The Southern Silk Road starts from the Chengdu Plain and is divided into three lines: east, middle and west. The west line is divided into east and west roads. The east road is called "Wuchi Road" (also known as "Shimen Road"). The Wuchi Road passes through Leshan, Qianwei, Yibin in Sichuan, Daguan, Zhaotong and Qujing in Yunnan, then turns west through Kunming and Chuxiong to Dali.
The "Silk Road" was officially proposed by the German geographer von Richthofen in 1877. It refers to the east-west trade routes and transportation routes based on silk trade. After Zhang Qian went on his mission to the Western Regions, he officially opened this land passage from China to the European continent.
Compared to the Northwest Silk Road, historians call the international trade route that starts from Chengdu and goes south through Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi to Southeast Asia, the South China Sea, India, West Asia, and Europe the "Southern Silk Road."
According to Mr. Duan Yu’s research: The Southern Silk Road was the earliest route for Chinese silk to be exported to South Asia, Central Asia and further to the West. As early as the middle and late Shang Dynasty, the Southern Silk Road had been initially opened. Tooth shells produced in the northern Indian Ocean and ivory in India were found in Sanxingdui in Guanghan and Jinsha sites in Chengdu during this period. Sanxingdui bronze statue cultural factors and ancient Shu willow leaves The shape of the bronze dagger also comes from this. The "Sese" produced in India and West Asia is not only found in Sichuan archeology, but also in documentary records.
A typical Sanxingdui culture Yazhang was unearthed from Lamma Island in Hong Kong. Some of the seashells in the Sanxingdui sacrificial pit also came from the South China Sea, indicating that as early as the Shang Dynasty, the ancient Shu civilization had already had cultural exchanges with the South China Sea area. Connect and communicate.
The earliest Chinese Sanskrit name known to India is Cina, which is translated as China, or Zhina, Zhina, etc., which is the antiphon or reincarnation language of ancient Chengdu. It appeared at the latest in BC 4th century or earlier. After the name Cina spread from India to Central Asia, West Asia and the European continent, it formed its reincarnations Seres, Thinai, etc. The origin of the name of China in Spanish today is directly related to this. The spread of the name Cina to the west followed the spread of silk to the west.
It can be seen that the Southern Silk Road indeed played a positive and important role in the cultural exchanges and interactions between China and the West in ancient times. It is worthy of being a major cultural exchange link between ancient Asia and even Eurasia.
The Southern Silk Road starts from the Chengdu Plain and is divided into three lines: east, middle and west:
The west line is what the "Historical Records" calls the "Shu Poison Road" ". "Historical Records·Biographies of Southwest Yi": "In the first year of Yuanshou, Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, sent an envoy to Daxia. He said that when he was living in Daxia, he saw Shu Bu and Qiong Bamboo Stick. He asked where he came from and said: "I came from the southeast to poison the country. But thousands of miles away, Shu merchants entered the market, hence the name "Shu Body Poison Road".
The west line is divided into east and west roads. The west road is called "Lingguan Road" (also called "Yak Road" or "Qingxi Road" at different times); the east road is called "Wuchi Road" ” (also known as “Shimen Road”). The Lingguan Road starts from Chengdu, passes through Shuangliu, Xinjin, Qionglai, Ya'an, Yingjing, Hanyuan, Yuexi, Xide, Lugu, Xichang, Dechang, Huili and Panzhihua in Sichuan, and crosses the Jinsha River to Dayao and Yao in Yunnan. An, turning west to Dali; Wuchi Road passes through Leshan, Qianwei, Yibin, Sichuan, Daguan, Zhaotong, Qujing, Yunnan, and turns west through Kunming and Chuxiong. After the two roads meet in Dali, they continue westward to Yongping, called "Yongchang Road" (also known as "Bonan Road"). From Yongping, they climb Bonan Mountain, cross the Lancang River, cross the Nu River via Baoshan, and exit Tengchong to Myitkyina, Myanmar. , or leave Ruili from Baoshan to Bhamo, Myanmar, then go west to India, Central Asia, West Asia and reach Europe.
The middle line is divided into two roads: "Bu Tou Road" and "Jin Sang Road". The Butou Road first goes by land from Wuchi Road to Kunming and Jinning, then from Jinning to Butou south of Tonghai, and then down to Vietnam along the Red River. Volume 6 of "Manshu" contains: "On the 14th day from the south of Tonghai City, we will arrive at Butou, and we will sail along the river from Butou and leave Nanman on the 35th day." Hence the name "Butou Road". This line is the oldest waterway connecting Yunnan and Indochina. After Qin destroyed Shu, the prince of Shu, King Anyang, moved south from here to northern Vietnam to establish his country. To enter Sangdao, you leave Kunming via Miming, cross Nanpanjiang River, Wenwen Mountain exits southeastern Yunnan, enter Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang in Vietnam, follow Panlong River, and arrive in Hanoi.
The eastern route is called "Yelang Road" or "Zangdao Road", which runs from Chengdu south to Yelang (now western Guizhou), then via Xijiang to Panyu (now Guangzhou), and then out of the South China Sea to Southeast Asia. "Historical Records of Southwest Yi Biography" records: "In the sixth year of Jianyuan, Fanyang ordered Tang Mengfeng to point out Nanyue. Nanyue ate Meng Shu wolfberry sauce. Meng asked where he came from. It was called Zangdao in the northwest. The Zangdao River was several miles wide and came out of Panyu City. When I returned to Chang'an, I asked the Jia people in Shu: "If you go out of Shu alone, you can go to Yelang. It's more than a hundred steps across the river." The country is called "Yelang Road", and because it takes the Zangdao River (Nanpanjiang River, Xijiang River), it is also called "Zangdao Road".
The Western Route of the Southern Silk Road (Shu Shen Du Road) runs from the Chengdu Plain through Yunnan to Myanmar, westward to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and then to Central Asia, West Asia and the Mediterranean. This route runs through Asia The transportation line is one of the longest and oldest transportation arteries in ancient Eurasia. The middle line (Butou Road, Jinsang Road) and the eastern line (Yelang Road) of the Southern Silk Road connect the relationship between southwest China and Southeast Asia.
2 Leshan is an important hub of the Southern Silk Road
After Leshan became a water and land transportation hub, shipbuilding began in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, it became the shipbuilding center of Sichuan, building official ships every year. 45 ships.
In the Ming Dynasty, the king of Shu still set up a shipyard in Guanye Temple in the north of the city, so the place was also named "Wang Shipyard".
The eastern, middle and western lines of the Southern Silk Road start from Chengdu. The first section of the journey all takes you down the Minjiang River to Yibin and turn to Wuchi Road, Trail and Yelang Road. It is located in the middle reaches of the Minjiang River. Leshan has become a must-stop place. In addition, the western line of the Silk Road (Shu Shen Du Road) is divided into east and west routes. There are three horizontal branch lines connecting the two routes, namely: Pingqiang River Road (starting from Jiazhou and ending in Yazhou), Yangshan River Road (starting from Jiazhou and ending in Yazhou) Jiazhou, ending at Hanyuan and Ganluohaitang) and Muyuanchuan Road (from Jiazhou to Xinshi Town and then to Xichang), the starting points of the three branch lines are all in Leshan. Therefore, Leshan has become a transportation hub for many routes of the Southern Silk Road.
A post was established in the Tang Dynasty and was named Jiading Post in the Song Dynasty. According to the "History of the Song Dynasty: Food and Goods Part Three (Bulk, Silk, Hebian, and Water Transport)": "Gold and silk from the Sichuan and Yi states, as well as cloth from the rent and market, were handed down from Jianmen, divided into carriages and carried to Jiazhou, and transported by water to Jingzhou. From the south of Jingnan, officials were sent to transport the capital. Six hundred and sixty thousand horses were transported every year, divided into ten gangs. At the end of Tianxi, more than 231,000 pieces of gold, silk, and coins were transported by land and water. , Liang, Duan, horse, more than 275,000 catties of jewelry and incense."
Since the Song Dynasty, the Sichuan tea-horse trade has used Leshan as the gathering point for tea ships, starting from Wushan and Jianshi in eastern Sichuan. "Biancha" shipped to Lizhou, Yazhou and even Tibetan areas travels upstream along the Yangtze River and Minjiang River, stops at the foot of Leshan City, and then goes up the Qingyi River for distribution throughout the country. During the tea transport season, there are often more than a hundred boats docked in Jiazhou City. Leshan in the Song Dynasty was an important land and water transportation hub on the Minjiang River.
After Leshan became a water and land transportation hub, shipbuilding began in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, it became the shipbuilding center of Sichuan, with 45 official ships built annually. In the Ming Dynasty, the King of Shu still set up a shipyard in Guanye Temple in the north of the city, so the place was also named "Wang Shipyard".
Zhong Zhen, the magistrate of Jiading Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty, commented: "When the land and water are at the crossroads, there is no peaceful day beside the boats and carriages." Gu Zuyu, a man of the Ming Dynasty, commented in "Minutes of Reading History": "It takes only five days to go north to Chengdu from Jiading." Yi. Mou Caizi of the Song Dynasty said: Jiading is the foundation of Zhenxi, because it is located in the upper reaches of Li and Ya. However, it is close to Xu and Lu, so it is not like Chengdu. The throat leading to Chengdu from the south. Li Tiaoyuan, one of the three talented people in Shu in the Qing Dynasty, wrote in a poem that "every day passes by the Shuiyi River City, and you can see three mountains at the top of the cloud peak." It shows the magnificent landscape of Leshan as a water dock.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese teacher Nakano Goyama called Leshan "Jiading Port" in "You Shu Zazu" and wrote: "There are often thousands of ships moored in the port, forming a dock city. He further believed that Leshan's "main income relies on the entry and exit of ships and the distribution of goods." Leshan has become a commercial city. Nakano Gushan also said: "Jiading Port is lined with sails and masts, and boats are shuttled up and down. At night, the lights of each boat reflect the river, forming a spectacle." The "Leshan County Chronicle" of the Republic of China concluded: "The county is surrounded by mountains on one side and water on the other. Chengdu is connected to Yukui, Ya'an and Tianquan, and Tonghe is connected to Ebian and Jinchuan. It is a water and land hub. The prosperity of its commercial ports ranks it as the transportation hub on the Southern Silk Road.