Chapter 11 Section 3 Development of postal stations in the Han Dynasty

It is usually said that the Han inherited the Qin system.All the systems of the Han Dynasty laid the foundation in the Qin Dynasty.The same is true for the post office system, but the Han Dynasty had greater development than the Qin Dynasty. At the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang understood the importance of postal transmission to the rule of the dynasty.Therefore, at the very beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, efforts were made to restore the post facilities destroyed during the war.Later, the consolidation of the Western Han Dynasty was largely due to the convenience of postal transmission.For example, when Liu Bang quelled the rebellion of a different surname Wang Yingbu in the early Han Dynasty, he effectively used Yingbu's general Ben He to "take the pass" to Chang'an to deliver information in time.Later, the general Fan Kuai turned his back on him, and Liu Bang immediately sent Chen Ping to take over Fan Kui's military power with Zhou Bo.During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion between Wu and Chu broke out, and the general Zhou Yafu was ordered to crusade against the rebel king. In order to reach the front line quickly, he also took the "Six Vehicles Pass" and arrived in time.

In the Western Han Dynasty, postal transmission was also used to announce the crimes of some traitors to the whole country.After Wu Wang Liu Bi, the leader of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion between Wu and Chu, was executed, the Han government ordered his head to be "passed" to the local public.Sometimes the road of postal delivery is also the road of escorting prisoners to exile.After Liu An, the king of Huainan, was sentenced to exile and sent to Sichuan, his prison car followed the main road of the mail car. The effectiveness of postal transmission in Han Dynasty was also reflected in national defense.Some important emergency documents on the border are sent by post.During Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, General Li Ling marched to the north, and his troops reached the surrendered city. He immediately sent a report to Emperor Wu by mail.Later, Sang Hongyang wanted to farm in Luntai of the Western Regions, and he also planned to use the post office to close the relationship between the Han government and the Western Regions.During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the economic and cultural exchanges between my country and the West became closer. Ban Chao and Gan Ying's missions to the Western Regions and Great Qin Dynasty made the Silk Road more smooth.The postal stations of the Han government in the northwest were very developed, and there was a prosperous situation where "posts were placed on the key roads, and the postal stations were kept running for a long time, and merchants and merchants paid for the day".At that time, Rome in the West was also in a prosperous period, and there were also post posts unblocked, and "post kiosks" were set up along the way, so merchants and envoys from the countries in the middle at that time could gallop from the border of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the capital of Rome through the post post.

The Han government attached great importance to the implementation of postal transmission.Among the Jiuqing official positions at the central ministry level, many are directly related to the post office system.For example, the Orders of Shangshu and Orders of Fujie in Shaofu are in charge of sending and receiving government documents and the distribution and management of Fujie.Dahonglu is also in charge of the reception of postal envoys.The doctor Yushi is also in charge of the postal transmission, and supervises the credentials of the postal messenger.The one most directly related to postal transmission is Wei Wei of Jiuqingzhong. One of his subordinates is called "Business Commander", who is responsible for receiving civil sages recruited by Chuanche to write letters, so it is also called "Busy Letter".Later, the well-known Kang Youwei and others in modern history "signed to the public car", and it got its name because of this.The Taiwei of the Sangongzhong and the Facao of the Fuzhong were also in charge of the post post, responsible for the formulation and general management of post post rules and regulations.

In the Han Dynasty, the management of local post offices was also more formalized than in previous dynasties.The postal system is managed at the state, county, and county levels.One of the most valued officials in the county prefect's mansion is the "supervisor".He is not only in charge of postal documents, but also in charge of chief inspectors. He is an official with real power.There is a story about Zhang Fei whipping Duyou.The postal governor went to the county where Zhang Fei worked to show off his prestige, which aroused Zhang Fei's dissatisfaction.It shows that the postal supervisor was indeed very prestigious at that time.