Departing from Myanmar to Tibet

 

Departing from Myanmar to Tibet

 

Agu Demba, A Zhuo, Chu Sanxing and their newly acquainted caravan leader Lacuo embarked on the road to Tibet, along the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar, to the Himalayas.

When Agudengba said goodbye to his friend Dorje, Dorje specially called for the strong young man Lacuo and told Agudengba, A Zhuo and Chu Sanxing: Lacuo is a very talented merchant. In order to thank Mr. Agudenba, I will give you a horse team and a batch of goods. This horse team can be taken care of by Lacuo, who is also your guide on this journey. This horse team can supplement your travels along the way.

Latso is a Tibetan. Not long ago, he went to Myanmar for business and met Mr. Dorje. Mr. Dorje hopes that when he returns to Tibet, he can travel with Agudengba.

In this way, Lacuo became a companion of Agudengba, Azhuo and Chu. Lacuo is the leader of the caravan, and he also has several caravan companions.

Along the way, Lacuo said to Agudengba:

There are many passages from Myanmar to Tibet.

For thousands of years, there has been an ancient Sino-Tibetan economic and trade channel between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and mainland China. It is the highest and most dangerous ancient route for the spread of civilization known in the world. path of. This ancient and mysterious road carries rich human history and touching caravan stories. Along this rugged ancient post road, the caravans continuously carried tea, salt, cloth and other daily necessities to Tibetan areas, and then exchanged horses, cattle, sheep and furs from Tibetan areas. Therefore, this ancient Sino-Tibetan road is called It's called the "Ancient Tea Horse Road".

After the Tang and Song Dynasties, tea from Yunnan and Sichuan began to be sold to Tibet, and was loved by Tibetans. Tibetan people's daily diet mainly consists of beef, mutton, milk and dairy products such as cheese, and their food mainly consists of highland barley. What is most lacking in this dietary structure is drinks to aid digestion rather than simple water replenishment. The aromatic compounds in tea not only smell pleasant and exciting, but more importantly, they can dissolve fat and help digest meat and dairy foods. This makes Tibetan people attracted by its aroma and digestive benefits once they come into contact with tea. attracted by its features. In addition, the air pressure on the plateau is low, the evaporation of water in the human body is strong, and the turgor pressure of blood vessels increases. Drinking tea can enhance the resistance of blood vessels to pressure. At the beginning, it was the aristocratic upper class society. As the introduction of tea expanded, ordinary people also became fond of drinking tea. Therefore, Tibetans have a saying that "one day without tea will lead to stagnation, and three days without tea will lead to illness". There are also records among the Han people that "the people are addicted to cheese, and if they don't get tea, they will get sick" and "the heat caused by highland barley cannot be understood except by tea."

The Han people are a predominantly farming nation. Dry farming and rice are planted everywhere in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins. Farmers raise pigs as a sideline, and there are very limited grasslands and pastures where horses, cattle and sheep can be grazed. Horses were like modern tanks in ancient wars, a decisive weapon; in peacetime, horses were the only fast tool for transportation and delivering official documents and mails at post stations. Horses have always been a scarce commodity for the Han people. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, there were many local separatist regimes. In order to put down various rebellions, the Tang Dynasty was in urgent need of horses. The most effective way to obtain horses is to trade tea with the Uighurs. Similarly, for the Uighurs, the tea-drinking style of the Tang Dynasty had penetrated into the Uighurs. Their thirst for tea had no other means of payment, and horses were their wealth, so the exchange of tea and horses hit it off immediately. From then on, the endless tea-horse trade was born.

The "Ancient Tea-Horse Road" originated from the ancient "tea-horse mutual trade". It can be said that the "mutual trade" came first and then the "ancient road". The "tea-horse trade" is a traditional trade between the Han and Tibetan peoples in western China's history, involving tea for horses or horses for tea. In the Song Dynasty, a government agency called the "Tea Horse Division" was set up in famous mountains and other places in Sichuan to specifically manage the tea and horse trade. The tea-horse trade prospered the economy and culture of the ancient western region, and also created the ancient Tea-Horse Road.

Lacuo said to Agudengba, Azhuo and Chuxingxing:

I have been traveling on the Ancient Tea Horse Road. The Ancient Tea Horse Road is actually a group of roads, which can be called one in terms of direction. In fact, there are many local routes, just like the main veins and tributaries of a river.

There are two main veins, namely the Sichuan-Tibet Ancient Road and the Yunnan-Tibet Ancient Road. The Sichuan-Tibet Ancient Road starts from Ya'an, Sichuan, and reaches Qamdo via Kangding, Batang and other places, while the other one goes to Qamdo via Kangding, Garze, and Derge.

The Ancient Yunnan-Tibet Road starts from Simao, the origin of Pu'er tea in Yunnan, and then goes northwest through Dali, Lijiang and other places into Tibet, and then passes through Zuogong to Qamdo. From the west of Qamdo, the Sichuan-Tibet Ancient Road and the Yunnan-Tibet Ancient Road are integrated, starting from Qamdo and passing through Luolong, Jiali, and Gongbujiang to Lhasa.

However, Lhasa is both the end and not the end. In a broader sense, the Ancient Tea Horse Road will continue to extend westward. Departing from Lhasa again, passing through Gyantse and Shigatse, heading southwest to Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia.

When we leave Myanmar and go to Yunnan, the route we want to take is the Yunnan-Tibet Tea Horse Road.

The Ancient Tea Horse Road is magnificent, but for the caravans who walked on the ancient road, it was a journey full of hardships and dangers. The southwest region has high mountains and tight waters, making water transportation unimaginable. The mountain road is so steep and winding that it is impossible to drive a vehicle. Under such conditions, caravans became the only suitable mode of transportation, forming a unique scenery on the Tea Horse Road. It can be said that the Ancient Tea Horse Road is a road trampled by human power and horse power.

Lacuo sighed to Agudengba:

My grandfather and father were both caravans, and they suffered a lifetime of hardship. In order to prevent me from suffering, they sent me to school and asked me to join the army, but I didn't expect that I would become a member of the caravan.

Agudemba was curious: Why is this?

Lacuo said:

Myanmar has been experiencing civil war for a long time. I don’t want the Burmese people to fight against their own people. I hate war. So I voluntarily left the army and became a homeless man. Once, I saw a few gangsters robbing a car of supplies and beating the driver and an old man. I wanted to step forward to get some bargains, but unexpectedly the gangsters refused to let me get close and started beating the old man. In a fit of rage, I knocked down the leading gangster, and my beggar brothers arrived. We fought off the gangsters and did not covet the supplies in the car. Later, someone rescued the old man. The old man gave us some money, but I refused. I didn't save people for the money.

Lacuo continued:

A few days later, the old man came to see me and said to me: I have a batch of jade that I want to transport to Yunnan. I will fund the establishment of a caravan and you will be responsible for setting up a caravan, okay? In this way, I became the leader of the caravan, and all my beggar brothers became members of my caravan. This old man is the Burmese musician Dorje. Mr. Dorje knew that I was a Tibetan, and he wanted to fulfill my dream of returning to Tibet, so he asked me to form a team and accompany you on this trip. This is also my last trip to the end of my caravan career.

Lacuo sang a Tibetan folk song "Son of the Snow Land":

 

I want to take a look at the Potala Palace,

I am the son of the snow-covered plateau.

Even if I am wandering on the streets of Lhasa,

This is also my idea of heaven.

 

I will stand on the top of the eastern mountain,

Looking at the rising sun and moon,

The majestic Himalayas,

It comes to my mind every day.