The First Great Traveler

Zhang Qian, a Chinese ambassador in the third century BC, is the unrivalled hero of the Silk Road. His two amazing journeys into Central Asia opened the historic route and established the first cross-cultural exchanges between East and West.

Zhang was appointed as a diplomatic agent to the Western Regions by Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). In 139 BC, he was given the duty of persuading the "barbarian" tribes there to ally themselves with the Chinese and help wipe out the Huns (also called the Xiongnu). On his way to Northern India to begin this task, he had to pass directly through Hun territory. As he tried to slip through he was taken captive and it was then that his real adventure started.
In the ten years he was held prisoner, he learnt their customs and married a woman of the Xiongnu tribe. After marrying, he escaped and continued his imperial mission to Kasghar and Ferghana. He was well received and local kings gave him interpreters so that he could travel to other neighboring kingdoms such as Bactria and Sogdiana. These states were located in modern day Iraq and northern Pakistan. They were formidable allies or enemies so the Han government wanted to ensure their cooperation in defeating the Huns.
After 13 years, Zhang Qian and an attache eventually returned to Xi'an in 126 BC. He reported in detail on the geography, cultures and economies of the 36 kingdoms of the Western Regions. Emperor Wudi, keen to expand his influence in Central Asia, was delighted and again sent Zhang Qian to pursue the contacts he had already established. In 119 BC the ambassador set off with 300 men, 10,000 sheep, and large amounts of gold and silk. They returned four years later, bringing with them many foreign envoys. Qian died two years later in 114 BC but his name is remembered forever as the first great adventurer .

Travels of Fa Xian -- Buddhist Pilgrim of Fifth Century

Fa Xian was one of China's greatest traveler of the fifth century. At age sixty-five he practically walked from central China (AD 399), across the Taklamakan desert, over the Pamir Plateau, and through India down to the mouth of the Hoodly, in the county of Tamluk, India. From there he took a ship and returned by sea to his homeland China, sailing via Ceylon and Sumatra, across the Indian Ocean and the China Sea, and finally reaching Chienkand (China), in AD 413. He was bringing with him what he went for---books of the Buddhist canon and images of Buddhist deities.
In AD 414, he recorded his travels in "Record of Buddhist Countries" today known as the "Travels of Fa Xian". It is an excellent geographic account of his journey along the Silk Roads, and an comprehensive report of the history and customs of Central Asia and India.
Fa Xian, while traveling through the dangerous Taklamakan desert left us with this account:
"...We journeyed on and reached Tun-huang (Dunhuang) at the end of the Great Wall, where the frontier is held by the military for a distance of eighty le from east to west, and forty le from north to south (one li---is one-third of a mile). Having stayed there for more than a month, the governor of Tun-huang provided us with all the necessary provisions for crossing the desert. We than traveled on with an envoy of a camel train...In this desert there are great many evil spirits and hot winds; those who encounter them perish to a man. There are neither birds above nor beasts below. Gazing on all sides as far as the eye can reach in order to mark the track, no guidance is to be obtained save from the rotting bones of dead men, which point the way."
After traveling for seventeen days, about 1,500 le, they arrived at the country of Shan-shan, today's Lop-Nor, which was a thriving oasis at that time. Fa Xian reports:
"This land is rugged and barren...The king of this country has received the Faith, and there are some four thousand and more priests, all belonging to the Lesser Vehicle, but all practice the religion of India".
He also left a vivid account of the Kingdom of Khotan, on the southern arm of the Silk Road, where he stayed for three months. He reports that there were fourteen large monasteries, 'without counting the smaller ones'. He continued on his pilgrimage via the Kingdom of Kashgar, where the northern and southern branches of the Silk Roads reunite. He also tells us that he observed the Buddhist practice of resting during the summer and rainy seasons, and the differences between the Chinese and Indian calendars. Traveling through Afghanistan (Punjab), he commands: "...there are approximately three thousand priests belonging to both the Greater and Lesser Vehicles. Here we kept out summer retreat, and when it was over, we proceeded southwards..." In India he reports of the Middle Kingdom as. "It has a temperate climate, without frost or snow, and the people are all happy". There he spend six years in one of the most prosperous periods of the Gupta dynasty.
The purpose of his travels to India was to collect Buddhist canon to bring back to China, and it took him three more years returning to China AD 413. He traveled through nearly thirty countries from China's most treacherous deserts to the land of India. He recorded his extensive and hazardous travels on bamboo and silk, for the benefit of future explorers and historians.

Travels of Xuan Zhuang-- Buddhist Pilgrim of the Seventh Century

Xuan Zhuang was born in AD 602. As a child he became already absorbed in the study of the Sacred Books of Chinese literature. While still a boy he was ordained as a Buddhist priest to the Temple of Heavenly Radiance in Hangchow, and soon there after was transferred to the Temple of Great Learning in Chang-an, a community of monks who devoted their lives to the translation of the Sacred Books from India. Listening to the variety of their interpretations young Xuan Zhuang conceived the bold plan to travel to India and bringing back more Sacred Buddhihs Books to China.
Xuan Zhuang traveled between AD 627-643. His detailed account provides the first reliable information about distant countries, terrain and customs. He traveled over land, along the Silk Road west toward India. However, the further west he traveled it became increasingly difficult to cross desert and mountain ranges. Of the Taklamaken desert he reports:
"As I approached China's extreme outpost at the edge of the Desert of Lop, I was caught by the Chinese army. Not having a travel permit, they wanted to send me to Tun-huang to stay at the monastery there. However, I answered 'If you insist on detaining me I will allow you to take my life, but I will not take a single step backwards in the direction of China'."
The officer himself a Buddhist, let him pass. In order to avoid the next outpost, he left the main foot-track and made a detour, which brought him to a place 'so wild that no vestige of life coult be found there. There is neither bird, nor four-legged beasts, neither water nor pasture'. At the point of final exhaustion his only companion, his horse, turned of in another direction, following its animal instinct, and led him to a place where there was water and pasture. His life was saved. Few days later he arrived at Turfan, where he stayed for some time. The king of Turfan enchanted by the monk's knowledge of the sacred Buddha books, refused to let him leave, only reluctantly relenting when Xuan Zhuang threatened a hunger strike. Thus, Xuan Zhuang had peaceable conquered to royal will. The king gave him letters of introduction the rulers of the oases along the way, thereby providing the assistance that made his pilgrimage successful.
Traveling through Samarkand (today's Tukestan) he describes that "...this great imperial city is surrounded by a wall, about seven miles in circumference, which governs a powerful state. This is a rich land, where the treasures of distant countries accumulate, where there are powerful horses and skilled artisans, and the climate is most pleasant."
Fifteen years later Xuan Zhuang reappeared on the northern side of the Great Mountains again, but this time with his face turned toward China. He was aware of the dangers between Khotan and Tun-huang---the Taklamakan desert. He comments: "...a desert of drifting sand without water of vegetation, burring hot and the hound of poisonous fiends and imps. There is no road, and travelers in coming and going have only to look for the deserted bones of man and beast as there guide". Xuan Zhuang crossed the dread waste of desert safely, reaching Tun-huang and deposited his precious manuscripts in the monastic library at the caves of the Thousand Buddhas.
His detailed travel accounts from the Silk Roads provides reliable information about distant countries whose terrain and customs had been known, at that time, in only the sketchiest way. In later centuries he was immortalized as a saint and his journey popularized in fables and vernacular literature. However, for the historian and explorer he contributed a precise and colorful account of the many countries along the Silk Road.
Marco Polo
If you were a millionaire, what would you do? Marco Polo bought a warship to set against Genoa, sworn enemy of his own Venice. Before his wealth and wartime sacrifice he spent half of his remarkable life traveling in the East.
In the year 1260, the Venetian traders Niccolo and Maffeo Polo (Marco's father and uncle) went to the East for a business trip. Along their way they encountered a war on the Volga River (then subject to the Mongol Empire) which forced them even further east. Eventually, they followed a group of Central Asian ambassadors to Beijing, which would later be the capital city of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD). They were granted an interview with the infamous Mongol leader, Kublai Khan. The Khan later returned the Venetians to Europe on a diplomatic mission.
So it was that in 1269, the Polo Brothers returned to Venice. Two years later when they were set to return to China, Niccolo's 17-year-old son, Marco Polo, joined them. It took them three years to traverse the Silk Road and when they arrived in China, Marco also came to know the Khan.
Young Marco Polo was a quick study and easily accommodated the customs of the Mongolians even learning their language. With his ability to communicate in the Khan's own language and a good general understanding of the people, Marco gained the trust of the Khan. In fact, he was made an official of the Yuan Dynasty and remained so for 17 years. Carrying out diplomatic missions for the Khan's empire put Marco Polo in a position to truly understand the conditions of China and other Asian countries in the region.
After spending 26 years out of their homeland, Marco Polo and his father finally returned to Venice. On his return, Marco and his fellow Venetians engaged in a sea battle with soldiers of Genoa. The Genoise captured him and dragged him off to prison. During his prison term, Marco told his cellmate, Rustichello, his tale and with his help, the twenty years of incredible experiences were written down in French - this is the famous Travels of Marco Polo. The book provides a detailed account of the wealth of Cathay (the northern provinces of China) and the might of the Mongol empire. Hangzhou City was described to be as beautiful as a fairyland with willows hanging everywhere and as such a prosperous country that the revenues alone amounted to a massive 14,700,000 saggi of gold. The book, called Il Milione in French, quickly became influential among European travelers and explorers and Marco earned the nickname of Marco the Million Lies because few believed that his stories were true and most Europeans dismissed the book as mere fable.
Marco Polo was kept in prison for two years and passed away in 1324 AD .