I. Anecdotes of Ancient Dissemination Due to the inconvenient transportation in ancient China, the channels of information dissemination are very limited. With regard to the limited modes of communication, the ancients fantasized about many rumors, such as the story of the bluebird, the story of the fish, the story of the swan goose and the story of the yellow ear.
Jade bird delivers books. Jade bird is a subordinate who delivers letters to the Queen Mother of the West. In the Story of Hanwu Natural History, which was circulated in the Jin Dynasty, the three bluebirds of the Queen Mother of the West were related to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. "Hanwu Story" wrote that the Queen Mother of the West visited Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty on the seventh day of July, and "suddenly saw a bluebird coming from the west and gathering in front of the temple". Dong Fangshuo explained that the Jade Bird is the messenger of the Queen Mother of the West and needs to be "swept away". After the arrival of the Queen Mother of the West, she brought seven Xiantao to share food with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In later literary works, the bluebird became a special messenger. For example, Li Bai's "I would like to repay Sauvignon Blanc with three bluebirds" and Li Shangyin's "Pengshan has no road, but the bluebird, listen! -bring me what she said! " .
Jade bird delivers books.
Fishbone refers to stuffing information into a fish's stomach for secret transmission. As recorded in Historical Records Chen She Family, Dan Shu silk is called "Chen", which makes people put silk into the belly of fish to achieve the purpose of political propaganda. Later, fish-shaped boxes were used to place information that needed to be transmitted.
There is no such thing as a real swan goose passing books. According to Hanshu, Su Wu was sent to Xiongnu and was trapped by his subordinates. Later, after Zhao Han succeeded to the throne, the Huns married this big man. The Han Dynasty wanted the Huns to put Su Wu and others back, but the Huns refused and lied that Su Wu was dead. Later, the envoys of the Han Dynasty went to Xiongnu again. Su Wu's subordinate Chang Hui met the envoy in the middle of the night and described the incident to him. Chang Hui's messenger said to Shan Yu, "The son of heaven shot Lin Deyan, full of books and books, and his words were martial in the desert." Su Wu has just returned to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Hongyan's book biography is not a specific mode of communication, but a symbol of mutual communication.
Su Wu
Huang Erchuan's book is from the Southern Dynasties Liang's Shuo Wen Jie Zi. Huang Er refers to the name of the dog that Luji keeps. Lu Ji went to Luoyang as an official, and Huang Er followed him. The dog "can understand people's language, and tries to borrow people 300 miles away. The dog knows the way and goes home in one day." Lu Ji hasn't contacted his family for a long time, so he wants Huang Er to help him send the letter home. "Dogs like to wag their tails and respond quietly." Lu Ji put the letter in a bamboo tube and tied it around Huang Er's neck. So Huang Er set off along the postal route. When you are hungry, you will eat grass to satisfy your hunger. After crossing the river, "cross the river with eyes and ears." He was spoiled and loved by others, so he got on the boat and crossed the river. After landing, "the dog jumped up and flew desperately", and finally arrived at Lu Ji's house, "the mouth was silent", and Lu Ji's family opened the tube and took out the letter. After that, Huang Er made a silence to Lu Ji's family, meaning that he could help reply. Lu Ji's family still put the letter in a bamboo tube and tied it around the dog's neck. "The dog has answered, but he is still lost."
Letter forwarding from home
At that time, people had to go back and forth for 50 days, while Huang Er only spent half a month. Lu Ji was born in Wuxian County, Wu Jun (that is, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province today). The linear distance from Luoyang to Suzhou is near 1000 km. It is obviously impossible for dogs to send letters over a long distance, but it also reflects the lack of private postal services, and then fantasizes about dogs sending letters.
Second, military exchanges In ancient society, official exchanges were more developed than non-governmental exchanges. In order to meet the military needs, a relatively systematic beacon signal system was established. Beasts appeared and were used as early as the pre-Qin period. Mozi's order mentioned that "bonfires are lit during the day, and bonfires are lit at night", and the beacon tower issued a signal that smoke was released during the day and fire was set at night. The beacon towers here are not single, but each one is interconnected. In case of enemy situation, beacon towers will send out signals, and the surrounding beacon towers will light up one after another, transmitting emergency military information layer by layer, which has made great contributions to border defense.
beacon tower
The use of beacon communication is clearly regulated. In the Song Dynasty, it was recorded in the General Theory of Wu Jing that when the Japanese invaded the border, "more than 50 horse infantry, less than 500 people, started a bonfire." Later, knowing that the enemy was going to attack, he "played two torches"; If there are more than 500 enemies and less than 3,000, it is also "playing two torches"; If the enemy is more than 500 1000 cavalry and intends to attack, then put three torches; If the enemy gathers more than 3000 cavalry, they should also set off three torches; If there are more than 1000 feather-fan thieves and more than 10000 feather-mouth thieves, four torches will be set. After the enemy retreats, the torch should be lit to report peace.
In addition to bonfires, flying pigeons are also one of the means of ancient military communication. Using homing characteristics of pigeons, homing pigeons are used for one-way information transmission. In the History of Dong Qiye in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was recorded that the army used pigeons to send messages. Qu Duan led a strict army, and his uncle was beheaded by Qu Duan because of defeat. Hearing this, Zhang Jun wanted to inspect Qu Duan's army. Zhang Jun arrived and found there were no soldiers around Qu Duan, so he wanted to count the soldiers. Zhang Jun "ordered one of them to open the birdcage in the courtyard, let a pigeon go over and let the army follow". Zhang Jun was very surprised, and then "learned that the five pigeons were vertical, and the five armies gathered in an instant." Until the next two world wars, homing pigeons still played an important role.
ipmessenger
Third, the official post said, "When the world of mortals rode the princess, no one knew it was litchi." The most important and common means of official communication in ancient China was postal service. "Post" and "post" refer to post stations set at a certain distance on the road to provide accommodation, horses and chariots for the messenger. Official posts are used to circulate official documents from the central government to local governments, including military information and the appointment and removal of officials. It is characterized by fast direct access.
The post office originated in the pre-Qin period. According to Zhou Li, on the road of national wilderness, "there are lodging in ten miles, food in lodging, lodging room in thirty miles, committee in lodging room, city in fifty miles, and waiting hall in the city." It means that there are stations providing accommodation and rest along the way. Mencius also mentioned the post office: "Confucius said:' The popularity of virtue is faster than the delivery of mail.' "
Ancient inn
After Qin unified the six countries, Chidao was built all over the country, and the improvement of traffic greatly expanded the postal system. By the Han Dynasty, the postal system was further improved. "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records that "the soldiers and horses are all in the clouds". During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, land and water stations developed at the same time, and in the Tang Dynasty, flying stations for delivering urgent official documents appeared. There was a tide of sending feet in the Song Dynasty. Meng Qian's pen talk said: "The gold lettering painted' Mupai' and' Zhuqi' is dazzling. Expect to avoid the road and travel more than 500 hours a day. " Extremely fast. The Ming Dynasty inherited the scale of the previous generation. By the Qing Dynasty, the ancient postal communication was declining and the modern postal communication system was gradually developed.
Qing dynasty inn
Fourth, people-to-people communication Although there was a postal system in ancient China, it was only responsible for the circulation of official documents, and ordinary people could not use it. Before the Ming Dynasty, if ordinary people wanted to communicate with distant relatives and friends, they were usually sent by passing businessmen and scholars. Businessmen often travel to and from various places, which is the best choice for piggybacking. However, the distance and time interval between scholars on the road are large, and the probability of losing letters is also high. Shi Shuo Xin Yu mentioned that Yin Hongqiao, the chief of Zhang Yu, was recalled to Jiankang. Before he left, the local people asked him to take a letter. Later, when I arrived in Jiankang, Yin Hongqiao threw all the letters into the water and said, "What sinks will sink, and what floats will float. Yinhongqiao can't post books. " This is how the idiom "put into Hongqiao" comes from.
In the Ming dynasty, there was a people's information bureau that delivered letters for the people. The People's Information Bureau is a privately operated commercial organization, and its business includes delivering letters, parcels and transferring money on behalf of others. During Daoguang and Xianfeng years in Qing Dynasty, the development of the Bureau of Public Affairs reached its peak and spread all over the country, becoming the main channel for people to communicate. 1935, the people's information bureau was banned by the national government and replaced by a modern postal communication system.
Minxinju former site
Wen said that the ancient traffic in China played a great role in the development of China civilization. Whether the government manages local governments to issue decrees, the army transmits military information, or ordinary people send letters home, it is inseparable from the progress of communication means. Today, with the continuous convenience of communication, information all over the world is readily available, and the convenience of modern communication is developed on the basis of ancient communication systems.
Reference: Natural History, Zhonghua Book Company, 1980.
Liu Guangsheng and Zhao Meizhuang: History of Ancient Post Stations in China, People's Posts and Telecommunications Publishing House, 1999.
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