Emperor Wudi Quotes

The Chinese had first learned of the Roman Empire in 139 B.C., when the emperor Wudi had sent an envoy, Zhang Qian, past the deserts to seek allies to the west. Zhang Qian traveled for twelve years to what is now Turkistan and back and reported on the astounding discovery that there was a fairly advanced civilization to the west. In 104 B.C. and 102 B.C., Chinese armies reached the area, a former Greek kingdom called Sogdiana with its capital in Samarkand, where they met and defeated a force partly composed of captive Roman soldiers.

The Emperor [Wudi,156 BC – 87 BC] orders a white metallic currency of a mixture of silver and tin, considering that in heaven there is othing superior to the dragon, and on earth nothing superior to the horse, and among men nothing superior to the tortoise ; there there shall be three sorts of metallic coins" Of the first : "It shall have a value of 8 Tales, make it round ; its device shall be a dragon; its name shall be 'T'suan (Regulator), and its value, 3000 coins. Of the second : "make it different, and smaller in comparison to the first in thickness, and of a square form, its device shall be a horse ; its value : 500 coins." Of the third : "Make it still smaller in size, and in weight, four Taels." "Let is be of oblong form, its device shall be a tortoise, and its value : 300 coins: