The Passes And Ferries In The Gansu Corridor And The East-west Traffic From The Han To Tang Dynasties

The Passes and Ferries played important roles in the transport system in the Gansu Corridor during the ancient period.The Huining pass,the Ulan pass and ferry, the Jincheng pass and ferry, the Fenglin pass and ferry, the Jianshuijin pass,the Xiansuo pass,the Yumen pass and the Yangguan pass were the important links of the Silk Road between east and west.The author uses historical resources,the Dunhuang and Turfan manuscripts,the unearthed epitaphs,the bamboo slips of the Han dynasty,to verify the founded time and location of the above passes and ferries to prove that these passes avail to maintain the central government’s management to the traffic of the border areas, increase tax revenues, promote cultural exchanges and other aspects. Then the author tries to reveal how some passes and ferries evolve to bridges,and dig out the reason behind it, outline the internal relations between these passes and the organization form as the combination of these passes.