Zhang Qian, born in Chenggu, Hanzhong (now Chenggu County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province), is an outstanding diplomat, traveler, explorer and pioneer of the Silk Road. In the second year of Jianyuan, Zhang Qian was ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to go to Dayue. After 10 years of arduous trek, Zhang Qian crossed the Green Ridge and arrived at Fergana Bay in Central Asia. After passing through the comfortable residence in the Syr Darya River basin, he arrived at Dayuejia. Yuan Shuo returned to Chang 'an in the third year (126).
Although he didn't achieve the goal of fighting against Xiongnu with Da Yue family, he had a deep understanding of the military, geography and products of western countries, and realized their love for China products and their urgent desire for friendly exchanges and commodity trade with China. As the official envoy of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian made a field trip to the east-west traffic arteries, which Sima Qian called "hollowing out", meaning the official opening of the Silk Road.
In the fourth year of Yuanshou (before 1 19), Zhang Qian was once again sent to the Western Regions by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and also sent envoys to Dawan, Kangju, Da Yue, Daxia, Rest in Peace, Tidu, Khotan and other countries respectively, and returned to Han with many diplomatic envoys.
Zhang Qian's two missions to the Western Regions promoted the economic and cultural exchanges between China and the West. Since then, traffic between China and the West has been smooth and trade has flourished. The northern and southern Tianshan Mountains have become a bridge between China and the West, and the "Silk Road" has truly become the main artery of cultural exchanges between China and the West.
With Zhang Qian's "hollowing out the Western Regions" and the smooth opening of the Northwest Silk Road, peaches, apricots, pears and other fruits originating in China were also introduced into the Western Regions and spread to Europe through the caravan of the Western Regions.
Peach, once thought to have originated in Persia, spread westward to China through the Silk Road, but it was later confirmed by a lot of research and archaeological discoveries that the origin of peach was China.
Tong Pingya pointed out in History of Fruit Trees: "China is the hometown of peach trees. In modern China, archaeologists discovered a wild peach pit 6,700 years ago at the Neolithic site in Hemudu, Zhejiang. A large number of wild peach stones have also been unearthed at the Neolithic site in Erligang, Zhengzhou, Henan Province. 1973 peach pit was unearthed in Taixi village, Gaocheng, Hebei Province, about 3000 years ago. After identification, it is exactly the same as the peach cultivated today. " This proves that the history of peach cultivation in China was at least 3,000 years ago.
20 10 An archaeological discovery in Yunnan provides stronger evidence that peach trees originated in China. According to the reports of China Science Journal on June 20 16 and June 5438+06, researchers from the Paleontology Group of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of China Academy of Sciences published an article entitled "Fossil Proof in Southwest China: Peaches Arrived Before Humans" in the British Science Report. Based on the peach pit fossil discovered in Kunming, Yunnan Province on 20 10, it was announced that the world's earliest peach pit fossil was discovered in southwest China, which advanced the evolution history of peach to 2.6 million years ago, providing strong evidence that peach originated in China.
The significance of peach trees and peach stones found in the ruins of beautiful country Niya is also very important. In addition to the dead peach trees, more than 10 peach stones were collected in many houses, which further proved that peach should spread from the Central Plains along the Northwest Silk Road, westward through Central Asia to Persia, and then to Mediterranean countries.
Peach pit unearthed from Niya site in Jingjue County
From 1 century BC to the 2nd century AD, peach varieties from China were introduced to Persia, then to Armenia and Greece, and then to Rome in 1 century AD.
Apricots are also from China. Soviet botanist Vavinov confirmed the origin of apricot in China through research.
He summarized the origin of apricot varieties into three origin centers: the first is the center of China, including the northeast, central China, west China and the vast mountainous areas in the west from Gansu and northeast Tibet; The second is the center of Central Asia, including the vast mountainous areas south of Tianshan Mountain, from the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan to Kashmir. The third is the Near East Center, which includes the whole mountain range from northeast Iran to the Caucasus and central Turkey.
"Guanzi" records that "the land with five fertile fields is full of apricots". According to the current archaeological findings, apricot trees were planted in Xinjiang during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and apricot stones were also found in the ancient city of Washixia in Ruoqiang.
Up to now, the earliest wild apricot types can still be found in the miscellaneous forests of Shanxi, Central China, East China and Tibet, as well as in the mountainous areas from Qinling to northern Beijing. Therefore, apricots spread from China to Central Asia, entered Transcaucasia via Iran, and spread westward.
Iranian China pointed out that peaches and apricots were introduced to the west by China. Perhaps these two gifts were brought by silk merchants, first to Iran (200 BC or 100 BC), then to Armenia, Greece and Rome (the first century). These two kinds of trees did not appear until the first century of the Roman Empire at the latest.
China peaches were also introduced to India very early. Xuanzang described the introduction of peaches and pears from China into India in Volume IV of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty. "Yesterday, Jia hated the king Jia Neiting, shocking neighboring countries. Wei was extremely vulgar and did not dare to send hair. King Garnishiga had a proton, and he was rewarded with a dragon, and the cabinet was changed at three o'clock, and four soldiers guarded it. This country is also the hometown of protons in winter, so it is called the servant's ass. Protons live by the name of the country. This land has passed, and it is all over India. There are no pears, peaches and protons in the soil, because peaches tell you and pears tell Rona. Therefore, the people of China deeply respect the eastern soil. "
According to this record, both peaches and pears were introduced into India from Hexi area of Gansu, China via the Northwest Silk Road. So far, peaches are called "China Fruit" and pears are called "Prince Han".
This article comes from The Spread of Chinese Food Civilization on the Silk Road published by People's Publishing House.