Silk Road

On the vast expanse of the earth, deserts, mountains, gullies, swamps and wastelands, all kinds of complex environments have seriously hindered human communication. However, even if the dangers of heavy human exploration and exchange of footsteps has never stopped, even in the era of only by foot, mankind can still cross thousands of mountains and tens of thousands of miles of water to create miracles. An ancient trade route was gradually formed, and in 138 BC, a different official set off from Chang'an on a mission to the Western Regions. Little did he know, however, that this mission would be a far more important one that would go down in the annals of human history, and that the road he was opening would connect the East with the West. It is winding but continuous, it has a trunk and branches, and even extends to the vast ocean, it broke through the natural and man-made barriers, extremely weak and several times flourished, become a great achievement in human history, until now it can still be rejuvenated vigor, it is the Silk Road.

In 200 B.C., Liu Bang, Gaozu of Han, personally led an army of 320,000 elite soldiers to Baideng Mountain, 5 kilometers east of Datong City. At this time, Liu Bang had already defeated his strongest rival Xiang Yu, and his army had become a formidable force after hundreds of battles. However, the formidable Xiong Nu still posed a great threat to the emerging Han Dynasty. The Xiong Nu, a nomadic people on horseback, possessed a powerful cavalry force, relying on horses that could reach speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, the Xiong Nu cavalry often traveled south to invade the country. Liu Bang was determined to defeat the Xiong Nu completely. Unexpectedly, 400,000 Xiong Nu iron cavalry suddenly surrounded the Han army at Mount Baideng, and they were trapped for seven days and seven nights. The Battle of Baideng Mountain put the Han Dynasty at a complete disadvantage, and it had to adopt a soft policy of maintaining relations with the Xiong Nu, such as kissing.

After six or seven decades of rest and recuperation, the Western Han Dynasty gradually entered a period of prosperity, and the Han Emperor Wu Di was no longer willing to lower his voice to the Xiongnu, the northern attack on the Xiongnu to open up new territories and a snow, which became the Emperor's greatest wish. In order to improve the chances of victory, the Western Han court actively prepare for war at the same time, but also in the diplomatic aspects of the many plans, a Xiongnu descendant told Han Wu Di, in the west of the Xiongnu there is a nomadic people called the Dayuezhi, Dayuezhi by the Xiongnu after the defeat of the west was forced to move again and again, just because there is no strong aid can not be avenged. This news was very exciting to Emperor Wu, a major strategic idea immediately, he wanted to send a high-profile mission to the western region, united with the Dayue clan to clamp down on the Xiongnu.

In 138 B.C., a large delegation of more than a hundred people departed from Chang'an and embarked on a journey to the west. The leader of the group was an ordinary officer who served the imperial palace, but his heart was full of desire for honor, and he had a strong spirit of adventure; he liked to explore unknown territories, and he was not willing to spend his life in the same way, that is, Zhang Qian. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty recruited emissaries to the Western Regions, almost no one dared to enlist, but Zhang Qian gladly took up the important mission of contacting the Lunar Clan in the Western Regions. However, Zhang Qian and others knew almost nothing about the specifics of the Lunar Kingdom or even its exact address, and everything in the Western Regions was only in legend, including the majestic Kunlun Mountains and the mysterious Queen Mother of the West.

The Western Regions, a geographic concept found in ancient Chinese history, refers to the area north and south of the Tianshan Mountains to the west of Yangguan and Yumen Pass, and to the east of the Onion Ridge. In the early years of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu conquered more than 30 small countries north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, completely cutting off the connection between the Central Plains and the Western Regions. In the geographic conception of China's forefathers, the Kunlun Mountains, located in the northwest, were the highest mountains on land and the source of the Yellow River. It is said that King Mu of the Western Zhou Dynasty once arrived at the Kunlun Mountains on a westward expedition in an eight-junior chariot, and returned to the Queen Mother of the West after a joyful tour. The Kunlun Mountains, in fact, are the Tian Shan Mountains in the north of today's Hami, Xinjiang Province, where the majestic Tian Shan Mountains obscured the vision of the ancestors. Before the opening of the Silk Road in the 2nd century B.C., little was known about the world to the west and north of the Tianshan Mountains, and Zhang Qian's mission to the West, in addition to the beautiful legends, more terrible rumors of flying sand and stones and uninhabited. However, the greater and more realistic difficulties or the Xiongnu blockade, in order to travel to the Western Region, first of all must be through the Xiongnu rule of the vast area, which is an obstacle that can not be bypassed.

As expected, Zhang Qian's first mission to the Western Regions, from the Longxi County exit soon to be intercepted by the Xiongnu, in order to make Zhang Qian submit to the Xiongnu people took the means of coercion and seduction, Zhang Qian has never been moved. The Xiongnu leaders and Zhang Qian and others will be placed in a very poor natural environment of the Northwest cold land, so that they are left to fend for themselves. Under the extremely difficult circumstances, Gan, who was good at riding and shooting, helped Zhang Qian to get through the difficult situation by shooting birds and animals. Gan Fu, originally from Xiongnu, was a house slave of Tangyi Marquis in the Han Dynasty, and he shared Zhang Qian's extraordinary pioneering spirit. In order to keep Zhang Qian behind, the Xiongnu chief, Shan Yu, gave him a special wife. However, Zhang Qian never forgot his mission. Zhang Qian was detained by the Xiongnu for thirteen years, but he also familiarized himself with the life, language, customs and terrain of the west. In 129 B.C., Zhang Qian finally waited for the opportunity to escape, and when the Huns relaxed their surveillance, Zhang Qian, Gan and others finally succeeded in escaping from the Huns and heading west in search of the Greater Lunar Clan. It was another treacherous journey, as they had to pass through the Great Gobi, where the winds of freezing temperatures took the lives of many of their companions. They also had to cross the bullying Onion Ridge, which was deserted for days on end. After dozens of days of difficult trekking, Zhang Qian still did not find the destination of his mission, but he reached Dawan, located in the Ferghana Basin in Central Asia.

The king of Dawan had long heard that the Han Dynasty was very rich and powerful, but had never had the chance to socialize, so Zhang Qian was very welcome. Zhang Qian explained the intention of the mission and asked the king of Dawan to send them to the Dayuezhi. The king of Dawan agreed to Zhang Qian's request and sent a guide and interpreter to lead Zhang Qian and others to the Dayuezhi on the north bank of the Amu Darya River through the Kangju territory. Unexpectedly, forced to Ili River, Chu River basin westward Yuezhi people have been in the original Xia country established a new home, where the natural conditions are better than the original residence, they are satisfied with the status quo, unwilling to seek revenge on the Xiongnu. Zhang Qian stayed in the Yuezhi for more than a year, the other side still vague answer, Zhang Qian had to return. On his way back to China, Zhang Qian was again detained by the Xiongnu. A year later, in 126 B.C., when the Xiongnu were in civil unrest, Zhang Qian fled back to the Han Dynasty with his wife, children, and his father, Gan, and returned to Chang'an, the place that had been so close to his heart. The first mission to the Western Regions ended here, it is not difficult to find out the hardship and cruelty of this trip, the departure of the huge mission at this time only two people left, and even more uncomfortable is the mission time up to fourteen years long. Pay such a huge and heavy price, when Zhang Qian empty-handed to see Han Wu Di, has been the face of the whole, ten years of the world choked with hard to say. However, Zhang Qian's first mission to the West, really no gain? For the Western Han court, Zhang Qian brought back extremely important information, he reported in detail personally visited the four countries, rumors of the six countries, so that the young Han Wudi excited and fascinated. The Western Region, from now on, from the imaginary imagination, into a real existence, which is the foundation of the East and West world to be able to communicate. Zhang Qian introduced, Dawan has a good horse, the horse sweat like blood, is the descendant of the celestial horse, Dawan's BMW make Han Wu Di blood.

In 116 BC, Emperor Wu sent Zhang Qian on another mission to the West, and the second mission was not as dangerous as the first. After a series of wars, the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiong Nu, who was forced to migrate far away, and the road became very smooth. By this time, Zhang Qian was nearly fifty years old, and his body was aging from the vicissitudes of life, but he was still the right person to go to the Western Regions, and a great sense of mission still filled Zhang Qian's heart and mind. In his view, the seemingly treacherous Western Regions is actually his treasure, is able to achieve the value of his life and great honor, he is willing to spill his blood for the mission to the Western Regions. The mission was even bigger, with 300 people. With the ardent hope of the Han court, two horses for each person, carrying tens of thousands of cattle and sheep and tens of millions of dollars worth of gold and silk and other valuables, their destination is located in the Ili River, the Chu River Basin of the state of the Wusun.

Wusun is a large country in the Western Region and an important vassal of Xiongnu. The purpose of Zhang Qian's trip was to persuade Wusun to give up Xiongnu and kiss Han. Zhang Qian's trip went very smoothly and he arrived at Chigu City, the seat of the Wusun royal court, unharmed. The large delegation, the expensive gifts, and the well-dressed and courteous envoys made the Wusun monarchs and ministers fearful of the distant Han Empire. The king of Wusun warmly entertained Zhang Qian and his party, expressing his willingness to socialize with the Han Dynasty, but not willing to be an enemy of the Xiongnu, and politely rejected the political demands of the Han envoys. He sent a messenger to follow the Han envoy back to Chang'an to express his gratitude.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in turn, married two Han princesses to the king of Wusun, and practiced the policy of peace, which finally turned Wusun from pro-Hungarian to pro-Han. In 71 B.C., the Han army crusaded against Xiong Nu in five ways, and the Wusun army helped the Han to make a great success. The Wusun became a reliable ally of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, and the friendly relations between Han and Wusun lasted for a hundred years. In addition to his mission to Wusun, Zhang Qian sent his deputy envoys to visit Dawan, Kangju, Dayuezhi, and Daxia to publicize the Han Dynasty's greatness and virtue, and to express his willingness to communicate with them. After completing his second mission, Zhang Qian returned to Chang'an and died a year later. The year was 114 B.C. It was as if Zhang Qian's life was dedicated to the mission to the Western Regions, a feat that would make him famous for generations to come. In the Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian used the word "chiseling" to describe Zhang Qian's feat of opening up the Western Regions. Zhang Qian's spirit is our nation's valuable intangible wealth, his visionary firm beliefs, his fearlessness used to open up, he used a person's limited blood sprinkled into a communication between the East and the West of the priceless road. This Silk Road traveled across the plains and grasslands, across the mountains and high peaks, through the gullies and deserts, making outstanding contributions to mankind.

Zhang Qian and his men were the first official envoys of the Chinese dynasty ever to enter the Western Regions and even beyond. Zhang Qian's envoys proclaimed the might of the Han Dynasty and conveyed the friendliness of the Han people wherever they went, so that the people in the hinterlands of Asia, north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, learned for the first time of the Han Dynasty's strength and affluence, and developed a desire to interact with the great Eastern powers, building a bridge of civilization between the East and the West. For such a communication between the East and West of the political road, economic and trade road, cultural road why call the Silk Road?

As early as 3,000 years ago, the Chinese people know how to raise silkworms and silk weaving silk technology, in porcelain and tea to the West before, silk is China and the West's trade in the most representative of the most important commodities. 20 centuries, from the Tarim Basin to the Roman Empire's Eastern Province of Palmyra Roman Empire mainland Italy have been found in the Han Dynasty silk products, Sabbath's dignitaries, the court celebrities of Rome are using the Chinese silk products, and the Chinese silk products. The Han Dynasty lasted for four hundred years before and after the Han Dynasty, which was one of the most tense and dynamic periods in Chinese history. Trade and political relations existed between the Han Dynasty and most of Asia after B.C.E. The resulting routes were collectively known as the Silk Roads.The concept of the Silk Roads was first introduced by the German geographer Richthofen in 1877 in his book China, stating that 'between 114 B.C.E. and 127 A.D., the routes connecting China with the River China and China with India' (p. 3) were the most important routes in the history of China. The Silk Road trade was used as a medium of transportation route to the West, a trade route that started from Chang'an or Luoyang, the political center of China, and traveled westward through the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang, crossing the Western Region, including today's Xinjiang, into Central Asia, and then continuing westward to the Roman Empire, the center of Western civilization, or southward to the Donation of Poison.' From then on, the Han Dynasty established direct contact with the countries of the West, and the opening of the Silk Road connected the two major centers of civilization in the East and West.

The Silk Road was a political road, through which the Han Dynasty cut off the threat of the Xiongnu people to control the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, expanding its territory from the Hexi Corridor to the Pamir Plateau. In 101 B.C., Li Guangli, the general of the Western Han Dynasty, led his army to defeat the state of Dayuan, and returned to the court in triumph with thousands of sweat-blooded horses. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty waved a brush and composed a song called "Song of the Heavenly Horses of the Western Pole", 'Heavenly Horses come from the Western Pole, wade through the quicksand and serve the Nine Barbarians.' For this ambitious emperor, to get the precious horse is certainly congratulatory, the might of the four sides of the ten thousand countries to the dynasty is his honor and dream. However, because this road spans such a wide range, if there is not a strong regime for its safety along the way to provide security, it can not exist for a long time, the Han Dynasty with its strong national strength deserved to become the most important Silk Road pioneer and protector, and for the smooth flow of the road and prosperity to provide the most solid protection. Starting from Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty invested the whole country's financial resources to open up new lands and maintain the smooth flow of the Silk Road, and it lasted for a long time, which was unprecedented in the history of China.

Today is located in Gansu Minle's rare gossip camp ruins of the ancient city, a thousand years ago, this is the cantonment of food. Han Wu Di in the defeat of the Xiong Nu set up Zhangye County, began to implement large-scale immigrant cantonment. Tuantian, is the Han Dynasty management of the Western Region to maintain the Silk Road an important initiative, a thousand years Minle Tuantian immigrant descendants have been in this land farming and reproduction, and accompanied by their ancestors continue down the farming techniques and agricultural tools. Today, the ancient mode of farming has been replaced by modern seeding machinery.

Today is located in Lantai County, about twenty kilometers west of the Layi site beacon flint, built in the Western Han Dynasty. 'The horns are blown at night at the head of Luntai City, and the banner falls in the north of Luntai City.' In the works of ancient Chinese literati, Luntai is synonymous with border battles and the bitter cold life on the frontier, and Luntai, located in the middle of the Western Region, was the political center of the Han Dynasty in the Western Region. In 60 B.C., when the Xiongnu forces were expelled from the Western Regions, the Western Han Dynasty set up the Western Regions Capital Protector here, specializing in the management of Western Regions affairs. This was the first time that a county-level administrative institution was set up by a Chinese dynasty in the Western Regions, and it marked the formal incorporation of the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains into the map of China. From then on, today's Xinjiang region began to subordinate to the jurisdiction of the central dynasty, becoming an inseparable part of China.

The Great Wall is an important military facility for the ancient Chinese dynasty to defend against the invasion of the northern cavalry nation, the Great Wall of the north of the Han Dynasty, east to Liao and east to Dunhuang, in order to defend against the invasion of Xiongnu to ensure the smooth flow of the Silk Road, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty enlisted hundreds of thousands of people in the uninhabited western frontier of the empire to build border fortresses, fortresses in the east from Dunhuang to the west to the beginning of the Mo, the degree of the sand over the desert meanders in the array, played a significant role in the defense of the smooth flow of the Silk Road. The role of the Silk Road was important in the defense of the smooth flow of the Silk Road. However, the Han Dynasty's operation in the Western Region was not a smooth process, the Western Region is far from the Central Plains, the Han army can not be stationed for a long time, the Han Dynasty ambassadors were robbed or killed tragedy happened from time to time. At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the change of dynasties in the great chaos of the country's power is obviously weakened, and once had no time to care about the West. The countries in the Western Regions had to depend on the powerful Northern Xiongnu, and the Silk Road was interrupted for 65 years. The times called for another heroic figure, Ban Chao. He will go to the Western Regions as Zhang Qian did, and make outstanding contributions to the reopening and prosperity of the Silk Road.

During the Han Dynasty, there were dozens of states of varying sizes in the north and south regions of the Tianshan Mountains west of Yangguan and Yumen Pass, and east of the Onion Ridge, spreading across the desert oases and Gobi grasslands, known historically as the Thirty-Six Western Regions. The Eastern Han historian Ban Gu, in his "Biography of the Western Regions in the Book of Han", recorded in detail the geographic location, total number of households, total population, military strength, and customary characteristics of each of these states. In 73 A.D., Ban Chiu, Ban Gu's younger brother, was appointed as a false secretary to join the army and fought against the Xiong Nu under the command of Dou Gu, the captain of the vehicle. Ban Chao fought bravely and was appreciated by Dou Gu, who sent him on a mission to the Western Regions, where Ban Chao and his men arrived at the Shanshan Kingdom. At first, the king of Shanshan received them with great respect and thoughtfulness, but soon suddenly became slow, Ban Chao concluded that it must be the emissaries of the Northern Xiongnu. At this time, the Xiongnu had been divided into the Northern Xiongnu and the Southern Xiongnu, who surrendered to the Eastern Han in 48 AD, while the Northern Xiongnu was still fighting against the Eastern Han and was still powerful. The western countries did not know whether to obey the Eastern Han or the Xiongnu, and the king of Shanshan was hesitant. This was a critical moment in history, Ban Chao gathered all the 36 people who had gone on the mission together, and encouraged them, 'How can we get the son of the tiger if we don't enter the tiger's lair? As long as we destroy the Xiongnu's emissary, the king of Shanshan would be scared to death, and then our great achievement would be accomplished. That night, as soon as it was dark, Ban Chao led 36 warriors to raid the place where the emissary of Northern Xiong Nu lived, and set fire to it in the gusty wind. In order to make noise, they also beat the war drums, and the Northern Hun emissary and his entourage of more than 100 people were killed or burned to death. The next day, when Ban Chao handed over the head of Northern Xiongnu to the king of Shanshan, Shanshan was shocked, and Ban Chao took advantage of the situation to persuade and pacify the country, so that Shanshan was completely subordinate to the Eastern Han Dynasty. When Ban Chao's deeds reached the court of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and personally authorized Ban Chao to handle matters in the Western Regions with full authority, and intended to send a large number of troops and horses for Ban Chao's deployment. Ban Chao accepted the mission of the second floor, but did not accept a large number of soldiers and horses, he thought that as long as the current 36 warriors would be enough.

Ban Chao devoted himself to the Western Regions for thirty-one years, uniting pro-Han states against the Xiongnu and rebel Han forces, and preserving peace in the Western Regions and the prestige of the Han Dynasty. In a military operation in 94 AD, Ban Chao successfully mobilized 80,000 troops from the western countries, which made more than 50 countries in the western region rejoin the Han Dynasty. Ban Chao, who was more adept at using diplomacy to unite and liaise with more distant countries, made the old Silk Road smoother and a new one was being opened up under his efforts. Ban Chao wanted to communicate directly with Qin in the west, which was the Roman Empire. In the 3rd century B.C., the Romans rose in the western part of Asia and Europe, and gradually developed into a great empire spanning three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. The Han Dynasty in the East and Rome in the West were the two most important and influential centers of civilization in the world at that time, but the two sides failed to establish direct contact. Today, in the ancient city of Venice, there are still thousands of years of old glassmaking workshops. After a thousand years, the owners of the old workshops still use the old handmade, these glass products inherited the production process of their ancestors. While the people of Great Qin loved the silk of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty was also very fond of the precious beads of Great Qin. In his poem "Yu Lin Lang", Xin Yan Nian, a poet of the Eastern Han Dynasty, portrayed the image of a foreign beauty, 'Long skirt with a lengthened belt, wide sleeves with a hohan 襦, head of bluetian jade, behind the ears of Da Qin beads.' The Da Qin beads mentioned in the poem are the dragonfly-eyed glass beads from the Mediterranean area. From the Western region to the mainland, from the court to the wine shop, Da Qin beads became the favorite decorations for women in the Han Dynasty.

In 97 A.D., Ban Chao sent his general Gan Ying on a mission to the Great Qin, but unfortunately Gan Ying only reached the Persian Gulf coast of Jiaozhi, because local merchants intentionally rendered the dangers of the sea and stopped, and failed to complete the mission. More than seventy years later, on a September day in 169 A.D., Luoyang, the capital of Eastern Han Dynasty, was decorated with lanterns and colors, a peaceful scene, under the guidance of the majestic royal guards, a group of foreign envoys walked slowly, and the Emperor Huan, the son of Han Dynasty, received the envoys in the Deyang Hall, which could accommodate 10,000 people. The visit of the Qin envoys is the first close contact between the two ancient civilizations, and is a symbol of the Han Dynasty, which is a symbol of virtue in the world and prestige in the four seas, and this time the Qin envoys took the route of the Maritime Silk Road.

With the progress of navigation technology, the Han Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road gradually formed, as early as in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi Yuanding six years ago, that is, 111 BC, the Han Dynasty army pacified the South Vietnam, set up the South China Sea and other nine counties, China's ships from the Ri Nan, Hepu and other ports, along the offshore sailing into the Indian Ocean. The opening of the Maritime Silk Road and the development of the East and the West have further interaction, the connotation of the Silk Road is also richer, a combination of political, economic, military, cultural, frontier, ethnic and many other factors, writing the Han Dynasty, the unification of the multinational state, the formation of the development of the process of glory and dreams, courage and bravery. Nowadays, both the Land Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road have been revitalized. In 2013 A.D., the Chinese government solemnly put forward *** with the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road strategic initiative, thus opening a new chapter in the construction of the Belt and Road. Over the past 2,000 years, the ancient Silk Road has continued to prosper despite the constant change of dynasties. Cooperation and communication, perseverance in faith and continuous exploration are the spiritual roots of the ancient Silk Road's continued prosperity. At this time, the Silk Road is presenting a glorious prospect in front of us, becoming a great dream that we are about to realize. However, we will not forget that it was during the Han Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago, that the Chinese, with their own unique tenacity and courage, chiseled their way through the Silk Road, realizing the dream of King Mu of Zhou to travel the eight wildernesses and explore the universe. The opening of the Silk Road by the Han Dynasty is a great initiative in Chinese history and even in world history.