The Discovery of the Silk Road
Long before Marco Polo, a diplomat figured out how China’s silk reached Rome
In 138 BC, the emperor of China, Han Wudi, summoned one of his officers. He presented the commander with a staff bearing the imperial emblem and briefed him about a mission. His task was to locate the whereabouts of a tribe and seal an alliance with them.
China’s future was at stake.
The emperor gave him 99 men and dispatched them into the dangerous Gobi Desert, far from the imperial borders. After thirteen years, the ambassador returned. He had failed. Yet, he was hailed as a hero.
The information he brought back altered the course of Chinese history. It helped the Han Empire defeat its arch-nemesis, the Xiongnu.
The diplomat stumbled onto something more valuable than an ally.
He found that Chinese goods were sold as far away as Mesopotamia and Rome. The Chines…
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