
-138 to -113
Adventure of Zhang Qian
by Something Something
Zhang Qian 張騫 was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China during the Han dynasty. Today, Zhang Qian's travels are associated with the major route of transcontinental trade, the Silk Road. His missions opened trade routes between East and West and exposed different products and kingdoms to each other through trade. Zhang's accounts were compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. The Central Asian parts of the Silk Road routes were expanded around 114 BC largely through the missions of and exploration by Zhang Qian. Today, Zhang is considered a Chinese national hero and revered for the key role he played in opening China to the wider world of commercial trade.
Table of Contents / Timeline
Prologue
-140 Jan 1 -
Xian, China
At the time the nomadic Xiongnu tribes controlled what is now Inner Mongolia and dominated the Western Regions, Xiyu (西域), the areas neighbouring the territory of the Han Dynasty. The Han emperor was interested in establishing commercial ties with distant lands but outside contact was prevented by the hostile Xiongnu.

First Mission
-138 Jan 1 -
Xian, China
More details

Captured by the Xiongnu
-138 Dec 30 -
Inner Mongolia, China

Escaped
-128 Jan 1 -
Xinjiang, China

Living with the Yuezhi
-127 Jan 1 -
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Captured again
-127 Jun 1 -
Dunhuang, China

Return
-125 Jan 1 -
Xian, China

Second Mission
-122 Jan 1 -
Sichuan, China
More details

Third Mission
-119 Jan 1 -
Sindhu, India
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Final Return
-115 Jan 1 -
Xian, China
More details
Epilogue
115 Jun 1 -
Xian, China
From his missions Zhang Qian brought back many important products, the most important being alfalfa seeds (for growing horse fodder), strong horses with hard hooves, and knowledge of the extensive existence of new products, peoples and technologies of the outside world. He died c. 114 BC after spending twenty-five years travelling on these dangerous and strategic missions. Although at a time in his life he was regarded with disgrace for being defeated by the Xiongnu, by the time of his death he had been bestowed with great honours by the emperor. Zhang Qian's journeys had promoted a great variety of economic and cultural exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions. Because silk became the dominant product traded from China, this great trade route later became known as the Silk Road.
References
- Loewe, Michael (2000). "Zhang Qian 張騫". A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han, and Xin Periods (220 BC – AD 24). Leiden: Brill. pp. 687–9. ISBN 90-04-10364-3.
- Yap, Joseph P, (2019). The Western Regions, Xiongnu and Han, from the Shiji, Hanshu and Hou Hanshu. ISBN 978-1792829154.
- Yü, Ying-shih (1986). "Han Foreign Relations". In Twitchett, Denis; Fairbank, John K. (eds.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 377–462.
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