# Ban Chao

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Chinese military general, explorer and diplomat (32–102 CE)

Not to be confused with his sister [Ban Zhao](/source/Ban_Zhao).

In this [Chinese name](/source/Chinese_name), the [family name](/source/Chinese_surname) is *[Ban](/source/Ban_(Chinese_surname))*.

Ban Chao Ming dynasty portrait of Ban Chao Native name 班超 Born 32 Pingling, Fufeng, Eastern Han Died 102 (aged 69–70) Luoyang, Eastern Han Allegiance Han dynasty Chinese name Chinese 班超 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bān Chāo Wade–Giles Pan Ch'ao Zhongsheng (courtesy name) Chinese 仲升 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhòngshēng Wade–Giles Chung-sheng

**Ban Chao** (32–102 CE), [courtesy name](/source/Courtesy_name) **Zhongsheng**, was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and military general of the [Eastern Han dynasty](/source/Eastern_Han_dynasty). He was born in [Fufeng](/source/Fufeng_(region)), now [Xianyang](/source/Xianyang), [Shaanxi](/source/Shaanxi). Three of his family members—father [Ban Biao](/source/Ban_Biao), elder brother [Ban Gu](/source/Ban_Gu), younger sister [Ban Zhao](/source/Ban_Zhao)—were well known historians who wrote the historical text *[Book of Han](/source/Book_of_Han)*, which recorded the history of the [Western Han dynasty](/source/Western_Han_dynasty). As a Han general and cavalry commander, Ban Chao was in charge of administrating the "[Western Regions](/source/Western_Regions)" ([Central Asia](/source/Central_Asia)) while he was in service. He also led Han forces for over 30 years in the [war](/source/Han%E2%80%93Xiongnu_War) against the [Xiongnu](/source/Xiongnu) and re-established Han control over the [Tarim Basin](/source/Tarim_Basin) region. He was made [Protector General of the Western Regions](/source/Protectorate_of_the_Western_Regions) by the Han government for his efforts in protecting and governing the regions. Ban Chao is depicted in the [Wu Shuang Pu](/source/Wu_Shuang_Pu) (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.

As a well-known historian, Ban Chao's family was poor and he worked as a copy-clerk for the government. [Emperor Ming](/source/Emperor_Ming_of_Han) himself thought highly of him, and appointed him to be a clerk in the orchid terrace, but Ban Chao was too ambitious to be satisfied with a position like that, and was dismissed later. He was said to be a strong willed young adult with complete disregard for formal conduct. After his brother Ban Gu was removed from his post for his works on the [Former Han](/source/Western_Han), Ban Chao argued his case. When his brother was appointed to the imperial library, Ban Chao and his mother moved to the imperial capital [Luoyang](/source/Luoyang) to accompany him. In 73 however, General [Dou Gu](/source/Dou_Gu) embarked on an expedition to attack the Xiongnu, and Ban Chao was appointed as an assistant major. He distinguished himself in command against a Xiongnu detachment, and was appointed by Dou Gu to accompany Officer [Guo Xun](/source/Guo_Xun) on a preliminary embassy to the remote western regions. When the group arrived at the capital of Shanshan, [King Guang](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=King_Guang&action=edit&redlink=1) also received an embassy from the Northern Xiongnu. Ban Chao and the small group of delegates slaughtered the Xiongnu envoys and sent their heads to the king. Shocked and overwhelmed, King Guang sent hostages to Han as a pact of non-aggression.[1] This was just the start of the many exploits Ban Chao accomplished in the western regions.

## Control of the Tarim Basin

Ban Chao in the *Ma Tai Hua Bao*

Ban Chao, like his predecessors [Huo Qubing](/source/Huo_Qubing) and [Wei Qing](/source/Wei_Qing) from the [Former Han dynasty](/source/Former_Han_dynasty) before him, was effective at expelling the [Xiongnu](/source/Xiongnu) from the [Tarim Basin](/source/Tarim_Basin), and brought the various people of the Western Regions under Chinese rule during the second half of the 1st century CE, helping to open and secure the trade routes to the west. He was generally outnumbered, but skillfully played on the divisions among his opponents. The kingdoms of [Khotan](/source/Khotan) and [Kashgar](/source/Kashgar) came under Chinese rule by 74 CE. "Pan Ch'ao crushed fresh rebellions in Kashgar (80, 87) and Yarkand (88), and made the [Wusun](/source/Wusun) of the [Ili](/source/Ili_Kazakh_Autonomous_Prefecture) his allies."[2]

Ban Chao was recalled to [Luoyang](/source/Luoyang), but then sent again to the Western Region area four years later, during the reign of the new emperor [Han Zhang Di](/source/Emperor_Zhang_of_Han_China). He obtained the military help of the [Kushan Empire](/source/Kushan_Empire) in 84 in repelling the [Kangju](/source/Kangju) who were trying to support the rebellion of the king of Kashgar, and the next year in his attack on [Turpan](/source/Turpan), in the eastern Tarim Basin. Ban Chao ultimately brought the whole of the Tarim Basin under Chinese control.

In recognition for their support to the Chinese, the Kushans (referred to as [Da Yuezhi](/source/Da_Yuezhi) in Chinese sources) requested, but were denied, a [Han](/source/Han_Chinese) princess, even though they had sent presents to the Chinese court. In retaliation, they marched on Ban Chao in 90 CE with a force of 70,000 but were defeated by the smaller Chinese force. The Yuezhi retreated and paid tribute to the Chinese Empire. (Later, during the Yuanchu period, 114–120 CE, the Kushans sent a military force to install Chenpan, who had been a hostage among them, as king of Kashgar).[3]

Statue of Ban Chao in [Kashgar](/source/Kashgar)

In 91 CE, Ban Chao finally succeeded in pacifying the Western Regions and was awarded the title of Protector General and stationed at Qiuci ([Kucha](/source/Kucha)).[4] A Wuji Colonel was re-established and, commanding five hundred soldiers, stationed in the Kingdom of Nearer Jushi, within the walls of [Gaochang](/source/Gaochang), 29 kilometres southeast of [Turfan](/source/Turfan).[4] In 94 CE, Chao proceeded to again attack and defeat Yanqi [Karashahr]. Subsequently, more than fifty kingdoms presented hostages, as submission to the Han dynasty.[4]

In 97 CE, Ban Chao sent an envoy, [Gan Ying](/source/Gan_Ying), who reached the [Persian Gulf](/source/Persian_Gulf) or the [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea) and left the first recorded Chinese account of Europe.[5] Some modern authors have claimed that Ban Chao advanced to the [Caspian Sea](/source/Caspian_Sea), however, this interpretation has been criticized as a misreading.[6]

In 102 CE, Ban Chao was retired as [Protector General of the Western Regions](/source/Protector_General_of_the_Western_Regions) due to age and ill health, and returned to the capital [Luoyang](/source/Luoyang) at the age of 70, but the following month died there in the 9th month of the 14th Yongyuan year (30 Sept. to 28 Oct. 102). See: *[Hou Hanshu](/source/Hou_Hanshu)*, chap 77 (sometimes given as chap. 107).[7] Following his death, the power of the Xiongnu in the Western Territories increased again, and subsequent Chinese emperors did not reach so far to the west again until the [Tang dynasty](/source/Tang_dynasty).

## A family of historians

Family tree of Ban Chao.[8]

Ban Chao also belonged to a family of historians. His father was [Ban Biao](/source/Ban_Biao) (3–54 CE) who started the *History of the Western Han Dynasty* (*Hanshu*; *The [Book of Han](/source/Book_of_Han)*) in 36, which was completed by his son [Ban Gu](/source/Ban_Gu) (32–92)[9] and his daughter [Ban Zhao](/source/Ban_Zhao) (Ban Chao's brother and sister). Ban Chao was probably the key source for the cultural and socio-economic data on the Western Regions contained in the *Hanshu*. Ban Chao's grandmother on the paternal side was [Xiongnu](/source/Xiongnu) and was a descendant of the Xiongnu king [Xiutu](/source/Xiutu).[10][11] The partly Xiongnu origins of Ban Chao might help explain his skills in matters related to China's history and foreign relations.[10]

Ban Chao's youngest son [Ban Yong](/source/Ban_Yong) (班勇 Bān Yŏng) participated in military campaigns with his father and continued to have a central military role in the Tarim Basin into the 120s.

### Ban Chao's family

- [Ban Biao](/source/Ban_Biao) ([班彪](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%AD%E5%BD%AA); 3–54; father) - [Ban Gu](/source/Ban_Gu) ([班固](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%AD%E5%9B%BA); 32–92; first son) - **Ban Chao** ([班超](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%AD%E8%B6%85); 32–102; second son) - Ban Xiong ([班雄](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%AD%E9%9B%84); ?–after 107; Ban Chao's eldest son) - Ban Shi ([班始](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%AD%E5%A7%8B); ?–130; Ban Xiong's son) - [Ban Yong](/source/Ban_Yong) ([班勇](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%AD%E5%8B%87); ?–after 127; Ban Chao's youngest son) - [Ban Zhao](/source/Ban_Zhao) ([班昭](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%AD%E6%98%AD); 45–116; Ban Chao's sister) She's the one who petitioned the reigning Emperor to let his brother return home from his posting.

## Famous quotes

([Chengyu](/source/Chengyu))

- "Throw away your [writing brush](/source/Ink_brush) and join the military!" (投筆從戎) – based on his words "A brave man has no other plan but to follow [Fu Jiezi](/source/Fu_Jiezi) and [Zhang Qian](/source/Zhang_Qian)'s footsteps and do something and become somebody in a foreign land. How can I waste my life on writing? (大丈夫無他志略，猶當效傅介子、張騫立功異域，以取封侯，安能久事筆硯間乎？) in *[Book of the Later Han](/source/Book_of_the_Later_Han)*.

- "... he who does not enter the tiger's lair will never catch its cubs." (不入虎穴，不得虎子) – similar to the saying "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

- "To die without glory is not the act of valiant men." (死無所名，非壯士也)

## See also

- [Han-Xiongnu War](/source/Han-Xiongnu_War)

- [Battle of Yiwulu](/source/Battle_of_Yiwulu)

- [Guo Xun](/source/Guo_Xun)

- [Zhang Qian](/source/Zhang_Qian)

- [Ban Yong](/source/Ban_Yong)

## References

### Citations

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** De Crespigny, Rafe (2007). *A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD)*. Leiden: Brill. pp. 4–5. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-9047411840](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-9047411840). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [238234833](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/238234833).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Rene_2-0)** Grousset, Rene (1970). [*The Empire of the Steppes*](https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/42). Rutgers University Press. pp. [42–47](https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/42). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8135-1304-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8135-1304-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Hill (2009), p. 43.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hill_2009,_p._5_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hill_2009,_p._5_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Hill_2009,_p._5_4-2) Hill (2009), p. 5.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Hill. (2009), p. 55.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** J. Oliver Thomson, *A History of Ancient Geography*, Cambridge 1948, p. 311. Thomson cites Richthofen, *China*, 1877, I, 469 and some other authors in support of the claim that Ban Chao marched to the Caspian, and Yule/Cordier, *Cathay and the way thither*, 1916 p. 40 (pp. 40ff in vol.I of the 2005 edition by Asian Educational Services), Chavannes, *Seidenstrassen*, p. 8, and Teggart, *Rome and China* as references for such claims being erroneous.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Chavannes (1906), p. 243.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Chen, Sanping (2011). ["Two Notes on the Xiongnu Ancestry of the Authors of "Han-shu""](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41928567). *Central Asiatic Journal*. **55** (1): 33–36. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0008-9192](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0008-9192). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [41928567](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41928567). Clark, Anthony E. (2008). [*Ban Gu's history of early China*](https://books.google.com/books?id=cUF0ZCTRPwEC&pg=PA183). Amherst (N.Y.): Cambria press. p. 183. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-60497-561-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-60497-561-1). Clark, Anthony E. (2008). [*Ban Gu's history of early China*](https://books.google.com/books?id=cUF0ZCTRPwEC&pg=PA44). Amherst (N.Y.): Cambria press. p. 44. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-60497-561-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-60497-561-1). The "Basic Annals of Emperor Wen" is a chapter that Biao seems to have written entirely. Ban Biao appears as the commentator in the final remarks of the chapter. The passage states, 贊曰﹕臣外祖兄弟為元帝侍中，語臣曰元帝多才藝，美史書．The Eulogy states: My (your minister's) maternal grandmother's older and younger brothers were made the [palace retainers](/source/Palace_Attendants) of Emperor Yuan. They informed me that Emperor Yuan had several talents in the arts and considered historical books attractive. The "minister" in this Eulogy is usually identified as Ban Biao. The Han commentator, Ying Shao, noted that "the annals of both Yuan and Cheng were written by Ban Biao; when 'chen' 臣 (i.e., 'minister') is used, the speaker is Biao. The distaff relative mentioned is Jin Chang" 元，成帝紀皆班固父彪所作，臣則彪自說也．外祖，金敞也.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Hill (2009), p. xv.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SC33_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SC33_10-1) Chen, Sanping (2011). ["Two Notes on the Xiongnu Ancestry of the Authors of "Han-shu""](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41928567). *Central Asiatic Journal*. **55** (1): 33–36. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0008-9192](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0008-9192). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [41928567](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41928567).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Clark, Anthony E. (2008). [*Ban Gu's history of early China*](https://books.google.com/books?id=cUF0ZCTRPwEC&pg=PA44). Amherst (N.Y.): Cambria press. p. 44. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-60497-561-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-60497-561-1). The "Basic Annals of Emperor Wen" is a chapter that Biao seems to have written entirely. Ban Biao appears as the commentator in the final remarks of the chapter. The passage states, 贊曰﹕臣外祖兄弟為元帝侍中，語臣曰元帝多才藝，美史書．The Eulogy states: My (your minister's) maternal grandmother's older and younger brothers were made the [palace retainers](/source/Palace_Attendants) of Emperor Yuan. They informed me that Emperor Yuan had several talents in the arts and considered historical books attractive. The "minister" in this Eulogy is usually identified as Ban Biao. The Han commentator, Ying Shao, noted that "the annals of both Yuan and Cheng were written by Ban Biao; when 'chen' 臣 (i.e., 'minister') is used, the speaker is Biao. The distaff relative mentioned is Jin Chang" 元，成帝紀皆班固父彪所作，臣則彪自說也．外祖，金敞也.

### Sources

- [Chavannes, Édouard](/source/Chavannes%2C_%C3%89douard) (1906). "Trois Généraux Chinois de la dynastie des Han Orientaux. Pan Tch’ao (32–102 p.C.); – son fils Pan Yong; – Leang K’in (112 p.C.). Chapitre LXXVII du *Heou Han chou*." *T’oung pao* 7, pp. 210–269.

- Hill, John E. (2009). *Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, First to Second Centuries CE*. BookSurge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4392-2134-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4392-2134-1).

- *The Tarim Mummies*. J.P. Mallory and Victor H. Mair (2000). Thames & Hudson. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-500-05101-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-500-05101-1)

## Further reading

- Yap, Joseph P. (2019). *The Western Regions, Xiongnu and Han, from the Shiji, Hanshu and Hou Hanshu*. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1792829154](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1792829154)

[Portals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals):
- [China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:China)
- [China/Categories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:China/Categories)

**Ban Chao** at Wikipedia's [sister projects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikimedia_sister_projects):

- [**Media**](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ban_Chao) from Commons
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v t e Chinese travellers and explorers Qin Xu Fu (255 BC–210 BC) Han Zhang Qian (164 BC–113 BC) Ban Chao (1st century) Gan Ying (1st century) Jin Faxian (337–422) Tang Xuanzang (602–664) Yijing (635–713) Jianzhen (688–763) Wukong (730–790) Du Huan (fl. 751–762) Wang Xuance (fl. 7th c.) Song Jakuen (1207–1299) Yuan Rabban Bar Sauma (1220–1294) Zhou Daguan (1270-?) Wang Dayuan (fl. 1311–1350) Ming Hou Xian (1365–1438) Chen Cheng (1365–1457) Zheng He (1371–1435) Ma Huan (1380–1460) Fei Xin (1385–1436) Fu An (fl. 1385–1429) Lin Nu (fl. 14th c.) Yishiha (1409–1451) Hong Bao (1412–1433) Xu Xiake (1587–1641)

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