甘英出使大秦原因考

On the Purpose of Gan Ying's Being Sent to Daqin

秦汉四百年间,北方的匈奴始终是中原王朝的巨大威胁,东汉前期概莫能外。如何消除匈奴的威胁是一件令东汉朝廷头疼的事情。与汉武帝基本相同,东汉明、和二帝对北匈奴的政策也是军事打击。班超正是在这种情况下被派往西域,经略三十余年的。和帝永元九年(公元97年),西域都护班超派遣副使甘英出使大秦。甘英途径十余国,往返三万八千多里,"穷临西海",遥望大秦。西汉张骞出使西域是为了联合大月氏夹击匈奴,班超派甘英出使大秦也是为了联合大秦夹击北匈奴,而非发展与大秦的经济贸易。二者活动的目的是一致的,其结果也极为相似,张骞凿空,未得要领而归,甘英西使,穷临秦海乃还。

During the reign of the Qin and the Han dynasties, more than four hundred years, Hun had always been the severe menace to the central dynasty without exception in the former period of the Eastern Han. How to eliminate the threat from Hun was thorny for the Eastern Han. In the western Han, Emperor Wu Di＇s policy towards Hun was a military attack. And in the Eastern Han, Emperor Ming Di and Emperor He Di＇s policies towards the northern Hun of the Eastern Han was the same as Emperor Wu Di＇s generally. Just in this background, Ban Chao was sent to Xiyu in which he pursued anti--Hunnish activities for over thirty years. In 97 AD, Ban Chao, the governor of Xiyu, sent Gan Ying, one of his assistants, to Daqin. Crossing more than ten realms and covering about nineteen thousand li, Gan Ying reached the boundary of Daqin in the Western Asia. Zhang Qian was dispatched to Xiyu in order to form an alliance with Dayuezhi to make a converging attack on Hun from the east and west. And the purpose of Gan Ying＇s being sent to Daqin was also to associate with Daqin to launch a converging attack on the Northern Hun, but not to develop the trade with Daqin. Not only the purpose of Zhang Qian and Gan Ying＇s activities, but also their results were similar. Zhang Qian failed to associate with Dayuezhi, and Gan Ying was stopped to proceed to Daqin＇s hinterland as well.