«——[·Preface·] ——»
China's history can always be continued in the change of dynasties, and when a country moves from unity to division, from strength to weakness, logistics will also change. And this is also one of the laws of historical development.
The unification of the Sui Dynasty and the development of the economy provided a good social foundation for the logistics industry. During the Sui Emperor's period, not only the logistics industry ushered in a golden period of development, but also the economic development of the logistics industry was extremely rapid.
The Sui Dynasty only lasted for more than 200 years in history, but it created an era of strength and prosperity, which was naturally backed by economic support, and a large part of this was the benefits of the logistics industry.
During the Sui Dynasty, it not only made great achievements in transportation, information technology, warehousing, commerce and other fields, but also promoted economic prosperity and development to a certain extent.
1. The transportation network of the Sui Dynasty
In the early days of the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, there was no perfect transportation system, but it played a great role in promoting the development of logistics.
By the time of Emperor Wen of Sui, the capital Chang'an was already the largest city in China, with a large population and a prosperous economy.
After the Sui Emperor came to the throne, although he inherited the policies and systems of Emperor Wen of Sui, he also attached great importance to the construction and development of transportation.
In order to strengthen the management and control of transportation, the Sui Emperor established a system of three provinces and six ministries in the capital Luoyang, one of which was specifically responsible for the management of transportation.
The Sui Dynasty set up four large city gates, including Guangyangmen, Tonghua Gate, and Zuoyemen in the Gyeonggi area, and two large city gates, including Hongnongmen and Shaoyangmen, in the Guanzhong area, and also built 12 large post stations outside the two capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an.
Setting up post stations in these important transportation points can not only meet the needs of caravans, but also effectively ensure the transportation of military food and military materials.
In order to strengthen the control and management of major cities and major transportation areas, the Sui Dynasty government also set up many institutions specifically responsible for managing transportation affairs.
For example, there are posts such as post chiefs and post chiefs in the capital, which are specially responsible for managing various roads, bridges and ferries inside and outside the capital; At the local level, there are Yicheng and Yiwei who are responsible for local transportation affairs.
In addition, Emperor Wen of Sui also set up many officials related to transportation to manage transportation work.
These officials were directly appointed and dismissed and evaluated by the imperial court, and also represented the direct management of local transportation by the imperial court.
These officials could not only transport the materials collected from various places to the vicinity of the capital for centralized storage, but also regularly or irregularly inspect and maintain the transportation routes.
2. The post station of the Sui Dynasty
The post station is an important logistics transfer station, and its role is very large.
The earliest post stations were set up for military intelligence, border affairs, and intelligence transmission, but with the change of the form of war, these institutions were no longer able to meet the needs, so various types of post stations were produced.
According to the Book of Sui, "The three great masters of the world... There are North Yi and West Yi. ”
This is the earliest post station name we have seen, they are distributed in the Central Plains and Northwest Regions, while the Southern Post Station is distributed in the southeast and southwest.
During the Tang Dynasty, the number of post stations in the Central Plains had reached more than 100, and there were more than 70 in the Northwest Region.
However, in the whole country, there has not yet been a comprehensive post station integrating military, economic, cultural and political aspects.
After the Tang Dynasty, the number of post stations in the Central Plains and Northwest China increased sharply, and they were distributed throughout the country.
These stations were responsible not only for transmitting documents and military intelligence, but also for foreign communications and commerce.
During the Song Dynasty, the concept of "road" began to appear, which means "the road traveled from one city to another".
This divides the road into five levels:
The first level is high-level roads - Jingshi Road, Hebei Road; The second level is intermediate roads - Guangping Road (present-day Beijing), Chen Cang Road (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi), etc.; The third level is the low-level roads - Pujin Road (present-day Yongjixi, Shanxi), Yangqu Road (present-day Yangqu, Shanxi), etc.; The fourth level is the low-level roads - Jinguan Road (present-day Zhengding, Hebei), Changshan Road (present-day Zhengding, Hebei), etc.; The fifth level is the low-level road - the deep gully bridge.
It can be seen that the roads during the Song Dynasty were composed of five classes.
However, it should be noted that the management of post stations during the Song Dynasty was not as strict as we thought, and many times there were "walking" and "stationing".
And the main capacity of the post station is still cattle, horses, donkeys and other livestock. During his expedition to Goguryeo, the Sui Emperor used post stations to increase the transportation capacity of the army and ensure logistical supplies. "All the men and horses were given 100 days of rations, and they were given a little armor and guns, and they were clothed with fire curtains. People who are more than three stones are not victorious. The sergeant of the army was ordered to behead those who abandoned the rice millet. The sergeants dug and buried them under the curtain. Only go and the middle road, and the food will be exhausted. "But this method is less forgiving, and if it encounters an accident, it will lead to the military running out of food, causing disastrous consequences."
The construction of the postal system in the Sui Dynasty is groundbreaking in the history of Chinese postal services, which is the first dynasty in the history of the mainland to establish a postal system and the earliest postal network in the mainland.
Before the Sui Dynasty, the mainland did not form a relatively complete postal system, and the means of transportation at that time were also very backward, so the government set up postal agencies in each region in order to facilitate the connection between various regions.
However, the post offices set up in different regions were different, which caused the speed of information transmission at that time to be very slow, not only slow transmission speed but also small transmission range.
This had a great impact on economic development, so after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, in order to solve these problems, postal systems were established throughout the country.
At that time, post inns, which we call post stations, were set up in various places, and most of these inns were in some convenient places or remote mountainous areas.
At that time, in order to facilitate the exchange and transmission of information in various places, the government would set up post stations, which were responsible for transmitting military information in addition to information.
When important events or emergencies occur, special transportation is used for transportation.
The postal system established during the Sui Dynasty was mainly for military purposes.
Because the rulers of the Sui Dynasty often launched wars at that time, it was necessary to ensure that the army had access to logistical support and military intelligence at any time.
At that time, in order to better ensure the security of military information, the government set up military posts in various places as military communication tools. Due to the characteristics of rapid transmission and speed, military post agencies were set up in various regions at that time.
At that time, various military agencies were mainly responsible for important tasks such as transmitting military intelligence and transporting emergency supplies.
Among these military institutions, there are mainly two types of institutions: one is the "pedestrian hall" and the other is the "post building".
The Pedestrian Hall was a post agency dedicated to the military by the government at the time, and they were responsible for transmitting documents that needed to be transmitted in the army or important information such as urgent tasks.
3. Commerce in the Sui Dynasty
In the development of commerce in the Sui Dynasty, many large cities appeared at that time, the most famous of which was Luoyang City. Emperor Wen of Sui conducted a large-scale commercial activity in Luoyang City and expanded some roads in Luoyang City.
The Sui Dynasty established large-scale commercial centers in the surrounding areas of the capital Luoyang, of which Luoyang was the most famous and prosperous, becoming the economic center of the country at that time. Emperor Yang Jian of Sui once held a large-scale commercial event in Luoyang City, and in order to promote commercial development, a special agency to manage commodity trading was set up at that time, the City Busi Division.
The Municipal Department is an institution responsible for managing overseas trade and maritime trade, and its main responsibility is to provide relevant policies, laws and other services for the overseas trade activities of the state and the imperial court. It can facilitate the trading of goods by the government, so it has a great contribution to the development of the economy.
During the Sui Dynasty, the state also expanded and adjusted some important ports, among which Luoyang Port, located northeast of Luoyang, is an important port. Luoyang Port was an important port for the country's foreign trade at that time, and Yang Jian, the emperor of Sui, also set up a city department in Luoyang.
In addition to being mainly responsible for overseas trade and maritime trade, the Municipal Department is also responsible for managing and maintaining the country's foreign trade. At that time, the Sui and Tang dynasties were strong and foreign trade was very active, so the Sui Dynasty set up a special city department near the capital and managed overseas trade and other related affairs.
During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, he also set up an institution in Luoyang City to manage grain and handicraft products, as well as currency and other related items, the Cangxi Courtyard. The warehouse is mainly responsible for the management and storage of national warehousing materials, and the items stored in the warehouse are all materials that the state needs to use, so the warehouse is also responsible for supervising the management of various materials in the national warehouse.
Author's opinion:
The development achievements of logistics in the Sui Dynasty are not only reflected in the development of its logistics, but also in the social and economic development of the Sui Dynasty at that time.
After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the country's social economy has developed considerably, and it has made certain achievements in agriculture, handicrafts, commerce and transportation, and many administrative institutions have emerged.
The establishment of these management institutions has provided important guarantees and support for the development of the country's economy and society, and the development of logistics during the Sui Dynasty has also been well played under the management of these institutions.
The development of logistics in the Sui Dynasty not only promoted the economic and social development of the country at that time, but also had a great impact on future generations, leaving valuable wealth and experience for future generations.
Bibliography:
1 "Book of Sui": "The three major stations under the world, there are the North Yi and the East Yi, covered by the four directions of the road, and the things under the world are all over." ”
2 The Book of Sui: "All things in the four directions are given to them, so that they may come and go." ”
3 "Old Book of Tang": "The military mansions have pedestrian halls and post buildings... In the important place of the world, he set up a pedestrian hall in Jingshi Division. ”
4 "History of the Old Five Dynasties": "One hundred and twenty houses in the prefectures and all the provinces. ”