Protector General of the Western Regions Set Up

After Zhang Qian's mission, the Western Han stepped up its management of the Western Regions. Under Emperor Wu, Han troops campaigned against Dayuan and won its “blood-sweating” horses, and opened military farms at Luntai, Quli and elsewhere under envoy-colonels, securing supplies for envoys and caravans. Under Emperor Xuan the Xiongnu split; the Rizhu king came over to the Han with his followers, and Xiongnu power in the Western Regions collapsed. In 60 BC the Western Han court formally established the Protector General of the Western Regions as the highest military and civil officer for the area. The first holder was Zheng Ji, and the office was based at Wulei (northeast of present-day Luntai, Xinjiang). The Protector General issued Han orders on behalf of the central government, dispatched troops, levied supplies, monitored states such as the Wusun and Kangju, and protected the routes to the west, exercising effective control; at first he oversaw 36 states, later over fifty. His jurisdiction covered today's Xinjiang and the broad areas east and south of Lake Balkhash. Kings and officials of the Western Regions received seals and ribbons from the Han, paid tribute, and sent princes to serve at Chang'an. The creation of the office marked the formal incorporation of the Xinjiang region under central authority, strengthened ties with the Central Plains, promoted the region's economy and kept the Silk Road open. At the end of the Western Han the Xiongnu regained control and contact was briefly cut; in the Eastern Han, Ban Chao spent over thirty years in the region and restored Han authority, and the Eastern Han also established a Protector General and a Chief Clerk of the Western Regions.