The Ancient Transportation Network—Post Roads

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There is a saying that the "chidao" (royal roads) built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang are the earliest highways in the world, praising how great his engineering was. However, this claim is not entirely accurate.

Firstly, was the chidao built by Qin Shi Huang the earliest in the world? Was it the greatest? Let’s not use too many examples, but let’s take one, for instance: the Persian Empire. The Persians once built a vast and interconnected transportation network between its four capitals. A road, known as the Royal Road, ran from the city of Susa in the west to Ephesus in Asia Minor, a total of 2,400 kilometers. Every 20 kilometers, a post station and an inn were established, and nearby were lodgings. The post stations had swift horses, allowing documents to be quickly passed from one station to the next. Archaeological evidence has confirmed this, with dozens of post stations and inns discovered along the route. This was constructed even earlier than Qin Shi Huang’s time. The Persian Empire was founded in the 5th century BCE, and even if the road was completed just before the empire fell, it still predates Qin Shi Huang by nearly a century. So, it cannot be said that Qin Shi Huang’s chidao was the earliest transportation route in the world.

As for whether it was a highway, true highways only appeared in modern times. A highway is a fully enclosed road that allows for rapid travel. Its defining feature is being fully enclosed, and from this perspective, it would have been impossible for Qin Shi Huang’s roads to be fully enclosed throughout.

Regarding the speed on the chidao, at that time, horse-drawn carts were used, and the quality of the carts was not very good. How fast could they really go? Some people boast about how wide certain sections of the chidao were, but in reality, at that time, building such wide roads had little practical significance and was actually a waste. At most, it showed how luxurious the emperor’s ceremonial procession or his caravan was. Because only certain parts of the road were exceptionally wide, it did not improve the overall capacity of the road.

Therefore, calling Qin Shi Huang’s chidao the "greatest in the world" does not align with historical facts and is not based on a realistic attitude. To claim it as the greatest, one must first understand the transportation networks of similar systems around the world and make comparisons to determine which one truly deserves that title.

Does this mean the chidao had no significance? On the contrary, it had significant importance, but not because it was the earliest or a highway, but because Qin Shi Huang built a road system that connected his capital, Xianyang, to all regions of the country. Without such a road network, his centralized system of governance would not have been possible.

The Qin Dynasty implemented a centralized system, which relied on counties and districts at the local level. Orders needed to be transmitted up and down, and conditions in each county and district needed to be reported in a timely manner. Qin Shi Huang set a requirement for himself to review a certain weight of official documents every day, and these reports had to come from the lower levels. If the information couldn’t be delivered, his efforts would be in vain. If reports were delayed, by the time they reached him, they might be ineffective.

Thus, by constructing the chidao, Qin Shi Huang ensured that all 40-plus districts under his rule (stretching from the Liaodong Peninsula in the east, including part of the Korean Peninsula, to the Yin Mountains in the north, to the endpoint of the Great Wall in the west at Lintao, and as far south as Guangdong, Guangxi, and the northeastern part of Vietnam) had roads that connected their capitals to Xianyang. Because of governance needs, these districts also had to build roads to their respective counties.

The historical records in "Records of the Grand Historian" describe how Qin Shi Huang was often escorted by a large bodyguard and attended by many officials during his grand tours. Such large-scale tours would have been impossible without a high-quality road system. These roads, some specifically constructed as chidao, others temporarily widened, reinforced, smoothed, and beautified, were essential for such travel. It’s important not to think that the entire road system in the Qin Dynasty was of such high standards, nor should the chidao be exaggerated as being especially wide or luxurious.

Since the road system connecting various regions was necessary for maintaining the centralized system of governance, every dynasty following the Qin continued to expand and maintain the national road network based on the work of their predecessors, and they extended roads to every corner of their territories, especially to newly developed frontier areas.

In fact, historical records from the Western Zhou period show that rulers paid great attention to road construction and used road maintenance as an indicator of governance. However, because the region was not under a unified government at that time, it was impossible to create a widespread road network. During periods of division, the original road systems were often deliberately destroyed, neglected, or not maintained, preventing the formation of a comprehensive road system.

During unified periods, each dynasty would further expand and perfect the post road system, primarily land roads, but also utilizing natural rivers, canals, and coastal sea routes. When expanding into new territories, if they did not want to retreat, they would extend the postal system or integrate existing local roads into the national network.

In the 24th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1759), a vast and unified country was formed, covering over 13 million square kilometers. On the basis of the road system built during the Ming Dynasty, as well as roads in northeastern China, Inner and Outer Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Central Asia from the early Qing period, the Qing constructed roads from the capital Beijing to various parts of the country, continuously maintaining and improving them. For example, in the travel diaries of figures like Lin Zexu, it’s noted that roads from Beijing to Xi’an, from Xi’an to Lanzhou, Urumqi, and even to Ili were well-maintained. These roads had regular post stations, rest stations, and military stations along the way, equipped with food, lodging, vehicles, mules, laborers, and supplies. They also enabled the transmission of documents and ensured that officials, documents, and important goods could travel smoothly and quickly between the capital and the frontier.

Additionally, looking at a map of Northeast China, one can see that some train station names in the Greater Khingan Range are numbered, such as Station 16 or Station 18. These names are not from after the railway was constructed but were carried over from Qing Dynasty post stations, where these stations were originally numbered. The Qing built post roads connecting Beijing to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, and the post stations were named with numbers. These stations were manned by personnel who ensured the supply of goods and the maintenance of transportation, as well as the delivery of personnel, documents, and important items. The families stationed there seldom interacted with outsiders, and over time, a special dialect, known as "station talk," was formed.

Due to limitations in material and technical conditions, some frontier areas, inland regions, and islands remained without post roads, which often created barriers to governance and even posed a threat to national security. For instance, the Tibetan Plateau had significant geographic challenges, creating insurmountable barriers between Tibet and the rest of the country. Due to high elevation and severe oxygen deficiency, it was difficult for outsiders to live and work there, and even harder to access. Even where roads did exist, their quality was poor, and they were often destroyed by floods, glaciers, snow, thawing snow, and geological disasters. Until the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1950, there were no highways leading there. During the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and early after liberation, traveling from the central government to Lhasa was extremely difficult.

In modern times, to ensure timely delivery of official orders or important personnel or goods to Lhasa, it was necessary to travel through foreign countries. For example, during the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and early liberation period, to send an official to Lhasa, the most reliable route was to travel from Guangzhou by ship to Hong Kong, then to Singapore, passing through the Strait of Malacca, crossing the Indian Ocean to Kolkata, India, then by train north to Darjeeling, and finally over the Himalayas to Lhasa. Even though this route was roundabout, it was safer and more reliable than traveling from Chengdu, Xining, or Gansu to Lhasa.

During this time, imperialist forces in Tibet and separatists in Lhasa were often difficult for the central government to monitor, and even if information reached them, it was often too late to take action. This led to the construction of the Kangding-Tibet Road, from Chengdu to Lhasa, and later the Qinghai-Tibet Highway from Xining to Lhasa, the Yunnan-Tibet Road from Kunming and Lijiang to Lhasa, and the Xinjiang-Tibet Road from Yecheng and Hetian to Ali and Lhasa. These roads connected Tibet tightly with Beijing and the rest of the country, ensuring Tibet's security, effectively preventing separatism and rebellion, and promoting Tibet’s development.

Some islands, although historically under Chinese jurisdiction, were not included in the post road system, and due to the lack of regular, effective transportation links with the mainland, were occupied by other countries in modern times.

In ancient China, maintaining unity and ensuring the operation of a centralized government required a road network connecting the capital with administrative districts, as well as reaching frontier and strategic areas. In this sense, Qin Shi Huang’s construction of the chidao laid a reliable material foundation for the unity and security of the country.