During the Han Dynasty, one of Kazakhstan's ancestors, the Wusun, practiced heqin (intermarriage) with the Chinese, marking the beginning of relations. During the rule of Emperor Wu of Han, Zhang Qian was the official dispatched to the Western Regions (西域 xiyu) to help the Wusun against the Xiongnu. Since the Wusun did not want to cooperate with the Xiongnu, they allied with the Han dynasty to defeat the Xiongnu (Han–Xiongnu War).