The postal system already existed under the Qin, but by the Han it extended across vast distances into Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. The network of postal stations delivered official documents and private mail by relays of runners and mounted carriers. The letters were of bamboo or wooden slips and boards, but also paper and silk. Letters in silk envelopes have been found in the dry climate with the address and delivery instructions still on the package. The wealth of new finds out here in the past twenty years is still being processed, but they give us a remarkable insight into the feelings of
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