Silk Road. History Essay. Zhang Qian Chinese explorer

Silk Road
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The Chinese explorer and imperial envoy Zhang Qian was sent by the Han Emperor to the far West where the Silk Road extended to Eurasia. The diplomatic mission was also important to establish and maintain diplomatic relations with the western regions of China including northern India and Persia. Qian had no previous knowledge that merchants got goods from Northern India until he enquired about the presence of some bamboo staves and cloth in Bactria area of the Central Asian region. Zhang Qian further realized that safe Silk Road trading routes to and from Central Asia were necessary to improve trading. Political stability facilitated trade along the silk route, while but fights for political control destabilized trading.
Unlike before, as more people were involved in the Silk Road the Chinese emperors made attempts to contact the ‘barbarian” people. The Han Emperor and other previous emperors had sought to establish contact with people the Dian, southwestern China, but it was expensive (Hansen). The people in southwest China were considered barbarian, but there were opportunities to reach them through the Silk Road (Hansen). To facilitate trade, Chinese emperors and rulers sent envoys and delegations towards the west, and sometimes there was gift giving, which helped create good relations among different communities along the Silk Road.
The network of trade routes between Asia and Europe made it possible to trade in Central Asia, Eurasia and China. The silk route was one of the most important trade routes during the Middl...