Chapter 279 Brocade Price, Overbearing Shu Brocade
Accompanied by a thin "hush" sound, the young eunuch pulled the reins of the horse, and the carriage stopped in front of a silk and satin shop with a lot of traffic. The sound of "ta-da-da" horse hoofs sounded. disappear slowly…………………………
Wang Shen and others entered the store and inquired about the specific price, which was approximately one inch of Sichuan brocade can be exchanged for one inch of gold. They had heard about this before and felt that the price given by the store manager was quite reasonable. The price was negotiated. after,
So he asked the store steward to ask a few people to move the eighty pieces of exquisite Shu brocade to the counter in the store, count them, and settle the price. This is Shu brocade in the emperor's treasury. The quality is naturally superior, and the value is also quite "overbearing." It is the hard currency circulating in all countries in the world.
Shu brocade is one of the four famous brocades in my country. It has a long history and has a huge impact on the silk weaving industry in my country, Asia and the world.
Shu brocade originated in the ancient times, flourished in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and flourished during the period. Names such as Jinguancheng and Jinjiang were all due to Shu brocade. Shu brocade was most prosperous during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and was so prosperous that it could be described as "overbearing". It became even more popular during the Shu and Han Dynasties. Even better than before.
To talk about the value of Shu brocade, we must first talk about the word "jin". "jin" is equal to "gold" plus "silk". "Bo" is the general name for silk fabrics, and the word "jin" next to it is enough to highlight the meaning of "jin". The value of silk fabrics, even the value of handmade Sichuan brocade in later generations, is extraordinary.
"Shi Ming" says: "Brocade is gold. It takes a lot of effort to make, and its price is as high as gold, so the characters are made of silk and gold."
"Historical Records" records an evaluation of Sima Cuo during the period of King Huiwen of Qin Dynasty: "The land can be enough to expand the country, and the wealth can be enough to enrich the people and repair the army." The Shu land is located in a corner, and in Zhang Yi's eyes, it is a barbarian land. Why did Sima Cuo think that there was huge wealth hidden in Shu?
On the one hand, the reason lies in the unique climate conditions and geographical location of Shu, and on the other hand, it has a lot to do with the Shu Brocade.
"Historical Records" mentioned the "Shu cloth" trade many times, and Shu cloth refers to Shu brocade. It was precisely because of the Shu brocade trade that it created huge economic value for the Shu region, and this was what Sima Cuo was interested in.
"Ode to the Capital of Shu" states that the land of Shu has "yellow and moist fine cloth, and a barrel can count gold." You must know that before the 19th century, the total global gold production in thousands of years of history was only 10,000 tons, and a barrel of top-quality Shu brocade would count several thousand tons. Gold is enough to show its high value.
There is a paragraph in "Ode to the Capital of Shu" that specifically describes the production and price of Shu brocade: "The city of Yayi is adjacent to its west. The gathering place of shops is the abyss of thousands of merchants. There are hundreds of tunnels, and there are thousands of bribes. The goods are piled up in the mountains, and the stars are slender and beautiful. The women of the city are well-dressed and well-made. Jia Mao's garlands are criss-crossed with irregularities. Foreign objects appear in all directions, and there are flowers in the cloth and oranges in the hair. The Qiong stick was passed down in Daxia In the city, the taste of Konjac spreads in the hometown of Panyu. The chariots are mixed together, and the crowns and belts are mixed. The carriages are piled up, and the rebellions are mixed. When the noise is boiling, the universe is silent; when the dust is high, the air is rustling. In the shopping mall, there is a house of clever tricks. Hundreds of rooms are separated from each other, and the tricks are in harmony with each other. The shells and brocades are so perfect that they wash the color of the river waves. They are yellow and run like tubes, and the gold is everywhere."
During the Shu Han Dynasty, Shu brocade was a rare and expensive silk fabric, and the court often used it to exchange for war horses and other military supplies from the north.
Although we don’t know the specific exchange value, but it can be used to exchange war horses and military supplies in the Three Kingdoms in troubled times, the value of Shu Brocade should not be underestimated.
Zhuge Liang had two sentences in his military order "Yanjin Jiao": "The only way to defeat the enemy is to rely on Jin'er", and "All the needs of the army are borrowed from Jin".
What is this concept? When Liu Bei entered Shu, he brought about 30,000 troops. Later, he annexed Liu Zhang with about 50,000 troops, annexed Hanzhong with about 30,000 troops, and left Jingzhou with about 50,000 troops. At its peak, Shu Han had about 150,000 to 60,000 troops. The army relies on Shu brocade for most of its military expenses. In this way, it is not an exaggeration to say that "every inch of brocade is valuable", right?
The clothing systems of the Qin and Han dynasties were generally similar. Officials and the upper class wore long robes with wide sleeves, while ordinary people and poor families could only wear shorts and long trousers.
The clothing system has a great impact on the materials used for tailoring. For a simple example, if you have a piece of fine fabric, would you cut it into pieces to make a short coat?
Of course not, of course, the less wastage of good materials, the better. Of course, with the price of Shu Brocade, ordinary people could never afford it, so it gradually became an exclusive symbol of the upper class during the Qin and Han Dynasties.
"Book of the Later Han·Yu Fu Zhi" records: "From Mrs. Erqianshi to the Queen, all wore silkworm clothes as court uniforms." During the Han Dynasty, what officials enjoyed the treatment of two thousand stones? At least they had to be county prefects and other officials. Until now, he is equivalent to a high-ranking official.
Only family members of officials and above can wear silkworm clothes. As Shu Brocade was the best among silkworm clothes in the Qin and Han Dynasties, the people who can wear it need to be of a higher level. Ordinary people can only sigh at the "brocade", which was developed as early as the Warring States Period. Established the "Shu Body Poison Road" that specializes in trading Shu brocade,
Long before Zhang Qian opened the Silk Road to the Western Regions, the ancestors of the southwest region had opened a trade channel from Sichuan to India. This was the "Shu Shen Du Road", the predecessor of the Southern Silk Road.
The "Book of Han·Biography of Zhang Qian" records what Zhang Qian said to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty after returning from his first mission to the Western Regions:
"When I was in Daxia, I saw Qiong bamboo sticks and Shu cloth."
The Shu cloth of Bactria passed away from Shendu (India), but what about the Shu cloth of India?
According to ancient Indian Sanskrit literature, Hindu gods liked to wear Chinese silk a long time ago, and Chinese silk was traded through this Shu body poisonous road.
In my country's thousands of years of feudal history, focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce has been one of the basic national policies of almost every dynasty, and the Han Dynasty was no exception.
The Han Dynasty followed the Qin system and always regarded agriculture as the country's pillar industry. With the development and prosperity of the Shu brocade industry, the Han Dynasty's basic national policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce was shaken for a time.
To give a simple example, ordinary farmers make a living by farming. Part of the food they earn every year is handed over to the court, and part is kept for home consumption. However, silk fabrics are different. No matter how much is produced, they cannot keep an inch of it and have to sell it. After all, Ordinary people are not qualified to wear high-end products like Shu brocade. This promotes the development of commercial economy.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! If the imperial court wants to continue to restrict commercial development, it can only completely destroy the silk weaving industry in Shu and let all mulberry, silkworm farmers, and textile workers go home to plant their crops. Grains. Is this feasible? Not at all.
The commercial trade driven by silk fabrics during the Han Dynasty has brought huge returns to the court and has become an important economic pillar of the court at that time. Which ruler is willing to cut off his own arms?
According to historical records, Shu brocade and Shu embroidery developed during the Han Dynasty and became an important source of tribute for the imperial court. Therefore, the imperial court set up a special "Jin official" in Chengdu to manage the production and sales of Shu brocade and Shu embroidery, and specially built a city to protect the production of Shu brocade and Shu embroidery.
Shu brocade not only shook up the Han Dynasty's national policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce, but also led the imperial court to set up the position of brocade official for it. What other product can have such a great influence?
The influence of Shu brocade in the late Han Dynasty was mainly reflected in two people, one was Zhuge Liang and the other was Cao Pi.
We have already mentioned Zhuge Liang's attitude towards Shu Brocade before. He clearly stated in his military orders that he would rely on Shu Brocade. Let's talk about Cao Pi's attitude towards Shu Brocade in detail below.
Wang Chen looked at the Shu brocades that were hoping for good luck one by one and said: "Speaking of the time when the puppet Emperor Wen of Wei was in power, Cao Pi deeply hated the Shu brocades of the Shu Kingdom. He thought that the influx of Shu brocades and the outflow of Wei's gold and silver were disguised to fund the enemy. However, Neither he nor the pseudo-Wei aristocratic families can resist the temptation of this Shu brocade!"
"Discussing the Book of Shu Brocade with the Officials" recorded this passage from Cao Pi:
"Since the brocade with the tiger's head and the brocade that I have woven is also made of gold, it will be evil when it comes from Shu to Luoyi."
Obviously, the purpose of Cao Pi's words was not to show how good his own brocade was, but the main purpose was to belittle the Shu brocade.
At that time, Shu brocade was popular all over the country. In the Wei state, everyone from high-ranking officials to wealthy landlords became loyal fans of Shu brocade.
You must know that the price of Shu brocade is very high. People's pursuit of Shu brocade means that the gold and silver money of Wei will continue to flow to Shu, resulting in a huge "trade deficit".
It was able to force an emperor to weave his own textiles, and most importantly, it also attracted some "slander" from him, which shows that the influence of Shu brocade is indeed overbearing.