Online shopping also needs to be "expressed eight hundred miles away", travel back in time! Talk about the express delivery in ancient times~

In today's Internet age

Everyone enjoys the convenience brought by the e-commerce economy

However, in ancient times when transportation was not well developed,

How do people find ways to send express deliveries?

In this issue, let’s talk about

Things about ancient express delivery~

Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties:

Prototype and development

During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the delivery of physical objects had already appeared. At that time, "piggybacking" appeared. For example, people would deliver a letter to the east today and deliver some meat to the west tomorrow. People at that time made a little money to supplement their family income. Due to the limitations of transportation conditions, they could only walk, so the delivery distance was not too far and it was not a specialized service.

According to reliable historical records, express delivery officially took shape in the Zhou Dynasty. According to the "Zhou Li Qiu Guan", the Zhou Dynasty set up officials in charge of postal services and logistics - "Xingfu". Their duties were to "deliver on time even if the road was difficult". Of course, at that time, express delivery items had almost no privacy.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, a means of delivery other than human labor appeared, namely horses, and with it, a new express delivery method appeared - relay delivery. Relay delivery naturally cannot avoid post stations. In the pre-Qin period, each vassal state had similar post station institutions. After Qin conquered the six states, the communication systems of various countries were unified. From then on, the post station system became a fixed system of successive feudal dynasties.

Image source: CCTV News

In order to improve efficiency, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established four counties and two passes in the Hexi Corridor (four counties: Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Wuwei; two passes: Yumen Pass and Yangguan). The Xuanquanzhi Ruins of the Han Dynasty in Dunhuang is the earliest postal institution discovered so far, and it is also the first site equivalent to a post office discovered in my country.

Image source: CCTV News

More than 23,000 Xuanquan Han Dynasty bamboo slips were unearthed from the Xuanquanzhi site, the main contents of which included postal books, letters, etc. A large number of bamboo slips named "Xuanquanzhi" recorded the use of relay vehicles, relay horses and the reception of passers-by.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the development of the postal system under the background of national unification ushered in a key breakthrough. The widened national highways were used for marching, postal communication, transportation, and travel of monarchs and officials. The original postal facilities of various countries were also integrated, making postal communication smoother and faster.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were specific requirements for the speed of "express delivery": walking delivery was generally short distance, with an average of 10 li per hour (one li equals 500 meters, equivalent to 5 kilometers today), which was the requirement for ordinary mail, and it had to be delivered on the same day; if using a delivery vehicle, it would generally travel 70 li per day, and a maximum of two to three hundred miles per day; if riding a horse, it would be "400 li a day", which was the speed limit at the time.

It is worth mentioning that the couriers at that time had uniform clothing. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Records of Vehicles and Clothing", "Post horses were stationed every thirty miles, and all the soldiers wore red caps and crimson jackets", that is, the couriers wore crimson scarves on their heads and crimson sleeves on their arms. In addition, they also carried a "red and white bag", a special red and white mail bag.

In addition to the speed requirement, the ancient express delivery industry also attached great importance to the confidentiality of mail. In order to prevent leaks, opening or forgery, the ancients adopted many special measures. Take the Qin Dynasty as an example. At that time, there were clear and rigid requirements for the quality of deliverymen: "Slaves, concubines, the old, the weak, and those who are not honest and kind are not allowed to be deliverymen." That is, the old, the weak, and those who are not honest cannot be deliverymen.

In addition, since ancient express delivery was mostly important information such as government orders and military affairs, confidentiality was particularly important. The Qin Dynasty stipulated that if a document was opened or forged without detection, a fine of two armors would be imposed (equivalent to a huge fine), which is what the Qin bamboo slip legal document "Legal Questions and Answers" said: "If a forged document is sent without detection, a fine of two armors will be imposed."

Sui and Tang Dynasties - Song and Yuan Dynasties:

The rise and acceleration of land and water

Wei and Jin Dynasty "Postman Picture" mural brick

This is the earliest image material of the ancient postman in my country.

Image source: Gansu Provincial Museum

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, China's first special postal law appeared, namely the "Postal and Postal Order" formulated by Chen Qun and others in the Wei State, which is a milestone in China's postal history.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the express delivery industry achieved unprecedented development. With the excavation of the Grand Canal, water express delivery developed rapidly. Water express delivery saved the time of crossing mountains and ridges, and sailed along the current, with a shorter journey and higher efficiency. By the time of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there were 1,639 post stations in the country, and post stations were divided into three types: land post stations, water post stations, and water and land post stations. Some scholars have estimated that there were more than 20,000 people specializing in post services, including more than 17,000 postmen.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the following mileage regulations were set for the speed of postal services on land routes: a messenger horse could travel 4 post stations a day, and a post horse could travel 6 post stations a day, with each post station lasting 30 li, which meant a daily distance of 120 to 180 li. If the item was urgent, it was required to travel 10 post stations a day, which was equivalent to 300 li. For more urgent items, such as delivering a pardon letter, the daily distance was 500 li, which was about 16 post stations a day.

Tang Sancai Horseback Post Envoy Figurine

Image source: Shaanxi History Museum

As the speed increased, it became popular to use express delivery to deliver seafood and fruits. At that time, the crabs that Pingyuan County paid tribute to were delivered from Shandong to the capital by express delivery. This kind of crab was very valuable, worth one hundred coins each. In order to ensure freshness, they were sealed with felt and delivered to the capital every year.

However, when it comes to the delivery of fresh food by express, the most famous express delivery in Chinese history is the one where Emperor Xuanzong of Tang sent lychees to Yang Guifei. In order to please his favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan, Li Longji ordered a batch of fresh lychees from the south, which were delivered to the palace by express. The "courier" who was working frantically on the road was actually a civil servant of the court who was responsible for delivering urgent military intelligence.

The fastest express delivery in the Song Dynasty was called "Ji Jiao Di", and the speed was required to travel 400 miles a day. Shen Kuo, a politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, recorded in "Mengxi Bitan": "There were three types of post delivery in the past: daily foot delivery, horse delivery, and Ji Jiao Di. Ji Jiao Di was the fastest, traveling 400 miles a day, and was only used when the army was mobilized." Although Ji Jiao Di was the fastest, it was only used to convey military information. Later, Jinzi Pai Ji Jiao Di appeared. This Ji Jiao Di used red lacquer and gold characters on wooden plaques, which was very dazzling and could travel more than 500 miles a day. For example, Song Gaozong once issued 12 golden plaques in one day to order Yue Fei, who was fighting on the anti-Jin front, to withdraw his troops.

Compared with previous dynasties, the Yuan Dynasty strengthened the post station system. Even in places where few people traveled, there were post stations. Some post stations were built more "luxurious" - most post stations had hotels, rooms with gorgeous furnishings, and silk curtains and door curtains for dignitaries to use. In addition, the Yuan Dynasty also pioneered the use of dogs to deliver express delivery. For example, there were post dogs used on ice in remote areas of the northeast. According to statistics, there were 45,000 post horses in the country at that time, and there were 15 dog stations in Harbin (now Harbin) in the northeast, supplying 3,000 post dogs.

Ming and Qing Dynasties - Modern Times:

The emergence of private express delivery and the rise of national postal services

Stills from the TV series "Dragon Gate Escort"

Image source: Douban stills

In ancient times, express delivery only served the royal family and dignitaries, while private express delivery mainly relied on "private express delivery". Of course, wealthy merchants could also hire full-time or part-time couriers to run errands for them, while ordinary people could only ask others to deliver their parcels.

It was not until the Ming Dynasty that there were institutions that specialized in delivering express mail to the people. For example, during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the "Minxin Bureau" was first created by Ningbo merchants. Its business included mailing letters, goods, and handling foreign exchange. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, escort agencies appeared, all of which were private institutions.

The name of the escort agency comes from the Chinese character "biao" (meaning "gold") on one side and "piao" (ticket) on the other, which means that the items being delivered are very valuable and the courier has a heavy responsibility. At first, the escort agency was specialized in escorting silver for ticket companies, and later it also escorted clothes and jewelry for the rich and protected their personal safety. Its business scope was much richer than today's express delivery.

In addition to the development of escort agencies, the Qing Dynasty also set up the "Huanghua Post" in the capital, which was equivalent to the central hub of the national post road, greatly accelerating the speed and timeliness of postal delivery, and the prototype of the era of postal delivery began to emerge. The highest daily speed of the Qing Dynasty postal service could reach 800 miles, which is the "800 miles express" we often hear in film and television dramas.

With the invasion of China by imperialist powers, modern Chinese postal service began to emerge. As the continuous expansion of "passenger mail" seriously violated China's postal sovereignty, the increasingly corrupt and declining official postal organizations could not meet the social communication needs. People of insight advocated the establishment of a new national postal service, and some officials also wrote to request the establishment of a national postal service.

The memorial from the Zongli Yamen on handling postal affairs and the Emperor Guangxu's comments

Image source: China Philately China Post News

In March 1896, Emperor Guangxu officially approved the establishment of the Qing Post Office, marking the establishment of the modern postal system in China after thousands of years of development and evolution.

China Post issues stamps to celebrate 120th anniversary

Image source: China Philately China Post News

After the founding of New China in 1949, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications held the first National Postal Conference in Beijing, which determined the general guidelines for New China's postal work, unified the national postal institutions, rates, and business scope, and stipulated that national postage stamps would be issued by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, gradually realizing corporate operations and democratic management.

From confidential letters to valuables

Now, to everyday small items

The express delivery industry has developed to this day

Entrusting every ordinary expectation

Flying into thousands of households

Sources: China Post, New Weekly, CCTV News, People's Daily, Shaanxi History Museum, Gansu Provincial Museum, First Cultural Relics Restoration Institute, Museum | View Exhibition

Image sources: CCTV News, Gansu Provincial Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, China Philately, China Post News, Douban Stills

Source: Chongqing Jiulongpo District Cultural Relics Management Office

Audit expert: Li Xiaoying

Statement: Except for original content and special notes, some pictures are from the Internet. They are not for commercial purposes and are only used as popular science materials. The copyright belongs to the original authors. If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete them.