Geography of the New Tang Dynasty records seven main roads of external traffic in the Tang Dynasty: "The most important ones are: first, Yingzhou enters Andong Road, second, Dengzhou enters North Korea and Bohai Road, third, Zhou Xia enters Datong and Yunzhong Road, fourth, the surrendered city enters Huihe Road, fifth, Anxi enters Xiyu Road, and sixth, Antong Tianzhu Road. The fifth route mentioned in it refers to the route from today's Xinjiang region to Central Asia, which is basically equivalent to what we call the Silk Road. Biography of Sui Shu Pei Ju: "Originated in Dunhuang, as for the West Sea, there are three stories, each with a lapel. The North Road runs from Yiwu to Fuxi, and reaches the West Sea. Among them, the highway runs from Gaochang, Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule and Duqingling to Persia, reaching the West Sea. Its south road runs from Shanshan, Khotan, Zhujubo, Songpan, Duqingling ... to Brahman in the north and to the West Sea. The three countries also have their own roads and north-south traffic. "
The name of the Silk Road comes from the German geographer Richthofen, who first used the word in China in 1877. Subsequently, German historian A.Herrmann further expounded his concept in The Ancient Silk Road between China and Syria.
The Silk Road may have existed for much longer than you think. Based on the analysis of a large number of jades found in Liangzhu cultural site in Taihu Lake basin in primitive society, Zang Zhen thinks that the raw material of these jades is probably Hetian jade in Xinjiang, so this trade route existed before the so-called Silk Road, which he called "Jade Road". At that time, jade was an important object for offering sacrifices to gods, so this trade route was very important to people at that time. The communication between Zhang Qian and the western regions is regarded as the symbol of the establishment of the Silk Road. In fact, it is only because the Silk Road was endowed with political and cultural significance beyond commercial trade after Zhang Qian. Doesn't mean that no one has walked this road before in Zhang Qian.
The actual situation of the Silk Road is far from romantic and beautiful, but full of hardships, which are often cut off by bandits and local governments. It is hot in summer and cold in winter, and there is no water source. According to Xuanzang's description, "Since then, there have been no aquatic plants in the northwest. The roads are scattered and the boundaries are unpredictable. Look at the mountain, find the remains, know its meaning, and remember its way. " "The History of the North and the Biography of the Western Regions" records: "At the end of the year, there are hundreds of miles of quicksand in the northwest and hot air in summer, which is a travel disaster. Where the wind comes from, only the old camel can predict that it will gather angrily and bury its nose and mouth in the sand. Every time people think about waiting, they will soon cover their noses with blankets. The wind is fast, and it must be exhausting. If you don't prevent it, it will be dangerous. " Fatal desert storms can only be predicted by old camels. They immediately lowered their heads and buried their mouths and noses in the sand. People quickly covered their mouths and noses with blankets, or they would die. In this way, people of all ages ran wildly on this dangerous but tempting business road.
China was an agricultural society in ancient times, and it was no accident that the China regime's national policy of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce" for most of the time since ancient times. It can be noted that the goods imported into China on the Silk Road are basically light and expensive things, such as gold and silver wares (the production technology of ancient gold and silver wares in China is not as good as that in West Asia and Central Asia), incense, furs and so on. These luxuries are by no means a timely gift to China's economy. Of course, the new species introduced from the Silk Road greatly enriched the varieties of crops in China and improved people's lives. But the problem is that this alien species is widely planted as long as it is imported, and it does not need to be imported repeatedly on the commercial road.
In this context, what is the significance of the Silk Road to China? In fact, China has had the mentality of "going to China" since ancient times. In the eyes of the Central Plains Dynasty, the significance of foreign trade is not to exchange needed commodities and promote economic development, but a symbol of the tributary system. Many normal business activities are regarded as foreign tributes to the Central Plains Dynasty, and the farther the distance, the greater the significance, which is why Wang Mang and Yang Guang are very interested in the so-called "retranslation" of foreign envoys. Some of these "foreign emissaries" were faked by businessmen, and the "Kingdom of Heaven" maintained the world order through the tribute system and obtained great satisfaction from self-esteem.