BOTANICON SINICUM. 25 
for ten years by the shan yi (Khan) of the Hiung nu. Finally 
he succeeded in escaping to the west and penetrated to the 
countries of the Jaxartes and the Oxus, where he spent more than 
a year. On his way back he was again laid hold of by the Hiung 
nu, but escaped a year later and returned to China in 126 B. C. 
He brought back intelligence about various regions in the west 
and their natural productions. ‘The official report of his observa- 
tions and his biography are preserved in the Shi ki or Historical 
Record compiled by the celebrated Sze Ma ts‘ien, a contemporary 
of Chang K‘ien (book 111). In ancient catalogues (3 7 BE sc, 
see J edeadoutink to alph. list) Chang K‘ien is reported ; to have 
published a narrative with the title ge Ah BR 3B Hai wai i 
mu ki, Record of remarkable things in foreign countries, The 
Emperor rewarded Chang K‘ien after his return, and some years 
later raised him to the dignity of prince. In B. C. 123 he was 
commander-in-chief of the Chinese troops directed against the 
Hiung nu. Owing to a defeat the Chinese had suffered Chang 
K‘ien was cashiered, but was afterwards pardoned. He died 
about B. C. 103. He is said to have introduced many useful 
plants from Western Asia into China. Ancient Chinese authors 
ascribe to him the introduction of the Vine, the Pomegranate, 
Safflower, the Common Bean, the Cucumber, Lucerne, Coriander, 
the Walnut-tree and other plants. , 
After Chang K‘ien had first visited the countries of the west, 
the geographical knowledge of the Chinese in that direction 
rapidly inereased. China extended its dominions over a great 
part of Central Asia, and envoys were frequently sent to the 
realms of Western Asia, and even to India, which country had 
been known to Chang K‘ien only from hearsay. Since the intro- 
duction of Buddhism into China, about A. D. 66, intercourse 
between China and India had become very frequent and con- 
tinued for centuries, but India was then generally reached ae 
the long circuit of Bactria and Kabul. 
The art of perpetuating books by engraving characters upon 
wood or stone and then printing from the plates, can be traced 
back in China as early as A. D. 593, but it is probable that an 
invention ¢ of this kind to multiply w writings sana hoe muc 
