The Relationship between the Chinese Records of Tibetan Tribes in Gansu and Qinghai and the Tea and Horse Trade in the Ming Dynasty
In the Ming Dynasty,Chinese documents systematically recorded the Tibetan tribes in the Gansu and Qinghai regions,and the reason behind this was the development of the tea and horse trade.During the Hongwu period,the tribute system of tea and horse was set up based on the gold medal,and some Tibetan tribes that received gold medals were recorded in the Chinese documents as taxation units.After the mid-Ming Dynasty,the rise of the Xihai Mongols made it difficult to implement the gold medal tribute system.The reform began in the Hongzhi period,thereafter the nature of the tea and horse trade had been changed from state trib-ute to a spontaneous market.As the spontaneity of the tea and horse trade increased and the gold medal system was relaxed,the records of Tibetan tribes in the Ming Dynasty increased,and a table was formed in Bianzheng Kao边政考to record as many as 300 Tibetan tribes in Gansu and Qinghai.However,from the local perspective,the case of Ganzhou reveals the complexity of this recording approach.First,the reformed tea horse trade created different markets dominated by different tea-horse agencies,and the operation status of the tea-horse agencies could affect the records of Tibetan tribes in specific areas.Second,in addition to the tea and horse trade,the Weisuo 卫所 and other institutions of the Ming Dynasty would also affect the records of local Tibetan tribes.The article starts from the Chinese literature of the Ming Dynasty,discusses the Ming Dynasty's systematic records of Tibetan tribes,reveals the Ming central government's understanding of the Tibetan tribes in Gansu and Qinghai,and explains the obvious subordinate relationship between the central government and Tibetan areas in the Ming Dynasty,as well as the close links in economic activities such as the tea and horse trade.
Ming DynastyTibetan tribes in Gansu and QinghaiGold medalTea and horse trade
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