Ancient Southwest Silk Road

Ancient Southwest Silk Road

There are three Silk Roads within China—the overland Silk Road in the northwest, the maritime Silk Road in the south, and the overland Silk Road in the southwest. The southwestern route was developed earliest, having been established as early as the 4th century BC. During the Han Dynasty, this route was called the "Shu-Zhendu Path." "Shu" refers to Sichuan, and "Zhendu" is the ancient name for India. It refers to a trade route that started from Sichuan, passed through Yunnan and Myanmar, and extended all the way to India. The remains of the ancient Southwest Silk Road in western Yunnan are mainly located in areas such as Shuizhai and Guanpo in Baoshan City, and Boshan Mountain in Shuiping, Dali Prefecture. According to historical records, in 122 BC, Zhang Qian was sent on a mission to the Western Regions and observed Sichuanese Shu cloth and qiong bamboo staffs imported from India. Upon returning to the court, Zhang Qian reported his observations to Emperor Wu of Han, who was determined to open an official route to India from the southwest at all costs. He appointed Zhang Qian as the Marquis of Bowang and ordered him to use Shu Commandery (with its capital in present-day Chengdu) and Jianwei Commandery (with its capital southwest of present-day Yibin) as bases. He dispatched four groups of secret envoys to explore different routes to India, but all were blocked by southwestern ethnic minorities and failed. The emperor then recruited soldiers from the inland areas and launched military campaigns against the southwestern Yi peoples, the Yelang Kingdom, the Dian Kingdom, and many other tribes. After more than ten years, only the route from Chengdu to the Erhai Lake region was successfully opened. Official envoys were unable to go beyond the area between Dali and Baoshan and could only engage in indirect trade with Indian merchants through various tribal intermediaries. In the 12th year of the Yongping era of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (69 AD), the Ailao people submitted to the Han rule, and the Eastern Han Dynasty "finally opened the Boshan Mountain and crossed the Lancang River." The Yunnan-Myanmar passage was thus established, leading to economic and cultural exchanges with the Shan people of Myanmar, and further access to India via Myanmar. The "official road connecting Shu and Zhendu" that Emperor Wu of Han had long sought was finally fully opened.

The Southwest Silk Road started from Sichuan, branching into the Wuchidao route to the southeast and the Lingguandao route to the southwest, eventually converging in Dali. From Dali, it continued westward, passing through Yangbi County and entering the Boshan Mountain area. Boshan was the name of a county used since the 1st century AD, with its administrative center located in what is today Yongping County. This mountainous path was ordered to be constructed by Emperor Wu of Han around 105 BC (then known as the Boshan Mountain Path). The ancient road crossed the Lancang River to the west and entered the Baoshan region. Baoshan was the administrative center of the ancient Yongchang Commandery and Yongchang Prefecture and was the main area through which this Silk Road passed, hence the name "Yongchang Path" for this section. Through the "Ancient Southwest Silk Road," Chinese silk, Shu cloth, qiong bamboo staffs, handicrafts, ironware, and other goods were continuously exported, while foreign goods such as glassware, gemstones, jade, and bright pearls were imported. By the Tang Dynasty, this trade route had flourished even more and remained prosperous for a long time. However, later on, due to the discovery and development of new routes, this ancient path gradually became less traveled. As time passed, most of the roads of the ancient Southwest Silk Road have been buried by the winds and rains of history, but some formidable passes, rugged paths, mule and horse hoof prints, as well as poetic inscriptions, still bear deep historical imprints. Sections such as Shuizhai and Guanzhuang in Baoshan were originally hand-carved through rock and mountain, and remain well-preserved to this day. One stretch in Shuizhai, extending from the banks of the Lancang River to Changwan, is about 10 kilometers long. It originally included postal relay stations such as Pingpo Station, Shanda Station, and Shuizhai Station. Today, the small street of Pingpo Station still remains, measuring 3 meters wide and 50 meters long, with remnants of street gates at both ends. From Pingpo, heading west up Luoyang Mountain to Shuizhai, a section of the mountain path about three to four kilometers long along the rocky cliffs was carved directly out of the cliffs. The path is winding and steep, featuring over 500 steps resembling a ladder to the sky, historically referred to as the "Stairway to the Clouds." The stone steps still bear numerous hoof prints from mules and horses, with the deepest ones reaching up to 13 centimeters.