Ban Chao, like his predecessors
Huo Qubing and
Wei Qing from the
Former Han dynasty before him, was effective at expelling the
Xiongnu from the
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 and
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 of the
Ili his allies." Ban Chao was recalled to
Luoyang, but then sent again to the Western Region area four years later, during the reign of the new emperor
Han Zhang Di. He obtained the military help of the
Kushan Empire in 84 in repelling the
Kangju who were trying to support the rebellion of the king of Kashgar, and the next year in his attack on
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 in Chinese sources) requested, but were denied, a
Han 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). 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). A Wuji Colonel was re-established and, commanding five hundred soldiers, stationed in the Kingdom of Nearer Jushi, within the walls of
Gaochang, 29 kilometres southeast of
Turfan. Some modern authors have claimed that Ban Chao advanced to the
Caspian Sea, however, this interpretation has been criticized as a misreading. In 102 CE, Ban Chao was retired as
Protector General of the Western Regions due to age and ill health, and returned to the capital
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, chap 77 (sometimes given as chap. 107). 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. == A family of historians ==