Silk Road” and Traverses Seventy-Eight Mountains Over 3000 Meters High
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traveling stages. One has fifty-one The “Ancient Tea and Horse river crossings, fifteen rope bridges and ten iron bridges (Fig. 2, p. 30) Caravan Road,” the “Silk Road” and traverses seventy-eight mountains over 3000 meters high. All of Southwest China of this makes the route one of the most difficult in the world. Moreover, the weather in this area of the world Yang Fuquan is extremely changeable. In a single day the traveler may experience The “Tea and Horse Caravan Road” with an abundant bio-diversity and heavy snow, hail, burning sun and of Southwest China is less well complex topography. Generally heavy winds, with extreme varia- known than the famous Silk Road. Its speaking, the Tea and Horse Road tions in the temperatures. There are route crosses some very high and follows two main routes (Fig. 1). One many branches joining these two dangerous terrain. It begins from of them starts at the original place major routes, combining to connect Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in of the famous Pu’er tea production the economy, religions and cultures Southwest China, runs along the (present day Xishuangbanna and in the broad triangular area of Tibet, eastern foothills of the Hengduan Sima prefectures of Yunnan province) Yunnan and Sichuan. Mountains, a center of tea pro- and passes through Dali, Lijiang, duction in China, then crosses the Zhongdian (present Shangrila Hengduan mountain range and deep county), Deqin of Yunnan Province The Tea and Horse Caravan canyons of several major rivers, the and Mangkang, Zuogong [Zogong], Road as a corridor of ancient Yalong, the Jinsha (the upper Bangda, Changdu, Luolongzong, civilizations reaches of Yangtze), the Lancang Gongbujiangda and Lhasa in Tibet. (Mekong), and the Nu (Salween), From Lhasa it heads south through This route would appear to have thus spanning the two highest Jiangze [Gyantse], Pali, and Yadong been in use long before it became plateaus of China (Qinghai-Tibet and in Tibet and on to Burma, Nepal and an avenue for the tea and horse Yunnan-Guizhou) before finally India. The other route starts at trade during the Tang and the Song reaching India south of the Ya’an, Sichuan province, which is the dynasties, for it was a very important Himalayas. major site of Yacha tea production, corridor connecting the ancient The name of the road (Chamadao and goes through Luding, Kangding, cultures of the areas of present Tibet, in the Chinese records meaning “the Batang, Changdu and Lhasa, and Yunnan and Sichuan. In such places tea and horse road”) indicates its then to Nepal and India. According as Ganzi and Aba distrcts of Sichuan importance in the trade of tea and to the surveys, the tea and horse and the Hengduan Mountains of horses, but other products passed route from Sichuan to Lhasa is some Northwest Yunnan archaeologists along it as well. Horse caravans 2350 kilometers long, with fifty-six have discovered many cist tombs carried tea, sugar and salt from Sichuan and Yunnan to Tibet and brought back colorful local mountain goods. The Chinese over the ages often bought warhorses from Tibetan and other ethnic groups of Southwest China, and these too came over this road. The road also served as a significant corridor for migration as well as a channel for cultural communication among the ethnic groups in western China; beyond this, it was a bridge for international cultural and economic exchange between China and India. Although silk was not included in the trade goods carried over it, at times it has been termed the “Southern Silk Road of China,” due to its importance in both economic and cultural aspects of Chinese history. The Hengduan mountain range and the Qinghai-Tibet plateaus through which the Tea and Horse Map © 2004 by Lance Jenott Caravan Road passes is an area Fig. 1. Map illustrating the Tea and Horse Road 29 the Tang dynasty. Mountains of Mengla County, According to the Xishuangbanna. The local people call Tibetan book these ancient tea trees the “Tea Tree “Historic Collection Kings.” In the Man shu (the book of the Han and about the native tribes of southwest Tibet” (Han Zang shi China, written by Fan Chuo during (1909), facing p. 56. p. facing (1909), ji) “In the reign of the Tang), there is a description of the Tibetan King the tea trees grown in southern Chidusongzan [Khri Yunnan. It also states that the local Yün-nan ‘Dus sron] (676- tribal people of Nanzhao Kingdom 704), the Tibetan (7th-9th centuries CE) had the aristocracy started custom of drinking the local tea (Fan to drink tea and Chuo 1961, 1992). The Tibetan use the tea-bowl, military government had a very close and tea was relationship with the Nanzhao Source: H.R. Davies, classified into dif- kingdom, and it is possible that Fig. 2. Iron chain bridge over the Nu (Salween) ferent categories.” Yunnan tea was introduced into Tibet Moreover, the book, during that time. which date from the Shang (ca. 1600- Ganlu zhi hai (The Sea of Amrita,), ca.1100 BCE) and the Zhou (ca. mentions ranking tea by quality The development of large-scale 1100-256 BCE) dynasties. These cist (Dacangzongba: 104-106). Li Zhao’s commerce in tea and horses between tombs are scattered broadly in the Guo shi bu (Supplement to the the Chinese dynasties and Tibet and canyons and valleys of the upper National History), written under the the development of the caravan road reaches of the Min River as well as Tang dynasty, relates that emperor for the tea and horse trade probably the Yalong and Jinsha Rivers. Most Dezong sent his supervisory official dates to the Song dynasty (960- of these tombs are located in (jiangchayushi) Chang Lu to visit 1279). During that period, the western Sichuan and western Tibet, where the Tibetan king re- demand for tea would have gradually Yunnan, although a few have also ceived him in a tent. Chang Lu offered increased as tea became an been found in Tibet. Although there boiled tea to the King, who asked important drink in the daily life of the are slight differences between the what it was. Chang answered that Tibetans. The Song court then started cist tombs of the various sites, their this was called cha (tea) and was to be involved in the shipping of tea main features and cultural char- good for relieving thirst and to Tibet. The Song required an large acteristics are generally similar. The nervousness. The king then re- number of warhorses from Tibet to archeologists have established that sponded that Tibet already had cha defend against the invading northern the cist tombs discovered in Tibet are and instructed his servants show the nomadic Liao, Jin and Xixia. The court closely related with those of Sichuan tea to Chang Lu (Li Zhao: Vol. 2). This established the Chamasi [Ch’a-ma and Yunnan in terms of their form and record corroborates that of the Han ssu] , Tea and Horse Office, in charge the grave goods. Notably those cist Zang shi ji. of the tea and horse trade in the tombs found in Changdu and Linzhi, seventh year of Xining (1074) and Tibet, definitely belong to the same The Tibetan people had been in also set up many markets for selling cultural system as those in western close communication with the Tang tea and buying horses in Northwest Sichuan and western Yunnan (Luo and the various ethnic groups of China.1 Every year the government Kaiyu 1992). The cist tombs in Tibet southwest China for a long time; so transported huge amounts of tea, are for the most part found close to it is very likely that the tea of Sichuan obtained mainly from Yunnan and the roads which led directly from and Yunnan had already reached Sichuan, to exchange for warhorses Yunnan and Sichuan. Thus it is clear Tibet. As early as the seventh century with the Tibetan tribes. According to that about 4000-5000 years ago, Tubo (Tibetan) military power had one study, more than 20,000 well before the Tea and Horse Road conquered the ethnic tribes warhorses per year were exchanged was opened, migration and scattered in the present areas of for tea during the Northern Song communication among the various Lijiang and Dali, Yunnan, and had (960-1127) dynasty. Of the total ethnic groups operated along this established a military administration annual output of tea in Sichuan, road. in northwest Yunnan. The military 30,000,000 Jin or 15,000,000 route used by the Tibetans to reach kilograms, at least half was sold to Yunnan was closely related to the Tibet (Jia Daquan 1993: 4). A brief introduction to the contemporary tea and horse route. history of the ancient Tea and Yunnan is the one of the places The Yüan dynasty (1271-1368) also Horse Caravan Road where tea plants are native. Since paid great attention to the trade of 1949 scientists have found many wild tea to Tibet and established the One can trace the history of the Tea and cultivated tea trees that are more Xifanchatijusi, meaning the bureau in and Horse Road back to the period than a thousand years old in the charge of tea trade to Tibet. At first, of the Tang dynasty (618-907) and Nannuo mountains and Bada tea was sold through the Tibetan (Tubo) regime. Tea was Mountains of Menghai County as well government bureau, but later it introduced to the Tibetan area during as Yiwu Mountains and Xiangming gradually was handled by individual 30 traders. The most prosperous period According to one source, more than aside for the northern route to for the tea and horse trade between 25,000 horses and mules were used Tachienlu [Dhartsedo/Kang- Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet was under (Fig.