Ban Chao
Ban Chao (
Chinese: 班超;
Wade-Giles:
Pan Ch'ao,
32-
102), born in
Xianyang, Shaanxi, was a Chinese 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 on the
Tarim Basin region, and led a military expedition to the doorstep of Europe, as far as
Parthia and the
Caspian Sea. He fought for 31 years.
Ban Chao is said to have been extremely effective at expelling the
Xiongnu from the
Tarim Basin, and at bringing the various people of the Western Regions under Chinese rule during the time of the
Han Mingdi Emperor (57-75 CE). He was generally outnumbered, but skillfully played on their divisions. 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 CE in repelling the
Sogdians who were trying to support the rebellion of the king of Kashgar , and in 85 CE in his attack on
Turpan, in the east of the Tarim Basin. Ban Chao ultimately brought the totality of the Tarim Basin under Chinese control.
In recognition for their support to the Chinese, the Kushans (named
Yuezhi in Chinese sources) requested, but were denied, a
Han princess, even after they had sent presents to the Chinese court. In retaliation, they marched on Ban Chao in
90 with a force of 70,000, but, exhausted by the expedition, were finally defeated by the smaller Chinese force. The Yuezhi retreated and paid tribute to the Chinese Empire from then on, until they managed to set their own king in
Kashgar in 116 CE.
Ban Chao became Protector General (都護;
Duhu) in 91 CE, and was based at
Kucha. In 97 CE, Ban Chao crossed the
Tian Shan and
Pamir mountains with an army of 70,000 men in a campaign against the Xiongnu (
Huns). He went as far west as the
Caspian Sea and the region of
Ukraine, reaching the territory of
Parthia, upon which event he reportedly also sent an envoy named
Gan Ying to
Daqin (
Rome). Gan Ying left a detailed account of western countries, although he probably only reached the
Black Sea before turning back.
The Chinese army made an alliance with the
Parthians and established some forts at a distance of a few days march from the Parthian capital
Ctesiphon, and were to hold the region for several years. In
116 CE, the Roman Emperor
Trajan advanced into Parthia to Ctesiphon and came within one day's march of the Chinese border garrisons, but direct contacts apparently never took place. Some time later however, the first of several
Roman embassies to China is recorded in Chinese sources, coming from the sea route in
166 CE, and a second one in
284 CE.
Ban Chao was created the Marquess of Dingyuan (定遠侯, i.e., "the Marquess who stablized faraway places") for his services to the Empire and returned to the capital
Loyang at the age of 70 years old, and before long died there in 102 CE. Following his death, the power of the Xiongnu in Western Territory increased again, and the Chinese were never again able to reach so far to the west.
According to a Chinese saying Ban Chao was one of the most prominent actors in the expansion of China to the west, on a level with
Zhang Qian:
"In the time of the Western Han there was Zhang Qian,In the Eastern Han there was Ban Chao."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 CE, which was completed by his son
Ban Gu (32-92 CE) and his daughter (Ban Chao's brother and sister)
Ban Zhao. 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 son
Ban Yong participated in military campaigns with his father and continued to have a central military role in the Tarim Basin into the 120s.
Ban Chao's family:
*
Ban Biao (
班彪;
3-
54; father)
**
Ban Gu (
班固;
32-
92; first son)
**
Ban Chao (
班超;
32-
102; second son)
**
Ban Zhao (
班昭; daughter)
*
"If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger's cub?" (不入虎穴，焉得虎子)
*
"Clear water can not harbor big fish, clean politics (or strict enforcement of regulations) can not foster harmony among the general public" (水清無大魚，察"不得下')
Ban Chao in idioms
:
See four-character idiom:
*
"Throw away your writing brush and join the military!" (投筆從戎) based on his words "A brave man has no other plan but to follow Fu and Zhang Qian's footsteps and do something and become somebody in a foreign land. How can I waste my life on writing? (大丈夫無他志略，猶當效傅介子、張騫立功異域，以取封侯，安能久事筆硯"乎？) in
Hou Hanshu.
*
"Clear water harbors no fish." (水清無魚)
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.
*
Battle of Yiwulu*
Guo Xun*
Zhang Qian*
The Tarim Mummies, J.P. Mallory and Vitor H. Mair, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0500051011
