caption death_date death_place birth_place image_size birth_date image article_title name occupation
zhang for his expedition to central asia from 138 to 126 qian bc , mogao caves mural , 618 - 712 . taking leave from emperor han wudi , 114 bc china hanzhong , shaanxi , china 300px 200 bc zhangqiantravels.jpg zhang qian
 zhang qian 張騫 explorer and diplomat
zhang qian

zhang qian -lrb- ; d. 113 -rrb- was a chinese official and diplomat who served was an imperial envoy to the world outside of china in the 2nd century bc , during the time of the han dynasty .
he was the first official diplomat to bring back reliable information about central asia to the chinese imperial court , then under emperor wu of han , and played an important pioneering role in the chinese colonization and conquest of the region now known as xinjiang .
today zhang qian 's travels are associated with the major route of transcontinental trade , the silk road .
in essence , his missions opened up to china the many kingdoms and products of a part of the world then unknown to the chinese .
zhang qian 's accounts of his explorations of central asia are detailed in the early han historical chronicles , `` records of the grand historian '' or `` shiji '' , compiled by sima qian in the 1st century bc .
the central asian sections of the silk road routes were expanded around 114 bc largely through the missions and explorations of zhang qian .
today zhang qian is considered a national hero and revered for the key role he played in opening china to the world of commercial trade .
