The Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Route

The Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Road, located in Southwest China, was a folk international trade route primarily utilizing horse caravans. It served as a corridor for economic and cultural exchanges among various ethnic groups in the region.

The Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Route is a unique geographical term, denoting a route that boasts some of the world's most spectacular natural landscapes and mysterious cultures. Stretching nearly 4,000 kilometers, it has a history spanning over 1,300 years, rich with historical and cultural significance. This route was an essential bridge and link between ancient Tibet and inland China, bearing profound historical and cultural meaning.

According to historical records, the earliest export of Chinese tea can be traced back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During this period, Chinese merchants traded tea for goods at the border with neighboring Mongolia, exporting tea to Turkey in exchange for other items.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the expansion of border markets and the opening of the Silk Road facilitated the export of Chinese tea. Through tea-horse exchanges, tea was transported via Huihe and the Western Regions to West Asia, North Asia, and Arab countries, eventually reaching Russia and various European countries via Siberia.

From the Tang Dynasty onward, successive rulers actively controlled the tea-horse trade. In 756 AD., during the first year of the Zhide era under Emperor Suzong of Tang, the tea-horse trade was pioneered in Huihe (modern-day Mongolia). This set a precedent for the exchange of tea for horses.

During the Song Dynasty, the tea-horse trade primarily took place in the Shaanxi-Gansu region, with tea being sourced from Sichuan and exchanged for horses. Trade offices were established in Chengdu and Qinzhou (present-day Tianshui, Gansu) for managing tea and horse transactions. The rise of minority groups such as the Khitan, Western Xia, and Jurchen posed significant threats to the Song Dynasty, forcing the government to maintain friendly relations with Southwest minorities to concentrate efforts on countering Northwest minority regimes. Under these circumstances, the "tea-horse exchange" not only provided the court with substantial tea profits to supplement military expenditures but also met the state's need for warhorses and ensured the security of the Song Dynasty's southwestern border.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the government abolished the tea-horse border control policy of the Song Dynasty. To strengthen administration over Tibetan areas, the "tusi" system (local chieftain governance) was implemented along The Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Route. This system formalized the trade route as an official postal route with designated stations. Thus, The Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Route became a route for trade, cultural exchange, and governance.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Yuan postal system was continued, with repairs and restoration of damaged stations. The Ming government also strengthened management over key passes and ferry points along the route. Tea-horse trade offices were set up in Yazhou and Dajian, facilitating the transport of millions of pounds of tea annually into Tibet via the Kang region. The Sichuan-Tibet line, as the main "tea route," significantly increased in economic value. In the Hongwu era of Emperor Hongwu, a top-grade horse could be exchanged for up to 120 pounds of tea. By the Wanli era, a top-grade horse was valued at thirty packs of tea, medium-grade at twenty, and low-grade at fifteen. Ming Dynasty writer Tang Xianzu captured the thriving market in his poem "Tea Horse": "Black tea, how exquisite it is; Qiang horses, how unique they are. Qiang horses seek yellow tea, Hu horses crave gold and pearls," highlighting the prosperous tea-horse trade of the time.

In the Qing Dynasty, the tea-horse border control policy relaxed, and private tea merchants increased, leading to more tea being traded for fewer horses. In the thirteenth year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign, the state-run tea-horse trade system ended. The "tea-horse exchange" gradually faded from history, replaced by the "border tea trade" system. Tibetan demand for tea continued to rise, as did the demand for other products such as silk, cloth, and ironware. Meanwhile, inland China's demand for Tibetan horses decreased, but the need for Tibetan leather, gold, and precious medicinal herbs like caterpillar fungus and fritillary bulbs increased significantly. Consequently, trade between the Han and Tibetans became more extensive, with the sound of mule bells and horse hooves marking the prosperity of folk trade along The Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Route.

The tea-horse trade and border control system spanned from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the Qing Dynasty, enduring nearly a thousand years. Throughout this long period of market trade, Chinese merchants, with their own feet, carved out the rugged and winding path known as The Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Route in the northwest and southwest border regions.