Zhang Qian's Diplomatic Missions to the Western Regions

In 138 BC and 119 BC, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian (164-114 BC), a prominent diplomat and explorer, on two missions to the Western Regions, marking the first direct exchange between the Central Plains and the Western Regions. Historically, Zhang Qian's accomplishments connecting with the Western Regions have been referred to as "cutting through the solid", as if opening a door for China to go west. This connection ultimately established the transportation route later known as the "Silk Road", linking East and West. The northern wall of Cave 323 of the Mogao Caves from the early Tang Dynasty features the famous mural Zhang Qian's Diplomatic Missions to the Western Regions, capturing this significant historic event from the perspective of Tang Buddhist practitioners.

The overall composition of this work is a U-shaped narrative structure integrated into a landscape of green mountains and blue water. The mountains guide and divide the storyline, employing the technique of perspective—where objects appear larger in the foreground and smaller in the background—used for the first time in Dunhuang murals. The entire story is composed of three scenes:

1. In the upper left corner, Emperor Wudi receives some golden statues for worship from the Huns and places two such statues in Ganquan (Sweet Spring) Palace, where he often comes to pay his respects personally.

2. At the bottom, curious about the name of the golden statues, Emperor Zhongzong of the Han sends Zhang Qian to the Western Regions to inquire about their divine names. The painting depicts Zhang bidding farewell to the emperor, who is mounted on a tall horse, while Zhang kneels in front of him.

3. In the upper right corner, Zhang Qian's deputy, having traversed many rivers and mountains, finally arrives in Daxia and learns that the golden statue is, in fact, a Buddhist statue.

Historically, it was Emperor Wudi of Han who sent Zhang Qian on a mission to the Western Regions, not Emperor Zhongzong. The purposes of these two missions were to unite the Yuezhi and Wusun in attacking the Huns, establish friendly relations with the Western Regions, and keep the route operating. In this context, Tang Buddhist practitioners adapted the story of Zhang Qian's Diplomatic Missions to the Western Regions, transforming it into a narrative about how Buddhism was introduced to China, thereby imbuing Zhang's missions with new significance in terms of cultural exchanges.

《張騫出使西域圖》

公元前138年和前119年，漢武帝兩次派張騫出使西域，使中原與西域第一次有了直接交往。歷史上把張騫通西域的壯舉稱為“鑿空”，從此仿佛打開了一扇中國通向西方世界的大門，東西方世界被這條后來稱為“絲綢之路”的交通線連接起來。莫高窟初唐第323窟北壁繪制了著名的《張騫出使西域圖》，以唐代佛教徒的視角將這一重大歷史事件以圖像方式記錄下來。

此幅作品整體呈“U”字形敘事結構，融于青綠山水環境中，以山巒來引導、分割故事情節，在敦煌壁畫中首次采用透視原理中的近大遠小手法繪制而成。整個故事由三個畫面組成：一是左上角漢武帝得到匈奴祭天金人，并將兩尊金人安置在甘泉宮，武帝常親自前來禮拜。二是底部漢中宗不知金人名號，于是派博望侯張騫出使西域問其神名。畫中是張騫辭別漢中宗，騎在高頭大馬上的是漢中宗，在馬前跪拜的是張騫。三是右上角張騫所遣副使經過萬水千山最終抵達大夏國，問得金人原來就是佛像。

歷史上，派張騫出使西域的是漢武帝而非漢中宗，兩次出使的目的分別是聯合大月氏、烏孫夾擊匈奴和通好西域，打通絲綢之路并保證其暢通。這里，唐代佛教徒對“張騫出使西域”進行了改編，使其成為一個講述佛教如何傳入中國的故事，也賦予了張騫出使西域在文化交流上的新意義。