从出土汉简看汉王朝对丝绸之路的开拓与经营

The Han Dynasty’s Development and Management of the Silk Road as Seen in Excavated Han Bamboo Slips

为保障丝绸之路和中西交通的畅通,汉王朝在丝绸之路全程不同路段采取不同措施。从长安到敦煌的丝路东段,在大致固定的路线上,建立连绵不断的驿站馆舍作为停靠站点;在西域南北两道,设置西域都护并在南面的伊循和北面的车师驻军屯田,保证绿洲各国在相对稳定的环境中履行中西交通停靠站点的义务;在葱岭以西,加强同中亚各国的来往,把丝绸之路的西端逐步向西向南推进,为其后将之延伸到地中海沿岸奠定了基础。没有这些停靠站点,没有朝廷对沿途安全和供应的保障,丝绸之路的正常通行是不可能的。认为丝绸之路是一条任意行走的"网"的观点值得商榷。丝绸之路从一开始就是中华文明同西方世界(中亚的希腊化世界)直接对接的结果。汉简中关于汉王朝同中亚、西亚以及南亚各国直接通使的材料就是最好证明。那种认为丝路贸易只是一个绿洲到另一个绿洲的短途行为,"很少有人从撒马尔罕穿越整个中亚到达长安"的说法站不住脚。

To ensure the smooth flow of traffic along the Silk Road and between China and the Western Regions,the Han dynasty took different measures along different sections of the Silk Road.In the eastern section of the Silk Road,from Chang’an to Dunhuang,continuous relay stations were set up as stopping points on a fixed route;in the north and south of the Western Regions,the Western Region governorship was set up and troops were stationed in Yixun in the south and Cheshi in the north,to ensure that the oasis countries fulfilled their obligations as stopping points for traffic between China and the Western Regions in a relatively stable environment.To the west of the Congling Ridges,exchanges with Central Asian countries were strengthened and the western end of the Silk Road was gradually shifted westward and southward,laying the foundation for its subsequent extension to the Mediterranean coast.Without the court’s provision of security and supply guarantees along the route,a normal passage along the Silk Road would not have been possible.The idea that the Silk Road was a"network"that could be traveled at will is debatable.From the very beginning,it was a direct interface between Chinese civilization and the Western world(the Hellenistic world of Central Asia).The best proof of this is to be found in the Han bamboo slips,which record direct diplomatic contact between the Han dynasty and Central and Western Asia and South Asia.The argument that the Silk Road trade route involved only a short journey from one oasis to another and that"few people crossed the whole of Central Asia from Samarkand to Chang’an"does not hold water.