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The description of Zhang Qian 's mission to Central Asia comes from Sima Qian [145—187 B.C.E.], the greatest of the early Chinese historians. Although pinpointing the places early travelers visited is a notoriously difficult problem, modern researchers think that Zhang Qian probably journeyed as far as today's Kyrgyzstan (Chinese: Dayuan) and Afghanistan (Chinese: Daxia).
Zhang Qian was the first person to bring back a clear account of Dayuan [Kyrgyztan]. He served as a palace attendant during the Jianyuan era of the Han Dynasty (140—135 B.C.E.). At this time the emperor [Han Wudi, reigned 140—87 B.C.E.J questioned various Xiongnu who had surrendered to the Han and they all reported that the Xiongnu had defeated the king of the Yuezhi people [also pastoral nomads] and made his skull into a drinking vessel. As a result the Yuezhi had fled and bore a constant grudge against the Xiongnu, though as yet they had been unable to find anyone to join them in an attack on their enemy.
The Han at this time was engaged in a concerted effort to destroy the Xiongnu, and therefore, when the emperor heard this, he decided to try to send an envoy to establish relations with the Yuezhi. To reach them, however, an envoy would inevitably have to pass through Xiongnu territory. The emperor accordingly sent out a summons for men capable of undertaking such a mission. Zhang Qian, who was a palace attendant at the time, answered the summons and was appointed as envoy to the Yuezhi.
He set out from Longxi, accompanied by Ganfu, a Xiongnu slave who belonged to a family in Tangyi. They traveled west through the territory of the Xiongnu and were captured by the Xiongnu and taken before the Shanyu [the nomadic supreme ruler]. The Shanyu detained them and refused to let them proceed. "The Yuezhi people live north of me," he said. "What does the Han mean by trying to send an envoy to them! Do you suppose that if I tried to send an embassy to the kingdom of Yue in the southeast the Han would let my men pass through China?"
The Xiongnu detained Zhang Qian for over ten years and gave him a wife from their own people, by whom he had a son. Zhang Qian never once relinquished the imperial credentials that marked him as an envoy of the Han, however, and after he had lived in Xiongnu territory for some time and less closely watched than at first, he and his party finally managed to escape and resume their journey toward the Yuezhi.
After hastening west for twenty or thirty days, they reached the kingdom of Dayuan. The king of Dayuan had heard of the wealth of the Han empire and wished to establish communication with it, though as yet he had been unable to do so. When he met Zhang Qian he was overjoyed and asked where Zhang Qian wished to go." I was dispatched as envoy of the Han to the Yuezhi, but the Xiongnu blocked my way and I have only just now managed to escape," he replied. "I beg Your Highness to give me some guides to show me the way. If I can reach my destination and return to the Han to make my report, the Han will reward you with countless gifts!"
The king of Dayuan trusted his words and sent him on his way, giving him guides and interpreters to take him to the state of Kangju [Uzbekistan]. From there he was able to make his way to the land of the Great Yuezhi.
Since the king of the Great Yuezhi had been killed by the Xiongnu, his son had succeeded him as ruler and had forced the kingdom of Daxia [Afghanistan] to recognize his sovereignty. The region he ruled was rich and fertile and seldom troubled by invaders, and the king thought only of his own enjoyment. He considered the Han too far away to bother with and had no particular intention of avenging his father's death by attacking the Xiongnu. From the court of the Yuezhi, Zhang Qian travelled on to the state of Daxia, but in the end he was never able to interest the Yuezhi in his proposals.
After spending a year or so in the area, he began to journey back along the Nanshan or Southern Mountains, intending to re-enter China through the territory of the Qiang barbarians, but he once more captured by the Xiongnu and detained for over a year.
Just at this time the Shanyu died and the Luli King attacked the Shanyu's heir and set himself up as the new Shanyu (126 B.C.E.). As a result of this the whole Xiongnu nation was in turmoil and Zhang Qian, along with his Xiongnu wife, and the former slave Ganfu, able to escape and return to China. The emperor honoured Zhang Qian with the post of palace counsellor and awarded Ganfu the title of "Lord Who Carries Out His Mission."
Zhang Qian in person visited the lands of Dayuan, the Great Yuezhi, Daxia, and Kangju, and in addition he gathered reports on five or six other large states in the neighborhood. All of his information he related to the emperor on his return....
RESPONSE QUESTIONS - Answer and share with your group
RESPONSE QUESTIONS - Answer and share with your group
Based on the sources, what was the relationship between the Han and the nomadic groups?
Based on the sources, what was the relationship between the various nomadic groups?
What do you believe was the biggest accomplishment of Zhang Qian and Ganfu’s voyage?
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