Chapter Three　People on the Tea-horseAncient Road

Chapter Three　People on the Tea-horseAncient Road

Section 1　Ethnic minorities and tea

1.Tea culture of ethnic minorities in Yunnan

(1)The formation of tea ancestor worship

Bayanleng(also known as“Pa’aileng”)was the ancestor of the Blang nationality.It isa well-known ancestor of tea planting in the history of world tea culture.The Blang peoplein Lancang worship their tea-growing ancestor,Bayanleng,who led them to grow teawhich is recorded in Benmen,the local history of Blang people,and there is also an ariain Blang people’s ancestral song“ Bayanleng is our hero.Bayanleng is our ancestor.Heleft us bamboo shed and tea village.He left us crutches to survive.”.Villagers in Manjing,Manghong and the five neighboring Blang villages around them are all descendants of thepeople who belong to the Bayanleng nationality.They all worship Bayanleng together.Before 1950,the sacrifice ceremony was held once a year at the site of the originalBayanling residence in the back mountain of Manjing Village,on the 7th day of June.During the sacrificial period,people can’t go to work in the field,and outsiders can’t enterthe village.

The Blang people’s festival for tea ancestors(Shankang Tea Ancestor Festival)is toclimb up the ancestral base of Yanleng(also known as“Ai Leng”).The ancient trees aretowering and the tea trees are lush.People in beautiful costumes make the forest lively andenergetic.People from seven Blang villages gather here to hold their traditional ancestralworship ceremony,calling for the soul of Yanleng.

(2)Tea customs

The Tea-horse Ancient Road is not only a path of national migration,but also thearea where various national cultures exchange.In many towns along the ancient road,allnationalities are close and harmonious.Han culture goes hand in hand with Tibetan culture,Naxi culture,Yi culture,Bai culture and other cultures,and there is combination andblending

①The Blang people and their green bamboo tea and sour tea.

The Blang people is an ancient ethnic group,mainly living in Menghai County ofXishuangbanna in the Blang Mountain.The Blangs are descendant of the Pu people inancient China.As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties,the Pu people living in theYunnan region by the Lancang River had begun to grow tea,so the Blangs can be said tobe the earliest tea planting nationality in the world.The life of the Blang people is closelyrelated to tea.Tea is not only used to treat distinguished guests and give to relativesand friends as gifts,but also is a good offering to worship gods and ancestors.The mostcommon way to bake tea in a Blang villages to bake tea leaves in a pot and then brew themwith boiling water.When the Blang people work in the wild far away from homes,theyoften use local materials to make a kind of green bamboo tea.First,they cut down a bowlwide bamboo,one end of which is sharpened and inserted into the ground.The bamboo tubeis filled with mountain spring water to serve as a tea container.Then,they pile dry branchesand leaves around the bamboo tube and then light them.After boiling water into tea,theypour it into the short bamboo tube to drink.Green bamboo tea combines the fragrance of teaand green bamboo,being mellow and refreshing and rich in aftertaste.

②The Dai people and their bamboo-tube tea.

Dai people have lived in the south and southwest of Yunnan province for generations,and Xishuangbanna is most densely populated.They are hospitable people good at singingand dancing.

Bamboo tube tea is a kind of tea with unique flavor of the Dai people.It is made in avery peculiar way which can generally be divided into five procedures: first,the tea leavesare placed in a tender bamboo tube with fragrance about one year old and packed in layers;then put the bamboo tube with the tea leaves on the edge of the fire and roast it,turning itover every few minutes.When the color of the bamboo tube changes from green to yellow,the tea leaves in the tube have been baked; Split the bamboo tube with a knife in half,takeout the fragrant tea with fresh fragrance and shape like a long tube,put an appropriateamount of fragrant tea in a bowl and brew it with boiling water for 3-5 minutes,then serve.This kind of bamboo tube tea has not only the mellow and strong fragrance of tea,but alsothe fresh fragrance of tender bamboo,and has a mellow tea taste.

③The Jino people and their cold tea.

The Jinos are mainly distributed in Jino Township,Jinhong City,XishuangbannaDai Autonomous Prefecture,Yunnan Province.The rest scattered in the surroundingmountainous areas of Jino Township.“Jino”means“the offspring of the uncle(on themother’s side)”or“the ethnic group that respects the uncle”.Jino Mountain produces Pu’ertea,so Han merchants entered in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties to popularizingtea planting and tea making techniques,which had a positive impact on the development ofJino society.

In the traditional concept of Jino people,tea comes into being with the birth of theirancestors.Tea is inseparable from the development and progress of Jino people,and teapermeates every corner of Jino people’s life.

Jino people not only like to cook and drink tea,but also like to eat cold tea,which isactually a continuation of the ancient Chinese tea eating method.The preparation is to crushfresh tender tea buds by hand and put them in a bowl,then crush the fresh leaves of yellowfruit( a local wild fruit with sour taste),finely cut the pepper and garlic,and put them intoa bowl containing tender shoots together with an appropriate amount of salt.Finally,add alittle spring water,stir well with chopsticks,leave for about 15 minutes,and serve.Cold teais not only tea,but also a dish.It is used to serve guests from afar,and it is the side dish forJino people to eat rice daily.It is the most distinctive scene in the tea culture of Jino people.

④The Hani people and their earthen pot tea.

The Hani people are mainly distributed in Xishuangbanna,and Xinping,Zhenyuan,Mojiang,Yuanjiang,and Honghe Counties in southwestern Yunnan.The location of theHani villages is chosen carefully.Most of the villages are built around mountains,withthick mountain forests behind them,surrounded by mountains and rivers,and covered withterraced fields.

Hani people have a long history of planting tea,and tea production in the Hani regionaccounts for one third of the total production in Yunnan province.The“earthen pot tea”of the Hani nationality is an ancient custom for Hani people to entertain guests.First,boilthe spring water in an earthen pot,then put the baked tea into the pot and boil for about10 minutes.Then pour the tea into a bamboo cup and drink it.This tea liquid is green andyellow in color.At first,there will be a strong and astringent taste.Soon after,you will feelthe sweet tea fragrance in your mouth,which leaves you an endless aftertaste.

⑤The Lahu People and their Zao(fermented)tea and baked tea.

The Lahu ethnic group originated from the ancient Qiang people in Gansu and Qinghaiprovinces.They lived a nomadic life in the early stage before moving southward andsettling down in the Lancang River Basin.At present,the Lahus is mainly distributed inPu’er and Lincang regions of Lancang River Basin in Yunnan Province,and also in theadjacent Xishuangbanna and Yuxi regions.

Zao tea is also a traditional way of drinking tea of Lahu people.To have tea in this way,put fresh tea leaves in boiled water to cook in a pot until they are half-cooked.Take themout and place them in a bamboo tube for fermentation.When drinking,boil for a while,thenpour into teacups for drinking.This kind of tea has a slightly bitter and sour taste.It helpsdigestion after meals and has a very special flavor.

Baked tea is an ancient and common method of drinking tea for the Lahu nationality:first,the pottery pot is heated over a huotang(a fire pit),and then tea leaves are put intothe pot for frying.When the tea liquid is brown,boiling water is poured into the pot,andthen more boiling water is added after removing the floating foam.When the tea is cooked,the host first pour some tea liquid to taste it and test its thickness,if it is too strong,boilingwater is added,and then pour for the guests to drink.This kind of baked tea has a strongaroma and a strong taste.

⑥The Lisu people and their thundering tea.

Lisu people have a long history,mainly living in the Nujiang River in Yunnan.In the 8thcentury,the ancestors of Lisu people lived along the banks of the Yapan River and JinshaRiver,and gradually moved to the Lancang and Nujiang Basins from the 15th to the 19thcenturies.

Drinking thundering tea is an ancient tea drinking method widely spread among Lisupeople.First with a big earthenjar they will simmer the water,and then bake tea cake ina smalljar,and then use the boiling water in the big jar to boil tea in the small one; afterboiling for a few minutes,strain out the tea leaves,and add the tea into butter canister.Pourtwo or three pots of tea liquid into a butter cylinder,then add pre-fried and crushed walnuts,peanuts,salt or sugar and eggs; Finally,put a red hot pebble into the butter cylinder,so thatthe tea juice in the cylinder wheezes like thunder.Immediately when the sound disappears,beat the butter up and down with a wooden pestle to make the butter become foggy anddissolve evenly in the tea liquid; Drain and serve hot.After this process,the aroma andconcentration of the tea is improved with a unique flavor.

⑦The Bai people and their“three-course tea”.

In the Dali region of western Yunnan province,around the Erhai Lake,there live thehard-working and kind-hearted Bai people.Bai ethnic group has a long history,becausethey wear white clothes,they were known in the history as“white people”.

Bai people treat guests with their unique“three-course tea”on festivals,birthdays,marriages,teacher visits and other happy days,or when relatives and guests come to visit.The first course of tea is called“bitter tea”,meaning that people should first bear hardshipsto establish a career.When making,the water is boiled first,and then a small earthen pot isplaced on a gentle fire and baked by the tea maker.After the pot is heated up,an appropriateamount of tea is put into the pot immediately,and it is rotated continuously to make the teaevenly heated.When the tea leaves in the pot“crackle”and turn yellow,and release caramelfragrance,immediately pour in boiling water.After a short while,the one cooking tea poursthe boiling tea into the cup,and then serve it with both hands to the guests.Because the teais baked and boiled,it looks like amber,smells scorched and tastes bitter.

The second course of tea is called“sweet tea”.After the guests drink up the first courseof tea,the host bakes and boils the tea with a small earthen pot,as he puts a little brownsugar in the teacup,and then pours the tea liquid into the cup.This kind of tea is sweet withfragrance,implying that sweetness comes after bitterness.

The third course of tea is called“aftertaste tea”.The tea is cooked in the same wayas before,except that the ingredients in the teacup have been replaced with a reasonableamount of honey,a few pop rice(a local rice snack),some Sichuan peppercorns,and apinch of walnuts.When drinking the third course of tea,one is supposed to shake the teacupto make the tea liquid and seasonings mix evenly and drink it while it is hot.This cup of teahas all tastes of sweet,sour,bitter and spicy,and the aftertaste is endless.

⑧The Naxis and their tea of“a dragon fighting against a tiger”.

The Naxi people mainly live in Yunnan,China.They mainly live in Lijiang,Ninglang,Weixi,Shangri-La,Deqin and other places in the northwest of Yunnan,and they also live inYanyuan and Muli of Sichuan.

Naxi people have a special tea custom,called“a dragon fighting against a tiger”,inNaxi language it is called“Ajilekao”,its drinking method is very interesting.The tea isbaked in a small pottery pot.After the tea leaves are brown,boiling water is poured in tomake it thick,just like making Chinese medicine.At the same time,pour half a cup of whitewine into the teacup,and then boil the tea liquid into the wine,and then the teacup makesa“pop”sound,after the sound,it is ready for drinking.Some people even add chili into it.According to local people,people that have caught cold can drink a cup of this tea,and ashe sweats all over the body,he recovers well after sleeping.

⑨The Tibetans and their buttered tea.

Tibetans are the major ethnic minority in western China,with a population of morethan 5 million.They are mainly distributed in Tibet,and the rest are distributed in Sichuan,Qinghai,Gansu and Yunnan provinces.Most Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism,whichhas a strong local characteristic.They respect the Living Buddhas and monks and call them“Lamas”in the Tibetan language.Since most of the Tibetans live on the Qinghai-TibetPlateau,the roof of the world,their clothing,food,housing,travel,weddings,funerals andrituals and festivals all bear a distinct mark of the plateau.Zanba,buttered tea and barleywine are the daily necessities of the Tibetans.

Buttered tea is tea made by adding butter and other raw materials into tea liquid andprocessing by special methods.As for tea,compressed tea and spring shoots are usuallyselected.The cooking process is exquisite,generally,the Tibetans first boil a pot of water,then use a knife to chop up the compressed tea,put it into the boiling water for about halfan hour,and as the tea releases its flavor,strain the tea leaves and pour the tea liquid intoa long barrel.At the same time,use another pot to cook the milk until a layer of butter iscongealed on the surface,pour it into the tea making tube containing tea liquid,and thenadd a proper amount of butter,salt and sugar.At this time,cover the cylinder,hold thelong stick that can move up and down with your hand,and keep beating.According to theexperience of Tibetans,tea,milk,butter,salt and sugar have been mixed together whenthe sound inside the tube changes from banging to“chagachage”.Buttered tea has varioustastes.It tastes sweet with astringency and is fragrant and salty.The Qinghai Tibet Plateau issparsely populated and there are few visitors at home.Occasionally,guests come and thereare not many things to entertain.In addition to the unique role of buttered tea,it naturallybecomes something precious g to entertain guests.

①0The Nu people and their salt tea.

The Nu people,with a population of more than 30,000,is mainly distributed inGongshan,Fugong,Lushui and Lanping Counties of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture.Salt tea is a common way to drink tea of the Nu people living along the Nu River in Yunnan.Tea is a daily necessity for the Nu people,who drink it three times a day.The Nu people’ssalt tea is made from locally produced compressed tea or cake tea with a small amount ofsalt.The tea set is a special small earthen jar and several porcelain cups.To brew salted tea,first,cut a piece of compressed tea or tea cake,smash it and put it in a small earthen jar,then put it into the fire to bake,when the tea leaves make a“pop”sound and release a burntincense,slowly add boiling water,simmer for five minutes,and then put blocks of salt tiedup with threads into the tea soup,and shake a few times and then take out,adding a saltytaste to the tea soup,and finally pour the pot of strong tea liquid in porcelain cups dilute itwith boiling water and serve.The salt tea is orange in color and tastes salty with a slightbitterness.It is very popular among the Nu people.

①1The De’ang people and their sour tea.

De’ang people,who call themselves Da’ang,are also known as the Benglongs andformerly known as the Benglong ethnic group.It has a population of about 20,000 people,mainly living in Mangshi,Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of YunnanProvince and Zhenkang County,Lincang Prefecture,the rest scattered in Yingjiang,Ruili,Longchuan,Baoshan,Lianghe,Gengma and other places,some of whom can speak Daiand Chinese,but have no native language.De’ang people are mainly engaged in agricultureand are good at tea planting.Due to their long history of tea planting and an extraordinaryrelationship with tea,De’ang people are known as“ancient tea farmers”.

Nowadays,the De’ang people still regard tea as the most important drink.Every familyis used to planting some tea trees around their houses or villages and processing tea withlocal methods.The elderly De’ang people could hardly endure a day without tea.TheDe’ang people are used to drinking strong tea.The first thing they do every morning is tomake tea.They first put a handful of tea leaves into a small pottery pot,and then add a littlewater to boil it.When the tea liquid is dark brow,pour it into a pottery cup,which is insimilar size to the eye of an ox,so the local people call it an“ox-eye cup”.The tea soup is sothick that most people need to add some boiled water before drinking,otherwise they willbe sleepless all night.The De’ang people are addicted to drinking tea.If they don’t drinktea for a day,they will feel weak and exhausted.At this time,if they have a few sips of tea,they will feel refreshed and energetic.

Sour tea is one of the types of tea consumed by De’ang people on a daily basis.Indaily work,De’ang people like to bring a handful of sour tea around,which can be putinto the mouth and chewed without brewing.Its production process is to pick the fresh tealeaves into a pre-cleaned large bamboo tube,filled and sealed tightly,and after a period offermentation the tea can be taken out to eat.It tastes slightly bitter and sour,also a littlebit sweet.Long-term consumption of sour tea has the effect of detoxification and heatdissipation.Sour tea can be bought in the local market,usually sold by the older De’angwomen whom the locals call“Miening”,which in the De’ang language means“mother oftea”.

2.Ethnic culture on the Ancient Tea-horse Road

The historical significance of the Tea-horse Ancient Road is that it promotes theexchanges and development of various ethnic minorities along the road.There are morethan ten ethnic minorities,including Han,Yi,Hui,Naxi,etc.,which have formed theintegration and development of history,culture,religious customs and other aspects amongvarious ethnic groups.Such as Tibetan Snow Culture,Pattra-leaf Culture of Dai peoplein Xishuangbanna,the Fire Culture of Yi people and etc.The multi-cultural exchange hasformed a rich and diverse national culture.The tea drinking culture of ethnic minorities isunique in the national culture.In the interaction of ethnic minorities living on the Tea-horseAncient Road for a long time,different tea drinking cultures have been formed.

The tea sacrifice culture of various ethnic groups is also worth discussing.For thousandsof years,due to the illusory reflection of natural and social forces in people’s consciousnessand other factors,various primitive religions of supernatural worship have emergedamong people.Because Pu’er tea has the functions of offering sacrifices,nourishing theheart,relieving thirst,refreshing,digesting,brightening the eyes,detoxifying and healthcare,it plays a unique role in various religious ritual activities.In this tea Kingdom,themost frequent sacrificial ceremony is naturally the tea sacrificial ceremony,such as totemworship,ancestor worship,in addition,there are also sacrifices to gods,such as God of theHeaven,God of the Earth,God of the Sun,God of the Moon,God of Mountains,God ofWater,God of Wind,God of Rain,God of Valley,God of the Land,etc.For all these gods,tea sacrifice should be performed regularly or irregularly.

Section 2　Horse caravan culture on the Tea-horse AncientRoad

1.The bell on the Tea-horse Ancient Road

On the way of transporting tea and goods,the horse caravans had to pass through manyuninhabited grasslands and dense forests,cross roaring rivers,and climb over toweringsnow-capped peaks.Before passing through a narrow mountain road,the horse caravanswould inform the caravans ahead to prevent congestion and“crash”with bells,gongs or“Horse Driving Tune”.This is the origin of the bell on the Tea-horse Ancient Road.

2.The rise and fall of the caravans

(1)Development of the caravans

For thousands of years,people of all ethnic groups in southwest China have drivencaravans composed of hundreds of horses,loaded with precious goods such as tea andsilk,crossing Lancang and Nujing River,climbing up high cliffs and walking on plankroads.Traveling thousands of miles,blood and sweat dripping stones,they have openedup the Southern Land Silk Road in China,the earliest international economic and culturalexchange road leading to Southeast Asia and South Asia.With the continuous developmentof economic and trade exchanges between China and SoutheastAsia and South Asia,thescale of horse caravans also expanded.“Before 1765,the huge Chinese caravans,consistingof 300 to 400 cows and 2,000 horses,carried silk and other goods from Yunnan to Bhamoin Burma.”“Until the beginning of the 19th century,a large amount of silk and othercommodities were still exported from the Southern Silk Road to Myanmar.The size ofcaravans had always been three to four hundred bullock carts and more than two thousandmules.”It was a grand scene of caravans traveling between China and foreign countriesand doing business.

In modern times,especially before the construction of the Burma Road,the culturaland economic exchanges between Yunnan and Southeast Asia and SouthAsia became moreprosperous due to the revival of the ethnic industry and commerce in Yunnan and the inland,and the development of the horse caravans in Yunnan also reached an unprecedented scale.Among them,the prosperity of Yunnan horse caravans in modern times mainly benefitedfrom the following aspects: First of all,the revival of ethnic industry and commerce inYunnan and the inland regions promoted the rapid development of foreign trade.Businessin Yunnan was also more prosperous than ever.Yongchangxiang,Hongshengxiang,Fuchunheng,Yunfengxiang,Xingshenghe,Rixinde,Hengtongyu,Yihexing,Wenhua,Jinxinggong and other businesses sprang up in large numbers.These firms not only engagedin domestic trade,but also set up branch offices in foreign ports such as Burma,Thailandand India to conduct foreign trade.Most of these firms had caravans composed of hundredsof horses.They strongly supported the local horse caravans and mainly conducted foreightrade transportation.Secondly,the Sino-British Yunnan-Burma Trade Agreement stimulatedthe development of Sino-Burma land trade.After the British imperialists ruled Burma,they signed a series of unequal trade agreements with China,which stipulated that goodsexported to Burma by Yunnan land routes were exempt from customs duties,while goodsexported to Burma by the sea route from Yangon were subject to customs duties,in anattempt to induce China to develop foreign trade with Burma and open the gateway to thesouthwest of China.Although this reflected the British imperialism’s undue coveting forChina’s sovereignty,it also promoted the development of China-Burma land trade to acertain extent,and promoted the vigorous development of Yunnan horse caravans whichundertook the heavy responsibility of Sino-Burma trade and transportation.Third,theblocked and backward traffic condition in the southwest of modern China made the horsecaravans become the main means of transport for foreign trade.In modern times,whenroads,railways,shipping and other means of modern transportation were booming in theworld,the transportation in southwest China was still very backward due to the difficultterrain,and the horse caravan was still the most important transportation mode for the localtrade with SoutheastAsia and South Asia.

(2)Decline of the horse caravans

On the eve of the Anti-Japanese War,the professional Yunnan horse caravans developeda declining trend.The reasons are as follows: first,the government and businessmencolluded with each other to smuggle opium and salt,which did harm to social productionand people’s livelihood.Quite a number of transportation owners became rich,they lived acorrupted life,and their business was in disorder,and their families were in decline; Second,the local armed forces extorted businesses.In the winter of 1932,there were local armedgroups near Dianchi Lake and Liujie Street in Jinning,who imposed transit tax.If thoserice merchants did not comply,they would rob the rice and beat the merchants and porters.They even dared to set up private checkpoints at the outskirts of the provincial governmentcapital.It turned out that the Yuan family,a local evil gentry,was the culprit.Later,this casewas ordered to be investigated by the provincial government.Another reason that had agreat impact on the transportation of the caravans was the warlords’ fights.As the politicalsituation was turbulent,the wars were frequent,and the post roads were often blocked.Bandits seized the opportunities to rob caravans,and warlords often plundered property.For the above reasons,before the Anti-Japanese War,the transportation of the caravans washindered and began to decline.

(3)The horse caravan culture(https://www.daowen.com)

Caravan was the main means of commodity transportation in Southwest China inthe past.The development of caravan not only brought a variety of production and dailynecessities,but also advanced production technology and cultures.It is not only a uniquecommercial behavior,but also a special carrier of civilization communication.

① Formation of horse caravans.

Generally speaking,there are three most common forms of horse caravans; The firstis the family style horse caravan.All family members or the whole clan joined in horsecaravans to make a living.The mules and horses were owned by the clan or their ownfamilies,and the horse caravan was named after the family; the second is the short-termhorse caravan,which was generally formed with several men in the same village or menfrom neighboring villages who shared the same ideals or sought common interests.Thismeans that each family would contribute several mules and horses to the caravan and selecta person with prestige,social experience and ability to deal with people from all walksof life as the Maguotou,and go in a team.In the process of horse caravan transportation,they managed their own mules and horses.When settling accounts,they shared out bonusaccording to the number of mules and horses and the goods they carried.Maguotou can getabout 10-20% more income than others; the third is the one-off horse caravans formed atrandom.Its members were merchants that went along the same road or undertook the samebusiness,and they can jointly defend against the invasion of bandits and robbers on theroad in forming the horse caravan.This form of horse caravans has no organization,and itsdistribution depends on the members’ shared interest.

②Organization and management of horse caravans.

A horse caravan consists of Maguotou,Majiaozi,Qitou and other people.Maguotouwas the leader of a horse caravan and was the core figure of horse caravan transportation.A Maguotou was responsible for all purchasing and distribution,contacting business,and even paying for meals in the wild.Maguotou had rich experience and understoodthe customs and rules of all walks of life.He was capable of dealing with all kinds ofproblems in the long-distance transportation of horse caravans at any time.He was not onlythe operator,the horse driver,but also the direct participant and commander of the horsecaravan transportation activities.Some Maguotou were also the employers or confidants ofsome business groups or owners.They can work closely with business groups or ownersover the years and accumulate wealth in a day and often became extremely rich.A Majiaoziwas a horse-driver,a labourer hired by a Maguotou.He must obey the latter’s commands.However,in some small horse caravans,even Maguotou was also a Majiaozi.They sharedlife and death with each other,eating and living together.It is said that the word“Maguotou“originated from horse-drivers who ate and lived together.After a period of hard work,someMajiaozis would have their own mules and horses,and they would join horse caravansduring transportation to get a share of the freight.Some Majiaozis used the accumulatedmoney to buy goods while on the road and sold them along the way.Thus,they constantlyexpanded their business and became Maguotous or bosses.

Without the circulation of materials,it was impossible for horse caravans to come intoexistence,and at that time,without horse caravans,goods could not be transferred to variousplaces,and its commercial value could not be realized.Therefore,many rules were formedin the cooperation between horse caravans and commercial groups(firms)and businessowners.For example,a Majiaozi would drive horses for horse caravans belonging to thesame firm for three or four years.He would be given a horse or a mule,and all the expensesof the horse or mule would be paid for in the course of transportation by the firm,but allthe profits made on the mule or horse would go to the Majiaozi.As time went by,someMajiaozis would gradually have several or even dozens of their own mules and horses,andwould slowly break away from the business or horse caravans and be their own Maguotouor boss.In the southwest,many of the most influential business tycoons had made their wayout in this way.In general,a Majiaozi was responsible for 6-8 mules and horses,and a morecapable one can be responsible for 10-12.A Majiaozi and the mules and horses he wasresponsible for,plus the goods,were commonly known as a“ba”,dozens of“ba”s of mulesand horses together,was a group of horse caravan.

In a larger horse caravan,in addition to Maguotou and Majiaozi there were: oneErguotou who was responsible for accounting and was Maguotou’s assistant; one Huotouin charge of food along the way,as well as rewards and punishments within the caravan;Shaotous,ranging from 2 to 6 men,were responsible for the security of the horse caravan,that was bodyguards and escorts; one Qitou,the accompanying doctor who knew how tocure various human and animal diseases.

③Staffing of horse caravans.

The staffing of a horse caravan had Qun,Huo and Bang.Generally,there were ninemules and horses in a Qun,and three groups served as a Huo.All the mules and horsestogether constituted a big horse caravan,which was called a Bang.One horse would bechosen as the head of the group.It would wear a yellow flame logo on its forehead on apiece of red cloth,hang a red silk ball tied with a two-feet red cloth,tie six neck bells andput a red and white pennant on the saddle.Each of the leaders was responsible for selectinga horse and mule,with red flame carpet markings on a yellow background,four-feet-longred silk balls,eight neck bells,and a crown-shaped pennant on a red background.Thenthree good mules or horses were chosen for the first,second and third horse or mule,thusleading the whole caravan forward.

④Belief and worship of horse caravans.

In the legend,mules and horses were tamed by a young hunter named Luoge.Latergenerations regarded him as the founder of the horse caravan business.It is said that theincarnation of Luoge was the gong-shaped wok used for cooking by horse caravans.Itshould be carried by a special horse or mule and cannot be moved casually when used.It was also not allowed to tread on it with feet.The horse caravans worshiped firstly theMountain God,whose incarnation was cardamom.When camping in the wild,peopleshould sacrifice food to the Mountain God and throw a few cardamoms into the fire.Secondly,they worshiped the Road God.The symbol of Road God was straw.The wornout straw sandals must not be discarded casually,but should be taken to the camping sitefor cremation.Thirdly,the worship of the God of the Trigrams.the incarnation of it wasthe iron bars placed under the gong pot when cooking,when encountered difficulties,theywould pray to the Trigram God for blessings to eliminate disasters,and strike iron bars fordivination.If horses can’t move forward in the snow,tie the straw sandals to the horses’hooves and the problem of road slip can be solved.

⑤Taboos of horse caravans.

Many taboos of horse caravans were formed as they traveled with sunrise and rested withsunset.These taboos were an important part of horse caravans culture.In an article titled“Yunnan Horse Caravans on the Tea-horse Ancient Road”,the taboos of horse caravans arecomprehensively summarized.Travel taboos -- no travel is allowed on the Horse Day in thelunar calendar; and in the 12th month and the 6th month of the lunar calendar,it was notallowed to travel far; direction taboos -- there was a saying that do not travel east in spring,do not travel south in summer,do not travel west in autumn,and do not travel north inwinter; Language taboos - caravan drivers often usedjargon to communicate.Besides,therewere also mules and horses taboos,food and clothing taboos,accommodation taboos,objecttaboos and weather taboos for horse caravans.

⑥Characteristics of the horse caravan culture.

Horse caravans traveled everywhere for a living.They faced unfamiliar people andstrange environments.Only those who had the ability to survive and hadthe means to makea living can adapt to the horse caravan career.

Every caravan member should have the courage to take risks,dare to face all kinds ofchallenges,and,when encountered with bandits and robbers and various crises,be fearlessand calm.In the career of horse caravans,one must not only work hard,but know thechange of seasons and the weather,be able to identify directions,deal with people of allnationalities along the way,and understand the temperament of horses.A horse-driver in thehorse caravan must obey the command of the Maguotou,know the rules and regulations,put the general interests above everything else,and resolutely fulfill their duties; In thetransportation of goods and communication with people,he must keep credibility and bedecisive; On the way,when horse caravans encountered difficulties,they must try hardto help each other without expecting any reward.Caravans must not compete for roads,meadows,customers,or goods,etc.

⑦The commercial property of the horse caravan culture.

Without commercial interests,there would be no horse caravan,and there would be noso-called Tea-horse Ancient Road and horse caravan culture,so,horse caravan culture ishighly commercial.Now,it seems that one of the reasons for the formation of all ancientroads is the commodity trade among different ethnic groups,and the Tea-horse AncientRoad is no exception.Therefore,it can be concluded that the Tea-horse Ancient Road wascreated,prospered and spread because of commerce.

In The Annals of Huayang State,it says:“Yongchang County has eight counties underits jurisdiction,with 60000 households and 6900 Li to Luozhou.There are people of Min,Pu,Jiu,Liao,Yue,Luo Pu and Sindhu in the extreme southwest of Ningzhou.”Baoshan wasone of the logistics hubs of the Tea-horse Ancient Road at that time.To the north,Baoshanreaches Tibet,Sichuan and Central Plains; to the west,it reaches Myanmar and India; to theEast,it reaches central Yunnan; and to the south,it reaches Simao and Pu’er,the productioncenter of Pu’er tea.Most of the towns along the Tea-horse Ancient Road were so formedand became prosperous.According to relevant records: after Simao Customs was set upin 1897,the commercial trade was prosperous.People carried all kinds of goods to selland then bought Pu’er tea for transshipment to obtain high profits.At that time,the annualturnover of commodities in Simao market alone reached about 3 million silver dollar,whichwas already a huge trading volume in the era of horse caravans.

⑧Ballads and poems in the horse caravan culture.

There is a very famous song on the Tea-horse Ancient Road:“Come in March,on the 3rdday of March,drive mules and horses into tea mountains,everybody loves Pu’er tea,let’scarry the tea afar.”The caravans that walked on the Tea-horse Ancient Road had left theirfamily behind,going north and south,singing songs to express their feelings,and had left a lotof touching songs and tunes,some of which are sung till today,showing very strong vitality

To be sure,the life of a horse caravan was a wandering one.Every day it was a newjourney,to strange lands,and full of the lure of adventure.Therefore,in a horse-drivingcareer,Maguotous created many horse caravan ballads and poems which originated fromlife and were closely connected with reality.They are full of the horse-drivers’ yearningfor their distant relatives,their reflection on their lives,their heartfelt admiration for thebeautiful scenery of mountains and rivers,their helpless feelings about the passage of life,and even their longing and melancholy they encountered accidentally during the journey.All these became songs that naturally came out of their mouths.To this end,these balladsand poems are kind,touching,with vivid images,catchy,and unforgettable once read.

Some horse caravan ballads talk about the struggling reality,some show sonorouspassion between the lines.They loved their country and their families,when the countryneeded them,they went without hesitation.During the War of Resistance Against JapaneseAggression,many horse-drivers joined the army and went to the battlefield of nationalsalvation,while more of them were running silently along the Tea-horse Ancient Road insouthwest China,making great contributions to the transportation and supply of materials inthe rear areas of the war.

As a unique form of economic material circulation,a unique commercial behavior,aunique carrier of civilization transmission,and a unique social class and a unique form ofsocial organization in Southwest China,horse-caravan has a great cultural significance inhistory and today.

Some scholars wrote that if there were no horse-caravan transport,there would be noeconomic and cultural exchanges between Yunnan,Sichuan,Guizhou,Tibet,Guangxi andother provinces and regions.It is also impossible to have trade and cultural exchangesbetween China and India,China and Myanmar,China and Thailand,and Vietnam.Horsecaravans played an important role in the development of social economy and moderncommodity economy in Southwest China.

Section 3　Important towns and post stations on the Teahorse Ancient Road

1.Origin of post stations

The horse caravans traveled through the mountains and rivers in the southwest all daylong.They traveled at sunrise and rest at sunset,which gave rise to many post stations.These post stations evolved into distribution centers of people and logistics,and eventuallybecame towns,such as Simao,Pu’er,Mojiang,Yiwu,Dali,Lijiang,Xiangyun,Tengchong,Baoshan.

2.Important post stations on the tea-horse ancient road in Yunnanprovince

(1)Xishuangbanna,the birthplace of tea

Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture,located in the southwest of YunnanProvince,is connected with Laos and Myanmar,and Thailand and Vietnam are its closeneighbors.Xishuangbanna,known in ancient Dai language as“Mengbaranaxi”,means“ideal and magical paradise”,is famous for its magical tropical rain forest natural landscapeand ethnic customs.It is warm and green,wet and rainy all the year round,with luxuriantforests and abundant plants,known as the“Kingdom of Plants”.

Xishuangbanna is one of the oldest cradles of tea in China,and Pu’er tea is its most timehonored and iconic symbol of civilization.There are 130,000 mu of well-preserved ancienttea plantation in Xishuangbanna,which is a precious resource for studying the history oftea and producing high-grade Pu’er tea.Tea produced here had been sold to Tibet and otherplaces as early as the Tang Dynasty.In the Song Dynasty,besides the tea-horse trade withYunnan and Tibet,Dali also sent envoys to Guangxi and even the Central Plains to tradetea and horses with Pu’er tea.From the Ming Dynasty to the middle of the Qing Dynasty,the production of Pu’er tea in Xishuangbanna reached its heyday.The major tea mountainson both sides of Lancang River have an annual output of more than 100,000 dan of crudetea.The ancient road was clogged with trade caravans,which forms a historical picture offrontier customs and the Tea-horse Ancient Road.

The Tea-horse Ancient Road in Xishuangbanna is about 100 kilometers long,most ofwhich is located in primitive dense forests.The road is 1-1.5 meters wide and was jointlyinvested by the government and local tea plantations.It is paved with blue stones in themountains,and the dangerous sections are built with stone as its foundations and stonewalls to prevent collapse.

(2)The source and distribution center of Pu’er tea -- Pu’er

Pu’er City(formerly Simao)is located in the southern part of Yunnan Province and themiddle and lower reaches of Lancang River.It is the origin of the Yunnan-Tibet Tea-horseAncient Road with a history of 1,800 years.Affected by the subtropical monsoon climate,most of the area is frost-free year-round .It is the origin and distribution center of thefamous Pu’er tea,which has witnessed the ups and downs of Pu’er tea trade and is also oneof the largest tea producing areas in China.Pu’er became popular because of tea.Duringthe reign of Yongzheng,Pu’er tea became prosperous because of its sale in distant markets.In the early years of Daoguang and Guangxu,merchants gathered here and the market wasprosperous.Foreign business travelers settled here one after another.Since 1917,Pu’er teahas become a bulk export commodity.Along the Tea-horse Ancient Road starting from here,Pu’er tea has been popular all over the world.

The ancient tea transport road in Pu’er is usually paved with blue stones and is about 1meter wide.In the north of Pu’er City,there is still the ancient road of“Cha’antang”built inthe Qing Dynasty as an official road to bring Pu’er tea to the capital,from Pu’er to the northof Mohei Town to the provincial capital Kunming.The road was about 5 kilometers longwinding through the mountains.The stone had been stamped with horseshoes 2 centimetersdeep,which is a sign of its long history.In addition,in the south of Nakeli Village,theTongxin Township of Pu’er City,there is still the remains of Nakeli Ancient Road,whichis paved with man-made stones and gravel with a width of 1.5 meters and a total length ofabout 30 kilometers.

(3)The ancient city of Dali

Dali is the capital of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture,located in the west of the centralpart of Yunnan Province,where the climate is mild,the land is fertile and the scenery isbeautiful.It is one of the early frontier areas in southwest China.As far as 4,000 yearsago,there were primitive inhabitants in Dali.In the early Tang Dynasty,Mengshezhao(one of the six minority tribes distributed in the Erhai area in the early Tang Dynasty)became stronger gradually.With support of the Tang Dynasty,they unified the six“Zhao”and established Nanzhao Kingdom in the 26th year of Kaiyuan Dynasty(738).Duringthe period of Nanzhao,politics,economy,culture and production technology of Dali hadmade great progress,and the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple,which are famous athome and abroad,were products of that time.In 937 AD,Duan Siping established the DaliKingdom and the relationship with the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains became closerand the trade was more frequent.

Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake in Dali are places tourists yearn for.CangshanMountain,also known as Diancangshan Mountain,has a total of 19 peaks,each of which ismore than 3,500 meters above sea level.Erhai Lake is a beautiful plateau lake with long andnarrow shape.The clean and transparent water is just like the clear blue sky,giving a senseof tranquility and distance.At the foot of Cangshan Mountain and the shore of Erhai Lake,lies the famous Butterfly Spring.Every year in the 3rd and 4th months of the lunar calendar,tens of thousands of butterflies fly from all directions,flying around the spring,so colorfulas rosy clouds and brocades.

The ancient city of Dali is an important hub of the Tea-horse Ancient Road.The sectionthat remains its original appearance best is located in Fengyangyi.This section of the ancientroad is more than 700 meters long and 2.6 to 3.2 meters wide.In the middle of the road,thereare“horse-guiding stones”with a length of 1 meter and a width of 0.6 meters.On both sidesof the road,there are pebble paths with a width of about 15 centimeters.The ancient road issurrounded by ancient Bai nationality dwellings with irregular stone walls,which are unique.On both sides of the ancient road are stone benches and shop platforms,among which thereare tea shops.The shop platforms were built by stones,simple and unadorned.The tea shopis simple with unique national flavor.Stone benches,shop platforms and tea shops providedsupplies and rest for passing merchants,which are the unique style of the Tea-horse AncientRoad and the stone culture also has its unique charm.There are wells along the ancient roadto provide drinkable water for passing merchants and local residents.

(4)Lijiang,the City of Kings

Lijiang Ancient Town is located in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County,Yunnan Province.It is an ancient city inhabited by Naxi,Han,Bai,Lisu,Yi,Miao and other ethnic groups.It is also a famous historical and cultural city.As early as the Southern Song Dynasty,the ancient city of Lijiang had begun to take shape,with a history of 800 to 900 years.Atthe end of the Ming Dynasty,Lijiang became more and more prosperous under the ruleof Chieftain Mu.The Chieftain House built by Chieftain Mu was magnificent.Xu Xiake,a traveler of the Ming Dynasty,said in his travel notes that“the beauty of the palace islike that of a king”.Lijiang is located in the Hengduan Mountains at the southern end ofthe Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,bordering on Sichuan in the east and Tibet in the north.It isthe only route from Yunnan to Tibet and the only passage of the Yunnan-Tibet Tea-horseAncient Road.Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties,Lijiang,located at the heart of theTea-horse Ancient Road,has become a place for horse caravans and merchants to rest.Therefore,it is said that Lijiang is an ancient city stepped out by horse hooves.In the QingDynasty,with the growing prosperity of Han-Tibetan trade with the Tea-horse AncientRoad as the main route,Lijiang’s trade market had a considerable scale,and it became atrade transit station for“goods transferred”to the Tibetan-inhabited area.Lijiang’s richand diverse cultural customs,life style and the common use of multiple languages makeit convenient for businessmen all over the country.In addition,the pleasant climate in allseasons makes many inland businessmen stop in Lijiang and take this place as the base forbusiness.All kinds of goods from the inland and local products from neighboring areaswere mainly transported to the Tibetan-inhabited areas by merchants in Lijiang who werefamiliar with the areas.After the local products were transported to Lijiang,the Tibetanmerchants no longer went south,but traded locally.In the Qing Dynasty,some of the Naxipeople in Lijiang gradually became“Zangke”who were specialized in the trade in Tibet-- Naxi merchants who went to Tibet to conduct trade with Tibetans.At the end of theQing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China,the number of Naxi people inthe ancient city of Lijiang was increasing gradually,and they set up horse caravans to dobusiness in the Tibetan area and became merchants on the Tea-horse Ancient Road.

(5)Shangri-La,a fairyland on earth

Shangri-La,formerly known as“Zhongdian”,is the state capital of Diqing TibetanAutonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province.It is located on the southern edge of theQinghai-Tibet Plateau.Jiantang Town,where the municipal government is located,hasa history of more than 1,300 years.There are 470 snow-covered mountains above 4000meters in Shangri-La,with deep canyons,the most famous of which are Tiger LeapingGorge on the Jinsha River and Lancang River Gorge,as well as vast alpine grasslands,pastures,wild virgin forests and alpine lakes scattered all over the city.Its natural landscapeis magical,precipitous,quiet and graceful.Here also live the Tibetan,Lisu,Han,Naxi,Yi,Bai,Hui and other 13 ethnic groups,they live in harmony,and have maintained thecharacteristics of themselves in the way of life,clothing,residential buildings and weddingcustoms and other traditions,representing the unique customs of each ethnic.The boundlessmeadows,splendid temples,time-honored religious culture and colorful ethnic customsmake Shangri-La a paradise in the heart of Chinese and foreign tourists.

(6)Deqin -- Fair in the Snow Mountains

Deqin is located in the northwest of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,YunnanProvince,the southern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,the middle section of theHengduan Mountains,and the hinterland of the“Three Parallel Rivers”.There are majesticand towering Meili Snow Mountain,beautiful and charming alpine lakes and meadows,as well as resplendent monasteries and mysterious Tibetan Buddhism culture in DeqinCounty.All the ethnic groups living here have their own unique ethnic costumes,customs,festivals and handicrafts,showing a variety of ethnic customs.Shengping Town,wherethe government of Deqin County is located,is the northernmost town and the highesttown in Yunnan Province.It has been an important channel for tea-horse trade since theTang and Song Dynasties.Businessmen from Dali and Lijiang and from Tibet,Sichuan,Qinghai and Gansu set up shops here.Especially during the Anti-Japanese War,it becamean important port for material transportation and used to be very prosperous.It was called“Small Shanghai”by horse caravans.Buildings in the town were built along mountains ina trapezoidal distribution.At the end of autumn and the beginning of winter every year,thetown is filled with clouds and fog,sometimes the fog drifts into the houses,which is calledby the local people as the“Heavenly Fumigation Chamber”.

3.Traces of history

The Tea-horse Ancient Road,which has existed in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,thewestern Sichuan Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau for thousands of years,waspaved by wisdom and lives of Han and Tibetan people and ethnic minorities in SouthwestChina.It is the highest known ancient road for the spread of civilization and culture in theworld.It links Tibetan-inhabited areas of China to the mainland and extends to South Asiaand SoutheastAsia.It is an international channel through which China plays an importantrole in foreign economic and cultural exchanges and in the spread of ancient civilizations.The mottled scars left by the caravans on the ancient road and the winding paths troddenby them evoke imagination.Along the way,you can feel the splendid and colorful ancientChinese civilization with ancient villages,Tibetan Buddhist temples and pagodas,ancientcliff stone carvings,ancient giant murals,and exotic folk customs.At the same time,theHengduan Mountain area and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,which pass through the Sichuan-Tibet Road and Yunnan-Tibet Road,are the regions with the most complex geographyand landform and the most abundant biodiversity in China,which have high scientificinvestigation value.

The Tea-horse Ancient Road is like the thread of a cobweb that holds up the splendidhistory of southwest China.

“There is the Silk Road in the north and the Tea-horse Ancient Road in the south”.The Tea-horse Ancient Road,like the Silk Road,which once played an important role inthe birth and development of the Chinese nation,has been gradually lost in the dust ofhistory with the erosion of modern civilization.But its history and value are always shiningbrightly.“The Tea-Horse Ancient Road has inherited the Tibetan and Chinese feelings forthousands of years”describes hardships and feelings contained in the Tea-Horse AncientRoad.Similarly,the development of tourism resources of the road not only containshardships,but also is full of the feelings of protecting world heritage and carrying forwardnational culture.The Tea-Horse Ancient Road once triggered the economic developmentthrough trade.Today,it will promote economic development and cultural disseminationin Yunnan,Sichuan and Tibet through tourism.The advantages of the“Tea-horse AncientRoad”tourism include:

(1)The Tea-horse Ancient Road is a rich historical and cultural resource with greattourist attraction

The Sichuan-Tibet Tea-horse Ancient Road has a history of two thousand years.Alongthis ancient road,numerous historical buildings and relics are scattered.Old appearanceof old tea markets submerged in historical years and the faintly identifiable traces of horsecaravans,arouse people’s imagination to track down the historical relics of thousands ofyears.The“National Corridor”area through which this ancient road passes gives people adeep sense of the colorful multi-cultural here.There are also a large number of anecdotesand legends along this ancient road,leaving many historical mysteries which are attractiveand can be developed as a distinctive tourist resources.

(2)The Tea-horse Ancient Road has rich cultural connotation and extension,andcan be developed into a series of tourism products

The Tea-horse Ancient Road is not only a road,but also a carrier of history and culture,which contains extremely rich cultural connotation.For example,with the birth of thisancient road,tea culture,Han-Tibetan trade culture is worth in-depth exploration,anddeveloping into characteristic tourism products.

(3)The Tea-horse Ancient Road is a link to promote the tourism interactionbetween Sichuan,Yunnan and Tibet

The Tea-horse Ancient Road is a historical witness of reunification of the motherlandand a symbol of national unity.It is like a historical monument,making one feel thesignificance and profundity of Han-Tibetan friendship.The Tea-horse Ancient Road spans2,000 years in time and spans Sichuan,Yunnan,Tibet and Qing for thousands of kilometersin space .It is impossible for any country to create this tourism product alone.It must becarried outjointly.And regional division of labor and mutual interaction both play a uniquerole.Therefore,in this sense,the Tea-horse Ancient Road and the“Southern Silk Road”cancomplement each other in building the tourism attractions of Sichuan,Yunnan and Tibet,and become the best link to promote the linkage of Sichuan,Yunnan and Tibet tourism.