The collision between Chinese civilization and the unique civilization of the West has been astonishing, sparking curiosity for future generations.
Before the Qing Dynasty, China had experienced several encounters with Western civilization, specifically Greece – a geographical distance of about 7,000 km. It is known that 2,200 years ago, after King Philip II unified the city-states of ancient Greece into the Kingdom of Macedonia, his son, Alexander the Great, upon ascending the throne, launched a campaign eastward, conquering the Persian Empire, Western Asia, Central Asia, parts of South Asia, and Egypt.
The kingdoms located in the far east near China during the Hellenistic period.
The death of this emperor in 323 BC provided an opportunity for his top generals to declare themselves kings, marking a 300-year Hellenistic period that lasted until 30 BC. The Kingdom of Dayuan, located in the Fergana Valley of Central Asia, was the furthest place influenced by Greek civilization in Asia. The people of Dayuan are considered descendants of the Greeks since, in 329 BC, Alexander the Great brought Greek settlers to this region.
The image of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in films.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions and discovered Dayuan. What intrigued Emperor Wu the most was the “blood-sweat horse” from this region – an animal that Dayuan sent as a gift to the Han emperor. Emperor Wu was so fond of it that he called it Tianma (heavenly horse). However, due to the distance, the Han dynasty found it difficult to punish them, leading the envoys from Dayuan to act arrogantly and disregard Han traditions.
Moreover, the people of Dayuan also did not regard the Han with respect. Historical records from the Han period document that the Dayuan people ambushed and killed Han envoys traveling to Central Asia to purchase blood-sweat horses to steal gold and jewels. At one point, the Han sent an envoy with a thousand gold coins and a statue of a horse made of gold to the city of Ershi in Dayuan to exchange for the precious horses, but this was flatly rejected. The envoy was so enraged that he smashed the golden horse due to the Dayuan’s contemptuous attitude, ultimately leading to his assassination and robbery on the way back.
The Akhal-Teke horse today is believed to be the blood-sweat horse of the Dayuan people.
“A worm will twist if it is stomped upon”, Emperor Wu was extremely furious upon hearing the news and sent General Li Guangli with 6,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry, traversing thousands of miles to conquer Dayuan. However, underestimating the fighting spirit of this nation and failing to anticipate the long and difficult journey, General Li faced defeat.
Another reason for the great defeat was that other cities in the Western Regions at that time closed their doors and refused to supply food to the Han army. In the first conflict on Dayuan territory, the Han troops estimated they were down to only 10,000, being decimated by 2,000 Dayuan soldiers, most of whom were cavalry. In 102 BC, Emperor Wu continued to allocate 60,000 troops, over 30,000 horses, 100,000 cattle, and tens of thousands of livestock for transporting supplies for the campaign to Dayuan. Learning from previous experiences, General Li successfully besieged the capital Alexandria Eschate of Dayuan, forcing the Dayuan nobles to rebel and kill their king to atone for their actions towards the Han. As a result, Dayuan had to surrender 3,000 blood-sweat horses and provide supplies for the Han army’s return.
After their defeat against the Han army, Dayuan gradually weakened. Along with other nations influenced by Greek civilization in Central Asia, it faced continuous invasions from nomadic tribes and eventually disappeared.
