A Study On The Horse-marketing Traffic In Guang Na Xi Lu (1127-1279)

The Southern Sung Dynasty was faced with two-tier predicament. It confronted with Jin Dynasty and Mongolia who were called "nations on the horse" while it lacked horse. For relieving the pressure of horse-needed, Southern Sung took a series of measures such as establishing horse-breeding-department and horse-market. Because of the inefficiency the former was, horse-market became the vital way to get horse. Guang-horse breeding in Guang Nan Xi Lu was the stable and important horse source throughout Southern Sung Dynasty.The environment of Guang Nan Xi Lu was so complex that it filled with Xi dong and neighbored lots of national minorities. Because the backward of economic conditions, southwest minorities such as Da Li,Zi Qi,Luo Dian were eagered for salt and fabrics coming from the Southern Sung. Being a link between Southern Sung and southwest minorities, Guang-ma played a very important role in national contacts. In this condition, the traffic routes of Guang-horse did have its distinctiveness.For the difference of the objects, the traffic routes of Guang-horse in Guang Nan Xi Lu could be divided into two parts:horse-bought-road in Yongzhou and the horse-delivered-road in Guizhou. The horse-bought-road had three branches including Zi Qi,Luo Dian and Te Mo. For the reason of loss of the direct way from Yongzhou to Da Li, their connection mainly through Zi Qi,Luo Dian or Te Mo. Meeting with negative influence which issued from the road from Yongzhou to Zi Qi.Luo Dian and Te Mo, Southern Sung adopted the strategy such as accommodation, avoiding it or submitting to the will of Heaven. According to the distance, the government of Southern Sung Dynasty took different ways to different countries when meeting emergencies. The government treated Huairou, XiDong Zi Qi, Luo Dian as territory, kept a lookout to Dali. As a whole, the condition of horse-bought-through-Yongzhou was bad.The horses arrived in Yong Zhou was distributed to Xingzai or barracks near Yangtze River. Separated by Guizhou, the horse-delivered could divided into two parts:the first part was from Yongzhou to Guizhou, the second one was from Guizhou to Linan. In the second part, the horse was transported to Lin An Lu could passed either Fujian or Hunan. The route condition of horse-delivered was better than the route of horse-bought through Yongzhou. It was not because of the emergencies caused by social factors, but the horse management system of Southern Sung Dynasty and the attitude towards deity through the transportation.The traffic of horse-market had its features including the obviously diversity of both trade partners and traffic conditions, strong seasonally and distinctive nationality along the traffic line. Meanwhile, the Southern Sung attached importance to the Deployment of troops. There were close contact between the horse-market traffic and the force deployment in southwest areas. Being a linear distribution, the force deployment was consistent with the traffic line. The development of horse-market in Guang Nan Xi Lu promoted the economy and the communication among different nationalities. Meanwhile, it opened up a transportation route from southwest areas to central plains and the southeast coastal.