Today's modern people go out to pick up their mobile phones to call a car, pack a few pieces of luggage, and then they can walk away. However, in ancient times, it was difficult to travel far away.
First of all, the ancients needed to go through a series of complicated procedures when traveling. Due to the strict household registration system in ancient times, people must hold a "passing place" issued by the government when they go out, similar to the current pass. Without this document, they are likely to be detained and interrogated as fugitives or suspicious persons.
Secondly, it is essential to carry enough dry food and water with you when traveling abroad. At that time, there were no convenience stores, and it was up to luck to buy food and water along the way. Sometimes it is not uncommon for people to starve to death in the middle of a famine.
In terms of means of transportation, in addition to dignitaries, ordinary people mostly walked or rode horses and donkeys. There are also places where you can take a boat, but it is greatly influenced by the season and hydrology. Although horse-drawn carriages are the most comfortable means of transportation, they are expensive and only the wealthy can afford them. Over time, a special group of caravans emerged.
However, road safety is the biggest concern. Bandits often hang out in the mountains, robbing passing merchants and travelers. In order to protect their lives and property, rich people will spend a lot of money to hire a guard to escort them. And in sparsely populated places, there is also the threat of wild beasts, and the slightest carelessness can cost your life.
Despite the difficult and dangerous road, the ancients were very careful in terms of infrastructure development. The setting of the post station is the crystallization of wisdom. From the Han Dynasty onwards, the government set up post stations at intervals along the main roads to provide food, lodging, drinking water, and horse replacement services, which greatly facilitated the travel of officials and messengers.
The ancients' understanding of the road is also constantly improving. The earliest people named roads, mostly named after the starting point and the end point, for example, "Shu Road" is the road from Sichuan to Chang'an. Later, with the advancement of surveying and mapping technology, a more accurate concept of mileage appeared. According to historical records, Zhang Qian chiseled hollow wooden poles in the Han Dynasty and inserted them into the ground at certain intervals, and calculated the mileage accordingly. In the Tang and Song dynasties, there was a Jili drum cart to measure the distance of the road.
In short, the hardships of travel in ancient times can be seen. In the era of inconvenient transportation, a long trip often has to pay an unimaginable price for ordinary people. At the same time, we should also realize that it is precisely under difficult conditions that the ancients continued to make progress in road construction, surveying, mapping and other aspects, and their wisdom and perseverance are worthy of learning and admiration by future generations.