Chapter 23 Section 8 Sugar, Paper and Sericulture

Due to India's geographical conditions and climatic factors, sugar cane has been produced there since ancient times, and people used sugar cane to roll sugar very early.The ancient Indian sugar making method was first introduced to China through Buddhist scriptures.From some Buddhist scriptures translated since the Jin Dynasty, such as "Maha Monk's Law", "Five Parts Law", "Four Parts Law", etc., it can be seen that during the Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the information of pressing sugarcane juice from India to make sugar had spread to China. .Although its method is not detailed, it already has certain operability.As for whether the Chinese have learned this method, there is no evidence.In the Tang Dynasty, Yijing translated the method of making granulated sugar balls in Volume 8 of "Genshapo Duobulushe" translated by Yijing; It further pointed out: "However, when making granulated sugar in Western countries, rice crumbs are added. Such as making stone honey, milk and oil."

According to "New Tang Book" Volume 221 "Western Regions Biography" records: "In the 21st year of Zhenguan... Taizong sent envoys to adopt the method of boiling sugar, that is, to order all sugarcane in Yangzhou to squeeze the sugarcane as heavy as it is, and the color and taste are farther away from the Western Regions. "And "Xuanzang Biography" volume four of "Continued Biography of Eminent Monk" said: "The envoy returned to the west, and more than 20 people including Wang Xuance, followed him...and called stone honey craftsmen to Bodhi Temple. He sent two craftsmen Eight people, including monks, came to Dongxia. They went to Yuezhou to search for edicts, and made them from sugar cane, and they all achieved success." From these two records, we can know that in the early Tang Dynasty, the government came forward to organize the study of the sugar production method of ancient India. Not only did they send people, but they also invited people to come.Sugar produced in China at that time was better than that produced in India.

In the Dunhuang paper No. P3303, in just a few hundred words, there are detailed descriptions of the types of Indian sugarcane, the method of making granulated sugar, the method of making stone honey, and the cultivation method of sugarcane.Mr. Ji Xianlin made a comprehensive interpretation of this volume, and said: "The fragmented volume with only a few hundred words in front of us tells us another road, a road of ordinary people. Sugar making does not seem to be a thing. It is a great event, but it is also related to the national economy and the people’s livelihood, and it has its own great significance in the history of Sino-Indian cultural relations in terms of scientific and technological exchanges.” Later, China’s sugar production became better and better, and it began to be sent back to India. Therefore, in today’s India In some languages ​​of China, white sugar is also called "Zheni", which means "Chinese".

We learned a lot from India in ancient times, but India also learned a lot from China.Such as sericulture, silk reeling, papermaking, printing, etc.Let me just talk about two points. First, about the spread of Chinese papermaking law to India.China is the first country to produce paper, and the production of paper can be traced back to the Han Dynasty at the latest.According to archaeological data, by the middle of the 2nd century A.D., paper had been used in Hotan, Xinjiang, which is very close to India, so the Indians probably knew that there was paper as a writing material at that time.In the 7th century A.D., Yijing of the Tang Dynasty went to India to learn Buddhist scriptures and saw that India used paper. He recorded this event in "Nanhai Jigui Neifa Biography".But it's one thing to know how to use paper and quite another to know how to make it.According to research by scholars, in 751 AD, a war broke out in Central Asia, known as the "Battle of Talas".The Chinese lost this war, and some Chinese paper craftsmen became prisoners of war.These craftsmen passed on the papermaking technology to the local people, and the papermaking method was later passed from there to India.Mr. Huang Shengzhang put forward his own views on the spread of Chinese papermaking law to India in the article "About the time and route of Chinese paper and papermaking law introduced to India and Pakistan subcontinent". He believed that Chinese paper and papermaking law was introduced in 650 AD. It first spread to Tibet after 650-670, and then spread to Nepal from Tibet in 650-670, and then spread throughout the South Asian subcontinent.There is some truth to his opinion.

Second, about the spread of the method of planting mulberry and sericulture to India.In the ancient Western Regions, Khotan was the first place to plant mulberry, raise silkworms and reel silk.Xuanzang's "Da Tang Western Regions" Volume 1 and 2 "Qusadana Country" (today's Hotan area in Xinjiang) tells a local story: In the past, people here did not know how to plant mulberry and silkworms. For technology, just order the messenger to seek it.However, the monarch of Han Dynasty regarded this technology as a patent and did not grant it.King Qusadana proposed to the monarch of Han, and the monarch agreed to appease the frontier.When the king's daughter got married, she secretly hid the silkworm cocoons in the wadding of the hat at the request of King Kusadana to escape the border inspection.Since then, there have been silkworms in the local area, and the methods of planting mulberry, raising silkworms and reeling silk have also been learned.The local people built a temple specially for this purpose, enshrining the first introduced "first silkworm".Interestingly, the same story is also circulating in Tibet.Scholars believe that this is not just a story, on the contrary, it is likely to be based on historical facts.Because this can not only be corroborated with historical documents, but also has archaeological data as circumstantial evidence.For example, among the ancient cultural relics discovered in Xinjiang, there is a painting depicting this story, and an image of "first silkworm" was found in an ancient temple.

In short, the techniques of mulberry planting, sericulture and silk reeling may have been passed from the interior to Khotan before the Tang Dynasty.Then, it will not be too late to spread from there to India.In addition, Tibet, Yunnan and other places were able to raise silkworms and reel silk very early. These regions are adjacent to ancient India and have convenient transportation. Therefore, China's method of planting mulberry and sericulture may also pass these The region spread to South Asia, but it is difficult to determine the exact time.

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