Tea-horse Ancient Road 茶马古道 (中英双语散文)

Tea-horse Ancient Road

茶马古道

中英双语散文

“

茶马古道

”

是中国西南大地上一条进行对外经济文化交流， 传播中国古代文明的国际通道

,

是西南的

“

丝绸之路

”

。

For

thousands

of

years,

only

humans

and

horses

treaded

the

mountains

of

So

uthwest

China

as

they

followed

an

ancient

pathway

through

the

Chinese

hinterland

s

and

the

Qinghai-Tibet

Plateau.

Along

the

unpaved

and

rugged

pathway

that

was

formed,

commodities

like

tea,

salt

and

sugar

flowed

into

Tibet.

Meanwhile,

horses,

cows,

furs,

musk

and

other

l

ocal

products

made

their

way

to

the

outside

world.

The

road

was

called

the

tea-ho

rse

ancient

road,

and

it

stretched

across

more

than

4,000

kilometers,

mainly

throug

h

Southwest

China’s

Sichuan

and

Yunnan

provinces

and

the

Tibetan

Autonomous

Region.

The

ancient

commercial

passage

first

appeared

during

the

Tang

Dynasty

(618-

907).

It

also

experienced

the

Song,

Yuan,

Ming

and

Qing

dynasties

-

or

a

period

o

f

more

than

1,200

years.

The

road

promoted

exchanges

in

culture

and

religion,

an

d

saw

ethnic

migration

that

closely

resembled

what

was

experienced

on

the

well-kn

own

Silk

Road.

Along

the

ancient

road

lived

more

than

20

minorities.

Concentrations

of

beautif

ul

and

mysterious

natural

landscapes

and

traditional

cultures

developed

in

various

s

ites,

including

Dali

old

city,

Lijiang

old

city,

Shangrila,

Yarlung

Zangbo

River

Grand

Canyon,

Potala

Palace.

The

road

features

temples,

rock

paintings,

post

houses,

a

ncient

bridges

and

plank

roads.

It

is

also

home

to

many

national

minorities

and

the

ir

dances

and

folk

customs.

Two

major

routes

Roughly

speak-

ing,

there

were

two

main

routes:

Route

One:

Begins

in

Ya’an

in

Sichuan

Province

to

Qamdo

via

Luding,

Kangd

-

ing,

Litang

and

Batang

before

mer-

ging

with

Route

One

into

Lhasa.

Route

Two:

Begins

in

Xishuangbanna

and

S

imao,

home

of

Pu’er

tea

(via

Dali,

Lijiang,

Zhongdian,

Benzilan

and

Deqeng)

in

Yunnan

Province

to

Zugong,

Bamda,

Rewoqe,

Zayu

or

Qamdo,

Lholung,

Benba,

Jiali,

Gongbogyangda,

Lhasa,

Gyangze

and

Yadong

in

Tibet,

before

continuing

into

Myanmar,

Nepal

and

India.

Tens

of

thousands

of

traveling

horses

and

yaks

created

a

definite

pathway

wit

h

their

hooves

on

the

once-indiscernible

road.

Today,

although

even

such

traces

of

the

ancient

road

are

fading

away,

its

cultural

and

historic

values

remain.

The

Eternal

Road

No

matter

what

is

happening

in

the

world,

three

types

of

things

in

the

tea- hors

e

ancient

road

will

continue

to

exist:

the

beautiful

and

rustic

nature

scene,

inviolabl

e

religion

and

simple

Tibetan

people.

This

ancient

road

features

the

imposing

scenery

and

a

soul- stirring

quiet.

Som

e-

times,

things

seem

static

and

the

sur-

rounding

mountains

stand

silent.

There

is

a

kind

of

beauty

in

the

desolation

that

may

easily

lead

people

to

believe

they

are

experienced

a

prehistoric

place

when

they

visit.

The

distant

mountains

reveal

strong

and

exquisite

ridges

while

rain

and

snow

melt

together,

rushing

down

from

the

mountains

and

rapidly

gathering

before

flowin

g

into

innumerable

rivers.

If

the

mountains

could

form

a

skeleton

of

Tibet,

the

resulting

rivers

and

stream

s

might

form

their

vessels,

which

pour

vigor

and

vitality

into

the

plateau.

Besides

mountain

and

rivers,

there

are

also

many

peculiar

stones,

incomparabl

y

marvelous

clouds,

as

well

as

unusual

light

illuminating

the

sky

as

one

travels

the

road.

Walking

the

tea-horse

ancient

road

might

allow

one

to

see

reverent

pilgrims

he

ading

to

holy

city

Lhasa.

They

walk

slowly

along

the

rugged

road,

some

of

them

e

ven

crawling,

butting

heads

as

they

move

toward

their

sacred

destination.

Their

ar

ms

and

legs

fester

-

foreheads

dripping

blood

-

but

with

eyes

still

full

of

light,

gran

ted

comfort

from

their

beliefs.

When

you

walk

the

road

of

Tibet

in

a

cloudless

dawn

or

under

the

glow

of

a

sunset,

the

sights

can

stir

the

senses

and

seem

an

awakening

experience.

Caravans

on

the

Way

From

ancient

times,

mabang

(caravans)

have

been

the

main

vehicles

used

for

transportation.

Year

after

year,

thousands

of

cara-

vans

traveled

the

rough

road

while

the

hoo

f

beats

and

the

sounds

of

clear

bells

broke

the

tranquility

of

the

canyon.

The

road

opened

a

vital

pathway

for

economics

and

trade

with

the

outside

world.

In

World

War

II,

the

tea-horse

ancient

road

became

the

only

transportation

line

for

the

southwest

of

China.

Caravans

trans-

ported

large

quantities

of

international

as-

sistance

from

India,

which

greatly

supported

China’s

Sino

-Japanese

War.

After

the

accomplishment

of

the

Dian-

Zang

Highway

and

the

Chengdu-Lhasa

Highway,

automobiles

replaced

the

cara-

vans,

and

the

tea-horse

ancient

road

be-