Gan Ying was a famous diplomat during the Eastern Han Dynasty, and was a subordinate official of the Han Dynasty general Ban Chao, who later followed Ban Chao to the Western Regions. In 97 AD, Ban Chao sent Gan Ying on an envoy to Great Qin, which is today known as the Roman Empire.
The image comes from the Internet
After Gan Ying received the order, he took the mission from Goize, which is today's Kuqa area in Xinjiang, and went all the way west to Shule, which is roughly the area around Kashgar today. Then climbed over the Green Ridge, which is today's Pamir Plateau, and also passed through the Great Wanguo, which is in the area of the Fergana Basin of today's Uzbekistan, and then passed through the Great Moon Kingdom, and when it reached the Sabbath, it was actually passing through the Persian Parthian Kingdom, and then to the territory of Iran. Later, Gan Yingyou passed through Aman, Sibin, and Yuluo, and reached Tiaozhi, which is in the territory of present-day Iraq. After that, Gan Ying and his party arrived at the Western Sea of rest, which is today's Persian Gulf.
Gan Ying went to the Persian Gulf to cross the river, so the local boatman told him that the sea here is vast, if the wind is downwind, it will take three months to arrive, but if it is a headwind, it may take a year or two, so you have to prepare three years of grain, and driving on the sea will make people miss the hot land, and there are often dead people. After Gan Ying listened, he gave up crossing the sea. So Gan Ying was ready to return, and the route of Gan Ying's return was not the same way back, and it took sixty days to rest in peace, and then passed by Mulu and Tocharo.
Although Gan Ying's mission did not reach its destination in Great Qin, it increased Chinese's understanding of Asian countries and had a profound impact on future generations.
Where gan Ying is farthest
Gan Ying sent an envoy to Great Qin, to Tiaozhi, and then to the West Sea to the west of the Resting Sea, which is the area around today's Persian Gulf. Gan Ying saw the sea in front of him, so he prepared to cross it. But the workers of the local shipyard told Gan Ying that the sea here is very vast, crossing the sea depends on the direction of the wind, if the wind is good, it will be able to reach the other side in three months, if the wind is not good, it may be adrift at sea for a year or two. Therefore, it is recommended to prepare three years of grain on board, just in case. Moreover, there is also the ability in the sea to make people miss their homeland, and often people will die on the road.
After Gan Ying heard this, he gave up the idea of crossing the river, so the West Sea where he rested in the western realm was the farthest place where Gan Ying had sent his envoy to Great Qin. This should be the Persian Gulf, a bay that juts northwest of the Arabian Sea into the Asian continent, between the Iranian plateau and the Arabian Peninsula.
At that time, the Sabbath Kingdom was a transit point for the han Dynasty's trade with Great Qin, and it was the Rest that traded the silk and silk fabrics of the Han Dynasty with Great Qin and made certain profits from it. Therefore, at that time, the people there persuaded Gan Ying to return, probably afraid that Gan Ying had established a connection between the Han Dynasty and Great Qin, so that there was no need to rest in peace to be this transit station in trade, and the rest would lose a lot of benefits, so they frightened Gan Ying and let Gan Ying sigh and leave.
It is worth mentioning that some scholars have found that the power of the workers of the Sabbath Shipyard who is said to be "good in the sea to make people think of the earth" is likely to be the Siren banshee in Greek mythology who used song to confuse taxes. Therefore, it is also possible that the crew did not scare Gan Ying, but there is a myth and legend in itself.
Gan Ying to the Persian Gulf looking out over the sea
Gan Ying was ordered by Ban Chao to send an envoy to the Qin State, but Gan Ying did not reach Great Qin in the end, but only went to the West Sea of the Western Boundary of Rest and returned. There are also some theories about why Gan Ying returned to the West Sea to rest in peace.
When Gan Ying got there, the local boatman said, this west sea is very large, if you want to cross it, it is very important to ask for the wind, if the wind is good, you can reach the other side in three months, if the wind is not good, it will take one or two years, so if you want to prepare for the ship, you need three years of grain, just in case. And there are some strange forces at sea that will make people miss and love their homeland, and some people will die in the middle of the road. Hearing this boatman say this, Gan Ying was afraid in his heart, so he thought about it for a while and changed the way back.
In fact, there are four reasons why later generations concluded that Gan Ying was not able to reach Great Qin. One is that Gan Ying lacks the courage of an adventurer; Second, the resting merchants were afraid that Gan Ying would cut off his own financial path when he went to Great Qin, so he deliberately said big words to deceive Gan Ying; Third, there was war there at that time, which stopped Gan Ying's footsteps; Fourth, it was that legend that influenced Gan Ying's judgment.
Many scholars have their own views on this matter, such as Mr. Kang Youwei, who believes that Gan Ying was timid and afraid of death, so he was not able to go to sea to reach Great Qin, and many scholars believe that it was the merchants who were resting in peace at that time who were obstructing it, and they were worried that the Han Dynasty and Great Qin had directly established trade relations, and they would have no profit from it, so they deceived Gan Ying. But in any case, Gan Ying's envoy to the Qin State was the farthest westward expedition of the ancient Chinese, and it was of great significance in the history of cultural exchanges between China and the West.