Turkestan and the Caspian Sea. This position of affairs suggested to the
emperor the idea of forming an offensive and defensive alliance with the
Yueh-chi against the Hiung-nu. With this object the general Chang K'ien
was sent as an ambassador to western Tatary. After having been twice
imprisoned by the Hiung-nu he returned to China. Chang K'ien had
actually reached the court of the Yueh-chi, or Indo-Scythians as they
were called owing to their having become masters of India later on, and
paid a visit to the kingdom of Bactria, recently conquered by the
Yueh-chi. His report on the several kingdoms of western Asia opened up a
new world to the Chinese, and numerous elements of culture, plants and
animals were then imported for the first time from the west into China.
While in Bactria Chan K'ien's attention was first drawn to the existence
of India, and attempts to send expeditions, though at first fruitless,
finally led to its discovery. Under Wu-ti (140-86 B.C.) the power of the
Hiung-nu was broken and eastern Turkestan changed into a Chinese colony,
through which caravans could safely pass to bring back merchandise and
art treasures from Persia and the Roman market. By the Hans the feudal
system was restored in a modified form; 103 feudal principalities were
created, but they were more or less under the jurisdiction of civil
governors appointed to administer the thirteen _chows_ (provinces) into
which the country was divided. About the beginning of the Christian era
Wang Mang rose in revolt against the infant successor of P'ing-ti (A.D.
1), and in A.D. 9 proclaimed himself emperor. He, however, only gained
the suffrages of a portion of the nation, and before long his oppressive
acts estranged his supporters. In A.D. 23 Liu Siu, one of the princes of
Han, completely defeated him. His head was cut off, and his body was
torn in pieces by his own soldiery.

Eastern Han dynasty, A.D. 23.

Liu Siu, was proclaimed emperor under the title of Kwang-wu-ti, reigned
from A.D. 58 to 76. Having fixed on Lo-yang in Ho-nan as his capital,
the line of which he was the first emperor became known as the Eastern
Han dynasty. It is also known as the Later Han dynasty. During the reign
of his successor Ming-ti, A.D. 65, Buddhism was introduced from India
into China (see ante Sec. _Religion_). About the same time the celebrated
general Pan Ch'ao was sent on an embassy to the king of Shen-shen, a
small state of Turkestan, near the modern