On the Tea-horse Trode of Hezhou, Minzhou and Tao zhou in Ming Dynasty

Tea-horse trade started in Tang,developed in Song,prospered in Ming,declined in Qing.The tea-horse trade was throughout the Ming Dynasty.Tea-horse trade in the Ming Dynasty are mainly conducted in northwest and southwest areas,and the He,Min,Tao areas are the major administrative center and trading center of the tea-horse trade in the north-west.Teahorse trade policy is not just a national defence policy,but also an economic policy,ethnologic policy.The smooth conduct of the traded in Ming Dynasty not only ensure the safety of the north-west frontier,but also greatly promote political and economic,cultural and social development of the hinterland and the He,Min,Tao,Tibetan and other ethnic minority areas and even contribute to the achievement of ethnic intermixing.