03-29-2015, 08:03 AM
I think that there was always some form of limited trade with Central Asia before the Han and there must have been contact with the west during the time of the Shang dynasty as they adopted chariots from the west. There was trade, mainly for jade with the Yueh-zhi as middlemen as written by 7th century BCE philosopher and economist of the Qi Dynasty Guan Zhong, who argued that
The cultivation of silk worms had been around since 3rd millennium BCE in China and silk textiles were important for steppe peoples as they were used to line fur coats and silk floss was also used to pad quilted cloths as quilted cloth was not only warm but extremely light, and used to be made into jackets, trousers and bedding. It was also used to give steppe elites status so that they looked much more elegant than their followers.
However I still think the main driver of trade, at least to the Chinese early on, was their need for quality military mounts from the “Warring states period” onwards when the Northern states faced constant invasion from the northern nomad tribes. They adapted their armies & copied nomad weaponry, tactics and dress such as trousers for their cavalry but the Chinese did not have the grasslands to breed and maintain massive horse herds so they traded for them.The Qin emperor firstly underwent a massive building programme on uniting the kingdoms, joining all the different walls that were built by the various warring kingdoms to form the Great Wall with gatehouses and markets for trade as well as cutting off invasion routes. But he also needed horses to counter the constant threat faced from the marauding Hsiung-nu. One Yueh-zhi chief whose name was Luo made a fortune selling good big horses to the Qin in exchange for silks and goods which as middleman he sold back to various tribes and oasis centres at ten times the price he paid for the horses so he did alright for himself, according to Sima Qian. I think that when the Hsiung-nu defeated the Yueh-zhi and drove them westwards that it was the need for big mounts which would be able to out-run and out-distance the smaller Hsiung-nu mounts which forced the Han to seek trade contacts from western tribes and states like the Wusun and Ferghana. Silk became the currency of trade and that is why I think it came to be known as the Silk Road and the middlemen thrived until the arrival of Genghiz Khan. It was a two way street and China imported wool, furs, carpets and various fruits and wines as well as minerals.
Later on under the Tang dynasty sea routes gained in importance but the land routes still dominated in Han times. Most of China’s sea trade was conducted through either the South China Sea or the Indian Ocean and trade by sea was governed by the seasonal monsoons. The various land routes would not be for the faint-hearted and caravans, once leaving Chang’an would have skirted the Gobi Desert, none of them would have been easy or even passable except for the exceptional Bactrian camel, which could sniff out subterranean springs and predict deadly sandstorms in the desert areas before caravans reached the various oasis cities. There was also a southern route cutting through Burma leading to India as well as another hazardous route through Tibet, Nepal and India. There must have been an alternative northern route that flanked the Persian empire that threaded its way to the Pontic cities which seemed to be under the influence of Rome until the Goths and Huns, as Rome always seemed to be at war with Parthia, Persia and in the later Byzantines case the Arabs. Even though they were enemies I am sure the Romans managed to acquire silk from the Middle East although they would have had to pay through the nose in bullion. Silk Road trade declined severely with the advent of the Mongols in thirteenth century.
Information about the abilities of the Bactrian camels and the Indian Ocean trade conditions from the book "The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, a Study of Tang Exotics" by Edward H. Schafer. If you are interested in products that the Chinese were interested in around 700 to 800 AD then it is a good read.
Quote:Jade supplied by the Yueh-zhi should be the most highly valued currency of the state. Our ancestor kings attributed the highest value to jade, as it came from a long distance. Gold is the second, and copper currency is the third.
The cultivation of silk worms had been around since 3rd millennium BCE in China and silk textiles were important for steppe peoples as they were used to line fur coats and silk floss was also used to pad quilted cloths as quilted cloth was not only warm but extremely light, and used to be made into jackets, trousers and bedding. It was also used to give steppe elites status so that they looked much more elegant than their followers.
However I still think the main driver of trade, at least to the Chinese early on, was their need for quality military mounts from the “Warring states period” onwards when the Northern states faced constant invasion from the northern nomad tribes. They adapted their armies & copied nomad weaponry, tactics and dress such as trousers for their cavalry but the Chinese did not have the grasslands to breed and maintain massive horse herds so they traded for them.The Qin emperor firstly underwent a massive building programme on uniting the kingdoms, joining all the different walls that were built by the various warring kingdoms to form the Great Wall with gatehouses and markets for trade as well as cutting off invasion routes. But he also needed horses to counter the constant threat faced from the marauding Hsiung-nu. One Yueh-zhi chief whose name was Luo made a fortune selling good big horses to the Qin in exchange for silks and goods which as middleman he sold back to various tribes and oasis centres at ten times the price he paid for the horses so he did alright for himself, according to Sima Qian. I think that when the Hsiung-nu defeated the Yueh-zhi and drove them westwards that it was the need for big mounts which would be able to out-run and out-distance the smaller Hsiung-nu mounts which forced the Han to seek trade contacts from western tribes and states like the Wusun and Ferghana. Silk became the currency of trade and that is why I think it came to be known as the Silk Road and the middlemen thrived until the arrival of Genghiz Khan. It was a two way street and China imported wool, furs, carpets and various fruits and wines as well as minerals.
Later on under the Tang dynasty sea routes gained in importance but the land routes still dominated in Han times. Most of China’s sea trade was conducted through either the South China Sea or the Indian Ocean and trade by sea was governed by the seasonal monsoons. The various land routes would not be for the faint-hearted and caravans, once leaving Chang’an would have skirted the Gobi Desert, none of them would have been easy or even passable except for the exceptional Bactrian camel, which could sniff out subterranean springs and predict deadly sandstorms in the desert areas before caravans reached the various oasis cities. There was also a southern route cutting through Burma leading to India as well as another hazardous route through Tibet, Nepal and India. There must have been an alternative northern route that flanked the Persian empire that threaded its way to the Pontic cities which seemed to be under the influence of Rome until the Goths and Huns, as Rome always seemed to be at war with Parthia, Persia and in the later Byzantines case the Arabs. Even though they were enemies I am sure the Romans managed to acquire silk from the Middle East although they would have had to pay through the nose in bullion. Silk Road trade declined severely with the advent of the Mongols in thirteenth century.
Information about the abilities of the Bactrian camels and the Indian Ocean trade conditions from the book "The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, a Study of Tang Exotics" by Edward H. Schafer. If you are interested in products that the Chinese were interested in around 700 to 800 AD then it is a good read.Regards
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
