What is the ancient tea-horse road?

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The ancient tea-horse road refers to the folk international trade passage which exists in the southwest of China and takes caravan as the main means of transportation. It is a corridor for ethnic economic and cultural exchanges in southwest China. The ancient tea-horse road is a very special place name and a unique tourist route with the most spectacular natural scenery and the most mysterious culture in the world. It contains inexhaustible cultural heritage. The ancient tea-horse road originated from the tea-horse exchange in the southwest frontier of ancient times, and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Ming and Qing Dynasties and the middle and late World War II. The ancient tea-horse road is divided into Sichuan-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet, connecting Sichuan-Yunnan-Tibet and extending to Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal and India, until the Red Sea coast of West Asia and West Africa. The ancient tea-horse road in Yunnan and Tibet was formed in the late 6th century. It starts from Simao and Pu 'er, the main tea-producing areas in Yunnan, passes through today's Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Lijiang area and Shangri-La, then enters Tibet and goes straight to Lhasa. Some also re-exported India and Nepal from Tibet, which was an important trade channel between ancient China and South Asia. Pu 'er is a unique commodity producing area and transit distribution center on the ancient tea-horse road with a long history.

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There is a mysterious ancient road in the alpine valley of Hengduan Mountains and the jungle of Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet. This is the "Tea-Horse Road", one of the highest ancient civilizations and cultural exchanges in the world.

The ancient tea-horse road originated from the "tea-horse exchange" in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Because Kang and Tibet belong to the alpine region, the altitude is above three or four kilometers. Ciba, milk, ghee, beef and mutton are the staple foods of Tibetans. In the alpine region, you need to eat high-calorie fat, but there are no vegetables, it is hot and dry. Excessive fat is not easy to decompose in the human body, and tea can not only decompose fat, but also prevent dryness and heat. Therefore, Tibetans have created the plateau lifestyle habit of drinking butter tea in their long-term lives, but tea is not produced in Tibetan areas. In the mainland, both civil servants and military campaigns need a large number of mules and horses, but the supply is in short supply, while Tibetan areas and the border areas of Sichuan and Yunnan produce good horses. As a result, tea-horse complementary trade, that is, "tea-horse mutual market" came into being. In this way, mules, horses, furs and medicinal materials produced in Tibetan areas and Sichuan-Yunnan border areas, tea, cloth, salt and daily utensils produced in Sichuan-Yunnan, etc. It flows from south to north among the mountains in Hengduan mountain area, and prospers with the development of social economy, forming the "ancient tea-horse road" that continues to this day.

"Tea-horse Ancient Road" is a historical concept with specific meaning. It refers to a traffic artery formed by the exchange of tea and horses between Han and Tibet during the Tang and Song Dynasties and the Republic of China. Specifically, the ancient tea-horse road is mainly divided into two roads, namely Yunnan-Tibet Road and Sichuan-Tibet Road. The Yunnan-Tibet Highway starts from the tea-producing areas around Erhai Lake in western Yunnan, passes through Lijiang, Zhongdian, Deqin, Mangkang and Chaya to Changdu, and then leads from Changdu to the Uygur-Tibet area. Sichuan-Tibet Road starts from Ya 'an tea-producing area in Sichuan and enters Kangding first. Since Kangding, the Sichuan-Tibet Highway has been divided into two branches: the northern line runs from Kangding to the north, passes through Daofu, Luhuo, Ganzi, Dege and Jiangda, reaches Changdu (the northern line of Sichuan-Tibet Highway), and then leads from Changdu to Weizang area; The southern line runs from Kangding to the south, through Yajiang, Litang, Batang, Mangkang and Zuogong to Changdu (now the southern line of Sichuan-Tibet Highway), and then from Changdu to Weizang area.

It should be pointed out that the above is only the main trunk line of the ancient tea-horse road, and it is also a long-term understanding and understanding of the ancient tea-horse road. In fact, in addition to the above trunk lines, the ancient tea-horse road also includes several branch lines, such as the branch line from Ya 'an to Songpan and even Gannan; From the north branch line of Sichuan-Tibet Road to Yushu, Xining and even Qinghai via the former Deng Ke County (now dege county, Sichuan), the branch line bypassing Zhou Tao (Lintan); The branch line from Qamdo to the north via Leiwuqi and Dingqing to northern Tibet, and so on. Because of this, some scholars believe that the historical "Tang-Fan Ancient Road" (today's Qinghai-Tibet Line) should also be included in the scope of the ancient tea-horse road. Some scholars believe that although Gansu and Qinghai-Tibet are also important destinations for transporting tea from the Tea Horse Road to Tibetan areas, the Tea Horse Road does overlap with the Tang Fan Road, but the Tang Fan Road is another specific concept after all, and its connotation is different from the Tea Horse Road. Moreover, in history, Gansu and Qinghai-Tibet are not on the trunk line of the ancient tea-horse road, but only one of the destinations of tea transportation. The coexistence of the two concepts "Ancient Tea-Horse Road" and "Ancient Tang-Fan Road" shows that their functions and roles are different in history. Just as most roads in the world are interrelated and interconnected, we should not confuse their functions and functions. Of course, some scholars advocate that the ancient tea-horse road should include the "Tang-Fan Road", subjectively in order to expand the inclusiveness of the ancient tea-horse road. This desire is understandable, but there is a great danger in doing so, that is, if any concept expands its extension indefinitely, its connotation will also be lost. Therefore, it is very important to adopt a scientific, objective and realistic attitude in dealing with the specific historical concept of "Ancient Tea-Horse Road" and even in the process of developing and utilizing the Ancient Tea-Horse Road.

There is not only an ancient tea-horse road in history, but also a huge transportation network. It is a road system with Sichuan-Tibet Road, Yunnan-Tibet Road and Qinghai-Tibet Road (Gan Qing Road) as the main trunk, supplemented by several branch lines and attached lines. It spans Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai and Tibet, and extends outward to South Asia, West Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and as far as Europe. Among the three avenues, Sichuan-Tibet Road was opened the earliest, with the largest traffic volume and great historical role. This paper only discusses the ancient tea-horse road in Sichuan and Tibet, and other roads are beyond the scope of this paper.

The Yunnan-Tibet route in the ancient tea-horse road is Xishuangbanna-Pu 'er-Dali-Lijiang-Deqin-Chayu-Bangda-Linzhi-Lhasa. The tea that arrived in Lhasa was also transported to Calcutta, India, through the Himalayan pass, and sold in large quantities to Europe and Asia, making it gradually become an international channel. This international corridor has played an important role in the life and death of the Chinese nation in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

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