張騫，漢中人，建元中為郎。是時(shí)天子問(wèn)匈奴降者，皆言匈奴破月氏王，以其頭為飲器，月氏遁逃，而常怨仇匈奴，無(wú)與共擊之。漢方欲事滅胡，聞此言，因欲通使。道必更匈奴中，乃募能使者。騫以郎應(yīng)募，使月氏，與堂邑氏故胡奴甘父俱出隴西。經(jīng)匈奴，匈奴得之，傳詣單于。單于留之，曰：“月氏在吾北，漢何以得往使？吾欲越使，漢肯聽(tīng)我乎？”留騫十余歲，與妻有子，然騫持漢節(jié)不失。

——《史記·大宛列傳》

Zhang Qian， born in Hanzhong， was an official in the Emperor Han Wu’s time. The Emperor got to know from a captive of Huns that the Huns defeated the Rouzhi King and used his skull as a wine vessel. The people of Rouzhi ran away. He hated the Huns but could not find an ally to attack the enemy. This information made the Emperor want to get connection with Rouzhi， when the Han Dynasty planned to kill the Huns at that time. It was only through Huns’ area that could Han people go to Rouzhi， and the imperial court tried to recruit persons who could finish the mission. Zhang Was Chosen and together with the former Huns slave Gan Fu， they went through the west of Longshan Mountains and when they entered the Huns area， they were caught. When it was reported to Khan， the king of Huns， Khan said： “Rouzhi is in the north of our area. Why do the Han envoys go there？ If I want to send envoys to Vietnam， will the Han Dynasty agree？” So Zhang Qian was kept there for more than ten years， and suns were born there， but he saved his credentials as an envoy.

Excerpts from Records of the History-Dawan

歷史的呼喚

司馬遷與張騫均為西漢同時(shí)代人，盡管史家講究“生不列傳”，但由于張騫兩次出使西域，出生入死，敢為人先，打擊匈奴，交好西域，當(dāng)時(shí)也為驚天地、泣鬼神之壯舉，故司馬遷在《史記·大宛列傳》中，開(kāi)篇即以數(shù)百字介紹張騫生平業(yè)績(jī)及貢獻(xiàn)。東漢班固作《漢書(shū)》時(shí)，則把張騫、大將軍李廣利并列建立專(zhuān)節(jié)作傳，使得張騫“鑿空”，開(kāi)拓絲綢之路的歷史功勛，名標(biāo)青史，永垂后世。2000年間，非但沒(méi)有被歲月淹沒(méi)，倒因?yàn)橹形鞣秸?、?jīng)濟(jì)、科技、文化交流，絲綢之路至今仍是中西交往的重要通道，被譽(yù)為“歐亞大陸橋”，在我國(guó)對(duì)外經(jīng)濟(jì)交流上發(fā)揮著重大作用。追思先賢，當(dāng)年張騫不畏艱險(xiǎn)，“鑿空”絲路的精神也益發(fā)應(yīng)該彰顯、發(fā)揚(yáng)光大，張騫當(dāng)之無(wú)愧地被列為世界級(jí)的文化名人。

時(shí)勢(shì)造英雄，張騫“鑿空”西域的壯舉并非偶然，是漢代那種敢于標(biāo)新立異、氣吞八荒時(shí)代精神的集中凸顯，也是當(dāng)時(shí)的國(guó)情時(shí)勢(shì)所造就。秦漢之際，當(dāng)中原經(jīng)過(guò)春秋戰(zhàn)亂，合縱連橫，此消彼立，最終中國(guó)西部黃河流域的秦國(guó)崛起，戰(zhàn)敗諸國(guó)“六王畢，四海一”統(tǒng)一中原的當(dāng)口，占據(jù)北方草原的匈奴，以游牧狩獵為生，從小精于騎馬射箭，且無(wú)任何禮儀束縛，一切以利益為轉(zhuǎn)移，只講目的，不擇手段。每當(dāng)秋高馬肥之時(shí)，便南下劫掠，中原地域廣闊，農(nóng)戶(hù)居住分散，匈奴系馬背民族，每攻一地，大肆搶劫財(cái)物、牛羊和婦女，得手后迅速撤離，無(wú)法集中防御，更無(wú)法有效抗擊。所以，臨近北方的燕、趙、韓等國(guó)都曾大修長(zhǎng)城。秦統(tǒng)一后，把各國(guó)長(zhǎng)城連接起來(lái)，還派大將蒙恬率兵30萬(wàn)迎擊匈奴。匈奴大敗，退回漠北，秦軍占領(lǐng)河套，并修筑了秦直道，解除了匈奴對(duì)長(zhǎng)安的威脅。豈料，匈奴趁秦末漢初中原動(dòng)亂，卷土重來(lái)，匈奴騎兵甚至突襲太原，逼近長(zhǎng)安，嚴(yán)重威脅立國(guó)未久的西漢王朝。漢高祖劉邦也曾進(jìn)行反擊，豈料，匈奴“控弦之士已達(dá)三十萬(wàn)”，正值兵強(qiáng)馬壯之時(shí)，漢軍在山西平城一帶反為匈奴所敗。此戰(zhàn)使?jié)h王朝上下均認(rèn)識(shí)到暫時(shí)還沒(méi)有實(shí)力與匈奴對(duì)抗，只能采取“和親納貢”綏靖匈奴，平息“邊患”。這種狀況一直持續(xù)到漢武帝時(shí)代，此時(shí)的漢王朝已不同于開(kāi)國(guó)之初，經(jīng)歷過(guò)半個(gè)世紀(jì)的“文景之治”，文帝、景帝均奉行“黃老無(wú)為”的哲學(xué)思想，不爭(zhēng)邊功，盡量創(chuàng)造寬松環(huán)境，便于百姓休養(yǎng)生息。倡導(dǎo)冶鐵煮鹽，興修水利，政府輕徭薄賦，百姓安居樂(lè)業(yè)，公私倉(cāng)庫(kù)豐盈，“京師之錢(qián)，累百萬(wàn)巨”，國(guó)家綜合實(shí)力增強(qiáng)，有了進(jìn)行戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)所必需的雄厚物力財(cái)力。漢武帝17歲登基，年紀(jì)雖輕，卻性格剛毅，胸懷大志，不甘心向匈奴示弱，召集大臣商議，決心對(duì)匈奴改綏靖為反擊，這一重大政策的改變，史稱(chēng)“元光決策”。

恰在這時(shí)，漢武帝從受降的匈奴人口中得知，匈奴攻占了原由大月氏人放牧的河西走廊一帶，殺死月氏國(guó)王，還把其腦骨做成酒器。月氏人被迫西遷至伊犁一帶，但難忘故土，非常想與其他部落聯(lián)合，共擊匈奴，以報(bào)前仇。得知這些情況，漢武帝喜出望外，他敏銳地把握住了這個(gè)歷史機(jī)遇，因?yàn)樾倥藭r(shí)已發(fā)展壯大到“精兵四十萬(wàn)騎”，決不可小視，若能夠與月氏人結(jié)成同盟，聯(lián)合夾擊，才能有取勝的把握。

但派誰(shuí)去西域聯(lián)系大月氏呢？茫茫西域無(wú)邊無(wú)際，大月氏人在哪里？雖有西周穆天子西行會(huì)見(jiàn)西王母記載，那也是千年之前的傳說(shuō)，當(dāng)時(shí)人對(duì)西域了解甚少，因?yàn)榍貢r(shí)的西部邊境止于甘肅臨洮。黃河以西的河西走廊、青藏高原、天山南北皆為吐蕃、胡羌、匈奴等游牧民族占據(jù)，沿途戈壁大漠，荒原激流，食宿無(wú)著，情況不明，且要經(jīng)過(guò)正處敵對(duì)狀態(tài)的匈奴轄區(qū)，兇吉難料，充滿(mǎn)險(xiǎn)情，非有大智大勇之人不可為之。為選拔能夠出使西域的人才，漢武帝下令在全國(guó)張榜招賢，正是這個(gè)歷史性的選擇與呼喚，才使張騫脫穎而出，名標(biāo)青史。

張騫，漢中城固人，其時(shí)僅為品不入流的“郎”，屬預(yù)備性質(zhì)的官員。但他曾為武帝伴讀，洞悉朝野和天下大事，胸有大志且性格堅(jiān)毅，辦事沉穩(wěn)敏捷。史書(shū)載，他“為人強(qiáng)力，寬大信人”，即堅(jiān)忍不拔、心胸開(kāi)闊，并能以信義待人事友?？吹匠⒄匈t令后，他意識(shí)到這是為國(guó)家效力，也是施展自己抱負(fù)的機(jī)會(huì)，于是毅然揭榜應(yīng)募出使西域，時(shí)年29歲。

冒險(xiǎn)西行

公元前139年，張騫奉命率領(lǐng)百人使團(tuán)，由一個(gè)歸順的胡人堂邑父（本名甘父）作向?qū)?，從長(zhǎng)安出發(fā)，穿越秦隴大地，從臨津渡過(guò)黃河進(jìn)入河西走廊。自大月氏被迫西遷后，千里河西已為匈奴控制，張騫一行不幸被匈奴騎兵抓獲，并送往匈奴王廷（今內(nèi)蒙古呼和浩特）。

匈奴單于為軟化、拉攏張騫，打消其出使月氏的念頭，進(jìn)行了種種威逼利誘，還讓張騫娶了匈奴女子為妻，生了孩子，但均未達(dá)到目的。他“不辱使命”、“持漢節(jié)不失”。即始終沒(méi)有忘記漢武帝所交給自己的神圣使命，沒(méi)有動(dòng)搖為漢朝通使月氏的意志和決心。張騫等人在匈奴留居了10年之久，卻一直在做著逃跑的準(zhǔn)備并尋找逃跑的機(jī)會(huì)。

機(jī)會(huì)終于來(lái)了，張騫趁匈奴不備，果斷地離開(kāi)防地，帶領(lǐng)其妻兒、隨從，逃出了匈奴王廷。這種逃亡是十分危險(xiǎn)和艱難的。幸運(yùn)的是，在匈奴的10年留居期間，張騫處處留心，不放過(guò)任何機(jī)會(huì)，不露聲色地掌握匈奴習(xí)俗，了解通往西域的道路，并學(xué)會(huì)了匈奴的語(yǔ)言，他穿上胡服，混跡于匈奴人群，已無(wú)人察覺(jué)到他是漢使。他騎馬帶著妻兒逃走，沒(méi)有被匈奴人查獲。因?yàn)橹鹚荻樱奶幱文?，匈奴人祖輩就是這么生活，當(dāng)然也歸結(jié)于張騫始終不忘使命的堅(jiān)強(qiáng)意志和隨機(jī)應(yīng)變的機(jī)智，多次遭遇風(fēng)險(xiǎn)都化險(xiǎn)為夷，他們終于順利地穿過(guò)了匈奴人的控制區(qū)。

但張騫在留居匈奴期間，西域的形勢(shì)發(fā)生了很大的變化。大月氏被迫離開(kāi)河西走廊，逃亡游牧的伊犁河谷，系烏孫國(guó)的地盤(pán)，烏孫國(guó)在匈奴支持和唆使下，攻擊月氏。月氏人被迫又從伊犁河流域繼續(xù)西遷，進(jìn)入咸海附近并征服大夏，已在新的土地上另建家園。張騫了解到這一情況，沒(méi)有后退，而是堅(jiān)定不移地堅(jiān)持西行。他們沿塔里木河，過(guò)庫(kù)車(chē)、疏勒，翻越海拔四五千米、終年積雪的蔥嶺，這條道路十分艱苦。大戈壁灘上，飛沙走石，熱浪滾滾；蔥嶺高如屋脊，冰雪皚皚，寒風(fēng)刺骨。沿途人煙稀少，水源奇缺。加之匆匆出逃，物資準(zhǔn)備不足。張騫一行，風(fēng)餐露宿，備嘗艱辛。干糧吃盡了，就靠善射的堂邑父射殺禽獸聊以充饑。其艱難險(xiǎn)阻非身臨其境不能體會(huì)萬(wàn)一。

不辱使命

我所生活的漢中，又恰為張騫的故鄉(xiāng)，出于對(duì)先賢志士的敬仰，參觀和陪人參觀，也不知去過(guò)張騫故里墓冢多少次。紀(jì)念館內(nèi)，從長(zhǎng)安到羅馬的圖表赫然標(biāo)明，每每細(xì)觀，內(nèi)心便被攪動(dòng)，這也許便是我放棄文學(xué)，探訪絲路已達(dá)20余次的真正初衷。我還專(zhuān)程去張騫被匈奴扣押過(guò)的內(nèi)蒙陰山草原與河西走廊祁連山下的荒原，這里海拔超過(guò)3000米，氣候瞬間萬(wàn)變，我便曾在盛夏遭遇暴風(fēng)雪，我們還有車(chē)可躲避，推想張騫當(dāng)年如何度過(guò)漫漫10年？非有超乎常人的毅力，且能吃大苦者不可為之！

張騫最先到達(dá)的是大宛國(guó)（即今烏茲別克斯坦），向大宛國(guó)王說(shuō)明了自己出使月氏的使命，大宛王早就風(fēng)聞東方漢朝的富庶，很想與漢朝通使往來(lái)，但苦于匈奴的中梗阻礙，未能實(shí)現(xiàn)。漢使的意外到來(lái)，使他非常高興。熱情款待后，派了向?qū)Ш妥g員，將張騫等人送到康居（今塔吉克斯坦境內(nèi)）。康居王又遣人將他們送至大月氏。

不料，這時(shí)的大月氏人，由于新的國(guó)土十分肥沃，物產(chǎn)豐富，并且距匈奴和烏孫很遠(yuǎn)，遭受攻擊的危險(xiǎn)已不存在，所以改變了態(tài)度。當(dāng)張騫向他們提出建議時(shí)，他們已無(wú)意向匈奴復(fù)仇了。張騫等人在月氏逗留了一年多，但始終未能說(shuō)服月氏人與漢朝聯(lián)盟，夾擊匈奴。元朔元年（前128），張騫權(quán)衡利弊，決定動(dòng)身返國(guó)。

歸途中，張騫為避開(kāi)匈奴控制區(qū)，改變了行軍路線。計(jì)劃通過(guò)青海羌人地區(qū)，以免遭匈奴人的阻留。于是，重越蔥嶺后，他們沿塔里木盆地南部，循昆侖山北麓的南道，進(jìn)入羌人地區(qū)。但出乎意料，羌人也已淪為匈奴的附庸，張騫等人再次被匈奴騎兵所俘，又被扣留了一年多。

元朔三年（前126）初，軍臣單于死了，其兄弟爭(zhēng)當(dāng)單于，張騫便趁匈奴內(nèi)亂之機(jī)，帶著自己的匈奴族妻和堂邑父，逃回長(zhǎng)安。這是張騫第一次出使西域，歷時(shí)13年。出發(fā)時(shí)是100多人，回來(lái)時(shí)僅剩下張騫和堂邑父二人。雖然付出了高昂的代價(jià)，但從其產(chǎn)生的實(shí)際影響和所起的歷史作用而言，無(wú)疑是巨大的成功，具有劃時(shí)代的意義。

建功西域

春秋以來(lái)，戎狄雜居涇渭之北，秦始皇北卻戎狄，筑長(zhǎng)城，以護(hù)中原，但其西界不過(guò)臨洮。玉門(mén)之外的廣闊西域，尚為我國(guó)政治文化勢(shì)力所未及。張騫通使西域，使中國(guó)的影響直達(dá)蔥嶺東西。自此，不僅現(xiàn)今我國(guó)新疆一帶同內(nèi)地的聯(lián)系日益加強(qiáng)，而且中國(guó)同中亞、西亞，以至南歐的直接交往也建立和密切起來(lái)。后人正是沿著張騫的足跡，走出了譽(yù)滿(mǎn)全球的絲綢之路，張騫的“鑿空”之功，實(shí)不可沒(méi)。況且，張騫還以政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)的角度對(duì)廣闊的西域進(jìn)行了實(shí)地調(diào)查。他不僅親自訪問(wèn)了位處新疆的各個(gè)小國(guó)和中亞的大宛、康居、大月氏和大夏諸國(guó)，而且從這些地方又初步了解到烏孫（巴爾喀什湖以南和伊犁河流域）、安息（即波斯，今伊朗）、身毒（即印度）等國(guó)的許多情況?；氐介L(zhǎng)安后，張騫將其見(jiàn)聞向漢武帝作了詳細(xì)報(bào)告，對(duì)蔥嶺東西、中亞、西亞，以至印度諸國(guó)的位置、特產(chǎn)、人口、城市、兵力等，都作了說(shuō)明。這個(gè)報(bào)告的基本內(nèi)容被司馬遷在《史記·大宛列傳》中保存下來(lái)。這是我國(guó)也是世界上對(duì)于這些地區(qū)第一次最翔實(shí)可靠的記載。至今仍是世界各國(guó)研究上述地區(qū)和國(guó)家的古地理和歷史最珍貴的資料。

漢武帝對(duì)張騫這次出使西域的成果非常滿(mǎn)意，特封張騫為太中大夫，授堂邑父為奉使君，以表彰他們的功績(jī)。張騫出使西域所獲得的關(guān)于中原外部世界的豐富知識(shí)，在以后西漢王朝的政治、軍事、外交活動(dòng)和對(duì)匈奴戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中發(fā)揮了積極作用。比如，在張騫出使西域之前，漢代的君臣還不知道在中國(guó)的西南方有一個(gè)身毒（古印度）的存在。張騫在大夏時(shí)，看到了四川的土產(chǎn)邛竹杖和蜀布。張騫敏銳地感到蜀地四川可能有通往身毒國(guó)（古印度）的捷徑，他向漢武帝報(bào)告了這一情況，引起了漢王朝對(duì)西南四川、貴州、云南一帶的高度重視，先后派使節(jié)前往聯(lián)系，并在公元前111年，先后設(shè)立汶山、武都、益州、交趾等郡縣，把西南正式納入漢王朝版圖。

名標(biāo)青史

在張騫通使西域返回長(zhǎng)安后，憑借對(duì)西域的了解，直接參加了對(duì)匈奴的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。元朔六年（前123）二月和四月，大將軍衛(wèi)青兩次出兵進(jìn)攻匈奴。漢武帝命張騫以校尉從大將軍出入漠北。當(dāng)時(shí)，漢朝軍隊(duì)行進(jìn)于千里塞外，在茫茫黃沙和無(wú)際草原中，給養(yǎng)相當(dāng)困難。張騫發(fā)揮他有沙漠行軍經(jīng)驗(yàn)和豐富地理知識(shí)的優(yōu)勢(shì)，為漢朝軍隊(duì)作向?qū)?，指點(diǎn)行軍路線。由于他“知水草處，軍得以不乏”，保證了戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的勝利。事后論功行賞，漢武帝封張騫為“博望侯”?！安┩币鉃椤叭∑淠軓V博瞻望”。這是漢武帝對(duì)張騫博聞多見(jiàn)、才廣識(shí)遠(yuǎn)的高度評(píng)價(jià)。

元狩二年（前121），張騫又奉命與“飛將軍”李廣率軍出右北平（今河北東北部地區(qū)），進(jìn)擊匈奴。李廣率四千騎兵作先頭部隊(duì)，張騫將萬(wàn)騎殿后。結(jié)果李廣孤軍冒進(jìn)，陷入匈奴左賢王4萬(wàn)騎兵的重圍。李廣率領(lǐng)部下苦戰(zhàn)一晝夜，張騫兼程趕到，匈奴始解圍而去。此戰(zhàn)雖殺傷眾多敵人，但李廣所率士兵大部分犧牲，張騫的部隊(duì)亦因過(guò)分疲勞，未能追擊。朝廷論罪，李廣功過(guò)兩抵，張騫卻以“后期”即沒(méi)能及時(shí)到達(dá)的罪名被貶為庶人。

兩年后，漢武帝再次啟用張騫聯(lián)合烏孫（今伊犁河流域），武帝命張騫為中郎將，率300人，馬600匹，牛羊金帛萬(wàn)數(shù)，浩浩蕩蕩第二次出使西域。此時(shí)匈奴勢(shì)力已被逐出河西走廊，道路暢通。他到達(dá)烏孫后，請(qǐng)烏孫東返故地。烏孫王年老，不能作主，大臣都懼怕匈奴，又認(rèn)為漢朝太遠(yuǎn)，不想移徙。張騫派遣副使分別赴大宛、康居、大月氏、安息、身毒、于闐、抒彌（今新疆于田克里雅河?xùn)|）等國(guó)展開(kāi)外交活動(dòng)，足跡遍及中亞、西南亞各地，最遠(yuǎn)的使者到達(dá)地中海沿岸的羅馬帝國(guó)和北非。元鼎二年（前115），烏孫王配備了翻譯和向?qū)?，護(hù)送張騫回國(guó)，同行的還有數(shù)十名烏孫使者，這是西域人第一次到中原。烏孫王送給漢武帝數(shù)十匹好馬，深得武帝歡心。武帝任命張騫為大行，負(fù)責(zé)接待各國(guó)使者和賓客。他所派遣的副使以后也陸續(xù)帶了各國(guó)使者來(lái)到長(zhǎng)安，漢朝和西域諸國(guó)建立了友好關(guān)系，出現(xiàn)“使者相望于道”的繁盛局面，為日后絲路的暢通以及把遠(yuǎn)比今日新疆更為廣大的西域納入漢王朝版圖打下了堅(jiān)實(shí)的基礎(chǔ)。張騫出使西域的歷史貢獻(xiàn)也永載史冊(cè)。

張騫去世后歸葬故里陜西城固?？箲?zhàn)時(shí)南遷漢中的西北聯(lián)大歷史系曾發(fā)掘張騫墓，發(fā)現(xiàn)有漢時(shí)信物與博望信印，與史載相符，系真墓無(wú)疑。近年陵地得到修葺，并建立博物館，其“鑿空”西域開(kāi)拓絲路的精神，將如同墓地森森古柏，四季長(zhǎng)青，永遠(yuǎn)昭啟后人。

Necessity of the History

Sima Qian and Zhang Qian were living in the same period of the West Han Dynasty（206B.C-25A.D）. Usually， there were no biographies for living people in history books， but Zhang Qian went to the West areas for two times with his life in extreme dangers and made connection with far away people， thus helping the Han Dynasty in its war against Huns. Even at that time， his deeds were amazingly great. So in his book Records of the History-Dawan， Sima Qian used several hundred words， at the beginning of the volume about Dawan， to introduce Zhang Qian and his achievements. In his historical book Han Dynasty Records， Ban Gu wrote biographies of Zhang Qian and put it together with that of the famous general Li Guang， and in this way， Zhang Qian’s great achievement in opening the Silk Road and making connections with the West areas were recorded in history and got known to later generations. 2000 years after his death， because the necessity of communication between the East and the West in politics， economics， science and technology， and culture， the Silk Road is now known as the bridge cross Europe and Asia， became more important. Thinking of the great ancestors， we feel that their spirits should be carried forward in our hands， and we believe that Zhang Qian now become a world famous figure.

Heroes were made by the times. His feat was the highlight of that time when new things were praised， the expanding desire was strong but the nation met with many difficulties. When the kingdoms in the central part of China were in war against one another and in the end， the Qin Kingdom won and Qin Dynasty was established. Then the Qin was overthrown and Han dynasty was established within decades of years. During this time， a nation of nomads called Huns developed quickly in the northwest and made great troubles to the people living in border areas and became a huge treat to the imperial court. Some kingdoms once built great walls to stop the marauders with horses， and in Qin Dynasty， the walls were connected and armies were sent to fight the invaders. General Meng Tian won great victory and the Huns had to retreat to the north of the big deserts. But when the central parts were again in wars， the Huns bounced back and their cavalry made sudden attack to Taiyuan， not far away from the capital. The new established dynasty was in danger. The first emperor of Han Dynasty tried to fight back， but was defeated. The emperor and his chancellors got to know that they had no enough forces to resist the invaders and what they could do was to send girls and tributes to Huns， and ask them not to trouble the people. This continued to the Emperor Han Wu’s time and a great change was to happen. The former emperors ruled for about 50 years and during that time， policies were made to help people develop production. Iron and salt industries developed， water conservancy got more attention， but common people paid little taxes， thus people got rich and the nation as a whole became strong. There were enough money and materials for a war against the invaders. Emperor Han Wu got in power at the age of 17， and although he was young， he was disposed with a fortitude character and ambitious. He called a meeting and decided to fight back. This great change in policy was called “Yuanguang decision”.

Just at this moment， the emperor heard from the Hunnish captives that the Huns invaded the Rouzhi’s Kingdom’s territory， in Hexi Corridor region， killed Rouzhi’s king， and even used his skull as wine vessel. The Rouzhi were forced to move west and roamed in Ili area. They missed their home very much， and really wanted to revenge the Huns. Knowing all these things， the emperor was overjoyed； he wished to grasp this historic opportunity， for the Huns now had grown into a power of 400，000 strong soldiers， which was hard to be neglected. If the Han dynasty could make alliance with the Rouzhi， and attack the Huns jointly， the possibility to win would be large.

But who will be sent to the western regions to connect the Rouzhi roaming in grassland？ The vast western regions were big and endless. Where did the Rouzhi roam？ Although there were records of Zhou Muwang （Mu King in West Zhou） went west to visit the West Queen， but that was one thousand before. The western regions were poorly understood in Han dynasty because the western border lied in Lintao， Gansu. All the areas in the west of the Yellow River， including Hexi Corridor， the Tibetan plateau， the north and the south of Tianshan Mountains， were occupied by Tubo， Qiang， and the Huns nomads. Anyone that would go through the wasteland and rapid rivers， with no food or accommodation， ignorant about surroundings， and pass through the midst of hostilities would put his life in countless dangers. A man without great courage and wisdom could not go through it. In order to select talented persons， the emperor ordered a nationwide recruit， and it was this historic choice and calling that made Zhang Qian stand out and become a the historical figure.

Zhang Qian， born in Chenggu， Hanzhong， was only a common official at that time， and waiting for missions. But he had been chosen as classmate of the Emperor Hanwu， had an insight of the Court and the world affairs， and he was ambitious， determined， and calm in emergent moments. It is said in history books that he was strong， broad-minded， and iron-willed， and he was known as a credible person. On seeing the recruit order of the court， he realized that that was a chance to serve the country， and also a chance to cast his ambition， and he resolutely enlisted to envoy the west regions， at the age of 29 years old.

The Dangerous Adventure to the West

In 139 B.C， Zhang Qian was ordered to lead one hundred people mission to adventure the west with GanFu， a former Huns slave， as the guide. They started from Chang’an， through Shan’xi and Gansu areas， crossed the Yellow River at Linjin Ford and came into the Hexi Corridor. Rouzhi had been forced to move west， and the large Hexi Corridor had been under the control of Huns. Zhang Qian was unfortunately captured by Hunnish cavalries， and he was sent to the King Court （now Inner Mongolia Hohhot）.

The khan of Huns wanted to soften and woo Zhang Qian， and forced him to give up the mission to Rouzhi. He carried out a variety of coerced measures. He gave Zhang Qian a wife from the daughters of the Huns. And later Zhang Qian had a child. But all this failed to meet the purpose. Zhang Qian did not surrender， and he always remembered his sacred mission that the emperor of Han had given to him. He never shook his will and determination to visit Rouzhi. Zhang Qian and his people stayed in the Huns for 10 years， but they had always been preparing for the escape and looking for opportunities to escape.

Opportunity came when the Huns were tired of their vigilance. Zhang Qian resolutely escaped from the tribe， together with his wife and children and the entourage. The fugitive was very dangerous and difficult. Fortunately， during the 10 years in the Huns， Zhang Qian grasped all any opportunities to learn the Hunnish customs， the way to the western regions， and he also acquired the language of the Huns. With Hunnish clothes on body and Hunnish language in the mouth， no one could recognize him as Han’s envoy. He escaped on horse with his wife and children， and left the area of Huns without their notice.

But during the time when Zhang Qian lived in Huns， great changes had taken place in the western regions. Big Rouzhi people were forced to leave the Hexi Corridor； they fled to the Valley of Ili River， which was the territory of Wusun Kingdom. The Wusun people， Under the support and instigation of Huns， attacked Rouzhi people. Rouzhi people were forced to continue to move west from the Ili River Valley to a place near the Aral Sea and conquered Daxia Kingdom， and built their homes in the new land. Zhang Qian learned the news， but he insisted to go to the west. They went along the Tarim River through Quqa and Shule， and crossed the snow-covered Congling Mountais. The way was really hard because of the large Gobi desert where sand and stones were flying and heat waves rolling， while on the snow covered Congling Mountains， the coldness bite into the bones. People were sparsely populated along the way and water was scarce. And because they fled in hurry， no adequate supplied were prepared. Dry food was eaten up， and they depended on GanFu’s hunting. No one could understand the difficulties without experiences.

Success in Fulfilling the Mission

I live in Hanzhong where Zhang Qian was born and buried. Out of respect for the sage， I have visited Zhang Qian’s tomb alone or as a guide for many times. In the Memorial Museum， the way from Chang’an to Rome was marked brightly on the chart， and every time I watched the chart carefully， my mind was stirred and I became exited. Perhaps this is the reason why I have given up literature and visited the Silk Road for more than 20 times. I have also made a special trip to Yinshan grassland in Inner Mongolia，where Zhang Qian had been in detention， and to the wilderness in Hexi Corridor beside the Qilian Mountains， where the altitude is more than 3000 meters and the climate change per moment. I was once caught in storm in summer and fortunately enough， I could take shelter in car. How could Zhang Qian spend 10 years there？ Only the person that had extraordinary perseverance and bore hardships as pleasure could survive！

Zhang Qian first arrived in the country called Dawan （Uzbekistan）. He explained his mission to the king of Dawan， and the king had already got wind that the eastern Han Dynasty was rich. He was desired to build relationship with Han Dynasty， but because of the obstacles of the Huns， he could not realize aspirations. The unexpected arrival of Han’s envoy made him very happy. He was hostile， and provided guides and interpreters for them and sent Zhang Qian and his people to Kangju （now in Tajikistan）. The King of Kangju sent them to Big Rouzhi.

However， at this moment the Rouzhi had changed their mind. Because the new land was fertile with rich products， and it was far away from the Huns and Wusun， they were out of risk of being attacked and they did not want to seek revenge against the Huns. Zhang Qian and his people spent more than a year in Rouzhi， but failed to persuade the Rouzhi to make alliance with the Han dynasty. In the first year of Yuanshuo（128B.C）， Zhang Qian decided to leave for home.

On the way home， in order to avoid the area that Huns controlled， Zhang Qian changed the travel route. They planned to go through the Qiang people region in Qinghai， far away from Huns. So after crossing Congling Mountains， they took the south road along the southern Tarim Basin at the northern foot of Kunlun Mountains， and entered into the Qiang people region. But unexpectedly， Qiang people had become subservient to the Huns， Zhang Qian and his people were once again captured by the Hunnish cavalry， and detained more than a year.

At the beginning of the third year of Yuanshuo （126B.C）， the Junchen Khan died， and his brothers battled for the throne. Zhang Qian took advantage of the strife in Hunnish tribes and fled back to Chang’an with his Hunnish wife and GanFu. This is the first mission of Zhang Qian to the western regions for 13 years. He left with more than 100 people and the back with only GanFu. Although high price was paid for the travel， from its actual effect and the role in history， it is undoubtedly a great success of epoch-making significance.

Glorious Accomplishments in Western

Regions

Since the Chunqiu period， the northern nomads had been populated in the large regions in the north of the Jing River and the Wei River. In order to keep out of the nomads， the first emperor of Qin Dynasty had built the Great Wall to protect the central plains， but the west border of Qin was not beyond Lintao. The vast western regions outside Yumen was not under China's political and cultural forces. Zhang Qian’s travel to the western regions made the influence of China cross Congling Mountains. Since then， direct communications had become possible between mainland China and Central Asia， west Asia， Southern Europe as well as the areas in Today’s Xinjiang. Later generations followed Zhang Qian’s tracks， walked out the world renowned Silk Road. Zhang Qian’s contribution to chiseling open the road cannot be neglected. Besides， Zhang Qian conducted a field survey on the vast western regions from the angle of politics and economy. He not only personally visited every small country located in Xinjiang and Central Asia such as Dawan， Kangju， Daxia， Rouzhi， but also got preliminary information about Wusun （south of Balkhash Lake and Ili Basin）， Anxi （namely the Persian， now Iran）， Shendu （i.e.， India） and other countries. After he came back to Chang’an， Zhang Qian made a detailed report to the emperor. In this report， the location， population， city， and troops of the countries beside Congling in Central Asia， West Asia， and the Indian states， were fully described. The basic content of the report were preserved in Sima Qian’s Records of the History-Dawan in the volume about Dawan. This is the most detailed and reliable records about these areas for the first time in our country and in the world. It is still the most valuable historical records for different countries to study this area.

Emperor Hanwu was very pleased with the results of Zhang Qian’s mission to the western regions this time. He awarded Zhang Qian with the title of taizhong dafu， and awarded GanFu with the title of fengshijun. The rich information about the outside of the central China that was obtained during Zhang Qian’s adventure to the west played an important role in the following interactions between the imperial court and the Huns in politics， military， and diplomatic fields. Before Zhang Qian went to the western regions， for example， the officials of Han Dynasty did not know that in China’s southwest there was a country named Shendu （ancient India）. Zhang Qian saw Sichuan-produced bamboo rod and cloth in Daxia， and he realized at once that there was probably a short cut between Sichuan and Shendu （ancient India）， and he reported his idea to the emperor. The Han Dynasty attached great importance to the southwestern areas including Sichuan， Guizhou and Yunnan， and sent successive envoys to contact， and in 111 B.C， counties as Wenshan， Wudu， Yizhou， and Jiaozhi were set up one by one and the southwest was officially under the control of Han Dynasty.

His Name Inscribed in History

After he returned to Chang’an， ZhangQian， with his good understanding of the western regions， directly participated in the war against the Huns. In the second and forth month of the sixth year of Yuanshuo （123B.C）， General Wei Qing attacked the Huns twice. The Emperor Han Wu ordered Zhang Qian to follow the general as a captain to the north of the Gobi. At that time， the Han army marched beyond the Great Wall into the vast sand and boundless grassland， and they did not have enough supplies. Zhang Qian made a good use of his desert marching experience and extensive knowledge about geography and he worked as guide to the Han army. He knew where they could get the grass and water， and the army did not worry about that， and that ensured the victory of the war for Han dynasty. As a Reward， Zhang Qian got the title of “Marquis Bowang” from Emperor Han Wu. This is the highest praise that the Emperor spoke to Zhang Qian for his knowledge.

In the second year of Yuanshou （121B.C）， Zhang Qian got the order to go with the fly general Li Guang to the West Beiping（now the northeastern part of Hebei Province） to fight with the Huns. General Li rated 4000 cavalry as vanguard troops， and Zhang Qian led the majority behind. General Li went ahead alone and was besieged by 40000 Hunnish cavalry. General Li had fought bitterly with his men for a whole day before Zhang Qian and his troops arrived and rescued General Li. Although many enemies were killed in the battle， most soldiers led by General Li died and the forces led by Zhang Qian did not pursuit the enemy because of tiredness. The court decided that General Li’s merits balanced his fault， but Zhang Qian's official title was deprived and became a common person because he did not get there on time.

Two years later， the Emperor sent Zhang Qian to make alliance with Wusun （now Ili River basin） with identity of Zhonglangjiang. His diplomatic corps was made up of 300 people， and they took 600 horses， millions of cattle， sheep， silk and gold to the western regions. At this time the Huns’power had been out of the Hexi Corridor and the road was clear. After he arrived in Wusun Kingdom， he invited the King to return to their former hometown. The King was old and he could not make the decision， and the ministers were afraid of the Huns， and they thought that Han Dynasty was too far to be reliance. They were unwilling to migrate. Zhang Qian sent his assistants to the countries for diplomatic activities such as Dawan， Kangju， the Big Rouzhi， Anxi， Shendu， Yutian， Shumi（now in XingJiang， in the east of Keriya）. These people traveled across central Asia and Southwest Asia and got to as far as the Mediterranean coast of the Roman Empire and North Africa. In the second year of Yuanding（115 B.C）， the king of Wusun arranged interpreters and guides for Zhang Qian and escorted him to Chang’an， together with dozens of Wusun envoys. This had been the first time for the western people to arrive at the central plains. The king of Wusun gave the emperor dozens of fine horses， and that got the emperor’s heart. He appointed Zhang Qian as chief to be responsible for ambassadors and guests. The assistants he had sent also brought the messengers back to Chang’an. The Han Dynasty thus established friendly relationship with the western countries and the ambassadors often saw each other on their way to Chang’an. This made the Silk Road smoothly and also laid a solid foundation for the imperial country to claim more western region， bigger than Xinjiang， in Han Dynasty. Zhang Qian’s contribution in exploring the western regions had been written in history book.

Zhang Qian was buried in his hometown，Chenggu， in Shanxi Province. During the Anti-Japanese War the history department of Northwest Alliance University excavated Zhang Qian’s tomb， and they found Marquis Bowang’s seal and objects of Han dynasty， which were consistent with the records in history book and the tomb was true. In recent years， this tomb has been repaired and a museum is established. Zhang Qian’s spirit in exploring the Silk Road will last， as the evergreen cypress around his solemn tomb， and motivate later generations forever.

（Translated by Zhang Caixia ）