Who was the man responsible for developing links with the west and the establishment of the Silk Road? Emperor Wu of Han set the wheels in motion but it was a military envoy who was its real architect.
Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87 BC), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years, a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later and it remains the record for ethnic Chinese emperors.
Wu’s reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Chinese civilization and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies and economic reorganization. He adopted the principles of Confucianism as the state philosophy and code of ethics for his empire, and started a school to teach future administrators the Confucian classics. In the field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including development of the Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity.
During his reign as Emperor, he led the Han dynasty through its greatest territorial expansion. At its height, the Empire's borders spanned from the Fergana Valley in the west, to northern Korea in the east and to northern Vietnam in the south.
Seeking to stop the Xiongnu, the nomadic Huns, from systematically raiding northern China, Emperor Wu dispatched his envoy, Zhang Qian, into the Western Regions in 139 BCE to seek an alliance with the Yuezhi and Kangju.
Wu’s reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Chinese civilization and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies and economic reorganization. He adopted the principles of Confucianism as the state philosophy and code of ethics for his empire, and started a school to teach future administrators the Confucian classics. In the field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including development of the Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity.
During his reign as Emperor, he led the Han dynasty through its greatest territorial expansion. At its height, the Empire's borders spanned from the Fergana Valley in the west, to northern Korea in the east and to northern Vietnam in the south.
Seeking to stop the Xiongnu, the nomadic Huns, from systematically raiding northern China, Emperor Wu dispatched his envoy, Zhang Qian, into the Western Regions in 139 BCE to seek an alliance with the Yuezhi and Kangju.
Wax figure of Zhang Qian.
Zhang Qian was the first official diplomat 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.
He played an important pioneering role for the future Chinese conquest of lands west of Xinjiang, including swaths of Central Asia. His first mission led to his capture and enslavement by the Xiongnu for 13 years, and it took him 16 years to return to the Han court. While his objective of creating an alliance with the Yuezhi was unsuccessful, the information he brought back regarding lands and cultures he had experienced was instrumental in encouraging Emperor Wu to open the Silk Road, marking the beginning of globalization between the countries in the east and the west.
Subsequent missions expanded trade routes between East and West and exposed different products and kingdoms to each other through trade. The Central Asian parts of the Silk Road routes were expanded around 114 BCE largely through the missions of and exploration by Zhang Qian.
These and subsequent diplomatic missions resulted in a deeper understanding of the economic advantages of trading with nations of western Eurasia. Following the defeat and expulsion of the Xiongnu from the Ordos Desert and the Qilian Mountains, Emperor Wu successfully opened up the Northern Silk Road, allowing direct access to Central Asia. This provided a new supply of high-quality horse breeds from Central Asia, further strengthening the Han army.
Wu’s autocratic reign was marked by intrigue and suspicion and he was responsible for executing thousands who actually plotted against him or were merely accused of doing so. His paranoia regarding witchcraft also saw thousands executed, including his own son and intended heir, Prince Ju, and his own wife, Wei Zifu. The emperor was obsessed with finding the path to immortality yet his time on the throne resulted in doubling the size of the Han empire, centralising government and providing the impetus for trade expansion and the founding of the Silk Road. Not a bad legacy.
He played an important pioneering role for the future Chinese conquest of lands west of Xinjiang, including swaths of Central Asia. His first mission led to his capture and enslavement by the Xiongnu for 13 years, and it took him 16 years to return to the Han court. While his objective of creating an alliance with the Yuezhi was unsuccessful, the information he brought back regarding lands and cultures he had experienced was instrumental in encouraging Emperor Wu to open the Silk Road, marking the beginning of globalization between the countries in the east and the west.
Subsequent missions expanded trade routes between East and West and exposed different products and kingdoms to each other through trade. The Central Asian parts of the Silk Road routes were expanded around 114 BCE largely through the missions of and exploration by Zhang Qian.
These and subsequent diplomatic missions resulted in a deeper understanding of the economic advantages of trading with nations of western Eurasia. Following the defeat and expulsion of the Xiongnu from the Ordos Desert and the Qilian Mountains, Emperor Wu successfully opened up the Northern Silk Road, allowing direct access to Central Asia. This provided a new supply of high-quality horse breeds from Central Asia, further strengthening the Han army.
Wu’s autocratic reign was marked by intrigue and suspicion and he was responsible for executing thousands who actually plotted against him or were merely accused of doing so. His paranoia regarding witchcraft also saw thousands executed, including his own son and intended heir, Prince Ju, and his own wife, Wei Zifu. The emperor was obsessed with finding the path to immortality yet his time on the throne resulted in doubling the size of the Han empire, centralising government and providing the impetus for trade expansion and the founding of the Silk Road. Not a bad legacy.
