Zhang Qian's Mission

The Unintended consequences of Zhang Qian’s Mission

An important reason the Silk Road was successful, was the fundamental bonds that were created between each kingdom. Zhang Qian, in particular, opened the west to China. Not only did he initiate a commerce interaction between nations, but he also opened a pathway that would spread new cultures and ideas throughout the world. Although his mission was not entirely successful, he initiated the first diplomatic and economic relationships between china and the west, igniting exchange of cultures and ideas as well as the birth of the Silk Road.

In chapter 3, Adventures of a Diplomat-Adventurer, Silk Road by Luce Boulnois, the impact of Zhang Qian is further explained. The initial aim of the Zhang

In 115 BC Emperor Wudi sends Qian on a third mission with 300 men. Following the northern route through the Tian Shan Mountains, Zhang Qian makes a successful journey making more connections with various nations. An important part of the mission was acquiring stallion horses that were unlike any other Chinese horse. Qian brought back several dozen horses back to Emperor Wudi. Qian died in 104 or 103 BC, however, he remains to be a model warrior and is known as a national hero. His missions allowed china to make connections with kingdoms such as Anxi, Shengdu, Tiaozhi, Yancai, Lijian and others (Bulnois).

There occurred a period of gifts and exchanges, the so called tribute system. It was essentially an acknowledgement between nations of respect and friendship. It was also a political symbol. Kings of kingdoms sent their sons to the Chinese court, and Chinese princesses were asked in marriage by other kings. This period ultimately served as the foundation to what later would develop into trade and

Making friendly communications with the west not only established diplomatic contacts, but also economic and exchange of cultures and religions. This can be seen through Buddhism, Christianity and other forms of religion that gets spreads through the Silk Road (Cohen). The network of the Silk Road would flourish in the Tang Dynasty.

New foods were introduced to China including grapes, green onion, walnut carrot, alfalfa, and other varieties of foods. Music and dances began spreading along the countries of the region. Also, Buddhism and Indian philosophy as well as art would become an important role in the exchanges of the Silk Road. There were handcrafts, lacquer, jade, metals, spices and much more that would begin to circulate through the roads, reaching a variety of countries (The Silk Road).

The interest of westward missions were not due to cultural curiosity or even commerce. In fact, the Chinese were more interested in overpowering the Xiongnu by forming alliances with other nations (Whitfield 19). Their initial motivation was to make an alliance with the Yuezhi people, who had once been mistreated by the Xiongnu. The biggest issue was that the routes were controlled by the nomadic Xiongnu, and thus created limited communication between China and the rest of the world (Norell