During the Han Dynasty, the Western Regions were further west of Yumenguan and Yangguan in Gansu. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns were strong, brutally plundered and exploited the countries in the Western Regions, and harassed the Han border for years with the western regions as the economic backing.
When he arrived at Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he learned from the Xiongnu that the Yue people in the western regions had a heart to crusade against the Xiongnu, but they just had no one to help them, so he came up with the idea of uniting the Yue people to crusade against the Xiongnu, and sent Zhang Qian to the Yue people in BC 139. Zhang Qian and his party left Longxi and passed the northern foot of Nanshan. They were captured by the Huns and held for ten years. Later, Zhang Qian took the opportunity to escape from the Huns.
By the time of Da Yue's reign, the kingdom of Da Yue had been re-established. The new king felt that his country was fertile and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, while the Han Dynasty was so far away that he didn't want to be unified. Although Zhang Qian didn't achieve his goal, he learned a lot about the western regions, gained the geographical knowledge of the countries in the western regions, communicated the contacts between the Han Dynasty and the countries in the western regions, and most importantly, inspired the ambition of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to expand the frontier.
When Zhang Qian went back, he didn't go the original way for fear of being caught by the Huns. But took the south road and followed Nanshan, and was caught by the Huns. It was not until more than a year later that the Huns were in civil strife that he fled back to the Han Dynasty.
In BC 1 19, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions again in order to further contact Wusun and fight against Xiongnu. By this time, the Han Dynasty had taken control of the Hexi Corridor and was actively preparing to fight the Huns. But Wu Sun didn't want to move eastward to the Han Dynasty. 1 15 years, Zhang Qian returned to Chang 'an. Two missions to the western regions failed to achieve their goals, which is called "Journey to the West" in the Han Dynasty.
However, this is not meaningless. The most important thing is to open the road to the western regions, strengthen the ties between the Han nationality and the countries in the western regions, and the western regions have become a bridge for economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. With the opening of the road, the "Silk Road" was immediately unblocked.
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When it comes to the Silk Road, people first think of the story of Zhang Qian's "hollowing out" the western regions. In fact, before Zhang Qian, the "Silk Road" was spontaneously opened by the people, and Zhang Qian's "hollowing out" was only the first record of official contacts with Central Asia in history books.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, on the basis of the accumulation of financial resources of the previous generation and the relative stability of the domestic situation, he tried to change the previous compromise strategy and instead implemented a grand strategy of focusing on attack, which was a part of this grand strategy.
In BC 138, Zhang Qian was ordered to go to the Western Regions and was detained by Xiongnu for more than ten years. After looking for an opportunity to escape, he completed his mission to the western regions. This time, although he didn't accomplish the goal of attacking Xiongnu with the cooperation of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Yueshi, because he was the first official envoy to the western regions, the achievement of "hollowing out" the western regions was obvious.
Later, in order to unite Wu Sun, Zhang Qian made a second mission to the Western Regions. This time, we also sent envoys to Dawan, Kangju, Da Yue, Daxia, Rest in Peace, Body Poison and other countries to strengthen ties with other countries.
Zhang Qian's two missions not only strengthened the ties between the Han Dynasty and other countries in the western regions, but also established a steady stream of diplomatic relations, which also made the Han Dynasty's business travel in Central Asia endless, laying the foundation for the exchanges, exchanges and blending of all ethnic groups. Zhang Qian's mission also laid the foundation for peaceful diplomacy. Since then, the Central Plains Dynasty has been closely linked with the Western Regions.
Zhang Qian's tenacity, patriotism, courage and other spirits show that a country needs talented people to work out a grand strategy together with decision makers. Zhang Qian and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty have achieved the eternal reputation of "hollowing out the western regions" and "making great contributions" to each other.
People's Network-Cultural Exchange on the Silk Road in History