第一部分 unit 1 the origin of traditional chinese culture unit 2 chinese food and drink unit 3 chinese myths and legends unit 4 introduction of chinese architecture unit 5 chinese martial arts unit 6 chinese characters, calligraphy and painting unit 7 chinese music and opera unit 8 traditional chinese festivals unit 9 chinese folk handicraft and entertainment unit 10 traditional chinese literature (1) unit 11 traditional chinese literature (2) unit 12 traditional chinese education unit 13 traditional chinese medicine unit 14 chinese filial piety unit 15 the historic emissaries between china and the world
The Han court dispatched Zhang Qian, a military officer who was
familiar with the Xiongnu, to the Western Regions in 138 BC with a group
of ninety-nine members to make contact and build an alliance with the
Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. He was accompanied by a guide and
interpreter named Ganfu, a Xiongnu who had been captured by Han army in
war. The objective of Zhang Qian's first mission was to seek a military
alliance with the Yuezhi, in modern Tajikistan. Unfortunately, Zhang
Qian was captured by Xiongnu army, when he was forced to pass through
land controlled by the Xiongnu. He was enslaved to the Xiongnu for ten
years. During this time he married a Xiongnu wife and gained the trust
of the Xiongnu leader. Zhang and Ganfu were eventually able to escape
and following the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, around the Kunlun
Mountains, they made their way to Dayuan and ultimately to the land of
the Yuezhi. However, when Zhang Qian made his intentions clear, the king
of Yuezhi declined to join up with the Han Dynasty in an attack on the
Xiongnu to avenge his country for the simple reason that the long
distance between the two countries made it impossible for either to give
direct and immediate aid to the other. Besides, Yuezhi had already
acquired a vast stretch of land and the people were enjoying rich and
happy life. Zhang spent a year in Yuezhi and the adjacent Bactrian
territory, documenting their cultures, lifestyles and economy. The
Yuezhi were agricultural people who produced strong horses and many
crops unknown to Hart including Lucerne for animal fodder, grapes,
sesame, walnut, garlic, carrot. Still they were unable to accomplish the
mission and so they decided to return home. This time to be back,
they followed the southern edge of the Tarim Basin to avoid the Xiongnu.
Unfortunately, on his return trip he was again captured by the Xiongnu
who again spared his life because they valued his sense of duty and
composure in the face of death. Two years later the Xiongnu leader died
and in the midst of chaos and infighting Zhang Qian escaped once more.
