Chapter 4 Section 2 Roads in the Qin and Han Dynasties

The formation of China's national land transportation network began in the Qin Dynasty.As early as when the Qin State sent troops to wipe out the six kingdoms, the King of Qin was starting to demolish the high walls built privately in various places and demolish the checkpoints that hindered transportation.After Qin Shihuang unified China, "cars on the same track" were realized.National vehicles use the same gauge gauge, which means that the main components on the vehicle have uniform standards, and replacement is quick and convenient.The requirements and methods of this "standardization" are very advanced. It meets the needs of long-distance transportation in civil engineering and war in the Qin Dynasty, and puts forward higher requirements for road construction. It has huge economic value and social benefits. .

According to the requirement of "vehicles on the same track", on the basis of repairing and connecting the complicated traffic routes in the past, the Qin Dynasty spent countless manpower and material resources to build a national traffic trunk line with Chi Road as the main route.This 10-year project is very large in scale. It centers on Xianyang, the capital, and radiates in all directions, connecting all counties and important cities across the country. Chi Road in the Qin Dynasty has a unified quality standard: the width of the road surface is 50 steps, which is about 70 meters; It is considered a street tree; in addition to the three feet in the middle of the road dedicated to the emperor, sidewalks have also been opened up on both sides; a pavilion is built every 10 miles, as the public security management station, pedestrian greeting station and postal transmission junction in the section.Let's take the national defense project of the Northern Straight Road leading to Jiuyuan in the north as an example to see the actual situation of the Chi Road in the Qin Dynasty.According to ancient books, from 212 BC to 210 BC, Qin Shihuang ordered the construction of a straight road about 1,400 kilometers long, and ordered Meng Tian and Fusu to lead an army of 200,000 to guard the border and build the straight road.Along the way, this avenue passed through Shaanxi, Gansu and other provinces, and passed through 14 counties until Jiuyuan County (now Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region). It took only two and a half years to complete the construction.The width of the straight road after completion is generally about 60 meters, and 10-12 large trucks can drive side by side.The widest point can even be used as a runway for modern medium-sized aircraft to take off and land.Branch lines are dotted along the route, and each branch line has the width to accommodate two to four trucks driving side by side.After the official use of this straight road, Qin Shihuang's cavalry set off from his military command center - Yunyang Linguang Palace (now Liangwudi Village, Chunhua County, Shaanxi Province), and arrived at the foot of Yinshan Mountain in three days and three nights to attack the Xiongnu.According to archaeological findings, the remains of a 90-mile-long straight road are still clearly visible in Dongsheng County, Inner Mongolia.

During the Han Dynasty, the Qinyuan Road continued to be expanded and extended, forming a transportation network centered on the capital city and radiating in all directions. From Dingtao to Linzi, it is the main line of the East Road; from Chang'an to the north, it goes directly to Jiuyuan County (Baotou City), which is the main line of the North Road; from Chang'an to the west, it reaches Longxi County (now Lintao, Gansu Province), which is the North Road main line.Since the opening of Hexi and the Western Regions in the 2nd century BC, this main line can be extended to the countries of the Western Regions via the Hexi Corridor.This is the famous "Silk Road" at home and abroad; cross the Yellow River from Pujin (now west of Yongji, Shanxi), pass through Pingyang (northwest of Linfen today), Jinyang (south of today's Taiyuan City), and pass through Tongping City (east of today's Datong City) , is the east main line; from Chang'an to the southwest through Hanzhong, to reach Chengdu, and as far as Yunnan, it is the southwest main line; from Chang'an to the southeast to Wuguan, through Nanyang, to Jiangling, and continue southward, it is the south main line.In addition, there are some branch lines and main water transport lines leading to the whole country.