Chapter 8 great ashoka

In 327 BC, Alexander the Great, a Macedonian, led his army across the Hindu Kush Mountains to invade West India. He tried to conquer the Ganges Plain, and advanced south and east via Tanchashiro and Rawalpindi, but was opposed by local forces. resistance.At that time, the most powerful force in the Ganges Plain was Magadha, which was under the rule of King Nanda.Around 317 BC, a young man named Chandragupta from the Kshatriya nobles in the country led an army to defeat the Macedonian troops in northwest India and declared India's freedom.After that, he entered Huashi City, the capital of Magadha, overthrew the rule of King Nanda, took power, and established the Mauryan Dynasty.After that, he annexed several neighboring countries, and his strength became stronger day by day.

When Chandragupta was in power, the Mauryan Dynasty had 30,000 cavalry, 600,000 infantry, and 9,000 war elephants, and its military strength was already very strong.In 298 BC, Chandragupta passed away, and passed on to his son Bintusara. During his reign, Bintusara aggressively expanded abroad. According to legend, he once eliminated 16 great city monarchs and expanded the territory of the empire.However, the rule of the Mauryan Dynasty was not solid at this time, and rebellions were frequent in various places, which gave the talented and bold Ashoka a place to use his skills. Ashoka was the third monarch of the Mauryan Dynasty and the grandson of Chandragupta. At the age of 18, he was appointed Governor of Abanti Province.Around 273 B.C., Bintou Shaluo was seriously ill, and there was no prince in the court. In order to seize the throne, King Ashoka, with the help of his minister Chenghu, joined the struggle for the throne.Legend has it that King Ashoka murdered 99 brothers and sisters.In the end, Ashoka won the victory, and about 269 BC, Ashoka held a formal enthronement ceremony.At the beginning of his accession, Ashoka followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, attempting to expand his territory through military power.At this time, he appeared on the stage of history as a tyrant, especially in the war against Kalinga, which showed his extreme cruelty.

Located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, Kalinga has developed overseas trade and a prosperous economy. It is a powerful country in South India. About 262 BC, King Ashoka personally led an army to invade Kalinga.Although Kalinga was relatively powerful, it was finally defeated in the face of the Mauryan Dynasty, which had military and material resources several times its own.150,000 Kalinga people were captured, countless people were killed, and blood flowed like rivers.After Kalinga was conquered, it was ruled by the governor of the royal family and stationed in Tosali. So far, the territory of the Mauryan Dynasty has further expanded. The entire South Asian subcontinent, except for the southern tip, is owned by it, and it has become an unprecedented unified empire. .

The Kalinga War had a great influence on Ashoka.After the end of the Kalinga War, Ashoka changed his original policy of governing the country, gave up all aggressive military actions, and devoted himself to political stability and economic and cultural development.He adopted Buddhism as his religious philosophy, and once issued an imperial decree, in which he said that he "felt deep worry and regret for the sufferings of the Kalinga people in the war." The people announced: "The sound of the drums of war" has been silenced, and it will be replaced by the "voice of the law."From then on, he no longer sent troops to neighboring countries, but sent eminent monks to preach Buddhism, and his own image became a benevolent king with compassion.

King Ashoka soon declared Buddhism to be the state religion of India, ordered stone pillars to be erected in the palace and various parts of India, stone walls were dug, and his edicts were engraved on them.He also summoned a large number of Buddhist eminent monks from all over the country, compiled Buddhist classics, and built many Buddhist temples and pagodas in various places. In order to promote Buddhism, Ashoka sent a large number of envoys and monks, including princes and princesses, to neighboring countries and regions to preach.When the Indian princess went to Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka) to preach, she not only brought many monks and Buddhist scriptures, but also brought a branch of a sacred linden tree and planted it in Ceylon herself. grown to this day.

After some propaganda and exchanges of envoys, Buddhism not only spread throughout Ceylon, but also quickly spread to Egypt, Syria, Burma, China and other parts of the world.According to Buddhist literature, in the 17th year of Ashoka's accession to the throne, the third Buddhist gathering was held in Huashi City.Later, he sent many missionary missions to the borders of the country and neighboring countries to spread Buddhism widely.After the advocacy and dissemination of King Ashoka, Buddhism not only became popular in China, but also spread widely abroad, and began to become a worldwide religion.According to legend, during the reign of Ashoka, 84,000 pagodas were built.His decrees are inscribed on cliffs and stone pillars and distributed all over the country.

In addition to promoting Buddhism, Ashoka also adopted various humane methods of rule. He established hospitals and political sanctuaries, and revised brutal laws.Near the intersection of the main roads, set up national granaries and warehouses for emergency use.Plant trees on both sides of each road, dig a well about three miles apart, and set up a place for pedestrians to rest.In addition, in order to increase agricultural production, canals and reservoirs were built in various places, and a relatively complete irrigation system was established.In order to implement his political ideals to the people, he erected many stone pillars and engraved imperial edicts in various places under his rule to show his determination and hope to win the support of the people.These imperial edicts were written in multiple languages ​​and were called "Ashoka Edicts".It is found in northwestern India, Afghanistan, and along the southeastern coast.Some edicts are engraved on the smoothed cliffs.He also appointed special government officials - Dharma officials to teach people to be pious and to promote friendly relations with each other.