The Southern Silk Route

Historical Links and Contemporary Convergences

Lipi Ghosh

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781000007305
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Asian History
• Index: History

Southern Silk Route is the historic route, which runs from China to Myanmar and ends up in Assam. The route has historical importance as it served as a major artery of ancient trade articles. The Southern Silk Route: Historical Links and Contemporary Convergences attempts to sketch out the historical dimensions of the route and shows the contemporary dynamics, both positive and negative. It poses the question how history can extend a lesson in contemporary contexts.
The book has two parts- theoretical articles on the route judging from a scholar's perspective on one hand and explorers' insight in the practical perspective on the other, thus making it really interesting both for the scholar and the lay reader.
Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

Part I
History, People, Trade and Culture: Identities across Southern Silk Route

Chapter 1
Southern Silk Route: A Perspective

HARAPRASAD RAY

WHEN THE CHINESE talk about the Southern Silk Route, we in India at once think about the east and north-east Indian road to China via Myanmar. The initial inkling was provided by Kautilya of the fourth century BC in his Arthashastra where he remarked on Cinapattasca Cinabhumija (Cinapatta is a product of the land of China). This is the earliest reference to China in India. The earliest Chinese historical reference about India dates between 130 and 125 BC. By around 122 BC Zhang Qian, the Chinese envoy to Central Asia, returned to the capital of China to report to the emperor Wu of the Han dynasty about India. He referred to India as Shendu that is Sindhu about which he had heard in Bactria, the centre of trade at that time. An imperial officer with high intelligence and deep intuition, Zhang Qian suggested that there must be a route through south-west or south China to India. His surmise was based on the fact that he saw Chinese cloth (from Sichuan province) and square bamboo (Qiongzhu) being carried by the Indians to be sold in the market of Bactria (Daxia).

This brings us to the issue of ancient travel and trade routes from India to the surrounding areas and vice versa.

In ancient India, there was a trade route from Peshawar (Purushapura) to Parvatipur in Bangladesh. It passed through Wazirabad, Lahore, Jalandhar, Saharanpur, Lucknow, Tirhut (stations like Chhapra, Ara) and Katihar extending further to Assam from Parvatipur. It mostly passed through the northern bank of the Ganga. Another more popular route keeping Ganga to the north proceeded from Lahore to Bhagalpur (ancient Champa) through Raivind, Ferozepur, Bhatinda, Delhi, Allahabad, Varanasi and Patna (Pataliputra). Xuanzang, the celebrated Chinese monk during the first part of the seventh century AD in the Tang dynasty (ad 618–907), gives a detailed description of the road from Bhagalpur onwards. He says that after reaching Kajangala (probably in present Farakka area) he had to cross the Ganga before reaching Pundravardhana (in Pabna in northern Bangladesh); from there travelling about 450 km he crossed the Brahmaputra (Lauhitya in ancient times and now called Luit in Assamese) and reached Pragjyotishpur in Kamarupa, the centre of Brahmaputra civilization. Here he heard about the existence of a road in the east, which passed through mountains and mounds, inhabited by various ethnic groups, whose natural boundary was contiguous to the areas inhabited by tribal groups in south-west China, that is, Sichuan province of today. The road from the southern bank of Brahmaputra up to the Myanmar border is interspersed with archaeological remains which are evidences of the existence of this ancient route.¹

On the Chinese side, from Chengolu, the capital of Sichuan in south-west China (the scene of 2008 earthquake havoc), historically there are few changes in the run of this trade route which passed through present-day Yaan and Xichang in Sichuan province. It crossed the Jinsha River and Dali in Yunnan province of South China, and then Tengcheng and Ruili. From there after about a journey of 100 km reached Myitkyina and Mogaung in Myanmar, from where after about 700 km westerly journey crossing the Chindwin River, Kamarupa was approached.²

Many items were imported from China through this north-eastern route. One of the earliest routes of import of Chinese silk was through this road and the same was sent to Bay of Bengal ports like Arikamedu through Brahmaputra. The latter, like the Ganga, is a perennial river and is navigable throughout the year.³ The road proceeded eastward from Gwalando port in Bangladesh at the confluence of the Ganga and Brahmaputra to Dibrugarh and further east to Myanmar and south China.⁴ From China on its return journey, the traffic followed the same route to Tamralipti during the early period; but during medieval times the outlet shifted to some port near or at Chittagong itself from where the goods were exported abroad.

At this point I shall be doing injustice to the subject if I do not delve into the historicity of the route.

Some Indian scholars debating on the possible existence of a historical highway between Kamrupa in Assam and China through Myanmar (like Ichhimuddin Sarkar) are affirmative about such a highway, while some others (like Nayanjot Lahiri, D.K. Chakraborti) hold the opposite view. They take cognizance of the well-known evidences provided by scholars like P.C. Bagchi, Joseph Needham, T.C. Sharma and others, but think the evidences to be too fragmented to draw a firm conclusion about a well-established trade route. Chinese scholars are also divided on this issue, although the majority of them so far as we know, seem to be affirmative about the highway.

If we analyse the historical texts like the Records of the Historian (around 90 BC) by Sima Qian and History of the Former Han Dynasty (completed between AD 50–97) by Ban Gu, it becomes evident that these historical records give clear indication about such a route from Changan, the capital of China, up to the area under control of the chiefs of the Kunming tribes; the only obstacle was that the stretch of the road from Kunming into the Myanmar area was not accessible to China which was a foreign country to these tribes. For example, in one case (SJ. 116, 2996) the Chinese found the road beyond Kunming closed off to them. In another case (SJ, 123, 3166) five Chinese parties approaching the region from five directions were either plundered or killed. In the third instance (SJ. 123, 3170–1), ten parties led by Bo Shicheng and others were all blocked by the Kunming people who killed them or plundered their goods, thus preventing them from proceeding further. As a result, the Han mounted massive attack (SJ. 123, 3171) killing twenty to thirty thousand Kunming people.⁵ But when they again tried to push forward, the Kunming troops fell upon them and, as a consequence none could reach their destination up to the present border of Myanmar and further. The same incidents are repeated in the History of Former Han Dynasty (Hanshu) (HS. 55, 2690).⁶ Last but not the least, in the Biography of Sima Xiangru, a palace attendant, poet and confidant of Emperor Wu Di (SJ. 117, 3046–8), it is related that Sima, an inhabitant of Sichuan province (Shu), was entrusted with the task of opening up communication with the tribes of the southwest beyond Chengdu to reach India. He was successful in proceeding with the task, but the (high) senior court officials in the capital who were lukewarm about this region and its development, became envious of his success and tried to scuttle the plan. However, since the emperor was himself very enthusiastic about the scheme from the very beginning, these officials were unsuccessful in their vile attempt. But soon they managed to concoct stories about Sima Xiangru accepting bribe, and thus, had him dismissed from service. Although Sima was reinstated after a year or so as a palace attendant, the official plan to open the road down south to reach Bactria (Daxia) (through Myanmar and India) eventually fell through due to frequent troubles on the border of north-west China caused specially by the Huns.⁷

It becomes clear from the above accounts that the border countries like Kunming, Yelang, Dian, etc., were bent on preventing outsiders encroaching upon their traditional trade transacted with the Indians through Myanmar. China was a foreign country to them, and they did not have interaction among themselves or with China, although trade in Sichuan fabric (may be silk), qiong-bamboo and hu-berry sauce continued uninterrupted. Why should they allow others to intrude into their world and encroach upon their traditional trade?

Silk route or any other road is not made by the rulers but by the common people like the villagers, tribes, traders from various areas and also by the religious preachers. When the rulers or their agents find it to be revenue earning and also as a source for establishing political link with the neighbours they start taking interest and thus it becomes official and the place gets mentioned in the official records.

In our opinion, a well established trade linkage in history is one thing, while a well-established historical record about this linkage is quite another. Many great historical events are reconstructed today with the help of fragmented information. We know that the Assam-Myanmar-Yunnan highway in historical times was difficult to traverse just as it is today. Yet, ironically, there exists along this route today a golden triangle of drug trafficking, frequent movement of the terrorists and smuggling activities of all sorts despite hard conditions of journey. If much of what is happening on the ground escapes documentation in this age of electronics and photo-electric cables, we must take the historical highway for granted in the absence of well-preserved historical documentation.⁸

The rest of the story is known to all. For example, advent of the Ahoms, their rule over Assam for six centuries and its sad end in the aftermath of three Myanmarese invasions described as the Man attacks in Assamese Buranji (history) as well as in literary writings like Rajani Kanta Bardoloi’s Miri Jiyari and culminating in Assam’s annexation by the British in the second decade of the nineteenth century.

II

Now we come to the future role of this route. South-west China is a land of 2.56 million square km where 27 per cent of China’s total population resides. It has rich mineral resources, abundant irrigation and an impressive array of industries like aeronautics, space, shipbuilding, machine-tool, metallurgy, chemicals, electronics, power, etc. The area has a market of immense capacity.

Power is one of the focal points in the developmental plans of south-west China as also in north-east India. The hydro-power potential of the area is 194,000 MW representing almost 57 per cent of China’s hydro-power resources. China is building up a power network with generation stations dotting along the rivers of Lancang, upper streams of the Yangtse, and many other water channels. Power sector is crucial for the development of both India and China.⁹

Both Yunnan and north-east India have a large number of subtropical fruits with high nutritional and medical values. The Yunnan canning industry can collaborate with Indian companies to develop canned Indian and Chinese fruit juice and natural drinks and enter the world market.

Like north-east India, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces are famous for herbal medicines. Through joint ventures by pulling the resources, technology and traditional skills together, both the countries can transform the hills of north-east India and south-west China into plantations, laboratories and factories of precious and life-saving drugs which can be popularized in the developed countries.

The Chinese import basket till recently usually consisted of mechanical and electrical products, plastics in primary shape, integrated circuit and electronic component, steel, crude oil, components for auto data processing equipments, paper boards, data processing equipment and parts, and TV, radio and telecom products. But India’s share in most of these is also not satisfactory. As such, there is great potential for Indian export of software, high grade steel, telecom, optical fibre, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machine tools, electronic component, agro-products, automobile components, jewellery, diamonds and cotton yarn.¹⁰

Presently, Chinese investment in India is mainly in the areas of tele-communications, metallurgical industries, commercial, office and household equipment, transportation of industrial and electrical equipment. The actual inflow from China in the form of investment in India requires diversification and increase.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• PART I: HISTORY, PEOPLE, TRADE AND CULTURE: IDENTITIES ACROSS SOUTHERN SILK ROUTE
• PART II: SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF REJUVENATED SOUTHERN SILK ROUTE
• PART III: CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES IN TODAY’S WORLD: YUNNAN-INDIA TRADE SCENARIO
• List of Contributors
• Index