The Transportation of Tax Textiles to the North-West as part of the Tang-Dynasty Military Shipment System

Abstract

From the inception of its military campaign into Central Asia via the Gansu corridor, the Tang dynasty had to ensure the shipment of extensive military supplies to support the activities of its occupying armies north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. Since the government paid soldiers’ salaries and bought supplies using silk, the timely delivery of silk from central China was critical. Most of the silk was collected in the central provinces under the zuyongdiao 租庸調 tax system, whether as stipulated payments of tax textiles or cloth-paid-in-place-of-annual-corvée tax. All this silk had to be shipped to the Western Regions. This article examines where this silk was made, how it was shipped to the north-west and how the system changed over time.