Chapter 17 Chapter 6 Expand Outreach, Two-way Communication——Ethnic Trade and Foreign Trade

The Han Dynasty was the foundational period for national trade and foreign trade.In the Western Han Dynasty, the folk trade between various ethnic groups in Southwest China and Bashu developed earlier. "The people of Bashu may steal merchants, and take their horses, horses, bobo, boys, and cows, so as to make Bashu rich." Most of them are lacquerware, ironware, agricultural tools, silk and other commodities. Most of the specialties of Sichuan are sold to Yelang.During the reign of Emperor Wu, Tang Meng went to Nanyue (now Guangdong, which was independent at the time), and tasted wolfberry sauce at the reception. After inquiry, he learned that it was distributed by Yelang through Zangke River (now the upper reaches of Beipan River) in the northwest of Nanyue. I came here; after returning to Chang'an, I got confirmation from the Shu merchants.Based on this information, the government of the Western Han Dynasty decided to establish contact with Yelang in order to open the communication between Han and Nanyue by water.So Tang Meng brought a large amount of silk and food from Bashu Ruoguan to Yelang to persuade Yelang to belong to his family.Yelang and its nearby cities agreed to submit to the Han Dynasty.Emperor Wu established Qianwei County there.Soon, Qiong and Ruo also returned to the Han Dynasty and established prefectures and counties.The official relationship was established, and the border customs were opened. From then on, the Han people can openly and freely do business, instead of "stealing with goods".

Later, when Zhang Qian was on a mission to the Western Regions for the first time, he saw Shu cloth and Qiong bamboo sticks being sold in the market in Daxia (northern Afghanistan today), and asked that these goods were shipped from India.Bashu → Southwest → India → Daxia has a trade route.Zhang Qian suggested to Emperor Wu that through this trade route, he could establish contact with the Western Regions and Central Asia (at that time, the Xiongnu controlled the northwest, and the traffic in the Hexi Corridor was blocked).This suggestion was adopted, and they immediately went out to find out that there was a Chengxiang country (Myanmar) on the edge of Yunnan, and Bashu merchants diverted their goods to India.Therefore, the Han Dynasty "began to communicate with the Dian Kingdom" and established Yizhou County in Dian.Products from the Central Plains, such as bronze wares (bronze mirrors, copper lamps), and lacquer wares, were transported there one after another; later, the bronze wares made in Yunnan were similar in shape and structure to the Central Plains, which was influenced by Han culture.

It was not until the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that the separatist state of Nanyue was eliminated, and Panyu (now Guangzhou) became a commercial city in the south.Han merchants traveled thousands of miles to collect ivory, rhino horn, tortoise shell, pearls, longan, orange pomelo, Gebu, etc., and sell them to the inland, so that there was a saying at that time that "the people were disgusted (satisfied) orange pomelo". In the north, the trade between the Han and the Huns continued intermittently.At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, it was agreed to establish a "customs clearance city" on the border. The Zong, Xu, wine, and rice cakes in the Central Plains were loved by the Xiongnu people, and the horses, donkeys, and furs of the Xiongnu people were also cherished by the Han people.However, the slave owners and nobles of the Xiongnu often plundered the border counties, and wars started from time to time.Emperor Wu launched a large-scale counterattack, forcing the Xiongnu forces to withdraw from the Hexi Corridor (Gansu), opening up the communication between the interior and the Western Regions.In the past, a large amount of silk fabrics taken by the Xiongnu from Hanfang were not suitable for their own use. In fact, they were mainly transferred to the Western Regions (Xinjiang and Central Asia) to sell at high prices.The Western Han Dynasty was determined to control and defend the trade routes from the interior to the Western Regions and Central Asia. One of the purposes was to compete with the Xiongnu for the initiative in foreign trade.For this reason, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions and Central Asia again to seek cooperation and jointly deal with the Xiongnu.When they went on missions, they brought tens of millions of gold, silk, goods, and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, and they were responsible for the dual mission of political ties and material exchanges.From then on, Han envoys went to the Western Regions five, six or even a dozen times a year, and each time there were as few as hundreds of people or as many as hundreds of people, and businessmen often recruited to accompany them.During the reign of Emperor Wu, the government of the Western Han Dynasty successively set up four counties in the Hexi Corridor—Wuwei, Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Dunhuang; Dunhuang began to rise as a gateway to foreign trade.

At that time, there were two commercial routes from Chang'an to Dacia and Europe through the small countries in the Western Regions: one was out of Yangguan, along the northern foot of Kunlun Mountains (south of the desert), passing through Loulan and Yutian, to Shache and Yuecongling ( Going westward from the south of Pamir), you can go to Da Yuezhi (the central part of the Amu Darya River Basin), Daxia, Anxi (in today’s Iran), and then go westward to Tiaozhi (in Iraq), Daqin (in the eastern part of the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Sea) , called "South Road"; the other is from Yumen Pass, along the southern foot of Tianshan Mountains (north of the desert), passing through Cheshi and Kucha, to Shule, and to the northwest of Yuecongling, to Dawan (now Fergana) , Kangju (now the middle and lower reaches of the Syr Darya River and the Amu Darya River), and Yancai (now between the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea), and then go west to Daqin, which is called "Northern Road".Because Yancai and its northeast are rich in mink fur, mink fur is exported to China from here, so the North Road is also called "Fur Road"; while the South Road is the channel for the export of a large number of Chinese goods, mainly silk and silk fabrics , so it is also called "Silk Road".The famous "Silk Road" started at this time.In the Han Dynasty, China's silk weaving industry was very developed, with various varieties and exquisite colors. It was transported to Daqin through the hands of middlemen (Anxi), and one or two silks were priced at the same price as one or two golds.Daqin called China the "Silk Country" and was full of beautiful longing and yearning for the East.

Sino-foreign trade is an important channel for Sino-foreign economic and cultural exchanges.Pomegranates, grapes, walnuts, sesame, alfalfa, etc. from Central Asia were then spread to China, where they took root, blossomed and bore fruit on the land of the Central Plains.China's drilling and steelmaking techniques spread to Central Asia.China's good international influence spreads far and wide. In the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the sea lanes from the Red Sea to India had been opened, and most of the trade in Central Asia and Western Europe was changed to sea lanes.In 166 A.D., in the name of the envoy of King Anton of the Great Qin Dynasty, Roman merchants traveled by sea via Ninan to Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty. This was the beginning of direct exchanges between China and Rome.During the time of Sun Wu, Qin Lun, a great Qin merchant, went from Jiaozhi to Jianye (now Nanjing) to meet Sun Quan and lived in Soochow for seven or eight years.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the economic relations between the northern government and various ethnic minorities developed a lot.The envoys from Kucha, Shule, Wusun, and Gaochang (now Turpan) in the Western Regions "come one after another, not every year".In particular, the relationship with Gaochang is even closer. "Businessmen often use the Yiwu Road" (Yiwu → Hami → Gaochang), and Gaochang is also the channel for Western businessmen to come to China. This is a new road opened in the Eastern Han Dynasty (" New North Road", the original North Road in the Western Han Dynasty was renamed "Zhongdao" in the Northern Dynasties).Turks used horses to exchange silk from the Northern Dynasty, and the trade was quite prosperous; Tuyuhun also had trade relations with the Northern Dynasty. The Northern Zhou Dynasty often dispatched hundreds of merchants and hundreds of camels and mules.Foreign trade became active after the Northern Wei Dynasty unified the north.During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, from the west of Congling Mountain to Daqin, "everyone would like to attach to a hundred countries and thousands of cities", and "merchants and peddlers rushed to the fortress every day".More than 10,000 people have lived in Luoyang for a long time because of the "happy Chinese local customs". In the south of Luoyang, commercial halls have been set up for foreign business transactions; Sitong City is also a market that foreigners often come to. ("Luoyang Jialan Ji" Volume 4)

The south's foreign trade by sea has greatly developed.Panyu is the center of foreign trade, and Liang Shihai ships a few to a dozen batches a year.The local officials filled their pockets. At that time, there was a saying that "the governor of Guangzhou can get 30 million yuan just by passing the city gate".The Southern Dynasties not only had closer trade with more than ten countries in the South China Sea (Linyi, Funan, Panpan, etc.) than in the past, but also carried out ocean-going trade, reaching Persia and Daqin in the west.There are frequent exchanges of merchant ships between China, Shizi Country (Ceylon, Sri Lanka) and Tianzhu (India). The eminent monk Faxian who went to India to learn Buddhist scriptures at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty took a Chinese-made merchant ship carrying more than 200 people. Ziguo set off to return home.At that time, ivory, rhino horn, pearls, tortoiseshell, emerald feathers, fire cloth, spices and other rare items were mainly imported from overseas, while silk was the bulk of the export.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the country was unified, the economy developed, and ethnic trade was quite developed.In the early Tang Dynasty, silk and silk were mainly exchanged for Turkic and Huihe horses; in the late Tang Dynasty, Huihe entered the dynasty to drive horses and exchange tea, and the tea horse trade between the Central Plains and border ethnic groups had begun. Foreign trade still played an important role in Northwest land trade in the Sui Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty.During the Sui Dynasty, Pei Ju was sent as an envoy to the Western Regions, and later he was stationed in Zhangye to manage the Silk Road trade and attract business travelers from the West.In the early Tang Dynasty, Anxi and Beiting Duhufu were set up in the Western Regions and Central Asia to protect the trade routes, and post houses were set up along the way; the trade on the Silk Road was active for a while.In the late Tang Dynasty, Tubo occupied the Hexi Corridor, the land traffic in the northwest was blocked, the trade declined, and foreign trade turned to the sea route for development.

Originally, due to the development of sea trade, the Tang government had set up a "city ship envoy" in Guangzhou in the second year of Kaiyuan (AD 714), the earliest "customs" in China.When the sea ships come, the ship envoy is responsible for inspection, pricing, and taxation (3/10); after buying some rare and spices, foreign businessmen can trade freely.A special area in Guangzhou—"Fanfang"—is designated for foreign businessmen to live in, and foreign businessmen are allowed to build temples, and their customs and religious beliefs are respected.Merchant ships from all over the world filled the port of Guangzhou, reaching more than 4,000 ships in a long time (long period), and the ship from Shizi State was the largest. "Volume 2).Approved by the government, the huge voyage ships of Chinese merchants often trade in Southeast Asia, the south and west coasts of India, the north coast of the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea.East China Sea trade also developed.At first, Japan and the Tang government adopted the traditional form of transaction of contribution and reward, and later chartered merchant ships also traded with each other.In addition to going to Japan from Dengzhou via North Korea, sailing from Yangzhou to the mouth of the Yangtze River or sailing from Mingzhou (Ningbo) can also go to Japan by taking advantage of the monsoon.Many Silla merchants on the Korean peninsula came to trade, from Deng and Lai in the north to Chu and Si in the south, all of them have their footprints.The further development of maritime trade in the late Tang Dynasty made Yangzhou the final port for berthing ships in the southeast. Then take the land route Da Yuling); the prosperity of Yangzhou trade is no less than that of Guangzhou.

In foreign trade, the commodities imported from the West and the South China Sea countries are mainly fragrant medicines, jewelry, rhinoceros horns, ivory, and animals, plus furs, jibei (cotton cloth); the imports from Japan include sulfur, placer gold, lacquerware, etc. ; From North Korea, cattle, horses, hemp, cloth, folding fans, etc. were imported.In addition to traditional silk fabrics and porcelain, the exported commodities include bows, arrows, knives, bronze wares, iron wares, paper, pens, embroidery goods, medicinal materials, books, etc.The Persians called the copperware from China "Chinese Copper" and the cinnamon "Chinese Tree".Chinese tea and tea seeds began to be introduced to Japan; papermaking, one of the four great inventions, was also introduced to Arabia during the Tang Dynasty, and later spread to Egypt, Morocco and Europe through Dashi, making a great contribution to world culture.