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Zhang Qian (; d. 113) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China 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 colonization and conquest of the region now known as Xinjiang. Today Zhang Qian's travels are associated with the major route of transcontinental trade, the Silk Road. In essence, his missions opened up to China the many kingdoms and products of a part of the world then unknown to the Chinese. Zhang Qian's accounts of his explorations of Central Asia are detailed in the Early Han historical chronicles, ''Records of the Grand Historian'', compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. The Central Asian sections of the Silk Road routes were expanded around 114 BC largely through the missions and explorations of Zhang Qian. Today Zhang Qian is considered a national hero and revered for the key role he played in opening China to the world of commercial trade. ==Zhang Qian's Missions== Zhang Qian was born in Chenggu district just east of Hanzhong in the north central province of Shaanxi, China.〔''Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road'', p. 61. (2004) Luce Boulnois. Translated by Helen Loveday. Odyssey Books & Guides. ISBN 962-217-720-4 (Hardback); ISBN 962-217-721-2 (Paperback).〕 He entered the capital, Chang'an, today's Xi'an, between 140 BC and 134 BC as a Gentleman (郎), serving Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. 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. The Han court dispatched Zhang Qian, a military officer who was familiar with the Xiongnu, to the Western Regions in 138 BC with a group of ninety-nine members to make contact and build an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. He was accompanied by a guide named Ganfu (甘父), a Xiongnu who had been captured in war.〔Watson (1993), p. 231.〕 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. However to get to the territory of the Yuezhi he was forced to pass through land controlled by the Xiongnu who captured him (as well as Ganfu) and enslaved him for ten years.〔Frances Wood, "The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia", 2002, University of California Press, 270 pages ISBN 978-0-520-23786-5〕 During this time he married a Xiongnu wife, who bore him a son, and gained the trust of the Xiongnu leader. Zhang and Ganfu (as well as Zhang's Xiongnu wife and son) were eventually able to escape and, passing Lop Nor and following the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, around the Kunlun Mountains and through small fortified areas in the middle of oases in what is now Xinjiang until they made their way to Dayuan and eventually to the land of the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi were agricultural people who produced strong horses and many unknown crops including alfalfa for animal fodder. However, the Yuezhi were too settled to desire war against the Xiongnu. Zhang spent a year in Yuezhi and the adjacent Bactrian territory, documenting their cultures, lifestyles and economy, before beginning his return trip to China, this time following the southern edge of the Tarim Basin.〔Watson (1993), p. 232.〕 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. Of the original mission of just over a hundred men, only Zhang Qian and Ganfu managed to return to China. Zhang Qian returned in 125 BC with detailed news for the Emperor, showing that sophisticated civilizations existed to the West, with which China could advantageously develop relations. The Shiji relates that "the Emperor learned of the Dayuan (大宛), Daxia (大夏), Anxi (安息), 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".〔Watson (1993), chap. 123.〕 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 0-520-23674-2〕 Although he was unable to develop commercial ties between China and these far-off lands, his efforts did eventually result in trade mission to the Wu-sun people in 119 BC which led to trade between China and Persia. On his mission Zhang Qian had noticed products from an area now known as northern India. However, the task remained to find a trade route not obstructed by the Xiongnu to India. Zhang Qian set out on a second mission to forge a route from China to India via Sichuan, but after many attempts this effort proved unsuccessful. In 119-115 BC Zhang Qian was sent on a third mission by the emperor, to develop ties with the Wusun (烏孫) people.〔''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture'', p. 615. Dorothy Perkins. (2000). Roundtable Press Book. ISBN 0-8160-2693-9 (hc); ISBN 0-8160-4374-4 (pbk).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zhang Qian」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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