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Zhang Qian

imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the 2nd century BC

7 dated entries naming Zhang Qian, drawn from 7 separate years between 139 BCE and 113 BCE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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2nd century BC

  • 139 BCEEmperor Wu of Han sends the diplomat Zhang Qian west to form an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. Wu does this after learning from Xiongnu defectors that the Xiongnu had defeated and killed the king of the Yuezhi, had expelled the Yuezhi from their lands and were using their king's skull as a wine goblet. The Yuezhi had subsequently migrated further west.source
  • 129 BCEThe Han diplomat Zhang Qian escapes Xiongnu custody and resumes his mission of forming an anti-Xiongnu alliance with the Yuezhi. He reaches the State of Dayuan in the Ferghana Valley, whose trade with the Han had been prevented by the Xiongnu and who supply Zhang with guides. Zhang then travels to the states of Kangju, Greater Yuezhi and Daxia (Bactria). He also learns of the Parthian Empire, Daqin, the Caspian Sea and the source of the Yellow River.source
  • 128 BCEHaving spent a year in Greater Yuezhi, the Han diplomat Zhang Qian begins his return journey to China, having failed to persuade Yuezhi's king to form an alliance against the Xiongnu. Passing by the Pamir, Kunlun, Altun and Qilian Mountains, he and his retinue are then captured by the Xiongnu and taken into custody.source
  • 126 BCEHaving used the Xiongnu civil war to escape his imprisonment, the diplomat Zhang Qian returns to China and reports on the lands to the west.source
  • 121 BCEGenerals Li Guang and Zhang Qian ride north from Youbeiping, but Zhang Qian, with the larger army, is slow to rendezvous with Li Guang. As a result, Li Guang loses more than half his army in battle against the Tuqi (Worthy Prince) of the Left (East).source
  • 114 BCEZhang Qian, Chinese explorer and diplomat (b. 195 BC)source
  • 113 BCEZhang Qian, Chinese explorer, official and diplomat (b. 164 BC)source

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