S2E6 - Journey on the Silk Road: Ancient Capitol & Failed Missions

A failed mission, two daring escapes, and a satchel of seeds—hardly the origin story you’d expect for the network that redefined the ancient world. We start in Chang’an—modern Xi’an—where walls and lanterns meet clubs and street food, and where the past still steps into the present. From there, we follow Zhang Qian, the envoy sent to find allies against the Xiongnu who instead returned years later with detailed maps, cultural notes, and ingredients that would change Chinese cuisine forever.

What unfolds is the Silk Road without the myth: not a single trail but a vast web crossing deserts, passes, and ports. Silk was only a sliver of the action. These routes carried paper and crossbow tech, administrative know-how, stories and scriptures, and yes, pathogens that would later fuel pandemics. We unpack how an emperor read the moment, pivoted from vengeance to commerce, and helped seed the world’s first truly globalized economy. Along the way, we step inside Xi’an’s living museum: Terracotta Warriors once blazing with color, chromium-coated blades that still shine after two millennia, and standardized crossbow triggers that reveal an early culture of mass production.

At the center looms Qin Shihuang’s obsession with death and control—a subterranean cosmos rumored to hold stars set in pearl and rivers of mercury, guarded by traps and time. Conservation meets curiosity as we consider why that tomb remains sealed and what its secrets might teach us about power, faith, and preservation. We close by tracing the road to Dunhuang, where the Silk Road splits to skirt the Taklamakan, and tease the cultures, legends, and nightlife that wait beyond the dunes.

If this journey reshaped your view of the Silk Road, share the episode with a friend, hit follow, and leave a review with the moment that surprised you most. Your support helps us keep exploring the stories that made the world.

Please contact me at theunclewong@gmail.com

Transcript

Setting The Stage In Chang’an

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Yo, what's up, everyone? Welcome back to Asian Uncle. I'm your host, Uncle Wong. So today we're going to pause on India. And like I mentioned last episode, it was the destination of a grander topic that we're going to talk about, and that's the Silk Road. So today we're going to travel back around 2,000 years ago to the magnificent Han Dynasty capital. It's called Chang'an. But that was back then. Now, present day, it's part of the Sanxi province in the city of Xi'an. And I've been to this city many times. It's um a lot of tourists actually do go there, even though it's not a primary destination. The terracotta warriors are there. That's why most tourists go. But coastal cities are still main attractions. Going towards the west side, going towards Tibet, Kansu, these places just too out of the way. But if you do get the chance, I highly suggest you go to these places instead of the coastal cities. Because that's where the real that's the that's a way for you to really experience China and its different cultures, or even not even Chinese culture. So when we're talking about the Silk Road, forget about all you were taught in school, especially this first part. I really want to mention the founder because this dude was very special. If you think I'm going to tell you this grand story of this guy, then you're wrong. Because this guy who supposedly found the Silk Road, this dude, he was a loser. And when I read a story, I'm like, back of my head, you didn't you didn't find shit. He was out there for a different reason. Happened to travel this route, be familiar with it, bring back some stuff to impress the emperor, where the emperor began a policy promoting future trade. That's kind of the gist of it. You know what's funny too is because if you look at the stuff that he brought back, the manifest of the things he brought back from the so-called premature Silk Road, I think he does deserve credit for introducing the food revolution. Because he brought back mostly food. He brought back more food than anything else. Which was amazing. For instance, he brought back grapes, walnuts, pomegranate, garlic, coriander, cucumber, carrot, and alfalfa. Think about it. The very ingredients that would be the foundation of so many different types of Chinese cuisines, for example. We probably wouldn't have Chinese food the way it is today if it weren't for him. But I do give him credit for that. And similarly, if he's credited with this, then he should also be credited because the Silk Road also brought about the black plague that ravaged Europe. Paper and gunpowder may have been delayed for centuries, for instance.

unknown 3:01

Right?

Zhang Qian’s Mission And Captivity

Failure, Intelligence, And An Empire’s Pivot

SPEAKER_01 3:01

A world religions today may have looked completely different. You didn't know the Silk Road was that important, did you? I didn't know either. And most people picture a single road, like a single trading route, but it wasn't. It was actually the vast web of both land and maritime routes. And silk, that was just a small part of it. It was named the Silk Road way later on. And most importantly, it created the world's first globalized economy. You know, connecting superpowers like the Roman Empire and the Han China. They knew each other. It was an information superhighway, right? Spreading ideas, not just goods. So who was this godfather of the Silk Road that we're talking about? Why did I refer to him as kind of a loser? His name is Zhang Chian. And his story starts with a military disaster. Because you see, back then, ancient China, as well as even China throughout its history pretty much, has always been constantly threatened by powerful nomadic tribes. Back then, it were the Shonus or the Huns, as you might know them. And so the emperor sent Zantian on a critical mission. It was not to facilitate trade, it was for him to travel west, find the people of Yu Tzu, which is on the opposite side of the Huns. Yuizu is the direct translation, but in Chinese historical text, it's actually called Ru Zhu. Find them, form an alliance, and crush the Shonu from both sides. That was his primary mission. Opening a trade route was not even a side quest. Bringing back horses or grapes or fruits was not even part of his mission. And with that, he set out with the team and he failed miserably. He barely left China before he was captured by the Huns. He was held as a prisoner for over 10 years. And this guy, he was such a good trader and he was knew how to work himself so well that his capture liked him so much that they forced him to take a wife, like a Han wife. And he had children with her too. He eventually escaped after those ten years. I guess driven by sheer duty. And he continued his mission all the way to monastery, Afghanistan. And I was looking through the text whether or not he brought his wife and kids. It didn't say. I'm guessing he didn't. That mission would have been very cruel and long and torturous if he bought his entire family. And when he finally arrived at Uetsi, in front of the Uetsi king, they flat out rejected his offer. So he failed, got captured, and it was 10 years later. He didn't know, even if the war was still going on, back home. So he had to get home, right? And then check this out, on his way home, the dude gets captured again by the Huns. Again. And it took him another year to escape. And finally, he returned to the capital city after a total of 13 years. He had completely failed his mission. Completely. And to prove that he didn't bring his family back, historical text says that he returned by himself with one other. His entire team was annihilated. 30, 40, 50 people. That was documented. So pretty much that's why I think he ditched his family. And so his entire part of his life up to that point was a loss. But the intelligence he brought back was a treasure beyond measure. Okay, he brought back meticulously drawn maps and detailed accounts of the culture, the kingdom, and the goods of the Western region. He pretty much recorded his old podcast and described everything he saw. And the Emperor, who's the same one 13 years later, and the war has not ended. Instead of punishing him, he saw a bigger picture. He saw the opportunity for trade, wealth, and increased political influence. So if he said the founder was Zhangchen, I believe the founder was actually the Emperor. And so, having said that, Zhang Chen was sent back again. And this time, his mission was somewhat of a success. Because the intelligence he provided eventually helped the Han Dynasty cripple the Shonu. And not only crippled them, but pretty much wiped out the entire race of people.

Birth Of Globalization And Idea Flows

SPEAKER_00 8:16

The ancient people don't fuck around. And because of this military.

Xi’an Today: Walls, Culture, Nightlife

Terracotta Warriors Up Close

SPEAKER_01 8:25

And because of this military engagement, and because of this failed journey of his, the Silk World was born. The things he brought back transformed China. And later, the world. And so after him, Chinese silk, porcelain, paper making technology flowed west. And exotic goods like carpet, lions, horses flowed east. That was the birth of globalization. So remember, this guy named Zhangtian, he failed so spectacularly that he accidentally connected the world. That's what I got from reading his biography, reading what he has done. And he spent his final years in the capital of Chiang'an. Present day, it's called the city of Xi'an in Saixi province. I've been there many times. Beautiful city. It's probably not well known throughout the West, but you've definitely heard of the Terracotta warriors. And that's pretty much what it's known for globally. Many don't know that this city alone has been the capital of China for over a thousand years of its history. Yet most only have heard of Nanjing and Beijing being the capital. Okay, that's because at the fall of the Tang Dynasty, China gradually shifted its political after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, China gradually shifted its political center towards the coastal areas. The city is beautiful. If you've ever been there, you know what I'm talking about. Because once you enter it, you see a great wall. The city was surrounded by walls, ancient walls. And it's in a place where we called Da Shibe in Chinese, or translated it's called the Big Northwest. It's mainly due to its mix of culture, and we're going to share every single one of those. Okay, the Hui culture. Particularly fascinating, it's an Islamic culture. And then the Uyghur culture. I'm sure you guys have heard of that. How China quote unquote oppressed the Uyghurs. What's the truth behind that? And the Xinjiang culture, where they came from, is probably one of the most vibrant that I've seen. The Mongolian culture and the Tibetan culture. These four pretty much make up the big northwest of China. And so, like I said, visiting a city is it feels like modern versus ancient. Because the city wall still surrounds the area. But then once you it's broken down, of course, right? But once you enter the city walls, it's it's a city. You know, it kind of it's that flow you feel from ancient to modern is such a quick couple of steps. Makes it very unique. When you walk past the walls, there were clubs, bars, and restaurants everywhere. Xi'an people, people from there are very welcoming. They eat lamb and they drink a lot. You can see old architecture, sculptures, pretty much everywhere you go. You'd be drunk walking down the streets and you just see this massive defense wall out of nowhere. It's pretty cool. My first time in Xi'an was actually when I was much younger, maybe in my late 20s. And it was with a business trip with my dad. He was supposed to be uh speaking with a um a government crowd in Xi'an City. And so I went with him. It was cool because that night we had to um we we had the chance to um have dinner with the mayor of the city. The mayor was a cool dude. We had so much lamb and food, and of course, plenty to drink. And so he arranged me to travel while my dad was working the day after. And this was, again, I said maybe 15, almost 20 years ago. So early next morning, old man pulled up in like a Buick soccer mom car. It's uh typical for um government long trips. And back then they kind of the higher officials would ride Audis and the lower officials would ride Buick's. That's kind of the uh you know how we separate them. Anyways, the old man said he works for the office of the mayor and he's here to take me on a tour. Of course, we went to the Terracotta Warriors right away. Everybody knew they were there, everybody wanted to see them. And if they were quite far, it was a couple hours drive. You know, one perk of knowing people in China were being kind of well connected is that you get access to things that other people don't. Okay, you could just do things that regular people can't. You know, comes with this perks. And so we got to go up close to the terracotta warriors. If you were a tourist, you would normally remain on the top level behind the railing. So you would be able to see the terracotta warriors, but from very far. You would not be able to be allowed to walk inside the tomb, which which is where they were underground. And we had a tour guide with us. He was a local also, very knowledgeable. And so the first thing I immediately noticed, I was fascinated by the way, the first thing I noted was how tall they were.

unknown 13:59

Right?

Tech, Tactics, And Ancient Might

Colors, Weapons, And Mass Production

Qin Shihuang’s Obsession With Death

SPEAKER_01 13:59

All of them were well over six feet, broad shoulders. And was in the back of my head, was this an ideal depiction of his troops? Or but I read historical text that they were all unique in their own way, and that he actually molded these statues from his troops. And I felt the old man knew my question. And he said, uh, did you know that in that era the Chinese were actually very tall? While the Europeans were the opposite. Because Chinese literature depicts generals from this era to be all tall and big as shit. You know, the god of gangsters that the one that people worships the uh the one with the red face and the huge beard and this giant like blade of a knife. It's called a guandot, even though we call it in ch in English. But that that weapon alone weighs over a hundred kilograms. Okay, that's like 200 something pounds. Most people can't even squat that. Imagine just throwing that around, just chopping people up. And the guy was said to be over seven foot tall. And so that's interesting because if you look at the ancient Romans of the time, if you see their statue, if you see their art, you know, they were tiny. And they were small dudes under shields. You know, yet with their military tactics, they were able to conquer half the world. So what's interesting was the Torga started to explain more in detail. He said, Well, you see, this bloodline that you see from the Qing Emperor might not be linked to the present-day Chinese. We tend to associate ourselves with them as they're the first Han people, but it might not be the case. Why? Because throughout China's history, the culture's been decimated many times. For instance, during the Warring Kingdoms, 70 to 80% of China's population was wiped out. Mongolian invasions, invasions of the Han, invasions of the Qing people, Manchurians, they created throughout the years this genocide of Chinese people. So more than likely, our genetics have nothing to do with the terracotta warriors. And second, if you've seen Ancient Roman army, right, let's just use the movie uh Gladiator. And let's use the uh and let's use the movie um by Jet Li, uh the Dragon Emperor, right, from the Mummy or something. I'm pretty sure you've at least seen one of those. If you noticed that their soldiers, the ancient Romans, and the Han or Emperor Ching, their technology was ridiculous. So, for instance, the Dragon Emperor, the Qing So Hong, his military could cast arrows and with greater speed, higher quantity, more accuracy than any other troop. Before you even get your foot soldiers up to theirs, you'd be shot dead already. Because their arrows shot those a couple hundred feet further than yours, you couldn't get close to them. I remember the movie Gladiator, the first battle scene, where Maximus was just tossing boulders at the barbarians. That's technology. The formation that they have, that's technology. That's what conquers the old world. That's military might. Same thing as today. If you don't have technology, you're screwed. People didn't fight like that back then either. So that was very cool to learn. And then the Torgat also reiterated that, see, these terracotta warriors were created in the same likeness of real soldiers. He told me to look closely, and I did, and you found out that none of their faces were the same. Okay, that's just easy. But the limbs were also unique. Some were skinny, long, thick, thin. You could see different ranks and types of soldiers in these mass caves. I was real lucky to be able to take pictures. And I probably could have rubbed it or touched it if I wanted to. It was just amazing to hear the history behind, not just see it. And I also didn't know that when this place was excavated, these soldiers were actually in full color. Okay, they were painted in lifelike color over a lacquer primer. You could have seen like vibrant colors of purple, red, green, blue, all that stuff. Okay, but being buried underground for millennia in the humid environment, once they're exposed to the dry air, right, the paint just flicked off at the minutes. And that's what you see: these gray mud warriors. And because we didn't know how to even preserve it from peeling, most of the tomb, the terracotta warriors that you see is only a fraction of the entire amount. The tomb, most of it remains unexcavated. And one interesting thing that people didn't know that is when these were excavated, they had real life functioning weapons. For instance, the pit that was excavated, they found 40,000 bronze weapons like swords, spears, crossbows, axes. You know, they weren't like replicas, okay? They were sharp lethal, manufactured with incredible technology. Okay, even the swords was treated with chromium coating and prevented it from rusting even 2,000 years later. Okay, and the and the crossbow triggers, that was really cool. It had interchangeable parts, allowing for what? Easy repair. And you're right, mass production. But most of these weapons were looted uh way before they were even excavated, although they still were able to recover many. Very cool site. Especially if you're a guy and you know, seeing all these old age ancient weapons come before you is just amazing. And what was this all for? You know, people ask, like, why build all these? Was it to um was it to honor somebody? Was it for any historical relevance? Well, the answer is no. It's actually simply put, it was one powerful man's fear of death. And like we mentioned before, the dragon emperor, Qing Song, the first emperor of China. If you were that powerful, or if I was that powerful, I'd probably be the same. I'd be obsessed with immortality. And so he feared death so much that besides finding elixirs for life, but in reality was just probably drinking mercury, and once he knew he couldn't achieve immortality in this world, right, he decided to duplicate his kingdom and conquer the world of the dying. This man was on a different level. And you've seen context and movies like this all the time. Why? Because it's mystical, because we don't know much about it, because we haven't been able to excavate it yet. Because up to this day, we still don't have the technology to explore a cave 2,000 years ago without destroying it. We barely know what's inside. The army of terracotta warriors was just a guardhouse. The army of terracotta warriors was just a guard house for the main event. And that was the Emperor's Barrel Mound. It's a it's nothing significant that you would imagine today because it's just kind of like a large vegetated hill. Ancient historian, the most famous one, Sumatan, claimed the main tomb contains an incredible miniature universe. Okay, with the ceiling inlaid with pearls to represent stars and rivers flowing with mercury. And even cooler, the text warns that the tomb is rigged with booby traps, like crossbows and stuff. And soil tests around the mound have shown very high levels of mercury.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

The legends might be true.

The Sealed Tomb And Mercury Rivers

Famen Temple And The Road To Dunhuang

SPEAKER_01 22:50

They say that out of respect for preservation concerns, like the paint issue, you know, Chinese authorities have decided not to excavate it. But the truth is, they're not able to without destroying it. Simply amazing. I hope in my lifetime that I have the chance to see the tomb once it's excavated. I know disturbing the dead is not good, but you know what the Tor guy said to me, like it brought a picturesque in my head. Think about it, a miniature universe with stars and rivers. Right? It was a crazy visual. Wouldn't it be cool to see what the emperor did two thousand years ago? Anyways, my next destination was the Fountain Temple. It's not as well known as the Terracotta Warriors, but it's a very famous time capsule. And it was sealed in 871 AD. Only to be shown a thousand something years later. It also houses a genuine finger-bone relic of the Buddha. And from there begins the journey to the Silk Road. The gateway of the Silk Road is in the next city that I'm going to visit. And that's in the Gansu province, in a beautiful place called Dunhuang. It's where the Silk Road splits into north and south routes to avoid the Takma Khan Desert. God, I probably did not pronounce that right again, but it's okay. So, anyways, thank you for tuning in and supporting this podcast. Hope you enjoyed the short tour of ancient Chinese capital of Tangan. Now, next episode, we'll dive deeper into the Silk Road. And also, I'll probably take you to an encounter where I visited a nightclub and a brothel deep inside the Silk Road. It's nothing you would ever experience. They weren't even Chinese people. So join us next episode. Thank you for tuning in again. Uncle Wong signing off. Peace.