Princesses married for peace: miserable lives or diplomatic envoys?

04/22/21 • 7 min

You may have heard the story of Wang Zhaojun. As one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, she was the most famous princess of the Han Empire. She was sent to marry a Xiongnu ruler to make peace. But do you know how many such ‘beauties of peace’ were sent off to marry nomad rulers during the Han Dynasty?

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Zhang Qian -- founder of the Silk Road

Diplomat Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty never expected that his failed diplomatic mission would open the most important trade route in the world, the Silk Road.

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Next Episode

Eliminating the Xiongnu: good or bad for the Han Dynasty?

We know that China’s Han Dynasty consisted of the Western Han and the Eastern Han. The military and economic strength of the Western Han were stronger than those of the Eastern Han. But the Xiongnu, the almost life-long enemy of the Han, were eventually destroyed by the weaker Eastern Han instead of its more powerful predecessors.

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