Context:
Recently, China’s Ambassador to India posted on social media about the historic Tea Horse Road which spanned more than 2,000 km, and connected China to India via Tibet.
About the Tea Horse Road:
Origin:
- Also known as Chamadao is believed to have originated during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) due to the demand for tea in Tibet
- The Buddhist monk Yijing (635–713 CE) wrote about the trade between southwestern China, Tibet, and India, detailing the exchange of goods like sugar, textiles, rice noodles, and horses, leather, Tibetan gold, saffron, and medicinal herbs.
- By the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE), the trade along the route increasingly focused on tea and horses.
Route Characteristics:
- It was not a single road, but a network of branching paths passed through difficult terrain, and reached an elevation of up to 10,000 feet.
- The Tea Horse Road linked Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet, stretched across Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, and India, and then reached the Middle East, and even the Red Sea coast of Egypt.
- The Ancient Tea Horse Road was divided into two major roads: the Sichuan–Tibet Tea Horse Road and the Yunnan–Tibet Tea Horse Road.
Trade Dynamics:
- Tea and horses formed a complementary trade exchange, shaping the region’s economic and military dynamics as mentioned in the Song Dynasty.
- It facilitated the trade of goods such as horses, mules, salt, alcohol, sugar, furs, medicinal herbs, and the spread of Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity.
Important and Impact:
- After the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, the road remained significant despite domestic turmoil and foreign aggression.
- World War II saw the road playing a role in transporting supplies to the frontline as Japan controlled China’s coast and airspace.
Decline of the Tea Horse Road
- Post-1949, with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, modern infrastructure reduced the road’s significance.
- The backbreaking work of porters, who carried up to 150 kg, diminished after Mao Zedong’s land reforms.
Current Status of the road:
- China promotes tourism along the route, with Lijiang (Yunnan) recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
- Lijiang, an important distribution centre on the road, reflects a unique cultural blend of Han, Bai, Tibetan, and other ethnic groups.
- The murals and architecture in the region symbolize the harmonious co-existence of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.