Ban Chao Ban Chao ( ; Wade - Giles : Pan Ch ' ao , 32 – 102 CE ) , courtesy name Zhongsheng ( 仲 升 ) , was born in Xianyang , Shaanxi , and the younger brother of the famous historian , Ban Gu ( , ( 32 – 92 CE ) who , with his father Ban Biao , and sister , Ban Zhao , wrote the famous " Hanshu " , or ' History of the Former Han Dynasty ' . Ban Chao was a general and cavalry commander in charge of the administration of the " Western Regions " ( Central Asia ) during the Eastern Han dynasty . He repelled the Xiongnu and secured Chinese control over the Tarim Basin region , and was awarded the title of ' Protector General of the Western Regions ' . He fought for 31 years . Control of the Tarim Basin . Ban Chao , like his predecessors Huo Qubing and Wei Qing from the Former Han Dynasty before him , was effective at expelling the Xiongnu from the Tarim Basin , and brought the various people of the Western Regions under Chinese rule during the second half of the 1st century CE , helping to open and secure the trade routes to the west . He was generally outnumbered , but skillfully played on the divisions among his opponents . The kingdoms of Loulan , Khotan and Kashgar came under Chinese rule . Ban Chao was recalled to Luoyang , but then sent again to the Western Region area four years later , during the reign of the new emperor Han Zhangdi . He obtained the military help of the Kushan Empire in 84 in repelling the Kangju who were trying to support the rebellion of the king of Kashgar , and the next year in his attack on Turpan , in the eastern Tarim Basin . Ban Chao ultimately brought the whole of the Tarim Basin under Chinese control . In recognition for their support to the Chinese , the Kushans ( referred to as Da Yuezhi in Chinese sources ) requested , but were denied , a Han princess , even though they had sent presents to the Chinese court . In retaliation , they marched on Ban Chao in 90 CE with a force of 70 , 000 , but , exhausted by the expedition , were finally turned back by the smaller Chinese force . The Yuezhi retreated and paid tribute to the Chinese Empire . ( Later , during the Yuanchu period , 114 - 120 CE , the Kushans sent a military force to install Chenpan , who had been a hostage among them , as king of Kashgar ) . In 91 CE , Ban Chao finally succeeded in pacifying the Western Regions and was awarded the title of Protector General and stationed at Qiuci ( Kucha ) . A Wuji Colonel was re - established and , commanding five hundred soldiers , stationed in the Kingdom of Nearer Jushi , within the walls of Gaochang , 29 kilometres southeast of Turfan . In 94 CE , Chao proceeded to again attack and defeat Yanqi [ Karashahr ] . Subsequently , more than fifty kingdoms presented hostages , and submitted to the Interior . In 97 CE Ban Chao sent an envoy , Gan Ying , who reached the Persian Gulf and left the first recorded Chinese account of Europe . Some modern authors have even claimed that Ban Chao advanced to the Caspian Sea , however , this interpretation has been criticized as a misreading . In 102 CE Ban Chao was retired as Protector General of the Western Regions due to age and ill health , and returned to the capital Luoyang at the age of 70 , but the following month died there in the 9th month of the 14th Yongyuan year ( 30th Sept . to 28th Oct . , 102 ) . See : " Hou Hanshu " , chap 77 ( sometimes given as chap . 107 ) . Following his death , the power of the Xiongnu in the Western Territories increased again , and subsequent Chinese emperors were never to reach so far to the west . A family of historians . Ban Chao also belonged to a family of historians . His father was Ban Biao ( 3 - 54 CE ) who started the " History of the Western Han Dynasty " ( " Hanshu " ; " The Book of Han " ) in 36 , which was completed by his son Ban Gu ( 32 - 92 ) and his daughter Ban Zhao ( Ban Chao ' s brother and sister ) . Ban Chao was probably the key source for the cultural and socio - economic data on the Western Regions contained in the " Hanshu " . Ban Chao ' s youngest son Ban Yong ( 班勇 Bān Yŏng ) participated in military campaigns with his father and continued to have a central military role in the Tarim Basin into the 120s . Famous quotes . Ban Chao of today . " Pan Chao " ( 1108 ) is a frigate built in Taiwan based on the Oliver Hazard Perry class - design . It is currently in service for the Republic of China Navy .