The Emperor of Han Dynasty -Zhang Qian

Silk Road
Zhang Qian
张骞
丝绸之路
Zhang Qian (張騫; Wade-Giles Chang-k'ien) was an imperial envoy to the outside world 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 colonisation 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 an unknown and new part of the world. Zhang Qian's accounts of his explorations of Central Asia are detailed in the Early Han historical chronicles ("Records of the Grand Historian" or "Shiji"), compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC . Today Zhang Quian is considered a national hero for the key role he played in opening China to the world of commercial trade.

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