Embark on the Ancient Tea Horse Road

 

Embark on the Ancient Tea Horse Road

 

Lacuo became a companion of Agudengba, Azhuo and Chu. Lacuo is the leader of the caravan, and he also has several caravan companions. They left Myanmar for Yunnan, and the route they took was the Yunnan-Tibet Tea Horse Road.

Nowadays, the goods transported on the ancient roads are different from those in ancient times. Tea is no longer the main commodity, and the same caravans are no longer responsible for transportation. In fact, since ancient times, few people have been able to complete this long-distance ancient road.

From one valley to another, from one village to another, the ancient caravans set out on a road of life that connected various places and became the link between the southwest and the south. These caravans once stopped for goods collection and distribution, and later became towns.

Lacuo told Agudengba: Today's Lijiang Ancient City is by far the best-preserved ancient city on the Tea-Horse Road, and is known as the "living Tea-Horse Town."

Lacuo said to Agudengba again:

Our main destination is to go to Pu'er first.

With thousands of miles of mountains, Pu'er is known as the "Pearl of the Green Sea". It has been a unique tea distribution and trading center in southern Yunnan on the Tea Horse Road since ancient times.

According to "Pu'er Prefecture Chronicles", there are five ancient Tea Horse Roads originating from Pu'er Prefecture: the Guanma Road to Beijing, the Pu'er Tibet Tea Horse Road, the Pu'er Jiangcheng Tea Horse Road, the Pu'er Lancang Tea Horse Road, and the Pu'er Yiwu Tea Horse Road. Historically, the Ancient Tea Horse Road traveled from south to north to transport Pu'er tea produced in Pu'er to consumption areas, and from north to south brought various commodities from the mainland back to Pu'er. Among them, a section of the 11-kilometer-long Tea Horse Road starts from Simao Lameipo in Pu'er in the south and ends in Baiduqi in Pu'er in the north. It was once the starting point for tribute tea to be imported into Beijing, and it has been here for 1800 years.

Under the guidance of Lacuo, Agudengba and his party set foot on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, enjoying the coolness of the green shade of pines and cypresses. The ancient forest road is mossed, and the footprints of ancestors and the imprints of horseshoes are clearly visible on the ancient road.

Lacuo's caravan, the jingling of horse bells rings in the forest, traveling through thousands of years. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, you can see the vibrant Pu'er Tea Mountains in the distance, and the scenery is picturesque.

Passing through the majestic Simao Chengguan, you can see the sparkling Yinma Lake. and beautiful subtropical rainforests. The jungle along the way is dotted with fauna in their natural habitat.

Ding-ding-dang-dang... the crisp sound of horse bells passed through the valley and arrived at the Zhongyi Station in the caravan tracking area.

Lacuo said to Agudengba:

The exchange of tea for horses, those tea-horse stories that began in different eras of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, reveal the evolution of tea and horses and the initial imprint of the ancient Tea-Horse Road. ​​

The mossy Ancient Tea Horse Road extends deep into the mountains and forests, and there is an ancient tree tea area hidden in the streets and alleys in the valley.

Lacuo said to Agudengba:

Let's take a rest here. Here you can watch a wonderful tea ceremony performance, taste a cup of fragrant Pu'er tea, or walk into the ecological tea garden to experience the fun of tea picking.

Agudengba and his party came to a small teahouse.

While tasting tea, Lacuo said to Agudenba, Azhuo and Chu Sanxing:

According to historical records, the earliest spread of Chinese tea overseas can be traced back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties. At that time, Chinese merchants were exporting tea to Turkey by bartering tea on the border with Mongolia. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the development of the border trade market and the opening of the Silk Road, Chinese tea was transported to West Asia, North Asia, Arabia and other countries via the Uighur and Western Regions in the form of tea horse trading, passing through Siberia on the way, and finally arrived at Russia and European countries.

Since the Tang Dynasty, rulers of all dynasties have actively taken measures to control the tea-horse trade. From the first year of Emperor Suzong's reign in the Tang Dynasty (756 AD) to the first year of the millennium, he drove the horse tea market in the Uighur region of Mongolia, pioneering the tea-horse trade. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the tea-horse trade was mainly in the Shaanxi-Gansu region. Yima's tea was obtained locally from Sichuan and Sichuan, and tea and horse-buying companies were set up in Chengdu and Qinzhou (today's Tianshui, Gansu). During the Yuan Dynasty, the government abolished the tea-horse border policy implemented in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the tea-horse policy was restored and intensified, using this policy as an important means to rule the people of all ethnic groups in the northwest region. During the Hongwu reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, one high-quality horse could be exchanged for up to 120 kilograms of tea. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, a high-grade horse was exchanged for thirty grates for tea, a medium-grade horse was worth twenty, and a low-grade horse was worth fifteen. Tang Xianzu, a litterateur of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Tea Horse": "Black tea is so beautiful, Qiang horse is so special." "Qiang horses and yellow tea, Hu horses seek gold beads." This shows the importance of the tea horse trading market at that time. Thrive and prosper. By the Qing Dynasty, the tea-horse border policy had been relaxed, and there were more private tea merchants. In the tea-horse trade, more tea was consumed and less horses were obtained. In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the government-run tea and horse trading system was terminated.

Lacuo said:

The tea-horse trade border control system began in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and ended in the Qing Dynasty, and it has gone through nearly a thousand years of vicissitudes. During the long years of trading in the Tea Horse Market, Chinese merchants used their own feet in the northwest and southwest borders to build an ancient Tea Horse Civilization Road with the highest terrain, the most dangerous mountain roads, and the longest distance in the world. There are thousands of hard-working caravans on the ancient roads. Day after day, year after year, during the difficult journey of sleeping in the open air, they use the clear ringing of bells and the sound of rushing horse hooves to break the tranquility of the mountains and deep valleys for thousands of years. They opened up an economic and trade route to the outside world.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, tea sold in Tibetan areas in Yunnan mainly entered Guzong Tibet (now Zhongdian and Deqin counties) and Kangzang via Lijiang. Some of the tea was sold in Mubao, Xiangcheng, Daocheng, and Litang, and some reached Jianlu (now Kangding). ) changed the bamboo basket packaging in Yunnan to cowhide bags and moved on, shipping to Lhasa and other places.

At that time, the road was long and full of dangers. Along the way, chieftains and monasteries set up cards to collect tolls, and tea was often blocked due to turmoil. At this time, the merchants had to look for other routes to transport tea. They received a route into Tibet from Deqin via Bitu - Bangyun - Gongbu Jangda - Mozhu Gongkar - Lhasa. Every spring they drove their mules and horses, loaded with beeswax, oxtail, musk, cordyceps and other products, to exchange tea leaves at the tea market before returning to Tibet.

Lacuo said:

In addition to porters, caravans from Honghe, Shiping, and Jiangcheng are also entering the tea mountains in large numbers to transport tea. Although the initial cost of pack transport is low, due to the small volume and slow travel speed of pack transport, the single-volume freight is high, and it was gradually replaced by horse caravans. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, five "Ancient Tea Horse Roads" radiated to foreign countries with Pu'er as the center.

The first is the Guanma Avenue, which runs from Pu'er through Kunming to the inland provinces and Beijing, and extends southward to Chefodaluo. This is the most important one in the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Pu'er tribute tea was transported to Kunming on packhorses from this route. Pu'er tea from many time-honored tea houses travels from Pu'er through Simao, through Chebao (Jinghong), Fohai (Hai), to Daluo, and then goes abroad to Jingdong, Myanmar, and then to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. land.

The second is the Guan-Tibet Tea Horse Avenue. Pu'er tea enters Tibet from Pu'er through Xiaguan, Lijiang, and Zhongdian (today's Shangri-La), and then transits through Lhasa to Nepal and other countries. The main force is the large horse caravan of Tibetan compatriots.

The third is the Jianglai Tea Horse Road. Pu'er tea crosses Jiangcheng from Pu'er to Laizhou, Vietnam, and then transported to Tibet, Europe and other places.

The fourth is the Dry Season Tea Horse Road, which crosses the Lancang River from Pu'er via Simao Nuozha, and then to Menglian to leave Myanmar.

The fifth is the Lacha Horse Road, which passes through Pu'er and is then deregistered in various places in northern Laos.

Lacuo said again:

Not only that, the widespread spread of Tibetan Buddhism on the Tea Horse Road has further promoted economic exchanges and cultural exchanges among the Naxi, Bai, Tibetan and other fraternal ethnic groups in northwestern Yunnan, and enhanced inter-ethnic unity and friendship. Along the way, some devout artists painted and carved a large number of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and eminent monks, as well as various images of divine animals, conches, sun, moon and stars on the rocks and Mani piles on the roadside. Those rough or exquisite artistic shapes add a kind of spiritual sanctity and solemnity to the long journey of the ancient road, and also add a bit of mystery to the distant horizon.

Latso impromptu sang a Tibetan folk song "The Ancient Tea Horse Road":

 

 

After more than a thousand years of vicissitudes,

The Ancient Tea Horse Road is a large corridor.

Connecting various ethnic groups along the way,

Promote local economy and market.

 

Now the caravan has disappeared,

The clear and melodious camel bells fade away,

The aroma of tea from ancient times has dissipated,

All that remains on the ancient road are memories.

 

The footprints of ancestors and the imprints of horseshoes,

Transformed into a noble entrepreneurial spirit,

Carved into an eternal monument,

Shining with the glory of the caravan.

 

The caravan is running around in the snow to make a living,

Created the character of trusting the teachings,

exercised their courage and ability,

They were the pioneers who opened ancient roads.