First, it was well organized, and our guide, jeff fuchs, was incredibly knowledgeable and funny. Sichuantibet tea horse road and yunnantibet tea horse road. Film of colors in the cup explores the historical significance of kangding on the ancient tea horse road. The past and present of the ancient tea horse road. Fuchs book is good for its tales of the trail, and the men he meets along it. The ancient china tea horse road was a caravan route, actually several that merged along the way, from china to lhasa, tibet, and then on across tibet and down into burma, india and other countries. Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the silk road. In the 21st century, the legacy of the tea horse road has been used to promote a railway that will. Chinese porcelain history from the 1st century to the 20th. Chinese tea and tibetan horses were long traded on the legendary tea horse road, a harsh 2,250km trail stretching from chinas sichuan province to tibets capital city of lhasa. The world heritage application of the ancient tea horse road, jointly carried out by china, mongolia and russia, will serve as an example for international cooperation, according to sergey.
Jan 01, 2008 the ancient tea horse road winds its way through some of the most unforgiving terrain on earth. Jeff fuchs is a canadian explorer, mountaineer and writer. Travels with the last of the himalayan muleteers first edition by fuchs, jeff isbn. Chinas ancient trade road to tibet by michael freeman, 9786167339535, available at book depository with free delivery. But it is extraordinarily frustrating for any reader interested in the geography of the tea horse road.
Chinas ancient trade road to tibet reprint by michael freeman, selina ahmed isbn. The addition of the word gu or ancient, making the currently popular name chama gudao or ancient tea horse road is a much more recent designation. Another factor was that export to countries to the west increased. The tea horse road or chamadao, now generally referred to as the ancient tea horse road or chamagudao was a network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of sichuan, yunnan and tibet in southwest china. Two major types of porcelain were recognized in the empire. The network once ferried horses and silver from tibet to china in exchange for tea, but people also traded salt for tea, ivory for gold, and religious instruction for food and. This is the first comprehensive visual documentation of the tea horse road that takes the audience on a journey from the birthplace of the tea plant along the oldest trade route of tea in the world. Exploring the history behind chinas ancient tea horse road which began during the tang dynasty 618907 and still used up to the 1960s, with several different routes originating in the town of puerh, in chinas yunnan province to tibet and other points. Jan 07, 2016 phytoliths and biomolecular components extracted from ancient plant remains from changan xian, the city where the silk road begins and ngari ali in western tibet, china, show that the tea was grown 2100 years ago to cater for the drinking habits of the western han dynasty 207bce9ce, and then carried toward central asia by ca.
For centuries, this road carried tea out of the forests of yunnan province, china to the faraway lands of tibet, nepal, india and burma. The antique silk road that connected the chinese and mediterranean worlds for more than a millennium, facilitating the exchange of both goods and cultures. Are there any other puerh books floating around out there. From the 6th century to the 20th century, people in sichuan and yunnan provinces traveled by foot and horseback with pack horses to exchange tea for horses with people in tibet and thus the pathway was called the tea horse road. Traversing the ancient tea horse road with jeff fuchs wildchina. Zhang yun the buddhist, seeing what was going on and seeing, regardless of his good intentions, it wasnt going to work, left the main contingent taking me with him high into the mountains basically retracing the steps of the ancient chamadao, the tea horse trail or tea horse road. Exploring the history behind chinas ancient tea horse road. An epic journey of tea, mountains, and memories, that opens up a rarely acknowledged part of china and asias ancient past, the ancient tea horse road is a grinding adventure of will, wit, and fuchs frequent tea thirsts. In 20067 five tibetans and myself would complete a 7. It was actually in use until the chinese claimed their ancient right to tibet kublai khans era, i think. This trade was accomplished on the northern silk road and the southern tea horse road. As the title of this book suggests the topic is about an extensive network of physical pathways and small local routes that came to be collectively known as the tea horse road. Before work, a tibetan will typically enjoy several bowlfuls of this beverage, and it is always served to guests.
The ancient tea horse road meanders across the rooftop of the world. Our first chinese guide, michael, was also superorganized. Chinese ancinet teahorse road, discover the ancient tea. Jeff fuchs, the author, lives in china, so he knows the people and the territory well. Jul 25, 2016 trade along the ancient tea horse road, a title used for a informal network of caravan routes across a vast swath of asia, began in earnest around the seventh century and peaked between the late. Over seven gruelling months, canadian jeff fuchs took on the challenge of following traditional muleteers along this twelvehundredyearold route. Follow the jingling mule trains carrying tea across the centuries from china to tibet. The ancient tea horse road china heritage quarterly. The tea horse road or chamadao now generally referred to as the ancient tea horse road or. Tea horse road jeff fuchs tea and mountain journals. Chinas ancient tea horse road cognoscenti books book 1. Cognoscenti books all books chinas ancient tea horse road. The ancient tea horse road winds its way through some of the.
An epic journey of tea, mountains, and memories, that opens up a rarely acknowledged part of china and asias ancient past, the ancient tea horse road is a grinding adventure of will, wit, and tea thirsts. The first thing one notices about the new book tea horse road. The route earned the name tea horse road because of the common trade of tibetan ponies for chinese tea, a practice dating back at least to the song dynasty, when the sturdy horses were important for china to fight warring nomads in the north. The lancangmojiang ancient tea horse road is an important branch of the puer ancient tea horse road. A cup of butter tea in kangding city can reflect a colorful culture and local history. With a total length of 21km, it starts from fuling town, jixi county, anhui province and ends at maxiao town, lin an, hangzhou. Kindle store buy a kindle free kindle reading apps kindle books french ebooks kindle unlimited. For thousands of years the tea horse road was the most significant corridor connecting the ancient civilizations of yunnan and sichuan in southwest china with tibet and. Travels with the last of the himalayan muleteers 2008. Apr 08, 2016 the ancient tea horse road was an enormous network of trails which grew up between yunnan, sichuan and tibet in the long historical period. One of the longest and most dramatic trade routes of the ancient world, the tea horse road carried a crucial exchange for. Generally speaking, it was divided into two major roads. Sep 20, 2012 chinese tea and tibetan horses were long traded on the legendary tea horse road, a harsh 2,250km trail stretching from chinas sichuan province to tibets capital city of lhasa. It is also sometimes referred to as the southern silk road or southwest silk road, and it is part of a complex routes system connecting china and south asia.
He gained prominence with his successful bid to become the first westerner to trek the entire yunnantibet ancient tea horse road, stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the himalayas and a dozen cultures, documented in the book the ancient tea horse road. World heritage application of tea horse road promotes intl. Chinas ancient trade road to tibet freeman, michael, ahmed, selena on. We traveled with wildchina from jinghong to shangrila. One of the longest and most dramatic trade routes of the ancient worl. Jun 30, 2008 the ancient tea horse road is an excellent read for people who love adventure trekking, written memoirs, cultural studies, and tea. There are numerous surviving archaeological and monumental elements, including trails, bridges, w. Again by contrast, the name tea horse road in chinese chamadao was in official use from at least the time of the tang dynasty 618907. With the development of urbanization, the tea horse road and its spatial have been changed dramatically, and the cultural heritage along the road faced the threat of gradually disappear. The ancient tea horse road is a 4000 km route used by ancient tea and horse traders in ancient china. Explore free books, like the victory garden, and more browse now. The uk tea council an independent nonprofit making body dedicated to promoting tea. It seems fitting that a route that was imbued with both tea and mountains, the ancient tea horse road, would become a fixation in my life. Chinas ancient tea horse road by andrew forbes, david henley.
Puer tea has been grown for centuries in the six great tea mountains of yunnan province, and in imperial china it was a prized commodity, traded to tibet by horse or mule caravan via the socalled tea horse road and presented as tribute to the emperor in beijing. Horses were the main means of transportation on the tea horse road and the passage originated from the teahorse trade of the tang and song dynasties. Heritage corridor narrative space system research case on the. Locating at the boundary of anhui and zhejiang province in eastern china, huihang ancient caravan trail is considered as the third ancient road after the famous silk road and the tea horse ancient road. Aug 17, 2018 the ancient tea horse road in china was a trade route mainly through yunnan, sichuan, and tibet. In other words, we followed the ancient tea and horse road, which links up with the silk road in tibet. An wikimedia commons mayda media nga nahahanungod han. Today, regardless of the vitality of this thoroughfare of commerce and rich fusion of commodities, the ancient landscape seems to be changing. Sep 15, 2016 such prosperity on the tea horse road created the splendid history of dali and lijiang ancient towns, the major transfer centres of the ancient road to tibet or down to southeast asia. Life along the tea horse road is briefly reignited in a passionate and unforgettable adventure. The antique silk road that connected the chinese and mediterranean worlds for more than a millennium, facilitating the exchange of both goods and cultures, is widely known and celebrated. Chinas ancient tea horse road by cognoscenti books is. The ancient tea horse trade route also known as the southern silk road is a sprawling web of millenniaold paths connecting southeast asia to southwest china and tibet. The book, written in the casual essay style of chinese rather than the.
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