The Shudao (), or the Road(s) to Shu, is a system of mountain roads linking the Chinese province of

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

with

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

(Shu), built and maintained since the 4th century BC. Technical highlights were the

gallery road The archaeological gallery roads () were roads through remote mountain areas of China. They consisted of wooden planks erected on holes cut into the sides of cliffs. They were most notably used in the Qin Mountains linking the Wei River and the ...

s, consisting of wooden planks erected on wooden or stone beams slotted into holes cut into the sides of cliffs.

Geography

The roads join three adjacent basins separated and surrounded by high mountains. The northern basin is called

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...

("between the passes"). It is drained by the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

. In ancient times it was the heart of the

state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...

, nowadays it is the central region of

. To the south it is bounded by the

Qinling Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...

. South of that range is the

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as the ...

basin, drained by the Han River, a tributary of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. The Hanzhong basin is divided from the Sichuan basin by mountain ranges called the Micang Shan (米倉山/米仓山, ''Mǐcāng Shān'', "Rice Granary Mountains") in the west and Daba Mountains in the east. The

Sichuan basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributa ...

and the Hanzhong basin both drain into the Yangtze. Like many ancient road systems, the Shu Roads formed a network of major and minor roads with different roads being used at different historical times. However, a number of roads are commonly identified as the main routes. There were five such main roads across the Qinling Mountains, counting from west to east: * Chencang Road (陈仓道, ''Chéncāng Dào'') is named after the city of

Chencang Chencang District , is a district of the city of Baoji, Shaanxi province, China. Chencang is the former name of Baoji, which was given to the district. The district makes up the outer areas of Baoji, most of the area being rural. In 2020, the Bao ...

near present-day Baoji, literally "Chen Granary". * Baoxie Road (褒斜道, ''Bāoxié Dào'') is named after two rivers, the Baoshui and Xiéshuǐ (), modern Shitou River (). * Tangluo Road (傥骆道, ''Tǎngluò Dào'') is named after the Camel Gorge (駱峪, ''Luòyù'') in the north and Tangshui River (儻水河, ''Tǎngshuǐ Hé'', "Unrestrained Waters River") in the south. * Ziwu Road (子午道, ''Zǐwǔ Dào'') is named after Ziwu (子午 "Midnight-Noon" or "Meridian") gorge. It went south from Chang’an and turned west at its southern junction with the main road to Hanzhong. * Kugu Road (库谷道, ''Kùgǔ Dào''), is named after the valley 库谷 (''Kùgǔ'', "Warehouse Valley") or 库峪 (''Kùyù'', "Warehouse Gorge"), which reached the Han River at today's Xunyang County (), where it turned west to reach the central part of the Hanzhong Basin. The Lianyun Road (连云道, ''Liányún Dào'', "Cloud Linking Road") was a connection between the first two. Between Hanzhong and the Sichuan basin, there were three main Shu roads: * Jinniu Road (金牛道, ''Jīnniú Dào'', "Golden Ox Road") also called the Shiniu Road (石牛道, ''Shíniú Dào'', "

Stone Cattle Road The Stone Cattle Road () was an ancient Chinese road over the Qinling Mountains used by the state of Qin to conquer Sichuan in 316 BC. Story The story goes that King Huiwen of Qin on the Wei River wished to conquer the kingdom of Shu to the sout ...

") to

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

, the capital of Sichuan, and the ancient capital of the Shu state. * Micang Road (米仓道/米倉道, ''Mǐcāng Dào'', "Rice Granary Road); in the region south of the Micang Mountains. From Bazhou, two routes are suggested, one to Chengdu and one to

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

, nowadays the largest city of the Basin. But in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, Chongqing had not yet been founded so the road to Chengdu seems to be the main Shu Road. * Yàngbā (洋巴道, ''Yángbā Dào'') - or

Lychee Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the Sapindus, soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (t ...

Road (荔枝道, ''Lìzhī Dào''), the easternmost road, ended east of

at Fuling) on the Yangtze and was used originally in the Tang Period. Fuling was not situated in Shu State, but in the neighbouring

Ba state Ba () was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng ( Enshi City), Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. The historical Bo people and the modern Tujia people trace some of their origins back to the people o ...

. The most used stretch of main road in recent times was the Great Post Road, or Great Road, that stretched from Beijing to Chengdu and was in operation from the Yuan Period to the Republican Period. Postal stations, rest stops and garrisons were established along the length of the road. Its Shu Road section was a composite. After Xi’an it used linking roads through

, then sections of the Chencang Road, the Lianyun Road, and the Baoye Road to reach the Han Basin. It then joined the Jinniu Road to Chengdu.

History

In 316 BC, the

, the capital of which was then

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

(near present-day

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

), conquered Shu and its eastern neighbour, the Ba Federation. Related to this conquest, the first roads were built through the mountains. Of the Golden Ox Road there is a tale that the ruler of Shu had built it in order to send the ruler of Qin a golden ox as a gift. So it is possible that the southern section of this road was constructed by Shu with other roads being built by Qin State. Jianmenguan

Over time, sections not consisting of planks were replaced by flagstones and steps. Nevertheless, they were still a challenge for travellers. In the Tang Period, Li Bai wrote about the "hard road to Shu", and about "ladders to heaven made of timber and stones". Along the roads fortified control posts and cities were built. At that time, the Tangluo Road was an official postal road and the Baoye Road was in constant use. It is likely he wrote of one of these roads. China 5

During times of conflict, sections of the plank roads were sometimes burned as a military stratagem. One such conflict was after the overthrow of the

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

in 206 BC, when the successful leader of the revolt,

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynas ...

, banished his strongest rival Liu Bang to be ruler of the remote kingdoms of Han, Shu and Ba. Retreating with his army to Hanzhong, at the suggestion of his advisor

Zhang Liang Zhang Liang is the romanization of common names like 張良, 張亮 and 張梁. 張良 * Zhang Liang (Western Han) (died 189 BC), early Han dynasty strategist ** Zhang Liang, an animation character from the animated TV series ''The Legend of Qin'', ...

, Liu destroyed the plank roads immediately after his passage in order to stop any pursuers.Sima Qian (120 BCE). ''Records of the Grand Historian''. Translated by Burton Watson, Three Volumes (Revised 1993), Columbia University Press. ''Han Dynasty I''. Book 8, The Basic Annals of the Emperor Gaozu.
��马迁，史记，传8，高祖本纪。 Then, to deceive Xiang Yu of his intentions to attack the three kings of Qin, some say he pretended to repair the Plank Roads as his Generalissimo

Han Xin Han Xin (; 231/230–196 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ear ...

took what is now called the Chencang Road to attack Chencang. Even today, Chinese say “openly repair the plank roads, secretly march on Chencang” () to describe this stratagem. Later Liu Bang founded the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

and in peacetime, the mountain roads were rebuilt. Another example occurred four hundred years later, in the age of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

. The founder of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...

, had a famous advisor and Prime Minister

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...

(also called Kongming) who made constant use of the Shu Roads to attack the Kingdom of Wei. Following Kongming's death, Plank Roads were burned on at least two occasions to defend Hanzhong; once by the traitor Wei Yan and once by the patriot Jiang Wei, but nothing could save Shu Han. Afterwards the Plank Roads were restored and the traffic continued to flow. On his Asian journey (1271–1295)

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

spent the years 1275 to 1295 in China during the Yuan Period. He left a clear description of the Great Road from Beijing to Chengdu, and included its major Shu Roads sections. Later, China's centres of population and economy moved out of the western mountain regions to the eastern plains. The flows of traffic changed in the same way. But the Shu Roads remained important for communication between the western basins. During the troubles at the end of

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

Period, Sichuan suffered material damage and loss of population through various raids and invasions. Long sections of the Shu Roads fell into disrepair. Under the rule of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, Sichuan was rebuilt, and the Shu Roads were repaired. They remained important routes for traffic until the first decades of the 20th century. The first modern motor road was opened in Sichuan in 1937 and reached the Guanzhong in 1943. Since that time, long sections of new roads were built along almost the same routes as the former roads. In this way most of the ancient plank roads were destroyed. New plank roads were built for sightseeing and tourists, but they have never served real traffic.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Shu Roads
Australia-China Cooperation, Shu Roads Project: ''China's Qinling Plank Roads to Shu - 秦蜀栈记''

(in

Chinese script Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

)
Li Bai's poem on the "Shu Road's hardship" (蜀道難, ''Shǔdào Nán'') from 8th century in Chinese script and English translation

Trade routes History of China Ancient roads and tracks Transport in Shaanxi Transport in Sichuan Qin (state) Transport in Chongqing