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Essence of China
15
MAY 31 – JUNE 6 2013
Zhang Qian: Pioneer explorer of the route to the West
BY DAVID WU
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
Zhang Qian (్ᠳ) is venerated
as the pioneer of diplomacy and
trade who opened up China to
the world and paved the way for
the development of East-West
cultural and economic exchange
through his two missions to the
regions west of China during the
Han Dynasty (ᇧ๛) (206 B.C.–A.D.
220).
The route he established
through the Western Regions, or
Xiyu (‫׫‬఑), which encompassed
modern-day Xinjiang and parts
of Central Asia, later became
known as the famous Silk Road
(໭ሾѰᄁ).
Zhang Qian
is greatly
honoured for his
contributions to
the development
of the ancient
Silk Road and
for being
instrumental
in promoting
diplomatic ties,
trade links, and
cultural exchange
between China
and countries
in Central and
Western Asia.
Ever since the establishment of
the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu
(ծԉ) nomadic people had been
China’s most threatening enemy
from the north and west.
Emperor Wu of Han, known
as Han Wudi (ᇧࣦ߳), who ruled
in 141–87 B.C., abandoned the
previous defensive foreign policy
of his grandfather and father,
emperors Wen (ᇧҮࣦ) and Jing
(ᇧ๓ࣦ), and launched a series
of attacks against the Xiongnu.
When he learned that the Xiongnu had killed the king of the Da
Yuezhi (ѕҴҼ), or “Great Yuezhi,”
tribal nation in the Western
Regions and that the Da Yuezhi
people wished to seek revenge,
Emperor Wu saw an opportunity
to create a stronger force against
the Xiongnu.
Emperor Wu decided to seek
a military alliance with the Da
Yuezhi against the Xiongnu and
issued a notice to solicit applications from capable individuals
to serve as an envoy to the Da
Yuezhi.
Zhang Qian, a military officer
of Han, volunteered and was chosen as the imperial envoy who
would make the long, perilous
journey, which required passage
through Xiongnu territory, to
complete this mission.
Epic journeys
Around 138–139 B.C., in his first
diplomatic mission, Zhang Qian
led a group of some 100 men
westward, including a Xiongnu named Gan Fu (ԲӀ) who
served as a guide.
Unfortunately, all were captured by the Xiongnu before
they could complete their journey.
Zhang Qian was held for many
years and later took a Xiongnu
wife. However, determined to
complete his mission, he hid
his true feelings and never gave
up seeking an opportunity to
escape.
After 10 years, he managed to
escape with Gan Fu. They overcame many difficulties until
they finally reached the Da
Yuezhi nation. However, by then
the situation had changed and
ZHICHING CHEN/THE EPOCH TIMES
Chinese
character:
Silk
BY CINDY CHAN
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
Zhang Qian, Chinese statesman, diplomat, and determined pioneer of the Silk Road.
the new king of the Da Yuezhi
had no intention of attacking
the Xiongnu.
Although his original mission
was unfulfi lled, Zhang Qian
learned a great deal through
his journey. Before he returned
to China, he spent over a year
travelling among the different
tribes that had settled across
the vast western lands. He not
only documented their life and
culture but also introduced Chinese culture to the tribes.
On his way back to China,
Zhang Qian was recaptured
by the Xiongnu. However, the
Xiongnu were impressed by his
courage and determination and
they spared his life.
One year later, he managed to escape again, this
time with his wife and son,
when unrest broke out in the
Xiongnu nation. Zhang made
his way back to Chang’an (࡯
֜), then the capital of China.
During his 13 years away from
China, Zhang successfully collected large amounts of rich
information about many of
the tribes and nations in the
Western Regions.
Zhang Qian’s reports about his
journey stirred Emperor Wu’s
ambition to finally defeat the
Xiongnu and to greatly expand
China’s territory.
In 119 B.C., Emperor Wu sent
Zhang Qian on his second mission to the west with the aim of
forming an alliance with another nomadic tribe, the Wusun (
ૻ੪), against the Xiongnu. The
Wusun lived in an area north
of the Tarim Basin in what is
today’s Xinjiang region in northwest China.
Although the goal to form a
military alliance was not realized, Zhang Qian sent his assistant to visit other nations in the
area and successfully established
and maintained good diplomatic
relations with many nations in
the Central Asian region.
Zhang Qian’s two epic journeys westward covered many of
the countries in Central Asia and
Western Asia (the Middle East),
including Ferghana (eastern
Uzbekistan), Sogdiana (Uzbekistan), Bactria (Afghanistan), and
India.
Alfalfa, walnuts, pomegranate,
and superior breeds of horses
were just a few of the goods
introduced into China. Meanwhile, Central Asia and Western
Asia came to know more about
Chinese culture and products,
especially silk.
Zhang Qian is greatly honoured for his contributions to
the development of the ancient
Silk Road and for being instrumental in promoting diplomatic
ties, trade links, and cultural
exchange between China and
countries in Central and Western Asia.
Stories from ancient China: A wise judge’s decree
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
There was once a farmer in
ancient China whose neighbour
was a hunter.
The neighbour owned ferocious and poorly trained
hunting dogs that frequently
jumped the fence and chased
the farmer’s lambs. The farmer
repeatedly asked his neighbour
to keep the dogs under control,
but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
One day, the dogs jumped the
fence and attacked and severely
injured several of the lambs.
The farmer had had enough and
went to town to consult a judge.
The judge listened carefully
to the story and said: “I could
punish the hunter and instruct
him to keep his dogs chained
or lock them up, but you would
lose a friend and gain an enemy.
Which would you rather have
IAN STEWART/PHOTOS.COM
As an old Chinese
saying goes,
‘One can best
win over and
influence others
with gestures
of kindness and
compassion.’
for a neighbour, a friend or a
foe?”
The farmer replied that he
preferred a friend.
“In this case, I will offer you
a solution that will keep your
lambs safe and your neighbour
a friend,” the judge said.
Guess
the hidden saying,
phrase or word(s)
suggested
by the picture!
SOLUTION BELOW
๛
A farmer gave three of his best lambs to his neighbour’s three young
sons as a gift, a gesture that led to great friendship between the two
families, which had previously been in conflict with each other.
After hearing the judge’s solution, the farmer agreed.
Once at home, the farmer
immediately put the judge’s
suggestions to the test. He took
three of his best lambs and presented them to his neighbour’s
three small sons.
Sudoku Sudoku
Fill in the boxes using numbers
between 1 and 9 so that each column, each row, and each 3x3 square
contain all nine numbers only once.
The boys were beside themselves with joy and began to
play with the lambs.
To protect his sons’ newly
acquired pets, the hunter built
a strong kennel for his dogs. The
dogs never again bothered the
farmer’s lambs.
Out of gratitude for the
farmer’s generosity toward
his sons, the hunter often
shared the game he hunted
with the farmer. The farmer
reciprocated by sending the
hunter lamb meat and cheese
he had made.
Within a short time, the
neighbours became good
friends.
As an old Chinese saying
goes, “One can best win over
and influence others with gestures of kindness and compassion.” This is similar to the saying, “You can catch more flies
with honey than with vinegar.”
The Chinese character ໭ (sī)
refers to silk as well as fine
thread and thread-like objects
such as fibre, wire, or string.
The character is also used to
describe things of a very small
amount.
໭ (sī) is composed of two
instances of the radical ‫( א‬mì
or sī), which means silk. On
the left-hand side of ໭, some
Chinese fonts use 쬎 (sī), a form
of ‫ א‬that has three dots on the
bottom, while other fonts use
the form of ‫ א‬that has the
radical ћ (xi뿥o) on the bottom,
which means small.
The character ໭ depicts coils
of silk or fine thread formed by
strands that have been twisted
together.
Some common character
combinations using ໭ include
໭ሾ (sī chóu), referring to silk,
silk cloth, or silk fabric; ᤀ໭
(cán sī), referring to the silk
of the silkworm; ໭ು (sī háo),
meaning the smallest degree
or quantity; ࡸ໭ (y뿨 sī), a fine
drizzle of rain; and ‫ך‬໭ (ròu sī),
shredded meat.
Gourd, clay, leather, wood,
jade or stone, metal, string, and
pipe are eight kinds of materials used to make eight types of
musical instruments in ancient
China. ໭‫( ׎‬sī zhú) is a collective term that refers to stringed
and wind instruments, such
as the pipa and Chinese zither,
which are made of ໭ (sī), or
silk strings, and the flute, which
is made of ‫( ׎‬zhú), or bamboo
pipe.
The phrase Ы໭ࡽՠ (yī sī
liàng gu뺵ng) describes a thread
of light, while Ы໭ୂੲ (yī sī
xiào róng) describes a trace of
a smile.
໭ುѬ଎ (sī háo bù liú)
means not a trace is left behind,
and ໭ು຤ኄ (sī háo wú wù)
means something is exactly
right and without error.
Silk fabrics were a major
export of ancient China, and
the important trade in silk
gave rise to the name of the
famous Silk Road that connected ancient China to the
West, called ໭ሾѰᄁ (sī chóu
zhī lù) in Chinese.
ᤀշ໭, ჎ᤈቫ, гѬᒂ, Ѭ֕ࠢ
(cán t뿨 sī, f뻂ng niàng mì, rén
bù xué, bù rú wù) is a poetic
verse from ancient China that
refers to the silkworm and conveys a moral teaching.
The verse teaches that the
silkworm spins silk to enable
people to weave cloth, the bee
makes honey for people to eat,
and if people do not engage in
learning, then they are not even
as good as tiny insects.
GEOGRAPHY GURU
Growing Your Geography Knowledge
Quiz 420
BIG TONGUES:
Large North American cities reflect their European heritage in their predominant languages. Name the cities with
the following characteristics:
Largest English-speaking city in the world
Largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world
Largest Spanish-speaking city in the world
Second-largest French-speaking city in the world
Alan Morgan
hfortld
Read The Epoch Times next week for the answer!
C
nswer for Quiz 419:
Presented By
This week's solution
ALPINE LANDS:
The Alps mountain range extends across eight European nations,
as defined by membership in the Alpine Convention: AUSTRIA,
FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, LIECHTENSTEIN, MONACO, SLOVENIA and
SWITZERLAND.
ANS: xxx_Hold_the_fort_XXX_xxx