The Tang Dynasty was one of the most confident dynasties in the history of ancient Chinese diplomacy, and the Silk Road was a testament to its glorious diplomatic culture.
China was the first country in the world to start breeding silkworms and weaving fabrics using silk, and after generations of exploration by sericulturers and craftsmen, Chinese silk is famous at home and abroad. According to historical records, before the opening of the Silk Road, merchants had already sent Chinese silk to Central Asia and India. In the "Biography of Mu Tianzi", it is recorded that when King Mu of Zhou traveled around the world, he used silk as a gift and was warmly welcomed by the nobles of various countries. Because of the strong demand for silk in various countries, it was urgent to open up a trade route.
In 140 BC, emperor Wu of Han had just ascended the throne, so he sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, hoping to deepen cooperation with the Western Regions through Zhang Qian to weaken the power of the Xiongnu and open the Hexi Passage. After Zhang Qian went through dangers and obstacles in the Western Regions this time and was captured by the Xiongnu, he stayed in the Xiongnu for ten years, and the Xiongnu's various threats and inducements did not shake his determination. In 129 BC, Zhang Qian escaped by the Xiongnu and eventually arrived at the Great Moon Clan and then to Bactria. Zhang Qian's trip was called ''Journey through the Hollow'". In 119 BC, Zhang Qian sent a second mission to the Western Regions, and this time Zhang Qian went all the way, and the countries in the Western Regions saw the goodwill of the Han regime from Zhang Qian and sent emissaries to the Han Dynasty. Under zhang qian's efforts, the prototype of the Silk Road began to appear, and the main goods transported were silk.
And today we want to talk about "Hu Feng culture" is a cultural form rooted in the Silk Road, as early as the "Warring States Policy" has appeared in the "Hu people"; in Jia Yi's "On Passing the Qin" there are "Hu people do not dare to go south and herd horses, soldiers do not dare to bend their bows and complain", and the "Hu people" here refer to the Xiongnu. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Silk Road had been expanded and played a very important role in the exchanges between the Central Plains and the Western Regions. During the Tang Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road had emerged, the economy and trade were unprecedentedly prosperous, and the cultural integration of the Central Plains and the Western Regions was becoming increasingly close.
The diplomatic purpose of the Tang Dynasty was "China is both safe and self-serving", and looking at the economic policies of China's dynasties and dynasties, most of them were to respect agriculture and suppress businessmen, which guaranteed the stable development of society to a certain extent. But this policy also fundamentally stifled the development of the commodity economy. In the Tang Dynasty, for foreign merchants, the rulers were open and gentle. They respected the diplomatic etiquette of foreign emissaries and merchants and would not force them to follow the customs. In order to standardize the business behavior of foreign businessmen in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty government also set up a special envoy to manage overseas trade, which we have already reflected in the recently popular "Twelve Hours of Chang'an". Similarly, in order to protect the interests of foreign businessmen, the government will order severe punishments for those who deceive foreign businessmen.
Ethnic minority goods with a strong ethnic minority cultural color, whether it is never tasted, novel materials, shapes or ornaments, all give the citizen class a strong sense of freshness. Gradually, these foods or supplies have become an indispensable part of people's lives, and the cultural exchanges brought about by commodity exchanges are obvious, and the Hufeng culture has gradually penetrated into the culture of the citizens of the Tang Dynasty.
The freedom and prosperity of cultural exchanges is based on this political and economic foundation, and on the basis of religious belief, the Tang government protected the culture of foreign nationalities, and in the Tang Dynasty, ethnic minorities could carry out religious activities according to their own habits. According to historical records, there were more than 10,000 Islamic believers in Guangzhou at that time. Under such an enlightened policy of cultural thought, people were emancipated and keen to accept Gentile culture. The prosperity and openness of the Tang Dynasty attracted a number of merchants and foreign scholars to this prosperous country, and today we can still see the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty in many foreign historical materials.
Hu feng culture was a school of its own in the Tang Dynasty, not only was not excluded by the officials and people of the Tang Dynasty, but also regarded the pursuit of this novel culture as a trend trend. The people of the Tang Dynasty were open-minded and boldly tried new products, from the usual eating, wearing, living and traveling to song and dance painting, they were extremely respected. For the nobles of the time, providing novel Hu people's delicacies while entertaining guests, and having Orchids dressed in strange costumes come to dance a song, is the most superior way of hospitality. Because of the aristocrats' pursuit of Hufeng culture, the citizen class was also very enthusiastic about it. For example, in the West Market of Chang'an at that time, there were more than two hundred shops operated by foreign businessmen alone, and the liquor stores operated by the Hu people were particularly famous at that time, and there were often exotic dancers dancing in the liquor stores to help them, just as we can see in many film and television works now, the Hu ren liquor stores at that time can be said to be the most lively place in Chang'an City.
Hu feng culture was not formed in one day, and in the subtle, the living habits of hu people gradually affected the way of life of Han people.
The hu bed, a foldable seat, is also known as the "chair", which is what we call the "first chair" today. Before the introduction of the beard bed, our ancestors were accustomed to sitting on their knees. Later, after this easy-to-carry seat was introduced, people generally felt that it was very comfortable to sit up, and the Hu bed quickly spread in the Central Plains. Some scholars say that the "bright moonlight in front of the bed" in Li Bai's "Quiet Night Thoughts" and "bed" refer to the Hu bed. According to historical records, Tang Muzong met with hundreds of officials on the bed of the Imperial Rope of the Zichen Ben Temple and discussed the establishment of a prince. The introduction of the Hu bed had a decisive influence on the sitting posture of the Central Plains people, and later people continued from the kneeling position to the sitting posture to this day.
Another important embodiment of Hu feng culture in the Tang Dynasty is the wine culture, from the perspective of wine utensils, many strange wine vessels of ethnic minorities have been introduced, and people have begun to accept the arrogant and rude drinking style of other ethnic groups. In the poems of Tang Dynasty poets, we often see the figure of "'grape wine'" and ''orchid''.
In terms of clothing, the Han people of the Tang Dynasty generally loved the costumes of ethnic minorities, and did not shy away from wearing foreign costumes, and did not regard this strange costume as a novelty. In the Central Plains, where the concept of recognizing ancestors and returning to the ancestors is very deep, it is still very rare to accept such widespread service from other races. This phenomenon is not only concentrated in the folk, but even the imperial palace is very popular. The walking shake worn by women in the Tang Dynasty palace was imported from a foreign country, and the "shishi makeup" that made us feel very "weird" was also a combination of the makeup of Central Asian women and Tubo women, although it looked unimposed, it was a very personalized makeup for women who pursued novelty at that time. Bai Juyi, who pronounced "'Yan Yan Black and White Lost Her True State, Dressed up like a Sad Cry'", at that time, it would probably be called ''Straight Man'' by the girls.
After talking about what you wear and use, let's talk about the diet of the big one. The Silk Roads brought countless delicacies, and to this day we are proud of the traditional cuisine, in fact, a large part of the traditional cuisine was introduced to China by overseas merchants at that time. For example, the baked cakes that we often eat in every household today were invented under the improvement of "Hu Cake" and are deeply loved by people. At that time, spices from the western regions opened the door to a new world for the Tang, especially the introduction of pepper, which led to the improvement of China's cooking methods.
The introduction of Hu Feng culture is not only in all aspects of life, but also has a huge impact on people's thinking. For example, under the influence of ethnic minorities, the tang dynasty women's thinking was more liberated, rather than being overwhelmed by "husband power" and "patriarchal power". Women of the Tang Dynasty were more free than women of other dynasties, and they could choose their own lives to a certain extent, dress as they pleased, and pursue individual liberation. In married life, both men and women tend to be equal, and women can even ride horses like men, with the arrogance of ethnic minority women.
The reason why the Tang Dynasty was able to accept foreign cultures so tolerantly was because of its high self-confidence in its own culture, because at the same time, they also hit the Tang dynasty's signboards all over the western region. The introduction of foreign culture did not completely change the cultural pattern of China, but supplemented the shortcomings or imperfections of Chinese culture in terms of details. The introduction of Hu Feng did have an impact on the living habits or aesthetic habits of the people of the Tang Dynasty, but the diversification of aesthetics and ideas was not the so-called "great power arrogance"? Compared with stubbornness and old-fashionedness, ''Happy to hear'' is the attitude of Datang people's life!
Resources
Chen Hongyi - "Chinese Traffic History", Zhonghua Bookstore
Xie Fu's book "Foreign Civilization in the Tang Dynasty", Shaanxi Normal University out of the Shangshe
Li Xizhen, Wang Xue, Hu Chen—— "The Evolution of Media Technology and the Evolution of Media Forms on the ''Road'' of Communication"