Imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the 2nd century BC
In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.
Zhang Qian 張騫
Zhang Qian taking leave from emperor Han Wudi, for his expedition to Central Asia from 138 to 126 BC, Mogao Caves mural, 618 – 712...
Born
195 BC
Hanzhong, Shaanxi, China
Died
c. 114 BC
China
Occupation
Explorer
Zhang Qian
"Zhang Qian" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese
張騫
Simplified Chinese
张骞
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Zhāng Qiān
Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Jang Chian
Wade–Giles
Chang1 Ch'ien1
IPA
[ʈʂáŋ tɕʰjɛ́n]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization
Jēung Hīn
Jyutping
Zoeng1 Hin1
IPA
[tsœːŋ˥ hiːn˥]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ
Tiuⁿ Khian
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
ɖjangkʰjen
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)
*C.traŋC.qʰra[n]
Zhang Qian (Chinese: 張騫; died c. 114 BC)[1] was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and politician who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Western Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable information about Central Asia, including the Greco-Bactrian remains of the Macedonian Empire as well as the Parthian Empire, to the Han dynasty imperial court, then ruled by Emperor Wu of Han.
He played an important pioneering role for the future Chinese conquest of lands west of Xinjiang, including swaths of Central Asia and even lands south of the Hindu Kush (see Protectorate of the Western Regions). This trip created the Silk Road that marked the beginning of globalization between the countries in the east and west.[2][3][4][5]
Zhang Qian's travel was commissioned by Emperor Wu with the major goal of initiating transcontinental trade in the Silk Road, as well as create political protectorates by securing allies.[6] His missions opened trade routes between East and West and exposed different products and kingdoms to each other through trade. Zhang's accounts were compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. The Central Asian parts of the Silk Road routes were expanded around 114 BC largely through the missions of and exploration by Zhang Qian.[7] Today, Zhang is considered a Chinese national hero and revered for the key role he played in opening China and the countries of the known world to the wider opportunity of commercial trade and global alliances.[8] Zhang Qian is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.
^Loewe (2000), p. 688.
^"ZHANG QIAN, EXPLORER CENTRAL ASIA".
^"Zhang Qian — Pioneer of the Silk Road in History of China".
^"The Chinese Explorer Zhang Qian on a Raft".
^Higa, Kiyota (2015-01-01). "Legend of Silk Road pioneer lives on".
ZhangQian (Chinese: 張騫; died c. 114 BC) was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and politician who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China...
chapter 123 of the Records of the Great Historian by Sima Qian, describing a mission of ZhangQian in the late 2nd century BC. Essentially the same text appears...
Book of Han. It is mentioned in the accounts of the Chinese explorer ZhangQian in 130 BCE and the numerous embassies that followed him into Central Asia...
QianZhang (Chinese: 張黔) is a Chinese computer scientist, the Tencent Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science...
By the time ZhangQian visited, there was no longer a major king, and the Bactrians were under the suzerainty of the Yuezhi. ZhangQian depicted a rather...
Chemistry. Qian was born in Shanghai International Settlement, with ancestral roots in Lin'an, Hangzhou, in 1911. His parents were Qian Junfu and Zhang Lanjuan...
BCE through the missions and explorations of the Chinese imperial envoy ZhangQian, which brought the region under unified control. The Parthian Empire provided...
Kingdom, and then is used by the explorer ZhangQian in 126 BCE to designate Bactria. The reports of ZhangQian were put in writing in the Shiji ("Records...
expansion of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom – and then is used by the explorer ZhangQian in 126 BCE to designate Bactria. It is possible that "Daxia", in part...
abroad, on land and by sea, from the travels of Han dynasty diplomat ZhangQian into Central Asia during the 2nd century BC until the Ming dynasty treasure...
produced by Steven Tsui. At the end of 1997, Cheung met his wife Jess Zhang (ZhangQian), an actress in China. They were filming in the same location on separate...
and used to distinguish it from nearby Bactria. The Chinese explorer ZhangQian, who visited the neighbouring countries of Bactria and Parthia along with...
Chinese mission, led by ZhangQian in 126 BC, which sought an offensive alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. ZhangQian, who spent a year in Transoxiana...
the border several times, especially ravaging Yuyang. The Han diplomat ZhangQian escapes Xiongnu custody and resumes his mission of forming an anti-Xiongnu...
from systematically raiding northern China, and dispatched his envoy ZhangQian into the Western Regions in 139 BC to seek an alliance with the Greater...
30,000 Xiongnu soldiers. Generals Li Guang and ZhangQian ride north from Youbeiping, but ZhangQian, with the larger army, is slow to rendezvous with...
Western Regions). Emperor Wu of Han had received reports from diplomat ZhangQian that Dayuan owned fast and powerful Ferghana horses known as the "heavenly...
finally defeated by the Xiongnu, after which they fled Gansu. According to ZhangQian, the Yuezhi were defeated by the rising Xiongnu empire and fled westward...
Emperor Wu sent ZhangQian as the ambassador to the Western Regions in an attempt to make contact with Greater Yuezhi. ZhangQian's envoy was intercepted...
to hold off repeated attacks for two days until ZhangQian arrived and the Xiongnu retreated. ZhangQian was demoted to commoner status for arriving late...
series directed by ZhangQian and Chen Jian, written by Du Liang and Jiang Qitao, and starring Li Youbin, He Zhengjun [zh] and Zhang Guangbei. It is based...
Babylonia. 126 BC: Ptolemy VIII regains control of Alexandria. 125 BC: ZhangQian returns to China after a protracted journey through the west. 124 BC:...
Asia into contact with the Chinese empire. During the 2nd century BC, ZhangQian became the first known Chinese diplomat to venture deep into Central Asia...
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