Kids in Ancient China (Zhang Qian)

Here's another part of the Kids in Ancient China series... 

 Off to see the Emperor: Zhang Qian

“Baba, are you scared?” He asked his dad. 

“Yes, I am a little scared. He is, after all, the ruler of this country,” the dad said and gave his son a big hug. “You are one brave boy and today you’re going to need your bravery! Do you have it?” 

“Yes, I do,” his son said as he took out a little stone from his pocket. “I have Xiong.” Xiong was the small, smooth stone that he took and kept with him these last almost two years since he left his hometown. It was a beautiful, black stone with white streaks in it that he took from the small river that ran close to their home in the Xiongnu country. Now, they were not in the Xiongnu country but they were in China and about to see the emperor.

“Good. You’ve had Xiong all these years,” he said.

“Baba, I have it with me today because I want to give it to the emperor.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, baba. You said that this is going to be our new home so I’ll pick a new rock from here and call it “Chin” for “China.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” 

The family walked together in silence. 

The young boy, no more than 13 years old, spoke up. “Baba, have you been to the palace before?” 

“Of course, but it was years ago. That was the last time I saw the emperor.”

“Can you tell me again how he’s like?” Asked the young boy.

“Well, I didn’t know him that well. Of course I had seen him around because I worked in and out of the palace. The last time I saw him, he sent me, Uncle GanFu, and almost one hundred people to go on a big trip.”

“Yes, and only you and Uncle GanFu have made it back after all these years. Yes, you told me before.” The young boy said. His “Uncle GanFu” wasn’t his real uncle, but a really good friend of his dad. When the emperor sent his dad to travel West many years ago, he sent GanFu with him to help guide him and be a translator. At the time, his dad and Uncle GanFu were supposed to go to out West, around the Xiongnu people. They were going to the people to the West of the Xiongnu to see if they could trade and work together with the Chinese people. However, the Xiongnu people got them on the way there. His dad married his mom, who as from Xiongnu and he was born there in Xiongnu. 

“Well, the emperor is probably much older now than when I remember him. He probably has some gray hair by now. When I remember him, he was tall. He had a friendly smile on his face.” Said the dad.

“Were you afraid the first time you saw him?” The boy asked.

“Yes, I was. After meeting him, I realized that he’s just a person like you and me. Yes, he leads the country, but he’s a person too,” answered the dad.

“Mom, are you nervous?” Asked the boy.

“Yes, I am. As you know, Chinese isn’t my first language. Everything I know I learned from your dad. I just hope that your dad does all the talking and you and me just have to nod our heads and be polite,” answered the mom. It was true. Until she met his dad, she knew no Chinese at all. By the time his dad met his mom, he had already started learning some of the Xiongnu language, thanks to GanFu. It took him a long time until he was fluent and even then sometimes his son would surprise him with a new Xiongnu word that he didn’t know. 

For the most part, this boy grew up bilingual, which means that he grew up speaking both the Xiongnu (from his mom) and Chinese (from his dad) languages. The whole time he was growing up, his dad and GanFu were the only people he spoke to in Chinese, so after they moved to China, he loved hearing the language all around him and knowing everything they were saying. It was great! However, his mom was often shy since they had moved to China. The move was hard on her and she was lonely. Her son missed his grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles on his mom’s side of the family. Sometimes he wished that both sides of his families lived in the same city so he could always see them! Whenever he told his dad this, his dad’s usual answer was: “That would be great, but both sides of the family live far away from each other- in different countries!”

They had been in China a few weeks already and it was now their turn to see the emperor. The dad walked in first, bowed with his head low to the ground. His wife followed and she pointed for her son to do so too. The room they were in had paintings all around and beautiful flooring with designs in it. The boy wanted to just look and see everything. However, his mom soon gave him a “ahem” to remind him that now was not the time for looking around.

“Your majesty, this is my wife and my son. We have come back to China to give you a report of our travels,” the dad started. Thankfully, the son and mother didn’t have to say anything. The emperor arranged to have the dad over for a nice dinner to talk in more detail about his travels and the people that lived to the West of China. The other leaders in the government also wanted to hear about it, so it was going to be a big dinner. Zhang Qian’s wife and son were also invited, but they didn’t have to say anything. The boy loved watching everyone around him because he knew that this was a once in a lifetime experience. 

Before the dinner he asked his dad a question. “Dad, I want to give this rock to the Emperor. You said that when people see the emperor, it’s nice to give him something. Last time you brought him a few things from mom’s country, but now I want to give him something. I’m too scared to give it to him, can you do it for me?”

“Are you sure? This is your rock from Xiongnu? It’s very special to you,” his dad asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m going to find a new rock and call it “Chin” for “China,” my new home.

Epilogue: Zhang Qian and his family lived in China for most of the rest of their lives. He traveled 2 more times, once to find a new road to get to India and another time to encourage trade with the West. He died two years after coming back from his last trip. It’s not sure when he was born but he died 114 BC.