chinese colonisation and conquest of the region now known as Xinjiang. Zhang Qian\'s accounts of his explorations of Central Asia are detailed in the Early Han historical chronicles ("Shiji", or "Records of the Great Historian"), compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC .
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Zhang Qian was born in present day Hanzhong, Shaanxi, at the border of northeastern Sichuan. He entered the capital, Chang\'an, today\'s Xi\'an, between 140 BC and 134 BC as a Gentleman (郎), serving Emperor Wu. At the time the Xiongnu tribes controlled modern Inner Mongolia and dominated much of modern Xiyu (西域 "Western Regions").
The Han court dispatched Zhang Qian to the Western Regions in 138 BC with a delegation of over one hundred members. He was accompanied by a Xiongnu guide named Ganfu (甘父) or Tangyi Fu, a slave owned by the Chinese family Tangyi (堂邑氏), and obviously adopted the family name from the slave owner. The objective of Zhang Qian\'s first mission was to seek a military alliance with the Yuezhi,Silk Road, North China, C. Michael Hogan, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham in modern Tajikistan. On route he was captured by the Xiongnu and detained for ten years.Frances Wood, "The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia", 2002, University of California Press, 270 pages ISBN 052023786 There he married a Xiongnu wife and gained the trust of the Xiongnu leader.
When Zhang finally made it to Yuezhi lands, he found that they were too settled to want war against the Xiongnu. He spent about one year in Yuezhi and Bactrian territory, documenting their cultures, lifestyles and economy, before returning to China.
The report of Zhang Qian\'s travels is quoted extensively in the 1st century BC Chinese historic chronicles "Records of the Great Historian" (Shiji) by Sima Qian. Zhang Qian visited directly the kingdom of Dayuan in Ferghana, the territories Yuezhi in Transoxonia, the Bactrian country of Daxia with it remnants of Greco-Bactrian rule, and Kangju (康居). He also made reports on neighbouring countries that he did not visit, such as Anxi (Parthia), Tiaozhi (Mesopotamia), Shendu (India) and the Wusun.
Countries described in Zhang Qian\'s report. Visited countries are highlighted in blue.
Zhang Qian starts with a report on the first country he visited (after his captivity among the Xiongnu), Dayuan, in Ferghana, west of the Tarim Basin. They are considered by him as sophisticated urban dwellers, on the same footing as the Parthian and the Bactrians. The name Dayuan (meaning Great Yuan), may be a transliteration of the word Yona used to designate Greeks, who occupied the region from the 4th to the 2nd century BC.
See also: Dayuan
After obtaining the help of the king of Dayuan, Zhang Qian went southwest to the territory of the Yuezhi, with whom he was supposed to obtain a military alliance against the Xiongnu.
Zhang Qian also describes the origins of the Yuezhi, explaining they came from the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, a momentous explanation which has encouraged historians to connect them to the Caucasoid mummies, as well as to the Indo-European-speaking Tocharians that have been identified from precisely the same area:
A smaller group of Yuezhi, the "Little Yuezhi" were not able to follow the exodus and reportedly found refuge among the "Qiang barbarians" (Tibetans).
See also Yuezhi
Zhang Qian probably witnessed the last period of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, as it was being subjugated by the nomad Yuezhi. Only small powerless chiefs remained, who were apparently vassals to the Yuezhi horde. Their civilization was urban, almost identical to the civilizations of Parthia and Dayuan, and the population was numerous.
Zhang Qian also reports about the existence of India southeast of Bactria. The name Shendu (身毒) comes from the Sanskrit word "Sindhu", used for the province of Sindh (now a province of Pakistan) by its local people. Sindh was one of the most advanced regions of India at the time. Although it was part of India, it practiced separate authority over itself. Because of its coastal borders with Persia and the Arabian Sea, it invited great wealth from these regions. Parts of Northwestern India (modern Pakistan) was ruled by the Indo-Greek Kingdom at the time, which explains the reported cultural similarity between Bactria and India.
Zhang Qian clearly identifies Parthia as an advanced urban civilization, like Dayuan (Ferghana) and Daxia (Bactria). The name "Anxi" is a transliterations of "Arsacid", name of the Parthian dynasty.
See also Parthia
Zhang Qian reports about Mesopotamia, beyond Parthia, although in rather tenuous terms, because he didn\'t go there, and was only able to reports other\'s accounts.
Zhang Qian also visited directly the area of Sogdiana, home to the Sogdian nomads:
On his return trip he was again captured by the Xiongnu who again spared his life because they valued his sense of duty and composure in the face of death. Two years later the Xiongnu leader died and in the midst of chaos and infighting Zhang Qian escaped.
Zhang Qian returned in 125 BC with detailed news for the Emperor, which showed that sophisticated civilizations existed to the West, with which China could advantageously develop relations. The Shiji relates that "the emperor learned of the Dayuan, Daxia, Anxi, and the others, all great states rich in unusual products whose people cultivated the land and made their living in much the same way as the Chinese. All these states, he was told, were militarily weak and prized Han goods and wealth". Shiji, 123, trans. Burton Watson. Upon Zhang Qian\'s return to China he was honoured with a position of palace counselor.Andrew Dalby, Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices, 2000, University of California Press, 184 pages ISBN 0520236742
His second expedition was more organized, a trade mission to the Wu-sun people in 119 BC. This was a success and led to trade between China and Persia.
Following Zhang Qian\'s embassy and report, commercial relations between China and Central as well as Western Asia flourished, as many Chinese missions were sent throughout the end of the 2nd century BC and the 1st century BC, initiating the development of the Silk Road:
Many objects were soon exchanged, and travelled as far as Guangzhou in the East, as suggested by the discovery of a Persian box and various artifacts from Central Asia in the 122 BC tomb of the Chinese King Wen of Nanyue.
Fresco from Mogao Caves representing Emperor Han Wudi (156-87 BC) worshipping two statues of the Golden Man.
Murals in Mogao Caves in Dunhuang describe the Emperor Han Wudi (156-87 BC) worshipping Buddhist statues, explaining them as "golden men brought in 120 BC by a great Han general in his campaigns against the nomads", although there is no other mention of Han Wudi worshipping the Buddha in Chinese historical literature.
China also sent a mission to Parthia, which were followed up by reciprocal missions from Parthian envoys around 100 BC:
The Roman historian Florus describes the visit of numerous envoys, included Seres (Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor Augustus, who reigned between 27 BC and 14:
In 97 the Chinese general Ban Chao went as far west as the Caspian Sea with 70,000 men and established direct military contacts with the Parthian Empire, also dispatching an envoy to Rome in the person of Gan Ying.
Several Roman embassies to China soon followed from 166, and are officially recorded in Chinese historical chronicles.
Zhang Qian (Chang Chien) is a frigate built in Taiwan based on the Oliver Hazard Perry class-design. It is currently in service for the Republic of China Navy.
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