Qin And Han Postal System Examination

China's postal system was first established during the pre-Qin days and was of a grand scale with a sound system in the Zhou Dynasty. Qin-Han period was a time of feudal unity in China and all the uniform measures and the setting up of traffic network made it advantageous for the postal system to further develop and to be perfect. The postal system was thus unified nationwide with a mature system and sound management. Not only the setup of stations, subordination between different organizations, use and management of postal facilities, maildelivery and management, personnel and outlay use and management but also the tending of roads and bridges, use and management of ZhuanShe, ZhuanChu, ZhuanChe were rather rigid and normal. Relevant laws and codes were constituted, and therefore the postal system in Qin-Han period was followed by later dynasties.Presently great achievements have been made in the recognition of the Qin-Han period and numerous theses and work have been in publication. But there are still many deficiencies and terminology of postal structures is an example. Scholars, for the most part, think that these structures were divided into You, Chuan, Ting, Zhi and Yi.But their opinions vary in terms of their relationships and they do not are on the size or the function of each. Presently each airs his views on the postal management system, for example, what officials and structures in the central and local goverments were in charge of postal affairs. Still more deficient was the research into the setup and management of the postal personnel, hence fewer special works on them. Scholars of today have different interpretations of Fu, Chuan, Jie, Zhi or Zhiji, Ru, Qi, Guosuo, especially are vague about fund research of postal stations. Comparatively, scholars know more about funding system after Qin-Han period. This thesis, by quoting a large amount of historical materials including bamboo slips and wooden tablets, will put forward the author's views on these deficiencies and it is hoped that study into the subject can be furthered.