Diplomacy and Trade in the Chinese World, 589-1276

ch’ing-hai 291

The specified goods brought by the Tibetan missions fall into the
following categories:

Animals and Animal Products

Elephant tusks

1077: elephant tusks.

Felines

1094: one lion.

Horses

1015: fine horses.
1016: 582 horses.

Aromatics

Frankincense

1077: frankincense.

Minerals and Metals

1015: 7000 ounces of gold.
1077: jade.

Jewels

1077: pearls.

Horses were a native product. Jade came from Central Asia. The lion
and elephant tusks could have been from India via Tibet or Pamir,
although the lion might have been from West Asia. Frankincense was a
product of East Africa and the Middle East and had been brought to
Tsong-kha on the Silk Routes. These goods witness eloquently of the
far-flung commercial contacts of this small Tibetan principality.
The Chinese paid with silver, copper cash, brocade robes, golden
belts, porcelain vessels, silk, tea, and drugs.