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pressed by Han and the territory formerly ruled by Prince Hunshe
is void of people. If, taking advantage of this opportunity, we should
bribe Usun with a large sum of money -- for the barbarian peoples
used to covet Han goods - and induce its people to move
eastward to take dwelling in the area formerly of Prince
Hunshe, and to enter into brotherhood (matrimonial relations) with
Han, it is bound to heed our advice. In that case Hsiungnu would
be deprived of its right arm. In bringing Usun into alliance with
us, we will be able to collect Tahsia and the other countries to
its west as our outer subjects."
The Emperor approved of what Chang Ch'ien had said and appoin-
ted him Changlangchiang (commander of guards) and sent him on
the mission. Chang Ch'ien took with him 300 men (each with two
horses), more than ten thousand heads of cattle, and thousands of
pieces of gold and silk cloth, as well as many deputy envoys who
could be sent by him to other nearby countries.
When Chang Ch'ien arrived in Usun, King Kunmo of Usun
received him with no greater ceremony than if he had been an envoy
from the Khan. Being greatly hurt and aware that the bar-
barian people were covetous, Chang Ch'ien said, "The Emperor has
sent you awards. If you do not pay obeisance, I will take the awards
back with me." Kunmo then stood up and made an obeisance, but
otherwise behaved as before. Conveying the idea of the Emperor,
Chang Ch'ien said: "If Usun should move eastward to settle down
in the Han Emperor would give Kunmo a princess for wife. "Usun was
divided and its King was old.They were far from Han and ignorant
about its size. They used long to be subordinate to Hsiungnu and
were near to it. Their officials were all afraid of the Huns and reluc-
tant to move. The King was unable to dictate in this matter. So
Chang Ch'ien could get no definite reply from him.
Kunmo had more than ten sons. The middle son was called
Talu who was a strong man skilled in commandership. He dwelt
apart in command of more than ten thousand horsemen. His elder
brother was the prince royal, who had a son called Chingchu. The
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Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.