The Tea-horse Trade Management System in the Ming Dynasty

The tea-horse trade refers to the exchange of tea with the horses in the Tibetan areas.After the Tang and the Song Dynasty,the Ming Dynasty had the most comprehensive management system for the tea-horse trade.The present paper conducts an analysis of the effective management of tea production,tea transportation,tea storage,and tea sales,as well as the repairing and widening the tea-horse road.It elaborates how the Ming Court realized its political purpose to rule the Tibetan areas,to safeguard the unity of different ethnic groups,and to maintain its national unity through skilled application of the economic lever-the tea-horse trade.