The Return of Zhang Qian, Sent to the Western Regions 13 Years Ago!

The Return of Zhang Qian Home

On a bright September afternoon, four travelers were riding donkeys on the road to Chang'an: two men, a woman, and a boy about nine or ten years old. Each had a bag of oats on one side of the saddle and a basket for provisions on the other. A long leather bundle protruded from the back of one of the men: a spear—maybe a spear, a bow—maybe a bow...

The walls of Chang'an soon came into view. The road was becoming busier with carts and pedestrians.

At the Western Gate, there were crowds of people, as if at a market. Here was a small makeshift market: they were trading food and refreshments.

What a grand capital of the Han! While winding through the streets and alleys, it was well past noon. At the inn "Here All Hopes Come True," the woman and the boy stayed behind while the men continued on their way. Finally, they reached Yangqiu—the Western Gate in the wall surrounding the imperial parks and palaces.

The chief of the gate guard scrutinized the travelers for so long and suspiciously that one of them couldn't take it anymore and said to the other:
— Unwrap it!

His companion pulled the long bundle from his back and removed the leather cover. Inside was a genuine diplomatic baton. Lan's eyes widened.

— Now do you believe?

Lan ran to report to the authorities.

Soon, the imperial court was abuzz with astonishing news: Zhang Qian, sent 13 years ago to the Western Regions, had returned! He was now in an audience with the emperor.

The young court ladies, who were either in their cradles or born in the year the embassy was sent to the Yuezhi, asked:
— Who is Zhang Qian?

Great favors were showered upon Zhang Qian. He was granted the princely title of Bovanhou, thus elevating him to the rank of the highest officials of the state. His loyal Ganfu also received a notable title—the rank of Messenger Servant. Even the ambassador's wife was honored with the title of Noble Lady from Tangli. But she was not invited to the palace...

However, both titled travelers spent day and night in the imperial chambers. The information brought back by Zhang Qian turned out to be extraordinarily important. Suddenly, the Han people were introduced to a vast, truly boundless world.

And immeasurable opportunities for trade.

Zhang Qian presented a grand plan to the imperial council. It was necessary to break through to the west. To establish direct contact with Dawan, Daxia (Bactria), Anxi (Parthia), and so on, "to expand Han territories by 10,000 li; then, with translators of nine languages, it would be easy to learn about customs different from those of the hat-and-belt people (i.e., the Chinese) and spread the influence of the Celestial Empire to the four seas..."

Chinese goods, primarily silk, would find new markets, and from there would flow what was not available in the Middle Kingdom.
Bovanhou Zhang Qian spoke vividly and persuasively. The advisors thought: it was no wonder this man managed to conquer foreign courts with his travels and eloquence. The picture he painted made their heads spin.

It was decided to send a new embassy westward—of course, led by Zhang Qian. But while in 138 BC the sole purpose was a military alliance with the Yuezhi, now the focus was on another nomadic people—the Xiongnu.

As soon as Zhang Qian was free from meetings in the imperial council, he was besieged by courtiers. Officials vied to invite him for visits. Everyone wanted to hear tales of his unprecedented journey. The ladies were particularly eager. Such a tall, slender, strong, still relatively young man—and already a prince, the most famous traveler, favored by the Son of Heaven...

Just think: when the emperor's eighth cousin was born, Zhang Qian was entrusted with naming the girl. He named her Branch of Joy.

Zhang Qian told stories. And he was skilled at storytelling. Zhang Qian Bovanhou could do many things.


He spoke briefly about how they made their way back through wild steppes and lifeless deserts. And that astonishing journey appeared as an unbroken chain of losses. Losses of companions, of fellow travelers...

Firstly, during the time of captivity by the Xiongnu, two died: a doctor and an astrologer.

Then one died in Dawan and one in Daxia. Another perished in the Tian Shan mountains, falling into an abyss.

And still, about a hundred people set out on the return journey.

They passed safely between Tian Shan and Alai. And then they were captured again by the Xiongnu. In a skirmish with them, several people died, and a few later succumbed to their wounds.

They spent almost a year in the Xiongnu encampments. The wife initially received her fugitive husband very unfavorably.

He explained to her at length and eloquently: he never intended to abandon his family. He simply had to fulfill the command of the ruler. He returned to her, passionately loving... The loving wife forgave him.

Soon, an important event occurred: the officials killed their shanyu. Unrest began in the encampments, leading to bloody infighting. And Zhang Qian had a conversation with his wife: they needed to fulfill the Son of Heaven's order, that is, to deliver the message to the Celestial Empire.

His loyal wife replied briefly:

— Where you are, there I am.

She herself feared for the lives of the foreigners—her husband and son. When there was a massacre in the horde, anything could happen. And the embassy fled again.

To avoid being captured by the Xiongnu again, they sharply turned south. They traveled along the highest ridges of the Kunlun Mountains on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert.

From the depths of the desert, a fierce khyfyn often blew. Then a wall of yellow, scorching dust would rush toward the travelers. They had to wait out the storm in some shelter for a day, two, or three. When the khyfyn blew, all living things hid.

They were tormented by hunger and thirst... The sun scorched so fiercely that even the stones were covered with a brown, baked crust—"the tan of the desert."

Sometimes they encountered "deceptive" springs: the water was bitter and salty. Huge expanses around were covered with salt flats. In these conditions, the Chinese died one by one. The heart could not withstand the terrible heat. But the Xiongnu and her son—children of the desert—survived.

Having crossed the desert, they entered the vast marshes of the wandering Lobnor Lake. Dense reeds, full of filth, stinking swamps stretching for hundreds of li—all claimed their victims. Many later died from swamp fever. After Lobnor, very few remained alive... And there came a day when only four were left. The servant and the wife were Xiongnu. The son grew up in the horde. And the only "black-haired" one was the ambassador himself.

But the landscape began to change. Here and there, between the stones, tufts of dry grass rose, fresh springs appeared, and around them, on the moist soil, tracks of hares, foxes, and hoofed animals were imprinted...

The travelers—skin and bones—regained some spirit. The skilled archer Ganfu once brought back a hare. Another time—a gazelle.

At one point, he killed a wolf, and they also ate its tough, unpleasant-smelling meat.

When these four finally arrived in Dunhuang, the garrison commander did not believe their stories. Everything seemed very suspicious: one Chinese and three Xiongnu. In thirteen years, the border guard had changed, and no one recognized Zhang Qian. Even the diplomatic baton did not help; many embassies had perished in the steppe, leaving their batons behind. Pick it up and declare yourself the emperor's trusted envoy...

The commander still gave the travelers four donkeys, a few copper coins, and provisions for the road. All of this he recorded in the service expenses, not forgetting to inflate the amount...

Discoveries of Zhang Qian