Zhang Qian to the West

　　In the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, some of the Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of Han knew a little about the Western Region (modern Xinjiang and the area west of Xinjiang) from their conversations. They said there was a state of Yue Shi (pronounced yuè-zhī), which was defeated by Xiongnu and fled westward and settled around the Western Region. They had an enemy with Xiongnu and wanted to take revenge, but there was no one to help them.

　　Emperor Wu of Han thought since the Yuezhi was to the west of Xiongnu. If the Han Dynasty could unite with the Moon Clan and cut off the Xiongnu's connection with the countries in the West, wouldn't that be the same as cutting off the Xiongnu's right arm?

　　So, he issued an edict to solicit competent people to go to Yue's to liaise. At that time, no one knew where the Moon Kingdom was or how far it was. It took a lot of courage to take on this task.

　　A young official, Zhang Qian, thought it was a worthy cause and was the first to apply. Once he took the lead, others were emboldened, and a hundred warriors applied. A Xiongnu man in Chang'an named Tang Yi Father was also willing to go with Zhang Qian to find the Moon Kingdom.

　　In 138 B.C., Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian with more than 100 men to look for the Yuezhi. But to get to Yue's, they had to pass through the territory occupied by Xiongnu. Zhang Qian and his men walked carefully for a few days, but they were found and surrounded by Xiongnu soldiers, and all of them were made prisoners.

　　The Xiongnu people did not kill them, but sent people to scatter them to control, only the tang Yi father and Zhang Qian lived together, for a decade.

　　After a long time, the Xiongnu were not so strict with them. Zhang Qian discussed this with his father, and when the Xiongnu were not on guard, they got on two fast horses and fled.

　　They have been running west for dozens of days, suffer all the hardships, escaped from the Xiongnu territory, did not find the Moon, but broke into another country called Dawan (in modern Central Asia).

　　Dawan and Xiongnu are close neighbors, and the locals know the Xiongnu language. Both Zhang Qian and Tang Yi's fathers could speak Xiongnu and it was easy for them to talk. They met with the king of Dawan, who had heard that the Han Dynasty was a rich and powerful country, and when he heard that the emissaries from the Han Dynasty had arrived, he welcomed them and sent an escort to Kangju (between present-day Lake Balkhash and the Aral Sea), and then from Kangju to Yue.

　　After being defeated by Xiongnu, the Yuezhi moved to the vicinity of Daxia (present-day northern Afghanistan) and established the state of Daxuezhi, not wanting to fight with Xiongnu anymore. The king of Daxue Thi was not interested in hearing Zhang Qian's words, but because Zhang Qian was a messenger from the Han Dynasty, he also received him politely.

　　Zhang Qian and Tang Yi's father stayed in Da Yue Shi for more than a year and also went to Daxia once and saw many things they had never seen before. But they failed to convince the Daxue Clan to work together against Xiongnu and had to come back. After passing through the Xiongnu land, they were detained for some time again. Fortunately, there was civil unrest in Xiongnu, so they escaped and returned to Chang'an.

　　Zhang Qian spent thirteen years outside before he came back. Emperor Wu of Han thought he had made great achievements and made him a great official.

　　Zhang Qian gave a detailed report to Emperor Wu on the situation in western countries. He said, "In Daxia, I saw bamboo sticks produced in Qiong Mountain (in present-day Sichuan Province, Qiong sounds like qióng) and fine cloth produced in Shu Di (present-day Chengdu, Sichuan). The local people said that these things were trafficked by merchants from Tianzhu (which is now India)." He thought that since Tianzhu could buy things from Shu, it must not be far from Shu.

　　Emperor Wu of Han then sent Zhang Qian as a messenger with gifts from Shu to make friends with Tianzhu. Zhang Qian divided his men and horses into four teams and split them up to go to Tianzhu. Each of the four teams traveled 2,000 miles, but none of them could be found. Some were beaten back by the local tribes.

　　The one team going south reached Kunming and was also blocked. The emissaries from the Han Dynasty bypassed Kunming and arrived at Dian Yue (in present-day eastern Yunnan). The king of Yunnan-Yue was originally from the state of Chu and had been isolated from the Middle Kingdom for several generations. He was willing to help Zhang Qian find a way to go to Tianzhu, but Kunming was in the way and he could not get through.