Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.15

v2.c13.15

According to written records as well, the Yunnan-Burma route was the earliest passageway between India and China. According to records preserved in the *Dawan Liezhuan* and the *Xinanyi Liezhuan* of the *Shiji* (the *Historical Record* of Sima Qian), during the first year of the reign period of the Han Emperor Wudi (140-135 BCE), an envoy named Zhang Qian was sent to the western regions under imperial orders and it was only after 13 years that he returned to his country. It was in Bactriana (an area in present-day Afghanistan bordering Iran) that he spotted pieces of cloth and bamboo cane, all of which were products of Sichuan in China. The local people told him that these were products that had been brought there from India. During those times, there were merchants from Sichuan who came to India via Yunnan to sell their commodities. Zhang Qian knew that this Yunnan-Burma passageway was far shorter than the route through the western regions. Therefore, on returning to his country, Zhang Qian reported this to the Han emperor Wudi (140-87 BCE). Moreover, he proposed to send people to explore this particular route, as this would facilitate contact with India, and through India it would be possible to establish contact with Bactriana. Consequently, Han Wudi sent Wang Ranyü, Lü Yueren and others to explore the passageway to the southwest of China. However, the entire group of 40 people who were dispatched, found their way blocked near Kunming and hence could not make their way to India. From this it can be surmised that even before Zhang Qian had explored the route through the western regions, the Yunnan-Burma route was already in existence. Trade had already started long before, following the Sichuan–Yunnan–Burma–India route. Although, Han Wudi did not succeed in exploring this route, it is clear that it was in use.