明中后期朝廷对藏交通政策的转变及影响

The Imperial Court’s Change of Transportation Policy to Tibet in the Middle and Late Ming Dynasty and Its Influence

明代是汉、藏交通史上承前启后的重要时期。明中后期,朝廷在内地与西藏的交通问题上发生了一次重大的政策转向,改变了朝廷使臣和藏族朝贡者以往主要由甘青故道进出青藏高原的传统,开始以途经康区的川藏道作为正驿。明中后期的川藏官道,大致路线应为:出碉门,过打箭炉,然后往北行经今天的道孚、炉霍、甘孜、德格,至昌都,最后抵达拉萨。明代汉藏交通重心南移,是明王朝根据当时政治、经济、民族关系等各方面形势的变化而作出的选择。相较西北甘青地区的动乱以及所面临的蒙古部族的威胁,川藏道途经茶叶产地,方便食茶的赏给,同时也有利于保护朝廷在西北的茶马贸易。十五世纪中叶以来,明王朝在汉藏交通问题上的政策转向,不仅改变了内地与西藏之间交通的格局,导致了汉、藏交通重心的南移,而且对青藏高原政治格局的变化,以及后世治藏政策的演变都有着深远的意义。

Historical documentation indicates transportation between the inland and Tibet was an important issue for the Ming dynasty in its construction of a relationship between the central government and Tibet.While unifying the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the early Ming dynasty,the imperial court gradually rebuilt the post road to Tibet.As a result,the northwestern region and neighboring northern Khams became an important transport route for imperial envoys and tributes from Khams,Dbus Tsang,and other places.It was also used for the tea and horse trade.In addition,the imperial court carried out major repairs on the eastern part of the road from Sichuan to Tibet.Records further show the imperial court made major policy changes on the issue of transport between the inland and Tibet during the middle and late Ming dynasty.From the mid-15th century onwards,Ming envoys visiting Dbus Tsang and other places gradually supplied from Sichuan.Simultaneously,the emperor’s court encouraged Tibetan monks and laypeople to return home from Diaomen via Khams and other places.During the Chenghua period,with the continuous guidance of the imperial court and improved traffic conditions on the Sichuan-Tibet Road,the Ming dynasty officially and repeatedly ordered that the Sichuan-Tibet Road passing through Khams should be used as the official road to enter Tibet.This approach revealed a major shift away from the tradition that imperial envoys and Tibetan tributaries mainly entered and left the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau via the ancient roads of Gansu and Qinghai.Examining this main section of the Sichuan-Tibet official road in Khams since the mid and late Ming dynasty,it can be roughly described as follows:Leaving of Diaomen,passing by Dajianlu,then heading north through present Daofu,Luhuo,Ganzi,Dege,to Changdu,finally reaching Lhasa.The direction of the official road in Khams is different from the routes to the south and north that are recorded in the literature of the Qing dynasty.The reasons for this are not only have to do with the geographical conditions of Khams itself but also are closely related to the construction of the local area by the Ming dynasty at that time,as well as the political and military situation in the south of Khams.According to the changes in political,economic,and ethnic relations at that time,theadoption of the Sichuan-Tibet Road as an official road was an important political choice made by the Ming dynasty.On the one hand,this policy could 1)alleviate the disruption on the Gansu and Qinghai roads caused by unrest in the northwestern region,2)at the same time effectively eliminate the threat of Mongolian ministries to transport to Tibet,and 3)improve the political relationship between the central government and Tibet;on the other hand,the Sichuan-Tibet road passed through Yazhou,the tea-producing area,which was convenient for rewarding Tibetan monks and laymen with tea.At the same time,it was economically advantageous to protect the imperial court s official tea trade in the northwest.Since the middle of the 15th century,the Ming dynasty s policy shift on Han-Tibetan transport changed the traffic pattern between the inland and Tibet,resulting in a southward movement of Han-Tibetan traffic;on top of that,it enhanced the status of Kham in the political and economic structure of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region,consolidating the connection between the emperor’s court and Tibet and having a far-reaching significance and influence on the governance of Tibet in the Ming dynasty and later generations.