During the period of the Eastern Han, transmarine transport expanded, which led to a close relation with other countries.
东汉时期海外交通进一步发展。
The Han court received a Japanese goodwill envoy in 57 to whom Emperor Guangwu gave a seal inscribed with a title of honor.
建武中元二年(57),倭国派使臣来赠送方物,刘秀赐以印绶。
Later, Han iron and bronze wares and silk goods found their way to Japan.
此后东汉的铁器、铜器和丝织品便源源不断地输往倭国。
It is said that in 64, Mingdi sent his official Cai Yin to Central Asia to learn more about Buddhism after a vision of a golden figure appeared to him in a dream, who a minister told him was Buddha.
相传,汉明帝在梦里见到一个金人,大臣告诉他那是佛。于是公元64年,明帝遣郎中蔡愔等出使天竺(印度)求其道。
In 67, Cai Yin returned and brought back with him not only the images of Buddha and Buddhist scriptures but also two Buddhist monks Kasyapamatanga and Dharmaranya, who came to Luoyang at the invitation of the Han emissary, which marked the beginning of the spread of Buddhism in China. Emperor Ming ordered the White Horse Monastery built in their honor and asked them to translate Buddhist sutras into Chinese.
蔡愔于公元67年回洛阳,带来佛像和一些佛经,并邀请沙门摄摩腾和竺法兰一起回国。次年,明帝在洛阳建白马寺,供摄摩腾、竺法兰居住,并翻译《四十二章经》,为中土佛教之始。
They were followed by the Parthian monk An Shigao, who came to China in 148 and stayed for more than years.
公元148年帕提亚僧人安世高来到中国,居住了20年。
He became a well-known translator, rendering into Chinese 95 Buddhist works comprising 115 juan during his stay.
在此期间,他翻译了115卷95部佛经,成为著名的译者。
During the reign of Emperor Zhang and Emperor He, with China’s prosperity came another attempt at westward expansion.
章帝、和帝时,国力强盛,朝廷意图向西拓展疆域。
In 73, for the purpose of building good relationship with western region tribes, a military officer, Ban Chao, younger brother of Ban Gu, went westward on a diplomatic mission with a delegation of thirty-six men.
公元73年,为建立与西域各国的友好关系,班超(班固的弟弟)带领36名军士,奉命出使西域。
He finally made those desert tribes tributaries of the Eastern Han Empire, which ensured the long peace and smoothness along the Silk Road.
他成功说服各国向东汉称臣,确保了丝绸之路的安全畅通。
Furthermore, Ban Chao once remained in the Western Regions for 31 years, suppressing rebellions and establishing diplomatic relations with over 50 states there.
班固在西域长达31年之久,不但多次镇压叛乱,还与50多个国家建立了外交关系。
In 97, the Eastern Han court dispatched an emissary, Gan Ying to Daqin(the Roman Empire).
公元97年,东汉朝廷派甘英出使大秦(罗马帝国)。
He traveled westward, passing Tiaozhi(modern Iraq) and Anxi (modern Iran), and finally arrived at the west border of Anxi (the Persian Gulf), but returned without crossing the sea.Though failed to reach Daqin, he brought home a wealth of information about west Asia.
甘英西经条支(今伊拉克)、安息(今伊朗)诸国,至安息西界(波斯湾),未过海而还,带回了大量有关西亚地区的信息。
As the most famous envoy after Zhang Qian, Gan Ying made great contribution to open a route connecting Asia with Europe.
甘英是继张骞之后到达西亚的使节,为开辟欧亚通道做出了重要贡献。