Chapter 27 Chapter 8 Evolution of the Ancient Post

In ancient times, before our ancestors invented words and vehicles, they were already able to transfer some simple information to each other within a certain range by calling, gesturing, or using objects to indicate.According to ancient legends, Emperor Yao set up wooden drums in order to encourage the people to give their opinions.Anyone who has suggestions or dissatisfaction can drum a signal.This method is quite similar to the "drum post" which is still popular in the African continent, where drummers can strike different sounds and rhythms on two or more drums to express different languages ​​to convey information.It can be inferred that the use of drumming in my country to convey information was the earliest at the end of primitive society.

After the establishment of the Xia Dynasty in the 21st century BC, the Central Plains of my country entered a slavery society.People's communication activities are much more complicated than before.To organize people to manage floods in the country requires a complete communication organization system.The effective management of local governments by the government also requires a relatively tight communication network.The Xia Dynasty set up officials related to transportation such as "Muzheng", "Pazheng" and "Chezheng", and the number of traffic roads and facilities increased, so communication was naturally much more convenient than before.According to oracle bone inscriptions, by the time King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty was in power, the means of voice communication had been widely used.As for "sound and light" communication, there is a record in ancient legends about the use of beacon fire by King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, which advances the early "sound and light" communication of our country to about 3000 years ago, which is earlier than the later King You of Zhou's beacon fire drama. 400 years.

By the time of the Western Zhou Dynasty, my country already had a relatively complete post system.Various delivery methods have different names.For example: passing by car is called "pass", which is a kind of fast pass by light car; there is another kind of pass by car called "day".The organization that mainly uploads books at the border is called "post".There is another kind called "disciple", which is a fast-paced pass, which allows people who are good at running fast to deliver official letters or information, which is a bit similar to Fidipitz in the ancient Greek marathon.Generally speaking, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were not many single-rider biography, and the biography was generally biography.On the Postal Post Road in the Western Zhou Dynasty, rest stations were set up along the way, called "committee", "guan" or "city", and there was a whole set of management system.Judging from historical data, the communication and post stations in the Western Zhou Dynasty were very efficient.At that time, Duke Zhou was enfeoffed in Lu, and Jiang Shang was enfeoffed in Qi.After Jiang Shang arrived in Qi, he didn't talk about policies and killed two local wise men indiscriminately.After hearing this, Duke Zhou rushed to Linzi, the capital of Qi, by "urgent transmission" to stop Jiang Shang's arbitrary behavior. The "quick transfer" can arrive so quickly, which shows that the post road was smooth at that time.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the military beacon communication has become a formal system.At that time, on the border and the road leading to the border, a beacon tower was built every certain distance.The beacon towers are guarded by guards, and when the enemy invades, they light the beacon fires one by one to call the police.When the princes from all walks of life saw the beacon fire, they immediately led their troops to defend against the enemy.It is said that in order to make his favorite concubine Baosi laugh, the fatuous King You of Zhou ordered a beacon to be lit to deceive the princes for no reason.Later, if there were enemy soldiers invading, the princes no longer believed in the beacon fire, so they did not send troops.As a result, King You of Zhou was killed by foreign enemies, and the Western Zhou Dynasty also perished.This story shows from another aspect that organized communication activities at that time had already reached a considerable scale.

After the Western Zhou Dynasty, successive dynasties have followed this method of beacon fire alarm.During the Han Dynasty, from the four counties of Hexi (now Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang, Gansu) to Yanze (now Lop Nur, eastern Xinjiang), there were beacon towers set up on a large scale. It is said that "five miles and one flint, There is a pier in ten miles, a castle in thirty miles, and a city in a hundred miles."The method of raising and setting off the beacon fire is different day and night. Smoke is raised during the day and a fire is lit at night.In addition, various codes are used to indicate the number of enemies invading, for example, if the enemy has less than 500 people, set up a beacon fire, and if the enemy has more than 500 people, set up two beacon fires, and so on.This organized method of communication has played a certain role in defending the frontier and resisting the enemy.The method of using beacons for communication was still used in many places until the Ming and Qing Dynasties.However, beacon fire alarm has great limitations after all.Although it is very fast to use beacon fire to convey military information, it cannot send detailed enemy information from the frontier, let alone convey orders from above.Therefore, with the development of society and the needs of politics and military affairs, a stricter postal system for delivering official documents was gradually formed.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the progress of politics, economy and culture, postal communication gradually became complete.An important symbol of the development of the post post system in the Spring and Autumn Period was the emergence of single-rider communication and relay transmission.This is a major change in the history of my country's post system.Riding a fast horse to communicate was first seen in the story of Zheng Guoxiang Guozichan recorded in "Zuo Zhuan".The initial record of the relay relay can also be found in "Zuo Zhuan".Relay transportation and delivery of letters is naturally much faster than one-way delivery.However, the above two advanced postal transmission methods were only used in a few cases before the middle Spring and Autumn Period, and gradually became popular in the late Spring and Autumn Period.At that time, traditional means of communication were still used on most occasions - "transfer car" and "day". "Vehicle transmission" refers to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication mentioned above. "日" is a high-level express vehicle, which is generally used by high-ranking people when they are in a hurry.For example, Yan Zi, the minister of Qi State, ran away, which shocked the monarch of Qi State. He immediately took advantage of the "sun" to chase after him, and finally invited this virtuous minister back at the border.At that time, postal transmission was very fast. Confucius once said: "The spread of virtue is as fast as the postal transmission." Although it means that virtue is widely spread faster than postal transmission, postal transmission is still used as a reference for speed.During the Warring States Period, one of the symbols of the busy communication business of post offices was the popularity of short scripts and letters.At that time, paper had not yet been invented, and the oracle bone inscriptions in the Shang Dynasty had been eliminated, and bamboo and wood bamboo and wood inscriptions gradually emerged.Jianshu is the writing of letters or articles on bamboo and wood slips, which began to appear in the Western Zhou Dynasty.During the Warring States Period, bamboo slips were used for daily official documents, official reports, official correspondence, and lobbyists' letters.Short messages generally face inward and are bound and sealed; long letters are bound with leather strips into a volume, rolled into a roll, and sealed outside.Fuxin is a token of communication, that is, a pass certificate, with symbols and festivals.The stanza is a proof of identity for the messenger to use on the road.Those who hold this festival will be provided with accommodation and meals along the way by the Chuanshe.Talismans and festivals are slightly different, most of them are military credentials, and they can also be used as passports stipulated by national security.In the Warring States Period, there is a story of "stealing amulets to save Zhao".It is said that at the end of the Warring States period, Qin State heavily surrounded Handan, the capital of Zhao State. Lord Pingyuan of Zhao State wrote to Lord Xinling of Wei State asking for help. Lord Xinling asked his elder brother Wei Anli [xixi] Wang several times to send troops, but he failed. get permission.Relying on the cooperation of King Wei's favorite concubine Ruji, Lord Xinling stole the tiger amulet and led 80,000 elite soldiers to rescue the siege of Handan.This Tiger Talisman was the proof of troop deployment at that time.This is a token for dispatching troops during the Warring States Period. The half of the tiger talisman held by the messenger must match the other half in the hands of the military general before the order can take effect.

The Qin Dynasty was the beginning of my country's unified centralized feudal era.The unified writing, weights and measures, vehicle tracks, roads and other systems formulated by Qin Shihuang had a profound impact on future generations of our country.In creating a unified post office system, the Qin Dynasty also made great achievements.The postal stations in the Qin Dynasty unified their titles, and different names such as "Juju", "日", and "Zhi" were uniformly defined as "post".Since then, "post" has become a proper term for communication systems.In terms of postal transmission, Qin Shi mostly adopted the method of relay delivery of documents. The government stipulated a fixed route, and the personnel in charge of postal delivery relayed them from station to station.In order to ensure the timely, rapid and accurate arrival of official documents and letters, the Qin Dynasty stipulated a series of strict laws.The "Law of Running Script" of the Qin Dynasty stipulates that documents can be divided into two categories, one is urgent documents, and the other is ordinary documents.Urgent documents, including imperial edicts, must be communicated immediately without delay.Ordinary documents are also stipulated to be sent out on the same day, and no backlog is allowed.It is said in the legal text: "If you are in a hurry to execute the order and the book office, you will do it; if you are not in a hurry, you will not dare to stay after the end of the day. If you stay, you will discuss it according to the law." It means: edicts and those marked as urgent documents must be Send out immediately; documents that are not in a hurry should be completed on the same day, without delay.Any delays will be dealt with legally.The main communication lines of the Qin Dynasty ran through the east, west, north and south, and the postal post system was relatively standardized.This efficient communication system serves to consolidate the centralized system.The central government can continuously receive reports from various localities.Since the government stipulated that local reports and requests for instructions must be in written form, the bamboo and wood slips used for the memorials that Qin Shihuang had to review every day weighed 120 catties.The Qin government also used these communication systems to keep abreast of the dynamics of the frontier defense and the people, and took decisive countermeasures and measures.

All the systems of the Han Dynasty laid the foundation in the Qin Dynasty.The same is true for the post system, but the Han Dynasty had further development than the Qin Dynasty.Like the government of the Qin Dynasty, the Han government attached great importance to the construction 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 Shangshu Order and Fu Jie Order in the Shaofu are in charge of the management of government official documents and the distribution of Fu Jie.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, Kang Youwei and others, who were famous in modern history, got their name from this "Commitment to the Bus".The management of local post offices in the Han Dynasty 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". "Three Kingdoms" records that Zhang Fei whipped Duyou angrily, which is the kind of official he beat.Compared with the Qin Dynasty, the greatest progress of the post system in the Han Dynasty was the separation of post and post.The mail delivery method based on horseback riding was officially named after "post".Those who "deliver documents" mainly on foot for short distances are officially named "post".The facilities for managing long-distance transmission of letters and documents are called "posts", which later became "posts".The agency that manages the delivery of letters on short walks is called a "post box".At that time, on the thousand-mile post road from the capital to the border, a "post station" was set up every 30 miles, and a "post booth" was set up every 10 miles.The post station is the earliest official accommodation facility in my country.When the post station was first established, only letter officials and postal soldiers were received.After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the mission of the post station expanded, not only as a building for trustworthy officials, but also as a place where past officials lived and boarded.At that time, dust was flying on the post road, and people in the post station cheered and shouted. In 1972, a portrait brick of the Han Dynasty unearthed from the Wei and Jin tombs in Jiayuguan, Gansu Province, depicted a postman riding a galloping red-maned horse, holding a rein in one hand and a document in the other, vividly recreating the reality of an ancient postpost.The official postal system of the Han Dynasty was very strict.The documents to and from post kiosks or post stations should be registered in a book, which is called "postal book".Post envoys or postmen on the post road have certain uniforms. They should wear red headscarves, red sleeves on their arms, and red and white bags on their backs. They are very eye-catching when running on the post road, which is conducive to the understanding of full-time post couriers.At that time, the speed of postal communication was relatively fast. Horse transmission could travel three to four hundred miles a day, and car transmission could travel about 70 miles. Walking was slower, and it could travel about forty to fifty miles a day.According to historical records, Zhang Heng, a famous scientist in the Eastern Han Dynasty, made the world's earliest wind seismograph for measuring and indicating earthquakes.One day, when a pearl from a dragon head on the west side of the seismograph fell into the mouth of a toad, many people in Luoyang City still did not believe that an earthquake would occur.A few days later, there was a report from Longxi on a flying horse, confirming that an earthquake had occurred there.This example is enough to prove that the post office system was perfect at that time, and the information was conveyed quickly and accurately.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei's greatest achievement in the history of post offices was the formulation of "Post Post Orders".This was formulated by ministers Chen Qun and others during Emperor Wei Wendi (reigned 220-226 AD).The content includes the sound and light communication in the military formation, the transmission regulations of "sending envoys to the four directions", and the political prohibition of prohibiting communication with the five princes, etc.This is the first special post post law in the history of our country, which has had a profound impact on later generations.Liu Bei of the Shu Han Dynasty and Zhuge Liang, the prime minister, also made important contributions to the development of the post office business in Sichuan.Soochow post post created the unique form of water post and opened up water post routes.During the Three Kingdoms period, in addition to inheriting the copper and bamboo symbols since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the area ruled by Cao Wei also created a new communication symbol: letter flag.A letter banner is a flag made in a variety of different patterns and colors.During this period, because paper had been invented, paper was light and cheap to use, and it was also convenient for writing, so paper edicts gradually replaced bamboo slips, which was a new thing in the history of postal transmission.The period of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was an important period of national integration in the history of our country.From the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Northern Dynasties, many ethnic minorities in the north had established political power.They are either partial to the border, or almost unified the entire north.These ethnic regimes also attached great importance to the post business, and they all played an important role in the development of the post business in the north.

The Sui and Tang Dynasties were an important period in my country's feudal society.At that time, the post office was very prosperous and prosperous like never before.One of the symbols of the development of the postal industry in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was the increase in the number of posts.The Sui and Tang Dynasties continued to implement the system of combining post and biography in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and "post" replaced all the previous "post", "ting" and "pass".The tasks of the post are all-encompassing. It is not only responsible for the transmission of official documents and letters of the state, but also conveys emergency military information.Also sometimes manages tribute shipments and shipments of other small items.The post stations of the Tang Dynasty spread all over the country.According to the "Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty", there are three types of post stations: water post, land post, and both water and land. There are more than 20,000 people who specialize in post work, including 17,000 postmen.This is a very large postal team.The post houses in the Tang Dynasty also had a lot of horses. Generally, the larger Duting post houses were equipped with 75 horses;In addition to the general staff, each station also has station soldiers.The post soldiers are also a considerable military force.The famous poet Han Yu wrote: "Three hundred miles west of the mansion, the waiting hall is the same as fish scales." It can be seen that there are many post stations.There are not only post houses with different styles and specifications in the post station, but also post horses, post donkeys, post boats and post fields.The itinerary of the post station is also clearly stipulated. For example, Lu Yi stipulates that horses can travel 70 miles a day, donkeys 50 miles, and carts 30 miles.There are also certain restrictions on the number of chariots and horses used by officials at all levels.At that time, the official postal line centered on Chang'an, the capital city, radiated in all directions, and went directly to the border areas. It was roughly 30 miles per station, and there were more than 1,600 post stations across the country.The post biography of the Tang Dynasty was quite accurate and fast.In case of emergency, he can ride more than 300 miles a day on horseback.In 755 AD, An Lushan rebelled against the Tang Dynasty in Fanyang (now Beijing).At that time, Tang Xuanzong was in Huaqing Palace (now Lintong County, Shaanxi Province), about 3000 miles away from Fanyang.Tang Xuanzong received the news six days later.It can be seen that the organization and speed of the post office at that time had reached a very high level.

The Tang Dynasty also established the organization of "Ming Camel Envoys".According to research by Yang Shen, a man of the Ming Dynasty: This is an organization that uses camels as postal tools to deliver official documents and letters.This kind of camel can travel thousands of miles a day (Volume 13 of "Dan Qian Zong Lu").It is also said that this camel "has hair under its belly, can be bright at night, and can drive five hundred miles a day", so it is called "Ming Camel" (Volume 2 of "Yang Taizhen's Biography").It is said that the famous general Ge Shuhan used this kind of "Ming Camel Envoy" during Tang Xuanzong's time. He often sent envoys to Beijing to perform affairs on this kind of camel, often traveling 500 miles a day.Concubine Yang also privately used the "Ming Camel Envoy" to send the treasures of Jiaozhi tribute to Anlu Mountain.In addition, the intelligence agency of "Jinzuoyuan" was also newly established in the middle of the Tang Dynasty.This is a kind of liaison organization stationed at the central government to understand the situation, quite similar to the Beijing offices of various provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions.This organization is mainly responsible for the transmission of official documents from various places and the central government, as well as the dynamics inside and outside the court.By the end of the Tang Dynasty, there were as many as 50 such Jinzao courtyards in Chang'an.The appearance of Jinzhaoyuan promoted the birth of the earliest news newspaper in my country, which is "Kaiyuan Miscellaneous News".News historians believe that this is the first Chinese-style early newspaper in our country. "Kaiyuan Miscellaneous News" is an engraved and printed document compiled by the personnel of Jinzhao Academy, which includes military and political information collected from each Jinzou Academy."Postboxes" also appeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but this is not the kind of postbox in front of the streets or post offices that we often see today. It actually refers to a kind of water mail transportation tool. intelligence.Later generations called it "water and telegram".In addition, there was also a kind of "air communication" at that time. Of course, it was not the current air communication of aircraft, but refers to the use of kites, carrier pigeons and other methods.The emergence of these communication methods above shows that communication has been widely valued by people in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.The general communication tools were not enough, so I came up with these special communication methods. The exquisiteness of post stations (also called post houses, waiting houses, etc.) in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is also famous.At that time, Baocheng Station was the most famous in the world.This is a post house in today's Shaanxi. Sun Qiao, a literati in the Tang Dynasty, described: "The name of Baocheng post is the best in the world", "the post is admirable and extravagant to show its grandeur", and the guests who come here at the age of one year are "no less than hundreds of people. generation" ("Sun Qiao Ji" Volume 3 "Shu Baocheng Post Wall").The hall and courtyard corridor of this post station are extremely magnificent, and there is a pond outside the hall, where you can go boating or fishing, and you can lean on the railing to enjoy the moon in your spare time.Baocheng Post is like this, and other post houses are not inferior. Almost all post houses are gardens with gorgeous architecture and beautiful scenery.Du Fu, a poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, once praised a post house in Sichuan: "The post house is on the side of the decaying willow, beside the light smoke of the county, the river is so beautiful, it is magnificent every day."The poet Li Yuan also has a poem saying: "The tree outside the blue cloud, the red dew side building." From the magnificence of these post houses, we can see the social and economic prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, but it also reflects the luxury of the feudal ruling class.It is not uncommon for the rulers of the Tang Dynasty to take advantage of the post to enjoy pleasure and domineeringly.It is said that Concubine Yang loves to eat fresh lychees, and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty always sends her special personnel to deliver this fruit from Fuzhou, Sichuan Province every year when it is fruitful.It is thousands of miles away from Fuzhou to Chang'an. After the long-distance transmission by fast horses on the post road, it is really not easy to keep the delicious taste of lychees when they arrive in the capital. Many people will die of exhaustion on the way.This fact aroused the infinite anger of the honest people at that time.Du Fu wrote: "Recalling the envoys from the South China Sea in the past, galloping to offer lychees, hundreds of horses dying in the valley, and now the elders are sad." Du Mu, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, also wrote: "Looking back at Chang'an, there are piles of embroidery, and thousands of gates on the top of the mountain are opened for the first time. One ride The concubine in the world of mortals laughs, but no one knows it’s the lychees.” In the first poem, Du Fu used the historical facts of the Han Dynasty to satirize people today, lamenting that in order to eat lychees, people and horses were exhausted and died tragically in the valley. To this day, the fathers and elders still talk about this matter. extremely.In the second poem, what Du Mu said is: along the way, the wind and dust are rolling, and the post-horse is galloping. People who don't know think that there is an urgent military situation, but no one knows that it's just to eat fresh lychees for the sake of pampering the concubine. This Bo beauty smiled.This is a good article to criticize current politics, severely criticizing the ugly behavior of feudal emperors who were extravagant and wasteful regardless of the life and death of the people.In the late Tang Dynasty, due to the political turmoil, post houses became more and more depressed, and some of the original luxurious post houses were deserted.The Baocheng post mentioned above was "increasingly dilapidated" after the mid-Tang Dynasty, with broken pools, broken halls and dilapidated halls.This is also a portrayal of the dilapidated political situation in the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was also an important dynasty in ancient my country.At that time, the central feudal centralization system had further developed, and the post office was militarized to meet the needs of autocratic rule.First of all, the Ministry of War was in charge of the country's postal affairs, specifically inquiring about the regulations and regulations of postal stations, personnel deployment, and the equipment of delivery horses.These two institutions restrict each other and cannot monopolize power without authorization.Secondly, in the Northern Song Dynasty, soldiers were used instead of civilians as post personnel.At that time, the national struggle and class struggle were very sharp, and the severe situation forced the Song Dynasty government to regard the acquisition of military information in communications as a top priority.In the Song Dynasty, the delivery of mail documents was completely separated from the post where officials stayed in the past.Posthouses have evolved into government guest houses, and the institutions that deliver government documents and letters have another name, collectively called "delivery", and are divided into "urgent delivery", "horse delivery" and "step delivery". "Step delivery" is used for the delivery of general documents, and it is a relay walking delivery. "Horse delivery" is used to deliver urgent documents, and generally does not deliver official items, and the speed of riding a horse is faster.In very urgent cases, a new form of sending documents called "quick delivery" was used. "Express delivery shops" are mostly used in the military, and it is required to set up one every 10 miles on the main road to deliver urgent military documents "express mail".At first, it was stipulated that express documents should run 400 miles a day, but later it was increased to 500 miles.When the express horse gallops on the road, it rings the bell during the day and raises the torch at night, and it is not responsible for killing people.At that time, the urgent delivery of documents adopted the method of "changing shops for horses, and changing people for several shops", rain or shine, day and night.The national hero Yue Fei was framed by Qin Hui and called Yue Fei back to Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. The 12 gold medals he received at the front line in one day were the red lacquer gold medals delivered by the "Express Shop".Another important feature of the post office in the Song Dynasty is that it formed its own relatively complete and specialized communication regulations, which is the "Jin Yu Xin Shu".According to the existing "Yongle Dadian", we know that this "Jin Yu Xin Shu" has a total of 115 articles, including 51 articles about the criminal law of post offices, 10 articles about rewards, and 54 articles about the organization and management of post offices.The scope of the statute is wide-ranging, and the inviolability of official instruments is strictly maintained.It can be seen from "Jin Yu Xin Shu" that in Chinese feudal society, at least during the Song Dynasty, the government attached great importance to the facilities of post stations, and the regulations were very strict. normal operation. During the Yuan Dynasty in my country, the post office had a great development.The Yuan Dynasty established the largest empire in history.In order to adapt to the rule over a vast area, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty carried out active reforms in the post post, greatly expanding the scope of post roads.Not only have many post stations been added in the Western Regions, but also the post roads have been traversed to Europe, forming a long post road linking Eurasia.The Yuan Dynasty established a strict "station red" system on the vast land, which made the post post communication very effective.The so-called "Zhanchi" is the transliteration of the Mongolian "Yi Chuan".The station red system is a complete and systematic post system, which includes the management regulations of post stations, the duties of post officials, post station equipment, and the taxation system for station households, etc.At that time, there were as many as 1,496 post stations in China.The Yuan Dynasty also imitated the method of the Song Dynasty, and set up "urgent delivery shops" in various states and counties, with about 20,000 places.According to the "Jing Shi Da Dian" in the Yuan Dynasty: "Where in the vassal state, there are post stations, scattered all over the world, and the veins are connected. When the order arrives at night, the sound is heard." The Italian Marco Polo also vividly described the post stations of the Yuan Dynasty in his travel notes. Subtle depiction.He said that on the main roads extending in all directions from the capital of the Yuan Dynasty to the provinces, there is a post station with magnificent architecture and gorgeous furnishings every few tens of miles.There are everything needed for food and daily life in the station.Not only for imperial envoys to rest, but also to receive business travelers, dignitaries, Mongolian princes and foreign guests.The post station is also responsible for providing transportation for envoys and distinguished guests. There are horses, donkeys, and cattle for land travel, boats for water travel, and sedan chairs for mountain travel. In the remote areas of the northeast, there are post dogs specially used for ice.According to statistics, there were 45,000 stage horses in the whole country in the Yuan Dynasty, and 3,000 stage dogs in the Harbin (now Harbin) area in the northeast.In some areas with developed water transport in the south, water post transportation is mainly used. There are more than 420 water posts and more than 5,920 backup post ships.These means of transportation and facilities constitute a huge national post-road transportation network.But behind this huge post road traffic network is the miserable life of station households. "Station households", as the name suggests, are households serving post stations.There were many post stations in the Yuan Dynasty, and the cost was huge. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty passed these burdens on to the common people, and asked some households to bear the duties and expenses of the post stations.Most of the station households used to be ordinary farmers and herdsmen, and they have a heavy burden.First of all, they have to provide meals for the officials coming and going from each station.This is not a small burden, especially when the princes, nobles and high officials are on missions, it is even more luxurious and extravagant.Secondly, the means of transportation for the envoys must be provided, mainly horses, oxen, donkeys, dogs and vehicles.Also include perennial feed, livestock and vehicle accessories.The cost is not small.Thirdly, station households also undertake the labor of post stations, such as acting as guides, coachmen, boatmen, and porters for envoys.These servants are all free of charge, and they have to bring their own food and drink.The station tenants were overwhelmed by the heavy burden, and some couldn't hold on, so they had to leave their homes, fled in all directions, suffered ravages, and even died of old age in the wilderness.Xu Youren, a poet of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote a poem describing their miserable life: "There is no end to fur in the winter, and there is not enough food in the good year. I occupy the post for the people's residence, and the bones of the horse are like my bones. The bundle of grass and the bucket of beans are all from blood and sweat..." ( "Zhi Zheng Ji").It means: Counting nine cold winters, I still wear a tattered leather jacket, and even in harvest years, it is difficult to have enough food.When you become a naturalized station household, you suffer like a drafted horse.A bundle of hay and a bucket of grain handed over are all paid by my blood and sweat!In the end, this poem made a cry of injustice for the poor Zhan households: "To give birth to a child is willing to be a slave, to raise a horse is willing to feed millet." Are we willing to be cows and horses for generations, as cheap as slaves?This poem faithfully reflects the miserable life of station households in the Yuan Dynasty. The post offices in the Ming and Qing dynasties basically followed the old system.The setting and use of post stations are still under the direct management of the government as in the previous dynasties.Passengers staying in the past must hold an official pass and register.According to the identity and official rank of the visitor, the post station made corresponding arrangements for accommodation, food supply and transportation, reflecting the hierarchical system of feudal society.However, with the development of social politics, economy and culture, some post post reforms have also been carried out.Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, in view of the lessons learned from the chaos of post stations in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, used strict laws to restrict certain privileged persons from the beginning.He clearly stipulated: "Non-military affairs are not allowed to be given to the post" ("Zhaodai Wangzhang"), which means that if it is not a national or military event, it is not allowed to abuse the post horse or use the postal facilities of the post.He promulgated the "Regulations on Responding to the Post", which limited the personnel who meet the conditions for using the post. Others are not allowed to "take the post without authorization". a son-in-law.Zhang Juzheng, a well-known reformer in the middle and late Ming Dynasty and prime minister during the Wanli period (1573-1620 A.D.), reformed the post office while reforming taxation and official administration.He started by restricting officials' privileges and put forward six new regulations.For example, it is stipulated that any officials who are not on public service shall not harass the post station; officials passing by the post station are only allowed to provide board and lodging according to the level stipulated by the state, and are not allowed to make extravagant demands; except for post post supply, no official is allowed to send ordinary households to serve without authorization; It is also stipulated that all government officials' travel expenses such as arriving, leaving or taking personal leave for non-official duties shall not be borne by the post station, and the transportation tools of the post station shall not be used.These reforms have greatly reduced the expenditure of the post post, which also reduced the burden on the people.According to statistics, after the rectification, a total of about 1/3 of postal expenses has been reduced across the country.In the reform, Zhang Juzheng strictly demanded himself and his family, starting from the side.His son went back to his hometown to take the imperial examination. Instead of using the official post office, he hired a car at his own expense.For Zhang Juzheng's father's birthday, he did not use the stagecoach and horse, but rode a donkey back to his hometown to celebrate his birthday.At the same time, he will never show mercy to those officials who violate the regulations.There was a son of a governor of Gansu who went to the post without authorization and was dismissed by him.This punishment shocked the government and the public, and many officials did not dare to do evil anymore.Zhang Juzheng's reform, the common people "cheered and sang", and achieved certain results.However, the Ming government at this time was hopelessly corrupt, and these reforms could not fundamentally solve the problem.Soon after his death, some of the reform measures during his lifetime were all abolished. The biggest feature of the post system reform in the Qing Dynasty was the merger of "post" and "post".Before the Qing Dynasty, although some documents were often referred to as "post post", in fact post post was two organizations with different functions.Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, "post" has been responsible for delivering official documents. An organization that also has the nature of a guest house.The two complement each other, but after all, they are two organizational systems.During the Qing Dynasty, this organization was integrated into one.The post station has changed from indirectly serving the communication messengers to an institution that directly handles communication affairs.In this way, the communication system is simplified compared with the previous mechanism, and the work efficiency is greatly improved.Post stations in the Qing Dynasty were more common than in the Ming Dynasty, and in some remote county-level areas, new "county delivery" institutions were established.This kind of organization is responsible for inter-county communication, which makes up for the lack of post stations on the main line.In addition, in the Northeast, North China, Northwest and Southwest frontier areas, the Qing government also opened up many new post roads and established several post offices.These institutions have different names depending on the region. Most of them are called "posts", military ones are called "zhans", Xinjiang and Gansu are called "tangs", northern Mongolia is called "tai", and parts of Gansu are also called "suo". Wait.The rulers of the Qing Dynasty inherited the advantages of the previous generations of border posts according to the different conditions of the border areas, and built a dense communication post network throughout the country.Zhong Qi, a native of the Qing Dynasty, said: "I am in charge of encircling post stations at the frontier, and I will gather great achievements in Gaozong." Gaozong is Qianlong.It means that the ancient post office industry in my country reached its peak during the Qianlong period.At that time, business and personnel exchanges also increased greatly, and the reception area of ​​many post stations gradually expanded, and businessmen who came and went also moved into this kind of official hotels.On the stone pillar at the gate of Gusu Post Station in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, there is such an interesting couplet: "When guests come to make tea, they have the right to be the host, and hang the lanterns to wait for the Moon Post Pavilion to reflect the Xujiang River in the distance." It vividly reflects the warm hospitality of the post station. scene. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, imperialism invaded, and the feudal society of our country went into decline, the post administration was abolished, and post delivery was slow.With the establishment of modern postal services, the ancient postal system was gradually eliminated.