Is the ancient southern silk trade route still in use today?

It has always been used, but it is not as famous as the Northern Silk Road.

The Southern Silk Road generally refers to the channels connecting Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet and other southern regions of China to the outside world at different times in history, including the historically famous Shushen Poison Road and the Ancient Tea Horse Road. How the early passage of the Southern Silk Road was opened is currently difficult to verify. According to British records such as Harvey's "History of Burma" and Hall's "History of Southeast Asia", since the 2nd century BC, Chinese silk has reached Afghanistan from Myanmar via India and as far away as Europe.

The Southern Silk Road has a total length of approximately 2,000 kilometers and is one of China’s oldest international passages. It starts from Yibin, Sichuan, passes through Ya'an, Lushan, Xichang, and Panzhihua to Zhaotong, Qujing, Dali, Baoshan, and Tengchong in Yunnan, exits from Dehong; enters Myanmar, Thailand, and finally reaches India and the Middle East.

Main Routes

The Southern Silk Road mainly has two routes: one is the West Road, which is the "Yanniu Road". Starting from Chengdu, passing through Linqiong (Qiongzhou), Qingyi (famous mountain), Yandao (Yingjing), Yanniu (Hanyuan), Langxian (Yuexi), Qiongdu (Xichang), Yeyu (Dali) to Yongchang (Baoshan), and then to Myitkyina or Bhamo, entering Myanmar and Southeast Asia. This road can reach as far as "Dian Yue" Chengxiang Kingdom, and may reach India and Bangladesh.

The other is the East Road, called the "Five-foot Road". Starting from Chengdu, it goes to Bodao (Yibin), Nanguang (Gaoxian), Zhuti (Zhaotong), Weixian (Qujing), Guchang (Kunming), and then enters Vietnam all the way, passing through Dali and coinciding with the Yanniu Road. According to the literature available so far, the first well-known ancient Shu ancestor to take this route was King Anyang, the prince of Shu who moved south after Qin destroyed Shu. King Anyang led 30,000 soldiers along this route into the Red River area of ??northern Vietnam and established the Ou Luo Kingdom, also known as the "Shu Dynasty" in Vietnamese history.

The Southern Silk Road is an ancient international passage in southwest China that runs through the two provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, connects Burma and India, and leads to Southeast Asia, West Asia and European countries. It is closely connected with the Northwest Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. The Silk Road was also the main channel for China's ancient foreign transportation, trade and cultural exchanges.

The "Shu Shen Du Road" from Chengdu, Sichuan, through Yunnan to Myanmar, India and further to Central Asia, West Asia and the European Mediterranean region is the earliest Sino-Western transportation route recorded in historical documents, and it is also a rich On the western route of the famous "Southern Silk Road". ?

The middle line of the Southern Silk Road is the transportation line from Sichuan to Vietnam and Indochina via Yunnan. Historical documents record it as "Butou Road" and "Jinsan Road". The eastern route of the Southern Silk Road runs from Sichuan through Guizhou, Guangxi, and Guangdong to the South China Sea.

The Southern Silk Road was opened as early as the Shang Dynasty. Ancient China’s connections and exchanges with the outside world in the southwest were through the Southern Silk Road. It was a link between ancient China’s southwest and Southeast Asia, South Asia, It is an important carrier of exchanges and interactions between civilizations in Central Asia, West Asia and even the European Mediterranean region.

Origin of the name

As early as ancient times, "Historical Records" recorded the economic and cultural exchanges between China, India, and Afghanistan. In "The Biography of Xirong", it is also mentioned that the Roman Empire "has water connections to Yizhou (Sichuan)".

Professor Ji Xianlin's paper "A Preliminary Study on the Importation of Chinese Silk to India" and the German Jacobi's report at the Prussian Scientific Research Conference cited the examination of the Chandragupta dynasty in India from 320 BC to 315 BC. A book written by Ya said that "China produces silk and ties, and the Jia people often sell them to India." Books such as the Sanskrit classic "Mahabharata" written in the 4th century BC and the "Manu Dharma" written in the 2nd century BC have records of "silk" and the name of China. The academic community believes that these silk fabrics come from Sichuan, China.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Ren Naiqiang, Deng Shaoqin and others proposed the idea that Chinese silk first appeared in Bashu. In the 1980s, Ren Naiqiang discussed the "Shu Cloth Road" from southwest China to India and Afghanistan. ”, which is believed to be much earlier than the Northern Silk Road. Tong Enzheng studied the general situation of the trade route from Chengdu to Central Asia via Yunnan, Myanmar, India, and Pakistan, and believed that it had been initially opened during the Warring States Period. Japanese scholar Fujisawa Yoshimi, Hong Kong and Taiwan scholars Sang Xiuyun and Rao Tsung-i, and Yunnan scholars Fang Guoyu, Chen Qian, and Zhang Zengqi have all studied this ancient trade route from Sichuan to India via Yunnan. The first person to study the Southern Silk Road was the French sinologist Pelliot. He once wrote "Two Roads in Communication, Guangzhou and India", which conducted in-depth research on the land and sea routes of the South-South Silk Road.

The proposal of the "Southern Silk Road" is based on Bashu culture as the focus, which is distributed in the area from Yunnan to Myanmar and India. A large number of the same cultural factors have been unearthed. These cultural factors not only include Bashu culture, but also There are also a lot of cultural factors from India and even West Asia, which are obviously earlier than the Silk Road that went out of the Western Regions through northwest China. Since the Silk Road has been generally accepted by Chinese and foreign scholars as a synonym for ancient Sino-Western cultural exchanges, this ancient Sino-Western transportation route starting from Bashu and passing through Yunnan to Myanmar, India, and Pakistan to Central and West Asia is called the "Southern Silk Road." Road" (referred to as "Southern Silk Road").

Time of formation

China is the origin of silk. Silk weaving has reached a considerable level as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Sichuan is the main origin of Chinese silk, and silk brocade has been a wonder since ancient times.

Yang Xiong of the Western Han Dynasty once praised Shu's brocade in his "Ode to the Capital of Shu" for its bright and gorgeous brocade, its wide variety, and its brilliance and brilliance that will be passed down through generations. In prehistoric times, Cancong, a descendant of the "silkworm god" Leizu and the ancient Shu king, "taught the people to raise silkworms" in the Chengdu Plain, triggering the rise of Bashu silk. By the Shang and Zhou dynasties, silk production in Chengdu had developed to a relatively mature stage. "Ode to the Capital of Shu" states that Shu's "yellow and moist fine cloth is worth gold in a tube", which means that the silk in Shu's yellow color is particularly good. Indian archaeologist Joshi pointed out that in ancient Sanskrit literature, Hindu gods like to wear Chinese silk, and Lord Shiva especially likes silk fabrics made from yellow silkworm cocoons. This yellow silk fabric should be what Yang Xiong calls "yellow fine cloth". Judging from ancient Indian literature, the appearance of Lord Shiva was at least equivalent to the Shang Dynasty in China. This shows that China may have had silk trade relations with India during the Shang Dynasty.

In 1936, a large amount of Chinese silk was excavated north of Kabul, Afghanistan. These silks may have been transported from Chengdu to the Indo-Pak subcontinent via Yunnan, Myanmar, India and Pakistan, and then transferred to Central Asia. "Historical Records" mentions "Shu cloth" and other "Shu things" many times, which is actually silk produced in Shu, which is trafficked long distances by Shu merchants to India for sale, and then re-exported to Central Asia, West Asia and the European Mediterranean region.

A large amount of ivory from Myanmar and India was unearthed from the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan, and the Jinsha site in Chengdu, as well as thousands of seashells from the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The concentration of these foreign cultural factors in large capital cities and regional centers such as Sanxingdui and Chengdu Jinsha shows that the Southern Silk Road during the Shang Dynasty had already played a role in trade between Southwest China and South Asia.

The study of the Southern Silk Road gradually began to form a trend in the 1980s. The publication of research works and a series of academic activities and publicity reports have had a great impact at home and abroad. Especially after the excavation of the Sanxingdui site, scholars noticed the obvious integration of cultural factors from the Indian region and West Asian civilization, and therefore proposed a new view that the South Silk Road had been initially opened as early as the Shang Dynasty. Duan Yu believed that its age could be traced back to AD In the 14th and 15th centuries BC, it is earlier than the 4th century BC mentioned by Ji Xianlin, the 4th century BC mentioned by Xiang Da, the 6th century BC mentioned by Dingshan, and the 6th century AD mentioned by Toyohachi Fujita of Japan. 11th century BC and other statements.

The study of the Southern Silk Road has reached a consensus in academia. It is believed that this is a multi-functional road mainly focused on commerce and trade. The domestic starting point is Chengdu and the pioneering era was in the Pre-Qin Dynasty.

Shu's Poison Path

"Historical Records" records: In the first year of the founding of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (140 BC), Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy to the Western Regions in an attempt to join forces with the Dayue clan to fight against the Huns. Zhang Qian traveled to Longxi in the second year of Jianyuan, passed through the area controlled by the Xiongnu, and was captured. Thirteen years later, in the third year of Yuanshuo (126 BC), Zhang Qian went through hardships and returned to Chang'an. Although he did not reach the stage of being sent to Dayuezhi to jointly fight against the Xiongnu purpose, but its actual impact and historical role are undoubtedly huge and successful. Zhang Qian reported to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that he saw Shu cloth and Qiong bamboo staff in Daxia (now northern Afghanistan). According to people in Daxia who told him to buy their own poison (now India), Zhang Qian speculated that there was a road to the southwest of the Han Dynasty. From Shu to Shendu Kingdom and then to Daxia. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records that "there is a name in Tianzhu that is poisonous, thousands of miles southeast of Yueshi". Before this, the Han Dynasty was completely unaware of the existence of a country called Shendu in the southwest of China. Zhang Qian suggested to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that he send his envoys southward from Shu to the southwest, and open another route directly connecting Shendu and the Central Asian countries to avoid the danger of passing through the Qiang and Xiongnu areas. This is the Shushendu Road. At this time, this way is not an official way, but only a private business way. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to expand his political influence through direct contacts with Dayuan, Kangju, Yuezhi, Shendu and Anxi, in order to completely isolate the Xiongnu, so he readily adopted Zhang Qian's suggestion and sent people to the Dian Kingdom several times in the hope of opening up ties with the Huns. The passage to Daxia. More than ten years after the Han envoys arrived in the Dian Lake area, they were unable to open a road to the Shendu Kingdom and encountered resistance from the surrounding tribes of the Dian Kingdom. In the second year of Yuanfeng, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to forcibly clear the way. In the second year of Yuanfeng (109 BC), General Guo Chang sent Bashu soldiers to defeat Laojin and Mimo, and came to Yunnan with troops, forcing the king of Dian to "surrender the whole country..." ... So I thought it was Yizhou County and gave the King of Dian a seal to lead his people again. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty worked hard to open up the "path of body poison", and after going through setbacks, he finally succeeded. This ended the history of Yunnan's separatist rule and was incorporated into the territory of the central dynasty. It also officially opened the passage to Myanmar and India. The Southern Silk Road entered the annals of history and started the civilization process of the Silk Road.

Among the cultural relics unearthed from ancient Yunnan tomb sites in China in the 1950s, some were found to come from places as far away as Afghanistan from the Western Regions. This proves that the Southern Silk Road already existed.

Mr. Fang Guoyu inferred from the "two pieces of beads" unearthed from Chu tombs in the Warring States Period that such items should have been transmitted from India via the Shu Shen Po Road, which was opened as late as the 4th century BC. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" records that in the third year of Yuanshuo (122 BC), the Han envoy Zhang Qian had already deduced the existence of the poisonous path in Shu when he reported to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Mr. Ji Xianlin also talked about the "Shu Shen Poison Road" in the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty": Since the 2nd century BC, this road has coexisted with the road from Chang'an to India. This road was from the Warring States to the Han and Jin Dynasties, with Yunnan as the hub. China-India channel. The ancient Indian book Kaupiliya's "Ashastra" records: During the Mauryan Dynasty in India in the 4th century BC, there were "bundles of silk from China", and Mr. Ji Xianlin explained that this was "bundles of silk from China."

In his "Preliminary Study on the Importation of Chinese Silk to India", he believed: "Silk fabrics from mainland China were first spread to the Yunnan-Guizhou region, and then passed to India through the Yunnan-Burma Channel."

It often takes more than 10 years for a mature channel to form. After decades or even hundreds of years, before large-scale channels were formed, there must have been some relatively convenient transportation networks throughout rural towns. Especially when there was necessary exchange of materials between the two ends, road channels also It came into being. When it develops to a certain extent, the network of rural routes will evolve into business roads, especially with the investment of the government, it will evolve into official roads. It is not impossible that the "Shu Body Poison Path" originated in the fourth century BC. With the advancement of archaeological discoveries, time is still moving forward.

According to the British Harvey’s “History of Burma” and Hall’s “History of Southeast Asia”, China’s commercial channels through Myanmar since the 2nd century BC: “Follow the Irrawaddy River as one; The Salween River is one; there is another road that goes through Manipo and takes three months to reach Afghanistan. Merchants exchange Chinese silk and other famous products for Burmese gems, jade, kapok, Indian rhinoceros horns, ivory and European products. gold and other treasures." This shows that the channel was very mature at this time, and most of the transported items were rare goods and treasures. The trading terminals reached as far as Europe, which provided more convenient conditions for the development of trade economy in the south. "Three Kingdoms" records: "The Daqin Road not only leads from the north of the sea to the mainland, but also follows the sea to the south. Compared with the seven counties of Jiaozhi, there are also waterways leading to Yizhou and Yongchang, so there are foreign objects in Yongchang." Yongchang is a county set up in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, and is the area around today's Baoshan area. "Huayang Guozhi·Nanzhong Zhi" records: "Yongchang County, the ancient Ailao Kingdom." Its border borders Myanmar, and it is still Yunnan today. The gateway to the outside world. From a territorial point of view, the entire upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River belonged to the Ailao State (ancient Ailao was connected to Bashu in the country, and bordered Myanmar and India on the outside. It was the economic and cultural connection zone between China and India), which was later known as the Upper Myanmar part. It belongs to the jurisdiction of Yongchang. "Foreign objects came out of Yongchang" means that at that time, there were already exotic goods from Myanmar, India, and even Daqin (ancient Rome), and the southwest trade route had already appeared.

The Southern Silk Road was not only a folk trade route, but also a cultural channel for the exchange of envoys, tribute trade, cultural exchanges, and religious dissemination. It was also a political channel for maintaining up-and-down relations with the central dynasty.

Southwest China is one of the provinces and regions with the most neighbors and the longest borders in China. The Southern Silk Road spans the four provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Tibet. Along the way there are rivers, rivers, and mountains. The altitude in Yunnan ranges from 76.4 meters to 6740 meters. It passes through the Jinsha River, Lancang River, Nu River, Irrawaddy River, and Yuanjiang River (Red River). and the six major water systems of the Nanpan River (Pearl River); and across the Wumeng Mountain, Gaoligong Mountain, Hengduan Mountain, Ailao Mountain, Wuliang Mountain and other mountain systems. The climate changes greatly, and there are seven climate types in the territory. Due to complex terrain and large vertical elevation differences, climate vertical changes vary significantly. This passage used to be mainly transported by caravans. Driving horses and cavalry in one day is like experiencing the four seasons of the year. It seems like a legend, but the physiological test for people has reached the limit. Without strong adaptability, it cannot be overcome. Precipitous mountains and deep streams.

After continuous development and improvement, the Southern Silk Road has become a large channel running from east to west, north and south. The road continues to extend, like a network, throughout the surrounding areas. It has been a link between China and South Asia and Southeast Asia from ancient times to the present. Important trade channels, through the transportation of horse caravans, silk and tea from Sichuan and Yunnan can be traded with horses, medicinal materials from Tibet, and materials from the mainland. The once prosperous Southern Silk Road also encountered irreversible challenges. The roads were rerouted, and the Southern Silk Road was gradually replaced by National Highways 214, 317, and 318, railways and even routes. After the 1950s and 1960s, the Southern Silk Road gradually became silent, with only a small number of villages still using it.

Han Dynasty

As early as four thousand years ago, there were several passages from the south to the coast in the Sichuan Basin, leading to present-day Myanmar and India. Some important archaeological discoveries, such as seashells and ivory unearthed in Sanxingdui, conch and ivory from the Daxi culture, and glass beads unearthed from Maowen and Tushan in Chongqing, are not produced locally, but come from the South China Sea in the northern Indian Ocean. All fully prove that the ancestors of Bashu had communication and exchanges with the southern world.

In 126 BC, Zhang Qian, who had been wandering for 13 years, returned to Chang'an and reported intelligence about the Western Regions to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, prompting Emperor Wu to defeat the Xiongnu. At the same time, Zhang Qian also reported that there might be a secret road in the southwest of the Han Empire that passed through Shendu (now India) and led to Daxia (now Afghanistan and Pakistan). This news attracted great attention from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so he sent four groups of people to explore, but they were blocked by local tribes hiding in the deep mountains. One of them was lucky enough to reach Dianchi Lake along the way. The King of Dian warmly entertained the visitors from afar and kept them here for more than ten years. During this period, he helped them go westward, but was blocked by the Kunming people and was unable to complete the expedition to Shendu.

This is the origin of the Southern Silk Road. Among the cultural relics unearthed from ancient Yunnan tomb sites in China in the 1950s, some were found to come from places as far away as Afghanistan from the Western Regions. This proves that the Southern Silk Road already existed.

Tang Dynasty Period

New Book of Tang·Yiwenzhi> records the title of the book "Huang Hua Si Da Ji" written by the geographer Jia Dan. The whole book has been lost, and the original seven chapters are only The remaining five: the road from Anxi to the Western Regions, the sixth: the Annan-to-Tianzhu Road, and the seventh: the Guangzhou-to-Haiyi Road, record in detail the roads from China to the Western Regions and India via Jiaozhou and Guangzhou in the Tang Dynasty, and as far as Baghdad:

< p>1. Annan-Jiaozhi-Taiping-Fengzhou-Nantian-Zhongcheng-Duolizhou-Zhuguizhou-Dantangzhou-Guyongbu-Tangquanzhou-Qujiang-Jiannan-Tonghai Town-Anning Ancient City-Lingnan City -Baiya City-Mengshe City-Longwei City-Taihe City-Yongchang County-Zhuge Liang City-Xili City-Piao Kingdom-Heishan-East Tianzhu-Jia Luodu River-Pannavardanna-Zhong Tianzhu-Ganges River-Mo Getuo

2. Zhuge Liang City-Tengchong City-Lishui City-Longquan Water-Anxi City-Mino River-Daqin Brahman Kingdom-Daling-

The earliest study of southern silk Lu is a French sinologist, Pelliot, who once wrote "Two Roads in Communication, Guangzhou and India" and conducted in-depth research on the land and sea routes of the South-South Silk Road.

The Ancient Tea Horse Road

< p>The Southern Silk Road was a channel mainly focused on commercial transactions, and it should have been the earliest export of Chinese silk. According to the "Biography of Hui Lun" by Yijing of the Tang Dynasty, the transported materials also included sugar, cloth, thread, vermicelli and other daily necessities from Sichuan and Yunnan, while horses from the Kangzang area and surrounding countries , fur, Tibetan gold, saffron, musk, fritillary, antler, cordyceps, etc. also followed this road and dispersed to Yunnan, Sichuan and other places.

With the transfer of materials on this road, from the earliest local products to the development of silk fabrics, after the Tang and Song Dynasties, the share of tea trade increased, so the tea-horse trade gradually increased its share. Tea, Horses became the focus of trade, and the tea-horse trade became a symbol of trade. Chinese tea was first exported overseas. According to historical records, it can be traced back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties. At that time, Chinese merchants exported tea to Turkey by bartering tea on the border with Mongolia. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the development of the border trade market and the prosperity of the market on the Silk Road, Chinese tea was transported to West Asia, North Asia, Arabia and other countries through the Uighur and Western Regions through the tea horse trade, passing through Siberia on the way, and finally Arrived in Russia and various European countries.

In the Tang and Song dynasties, tea spread to the Western Regions, northern nomadic areas, and Tibetan areas. Especially after tea was widely accepted by Tibetan compatriots, the Southwest Business Road was more dominated by trade in tea, horses, etc. Mainly, Yunnan border tea is also named because it is mainly supplied to the brother ethnic groups in Kangzang area for drinking. In this way, mules, furs, medicinal materials, etc. produced in Tibetan areas, Sichuan, and Yunnan border areas, and tea, cloth, salt, daily utensils, etc. produced in Yunnan, Sichuan, and the interior, were transported by caravans among the high mountains and deep valleys of the Hengduan Mountains. The flow of people came and went, and it became increasingly prosperous with the development of the times, forming a business road represented by the tea-horse trade, which is the "Ancient Tea-Horse Road" that continues to this day.

The so-called Tea-Horse Ancient Road is firstly related to tea, and secondly to horses. Yunnan is rich in Yunnan horses. This horse breed is known for its strong physique, short and powerful, flexible movement, good at climbing and crossing mountains, long-distance and long-term labor, resistance to rough feeding, and good adaptability. It is favored by strategic materials in the Central Plains. "Guihai Yu Heng Zhi" written by Fan Chengda of the Song Dynasty records: "Barbarian horses come out of the Southwest Fans... Dali Horses are the best among the Southwest Fans." Both Barbarian Horses and Dali Horses were nicknames for Yunnan horses at that time. In the Ming Dynasty, a military horse farm was established in Yongsheng County. Since the Song Dynasty, Yunnan horses have been continuously exported to other provinces. In fact, the tea-horse trade is a general term for the entire southwestern trade. Tea and horses are the symbolic materials of the trade. The ancient road traveled is also called the Tea-Horse Ancient Road.

Judging from modern data, the profits from the tea and horse trade are not that impressive, but this is related to the special status of tea in Tibetan areas at the other end or in the areas where nomadic people live in the northwest. Tea is a scarce material in this area and an indispensable food in life, while horses are an important strategic material in the Central Plains. In order to obtain horses, an important national strategic material, tea and horse departments have been gradually established and improved since the Song Dynasty. Tea and horses became state-controlled materials to restrain local forces. Therefore, a "tea-horse mutual trade" was formed, achieving the purpose of the rulers to "use tea to control the border areas" and "use tea to control Tibet". The Central Dynasty established large-scale horse markets in Chengdu, Guangxi, Yunnan and other places in the southwest, and implemented the tea tea system in the tea areas to ensure the smooth management and control of these materials and achieve the country's strategic intention of long-term peace and stability. The tea horse market also became Imperial metaphor. As a merchant, you can make profits from it without worrying about the sale of goods. This means that the material trade between the two places is sufficiently guaranteed. Therefore, tea horses account for a large proportion of the entire trade share. They are the intermediary of the transaction and the soul of the transaction. location, has important symbolic significance. On the Southern Silk Road, the tea-horse trade gradually became the main content, and horse caravans were the main mode of transportation. The Southern Silk Road was once again marked by the transportation of goods and was also called the Ancient Tea-Horse Road.

With the development of the times, the materials transported on the ancient roads have been changing. From the initial transportation of local specialties to later silk, from the Tang and Song Dynasties, tea gradually entered the road. Of course, this period also included There are commodities such as silk, cloth, horses, salt, local products, medicinal materials, etc. Among them, tea and horses are the more important export and purchase materials. These materials connect the trade at both ends and also build a bridge for cultural exchanges. It is an important linear cultural heritage with unique historical and cultural value in southwest China.

Since the 1990s, the country has begun to work on the identification of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Experts and scholars such as Mu Jihong and Chen Baoya have conducted academic investigations on the ancient caravan walking routes in Yunnan, Tibet and Sichuan. After the investigation, the concept of the Ancient Tea Horse Road was proposed, which was generally recognized in subsequent academic research and promotions, and the Ancient Tea Horse Road was confirmed.

After 2000, the Ancient Tea Horse Road has experienced ups and downs in the past few years as the reputation of Pu'er tea has risen. In 2001, Qamdo, Tibet took the lead in launching a tourism brand about the Ancient Tea Horse Road, and joined forces with Ganzi, Shangri-La jointly organized the "Academic Investigation Seminar on the Ancient Tea Horse Road", inviting experts and scholars from well-known domestic universities and scientific research institutions to conduct seminars on ethnology, history, Tibetology, geology, zoology and botany, tourism ecology and other subjects. Extensive discussions led to the following consensus:

First, the Ancient Tea Horse Road mainly runs through the Hengduan Mountains of Tibet, Sichuan, and Yunnan and the three river basins of Jinsha River, Lancang River, and Nujiang River, and is mainly composed of caravans. The ancient trade route as a mode of transportation has been mainly based on the tea-horse trade since the Tang and Song Dynasties;

Secondly, the Tea-Horse Ancient Road is a historical testimony of the harmonious coexistence of all ethnic groups in the southwest. The irrefutable evidence of the split;

Third, the Tea Horse Road is the highest and most steep post road in the world, and some sections are still in operation;

Fourth, along the Tea Horse Road With unique mountain canyon landforms and the richest biodiversity, it is the core area of ??the East Asian Flora Region;

Fifth, the research and tourism development of the Ancient Tea Horse Road have a significant impact on the coordinated development of economy, culture and ecology along the route. important practical significance. After this meeting, people have a comprehensive understanding of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Whether it is researching it or developing the tourism, leisure and vacation economy, it is a good start and has attracted the attention of all walks of life.

The Pu'er tea craze began to take shape in 2005. With the Pu'er tea craze, the Ancient Tea Horse Road also attracted attention again. After 2007, the cultural relics department combined with the third national cultural relics census, Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet and other provinces and regions have set up special investigation and research topics on the Tea Horse Road to further understand the direction, route, distribution, related cultural relics and remains of the Tea Horse Road. The surrounding environmental features and other conditions lay the foundation for the next step of cultural protection research work.

Historical value

Since the opening of the Southern Silk Road, it has connected the Central Plains internally and externally connected South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the intersection of southern Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and local religions, and has a unique geographical location. , the mixed and intertwined ethnic settlements constitute a unique regional culture, which is the product of the fusion of Central Plains culture, Tibetan culture, Southeast Asian culture and local ethnic culture. In terms of cultural routes, these areas are the "Tibetan and Yi corridors" defined by Mr. Fei Xiaotong, and the "middle circle" areas of Professor Wang Mingming's "Three Circles Theory".

The Southern Silk Road is located on the edge of the central territory. On the one hand, it lives across the border, and exchanges goods and languages ??with the local indigenous people. On the other hand, it is controlled by the central dynasty, and the distant royal power Control reaches far here, and political orders are smooth and effective. Traditional Confucian culture spreads far here. Through personnel exchanges and goods exchanges, in an order that integrates top and bottom, the cultures of the three circles of core, middle, and overseas are connected vertically and horizontally. Ethnic minorities are the majority in the "middle circle", but they have lived and blended with the Han people for a long time. The end point of trade extends to the "core circle" and "overseas circle", forming an interaction between the "edge" and the "center".

The Southern Silk Road is the collision and integration, rejection and absorption of cultures from multiple countries, regions and ethnic groups. It is a mixture rather than the specialty of a single nation. It neither copies, transplants, or simply changes the foreign culture. Instead, it is a composite culture in which the local culture collides and merges with a variety of foreign cultures, harmoniously emerging, and is harmonious but different. The silk and tea horses transported in different time and space adapt and integrate along the way, and finally transplant and take root. They are constantly adapting and changing, constantly creating and regenerating, connecting and integrating the cultures inside and outside the circle, making them a seamless whole.

Archaeological evidence shows that ancient Chinese civilization existed in the middle of the second millennium BC through contacts and exchanges between the Southwest and Near Eastern civilizations. During this period, the exchange of cultural factors Mostly via the Southern Silk Road. The chalcedony beads and glass beads from West Asia discovered by archaeologists in Sichuan and Yunnan prove the fact that economic, trade and cultural relations between southwest China and West Asia have already occurred. The bronze statues, golden rods, and golden masks unearthed from the Sanxingdui site in the Shang Dynasty are neither from Bashu itself nor from other parts of China. However, they are similar to the cultural forms of ancient civilizations in the world such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India. It is in line with the development direction of the 1980s, has the same style, and has the same functions. It is also relatively late in the chronological sequence. Therefore, it may be re-created by absorbing relevant cultural factors from the above-mentioned Western civilization areas.

Western archeology discovered that 5 different Chinese plain silk fabrics were found in a 5th century BC cemetery in Kerameikos, Athens, Greece. The weaving method is the same as Sichuan silk. The Chinese silk discovered by Egyptian and European archaeologists matches the factors of Indian and Near Eastern civilizations discovered by Chinese archaeologists. The two coincide with the occurrence and development of exchanges and interactions between Chinese and Western civilizations.

The earliest Chinese silk known to ancient Greece and Rome in the Western Mediterranean region was a product from the ancient Shu region.

It can be seen from this that the route from southwest China to India, then from India via Pakistan to Afghanistan in Central Asia, and then westward to Iran and West Asia, the Mediterranean region of Europe and Egypt in North Africa, is the route through which Chinese silk spread westward through the Southern Silk Road. transportation lines. The spread of ancient Bashu silk around the world enriched the content of the civilizations of India, Central Asia, West Asia, North Asia and Europe. This route formed by the spread of silk not only played a great role in the economic and trade prosperity of China's early southwest region. The promotion effect also has a great impact on the economic and trade prosperity of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and other places.

Not only that, the Southern Silk Road played an important role in the ethnic integration of southwest China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Archaeological materials show that since the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the Qiang people have migrated to the southwest through the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (western Sichuan). Since then, such ethnic migrations have continued in an endless stream. During the Warring States Period, "due to fear of the power of Qin", they again reach climax. These migrating ethnic groups not only reached the Southwest Yi region, but some even entered Southeast Asia and the eastern regions of South Asia. The migration of ethnic groups opened up transportation channels connecting the north and the south and promoted cultural integration.

The Southern Silk Road is global in historical significance and value, and its cultural personality and creative spirit are irreplaceable. This kind of creativity is an inevitable product of the open spirit of the Southern Silk Road. The culture along the route is a concentrated expression of the essence of the national culture of the ethnic groups along the Southern Silk Road. It is a symbol of the national culture of the route and a symbol of the integrity. In the long history of development, the culture of the Southern Silk Road has gradually transformed into a symbolic spirit. The horse caravans will eventually disappear, but this does not mean the complete disappearance of the culture. Tourism, museums, new tea trading markets, etc. along the route are all based on the tea horse. Culture is the core of development, and these will continue to be inherited and developed with the implementation of the “One Belt, One Road” strategy.