A brief history of ancient India

Multi-caste ancient Indian civilization

1. The process of civilization with more divisions and less unity

Natural environment The geographical scope of ancient India is not limited to today's India, but refers to the entire subcontinent, including today's Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries. In ancient India, no country had "India" as its name, but the Persians and ancient Greeks called the area east of the Indus River India, and my country's "Historical Records" and "Hanshu" called it "Shendu". , "Book of the Later Han" called it "Tianzhu", and Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty changed it to "India" in his "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty". Apparently, this name is derived from the name of the Indus River.

Ancient India was surrounded by the sea on three sides and the towering Himalayas on the north, so it was an independent triangular peninsula geographically. There are plains in the north and two large river basins, the Indus River and the Ganges River, which are beneficial to the development of agriculture. There are plateaus in the south with rich forests and mineral deposits, which are beneficial to the development of handicraft industry. Due to the vast territory of the subcontinent and the good natural environment within it, the ancient Indians did not need to risk all their strength to challenge the ocean.

Ancient India is also one of the birthplaces of human civilization. As far back as 14 million years ago, human ancestor Ramapithecus was active here. Paleolithic cultural sites are mainly distributed in the northern part of the peninsula. Relics of the Neolithic culture are scattered throughout the subcontinent. From about the late 4000s to 3000s BC, the peninsula entered the era of both gold and stone. Around 2300 BC, the Indus Valley entered civilization. Thus, the subcontinent was inhabited throughout prehistory until the emergence of civilization.

Inhabitants Ancient India can be described as a melting pot of the world’s races. There are mainly dwarf black people, primitive Austrians, Dravidians, Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Yueshi people, white Huns, etc. To be more precise, they are the three major human races (yellow race, black race) There are both Indians and whites), and there are more than 200 dialects, so the composition of ancient Indian residents is relatively complex.

If Chinese civilization is a process of long-term unification and short-term division, then the ancient Indian civilization is a development trend of more division and less unity. Throughout its civilization process, there are roughly the following eras:

The first era is the Indus Valley Civilization era (about 2300-1750 BC). This is the earliest civilization in ancient India, centered in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro on the Indus River, so it is called "Harappan culture". However, this civilization was not discovered until 1921-1924. Like the Sumerian civilization in the Mesopotamia, it had been buried underground for a long time and was unknown to people. Therefore, when the first volume of "Cambridge History of India" was first published in 1922, it was still believed that ancient India entered civilization from the "Late Vedic Age" in the 1000s BC. The discovery of the Harappan culture pushed the time of ancient Indian civilization forward by 1,300 years.

The second era is the Vedic era (about 1500-600 BC). This era is divided into two stages: the early Vedic era (1500-1000 BC) and the late Vedic era (900-600 BC). The reason why it is divided into two stages is that after the splendid Indus Valley Civilization was destroyed for unknown reasons, the history of ancient India was unclear for nearly 200 years. Beginning around 1500 BC, the Indo-European Aryans invaded the subcontinent, but these Aryans were at the end of primitive society, so throughout the early Vedic era, that is, between 1500 and 1000 BC, Ancient India regressed into an era of transition from barbarism to civilization. Starting from 900 BC, the Aryans entered civilization, or it was only the second time that ancient India entered civilization. Scholars call the period from 900 to 600 BC the Late Vedic Age. However, the civilization of this period was really pitiful compared to the Harappan culture.

The third age is the Age of Nations (600-400 BC). Sometimes also called the "early Buddhist era". This was an era when all the kingdoms of ancient India were coexisting, but it was also an era of disputes during the Warring States Period, gradually laying the foundation for unification. Among them, the Kingdom of Magadha in the Ganges River Basin was the most powerful. At this time, the economic, political and cultural center of ancient India also moved eastward, that is, the Ganges River Basin became the center of civilization. As for the Indus River Basin, it not only lost its important status, but was also occupied by the Persian Empire in 518 BC and became one of its provinces. .

The fourth era is the Mauryan Empire era (324-187 BC).

This was the first unified era and empire in the history of ancient India, but the unifier was not Magadha, a powerful country in the age of nations, but an uprising leader from the Peacock tribe in the Indus Valley, which had lost its important position. After Alexander destroyed the Persian Empire, the Indus River Valley became the territory of Alexander's empire. However, as soon as Alexander left India, an uprising broke out here. The leader of the uprising, Chandragupta, not only drove away Alexander's defenders, but also completed the great cause of unification and established An empire was born. From the simultaneous evacuation of all countries to the unification of countries, on the one hand, it is the development trend of all ancient civilizations in the world, and on the other hand, it is also conducive to the development of economy, politics and culture. Therefore, during the reign of Ashoka, the third king of the empire (269-232 BC), the empire entered a prosperous era. However, after this empire lasted for 137 years, it was replaced by the Sunga Dynasty (187-75 BC) in 187 BC. The Sunga Dynasty was no longer an empire. In the early days, it ruled the entire Ganges River Basin. Tuo's small court. By 75 BC, the last emperor of the Xunjia Dynasty was killed by Ganhua. However, the Ganhua Dynasty (75-30 BC) was too peaceful to be consolidated. Four kings ruled in 45 years, with an average of 11 years per king. . In 30 BC, this small court was also destroyed by Andura, a small country in South India. In short, after the demise of the Mauryan Empire, the history of ancient India has been unclear for a long time; secondly, there have been constant invasions by foreign races. There were Greeks, Sze people, Parthians, and Dayuezhi people from Bactria. Among them, only the Yuezhi people of China established a stable political power in northwest ancient India.

The fifth era is the Kushan Empire era (1st-3rd century AD). The founders of the Kushan Empire were a branch of the Yuezhi people who lived in Dunhuang and the Qilian Mountains of China. In the 2nd century BC, the nomadic Dayuezhi people were defeated by the Huns, moved westward to Central Asia, and then occupied Bactria. They gradually changed from nomadic to agricultural-based life, and the social system gradually transitioned from primitive society to class society. . Zhang Qian arrived here when he was on a mission to the Western Regions in 139 BC. At this time, the Dayuezhi people were divided into five tribes, and the chiefs were called "Xihou". Around the beginning of the 1st century AD, the Guishang Xihou Qiujiuque (15-65 AD) among the five Xihous wiped out the other Xihous and unified them. One or five tribes established the Kushan state. Qiujiuque also attacked the Kabul River Basin and present-day Kashmir in the south, initially laying the foundation of the empire. After Qiu Jüque's death, his son Yan Gaozhen (65-75 AD) succeeded to the throne. He then marched south to India and occupied the Ganges River Basin. By the time of the third generation king Kanishaka (78-102 AD), the Kushan Empire entered its peak period, and its capital was Fulusa (today's Peshawar, Pakistan). At this time, the empire spanned Central Asia and South Asia, and was one of the four major empires in the world at that time, along with Rome, Parthia, and China's Eastern Han Empire. At the same time, in 90 AD, Guishang sent an army of 70,000 to attack Banchao who was stationed in the Western Regions. The Hanyan soldiers were few and were very frightened. However, Banchao took advantage of the Kushan army's labor force for the expedition and the shortcomings of insufficient military supplies. He "collected the grain and held on" and sent an ambush. He attacked and killed his troops who asked for food and supplies from Qiuci, forcing the Kushan army to retreat to the south of Congling and maintain peaceful relations with the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Kanishka fought all his life and expanded the territory of the empire, but he also made the people suffer so much from the war that they could not bear his expansionary policy, so when he was ill in bed, people used quilts Cover him and suffocate him to death. After his death, the empire began to decline. By the 3rd century, the empire had fragmented into several small principalities. The history of ancient India has entered an ambiguous stage again. Until the rise of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century. In 425, the remaining Kushan forces in Daxia were also destroyed by the Muda people (White Huns).

It is not difficult to see from the above eras that from 2300 BC until the rise of the Gupta Empire, except for the Mauryan Empire in 137 years and the Kushan Empire in nearly 100 years, the rest of ancient India was a unified and powerful empire. It was an era of division among the nations. Even the era of ambiguity.

2. The Lost Indus Valley Civilization

The Discovery of Civilization As mentioned before, before 1924, the first chapter of scholars’ talk about ancient Indian civilization started from the Vedic era. This is of course a wrong understanding. In 1921, British archaeologists discovered the Harappan ruins in the upper reaches of the Indus River, and in 1924, they discovered the Mohenjo Daro ruins in the lower reaches. According to scientific determination, these are some ancient civilizations that existed between 2300 and 1750 BC. It predates the Vedic civilization by more than 1,000 years. The news from India shocked the academic circles around the world at that time, because the level of civilization at these sites was not only surprising, but also made people discover that Vedic civilization was simply a dark and great retrograde era.

Scale of civilization Mohenjo-daro and Harappa are urban civilization sites. The circumference of both cities is more than 4.8 kilometers. The cities are composed of two parts: the acropolis and the lower city (residential area). , each with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The two cities are 644 kilometers apart, forming two centers. They are obviously two independent national capitals. Since then, archaeologists have successively discovered hundreds of similar large and small sites, and their distribution range is not limited to the Indus River Basin. Its area is much larger than the distribution range of ancient civilization sites in early Egypt and Mesopotamia. . Obviously, this is an era of civilization with a relatively large distribution area, but it is also an era that has been completely forgotten by people. If the Sumerian civilization can still find shadows in myths and legends, then the Indus Valley Civilization does not even have a shadow of myths and legends. Fortunately, archaeologists have discovered it, which allows these large and small ruins that have been sleeping underground for more than 3,000 years to be brought to light, and also allows us to understand the general situation of their civilization.

Characteristics of Civilization The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Civilization. Copper not only includes weapons such as daggers, arrowheads, and spearheads, but also production tools such as sickles, saws, axes, chisels, and fishhooks. Agriculture was an important production sector at that time. The main crops cultivated were barley, wheat, beans, sesame vegetables, and rice was also grown in areas with good water resources. In addition, there are date palms, fruit trees, and cotton, so India is the hometown of cotton. Residents are also engaged in animal husbandry, and domesticated animals include cattle, pigs, dogs, donkeys, etc. Poultry and fish are also eaten.

The handicraft industry is relatively developed. In addition to bronze ware, they have also mastered the processing technology of gold, silver, lead, tin and other metals, and have reached a high level of hot processing and cold processing. In particular, they can also use welding to make metal ware. The pottery and textile industries also have a high level. Spindles and spinning wheels have been found in many sites. The existence of dye vats shows that the dyeing technology of textiles was mastered at that time. The pottery blanks are made on a pottery wheel and then fired in a pottery kiln. The design of the pottery kiln is also very reasonable, and the flame can reach the top layer. There are also some exquisite pottery products decorated with pictures. In addition, the handicrafts are also very exquisite, such as necklaces, rings, bracelets, arm bracelets, anklets, earrings and other jewelry, including gold and silver products, as well as ivory and gemstone products. Seals are its specialty. The seals are engraved with characters and patterns. The characters contain about four to five hundred symbols. This is a sign of entering civilization, but these characters have not yet been deciphered.

Business is also very active. Things outside the center of the Indus Valley Civilization were found in the ruins. For example, seals were also found in the Mesopotamia. Similarly, circular seals and metal products from the Mesopotamia were also found in these ruins, which indicates that there were commercial trade exchanges with the Mesopotamia. . Scholars believe that this long-distance trade was carried out by sea, and the seals also have the image of a ship. In addition, there are stone weighing hammers in the ruins, and there are binary and decimal methods, which shows that the weights and measures system is also developed, or that the creators of the civilization are some carefree residents.

What best reflects the scale of this civilization are the urban ruins and its architectural art. Among the many urban ruins, there are only a few larger ones, among which Harappa and Mohenjo Daro are the largest, and the better preserved is Mohenjo Daro. Therefore, we will introduce Mohenjo Daro by Visit the ruins of Luocheng to learn about the urban civilization of the Indus River.

The city of Mohenjo Daro covers an area of ??266 hectares. The west part of the city is the acropolis built on a high brick platform, and the east part is where the residential area and commercial center are located. There is a wide and thick brick line between the two parts. The wall surrounds it and makes it one. The Acropolis has tall and thick walls and towers. There are a series of buildings in the Acropolis: in the center is a large rectangular bath, 12 meters long, 7 meters wide and 2.4 meters deep. It is built of bricks and coated with asphalt to prevent water leakage. There is a water supply well and drainage ditch near the bathhouse. Scholars believe that this bathhouse was not just for bathing, but may also have been a place to perform certain religious rituals. To the west of the bathhouse is a large barn, and to the east, south, and north are magnificent buildings. This is obviously where the ruler lives, works, and gathers. The lower city was obviously built according to the plan. The streets are straight, running east-west, north-south, and intersecting perpendicularly. The lower city is also divided into districts, and each district has a number of alleys that also intersect vertically. The main street is 10 meters wide, and the corners of buildings at street intersections are rounded to avoid obstructing traffic. There are also many evenly distributed pillars on the street, which experts believe are lampposts for lighting at night. Under the vertically intersecting streets, there is a complete sewer network. The sewers are made of bricks and have slate roofs.

There are building walls on both sides of the street, but the windows of these buildings do not open to the street, but to their own yards. The doors basically open to the alleys, and rarely to the street. Judging from the streets, districts, and buildings of Xiacheng, it is obvious that it is a class society with a large gap between rich and poor. Because the streets in some urban areas are neat and the buildings are luxurious-style buildings with their own wells and bathrooms. The floor of the bathroom is on a slope, and there are sewer pipes that lead directly to outdoor street sewer pipes. Some buildings also have vertical sewer pipes. The ceramic pipes indicate that the owner of the building designed the bathroom upstairs. Some urban areas are a different story, with narrow streets, huts and mud houses, no sewers on the streets, and no indoor bathrooms. These urban areas are obviously slums. They must be smelly in hot weather and the roads are muddy in rainy days.

The buildings of the Indus Valley Civilization have an obviously unique style compared with the buildings of Egypt and Sumer at the same time. From the perspective of building materials, Egypt is a megalithic building, Sumerian is using sun-dried bricks, and the Indus Valley Civilization is using kiln-fired bricks with standard sizes; from the perspective of architectural style, they are better than Egypt and Sumer. I seem to pay more attention to practicality and affordability. In terms of art, there are basically no such things as murals and reliefs. However, there are unique bronze and stone carvings, and the specialty seals have many animal patterns, such as cows and unicorns, which are lifelike. Although the stone figures are solemn and dull, they have neat hair and beards and look aristocratic. The bronze sculpture of a dancing girl wears bracelets and arm bracelets, has shawl hair, and has a slim and fit figure.

The Destruction of Civilization The unearthed cultural relics of the Indus Valley Civilization are all surprising. Who created these splendid civilizations? Since the words on the seal have not yet been deciphered, experts have put forward various hypotheses: some believe that this civilization was imported from Sumer; some believe that it was created by the Dravidians; some believe that it was created by the Dravidians; Created by mixed race people. As for its social system and social life, archeology alone cannot understand it. In short, this civilization suddenly disappeared later. What was the reason for the destruction? Scholars also have arguments. One says it was a foreign invasion; the other says it was a people's uprising. Because in a house in Xiacheng District, the skeletons of 13 adult men, women and children were lying in confusion. One of them had a 146 mm scar on his skull, and there were also the bodies of an ivory carver and his family, five of whom were children. But the problem is that some of these corpses still carry bracelets, rings, beads, etc. Robbery and uprisings generally do not leave treasures behind. Therefore, some scholars believed that it was a natural disaster such as an earthquake, and said that this earthquake occurred around 1700 BC, and that the earthquake caused floods. In short, there are different opinions.

It should be noted that the development of the Indus Valley Civilization was uneven. After the civilization in the central area was destroyed, some areas continued to develop. According to archaeological knowledge, there was still a developed Indus River culture until around 1000 BC. For example, in an area called Lothar, urban construction has been well planned. There are rows of houses on both sides of the street, and there are complete drainage equipment on the ground and underground. About 200 seals were also found here, as well as a shipbuilding platform. These are apparently the afterglow of the Indus Valley Civilization, or some of the survivors. However, probably the Aryans were too backward to inherit these advanced cultures. The original residents were driven out or killed by the Aryans. Therefore, the Indus Valley Civilization and its seal characters were completely forgotten by later generations.

3. The socio-economic and social nature of ancient India

The socio-economic Aryans entered the subcontinent around 1500 BC. Since they were still in a barbaric state, they In the early Vedic times, although these invaders called themselves "Aryans", meaning noble people, the locals were despised by them as a kind of "Dasa" or "Dasa" or "Dasa" with dark skin, low nose and evil language. Daxiu" (enemy of men and women), but their social economy is very backward. These nomads, who were good at cutting and killing, initially focused on animal husbandry. They domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, horses, camels, and elephants, and made cow dung into cakes as fuel. Later, they gradually became mainly farmers and knew how to use two oxen to pull a plow to plow the land and use a sickle to harvest crops. However, they still did not forget to leave part of the fields or grassland as a place for grazing livestock. They also made chariots, carts, boats, plows, and various household utensils. Metalsmiths make a variety of copper and bronze tools and utensils, as well as various gold and silver ornaments. Iron tools also began to appear.

However, judging from the situation of agriculture and handicrafts, it is very likely that they were learned from the afterglow of the Indus Valley Civilization, because this is the scope of daily necessities. Unlike the words on the seal, it does not matter whether the barbarians use it or not. .

In the later Vedic era, iron tools were promoted to a certain extent, which provided favorable conditions for the development of the middle and lower reaches of the Ganges. By this time, heavy plows were being used in agriculture. According to literature, 24 oxen were sometimes used to pull a heavy horizontal plow for deep plowing. There are furrows in the fields, the application of animal fertilizers has been taken seriously, and there are some irrigation systems. Animal husbandry still plays a certain role in economic life, which is a legacy of barbarians. The handicraft industry has developed to a certain extent than before, and there are many occupations mentioned in the literature, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, jewelers, bowstringers, mat weavers, potters, etc., and even drink makers, barbers, messengers, etc. people, ferrymen, drummers, etc. This shows that the division of labor is moving towards diversification. Commodity exchange is still in the barter stage, but there are also people who make loans and make profits.

There have been major social and economic changes in the era of nations. First of all, iron tools were widely used. In agriculture, production levels and yields have been greatly improved, and rice cultivation has become quite popular. Animal husbandry still attaches great importance, and each village has public pasture. The division of labor in the handicraft industry was more specialized. The literature mentioned that there were 18 types of handicraft craftsmen. Important handicraft industries also organized guilds. The leaders of the guilds were usually powerful figures who were close to the king. The biggest change in the Age of Nations was that commerce was particularly active. There were eight major cities at that time, commerce was conducted in the markets of each city, and there were trade routes connecting the cities. Merchants also formed chambers of commerce to control prices and seek huge profits. Barter was eliminated and the medium of exchange was money made of silver and copper. There are both reprehensible loan sharks and normal loans. Foreign trade is also very active, and there are commercial contacts with Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and West Asia. Merchants usually form caravans and are escorted by bodyguards. The scale of the caravans is also relatively large, which shows that there is a partnership nature. However, the literature records of the number of caravans are usually not serious enough. For example, the "Za Agama Sutra" records the story of 500 merchant trucks in Jusaro State that encountered 500 groups of thieves and were spared plunder. "Zengyi Agama Sutra" mentions that 500 businessmen went into the sea to collect treasures and were killed on the island. In addition, the literature also mentions that there were 50 wealthy families in the city of Polonis and 500 rebellious slaves in Kapilavastu. Obviously, these numbers are for reference only. The ancient Indians had a bad habit of taking oral evidence as evidence and writing it as invalid.

The Mauryan Empire was an era of social and economic prosperity. In agriculture, water conservancy and irrigation projects have further expanded than before. In particular, industry and commerce have developed significantly. Fahrenheit City, the capital at that time, was the center of the empire's industry and commerce. There were functional departments in the city that specialized in managing specific industrial and commercial businesses. City craftsmen generally live in various neighborhoods within the city and form trade guilds. Domestic and foreign trade were very active. The usual trade goods were precious textiles, gems, decorations and spices needed by the princes and nobles. People's necessities such as mineral products, salt and wine were patented by the king. At this time, there was a royal road for inland trade that ran from the northwest border through the capital Huashi City to the east, forming a major inland trade trunk line. Overseas trade has trade relations with Sri Lanka, Myanmar, West Asia, Egypt and China. Some researchers believe that Chinese silk fabrics had been exported to India at this time. However, commercial trade at that time mainly served the upper class, which resulted in little contact between the urban economy and the countryside, thus leaving the countryside in a natural economic state with the remnants of rural communes for a long time.

By the time of the Kushan Empire, since the empire included many ethnic groups and regions with different levels of social development, the establishment of the empire provided conditions for economic and cultural exchanges and development among various regions and ethnic groups. . The empire is also located on the "Silk Road" that traverses Central Asia, which obviously contributes to the development of the empire's domestic and overseas trade. During the time of Kanishka, the empire had frequent trade exchanges with Rome and Parthia in the west, and with the Eastern Han Empire of China in the east. Jewelry, spices, ivory from India, glass from Egypt and West Asia, and silk and lacquerware from China all had to pass through the imperial territory in the East-West trade, which greatly benefited the Kushan ruling class and merchants. The discovery of gold, silver, and copper coins made by Kushan in various places shows that the empire's commercial trade was very active at that time.

The political system also evolved from aristocracy to centralization, from the diversity when all countries were united to the unity after the emergence of a unified empire.

In the early Vedic era, because the Aryans were still in the barbaric age, there were still clan tribal organizations and military democratic institutions unique to primitive societies.

The military leader of the Aryans was called "Rosa", the assembly of nobles was called "Saba", and the assembly of the people was called "Samiti".

By the later Vedic era, the popularly elected Rasha had developed into a hereditary monarch. The literature mentions a kingdom that was "inherited for ten generations". However, although these small monarchs could be hereditary, they were sometimes dismissed, re-elected, or even exiled, which shows that the monarch's status is not yet solid. The Saba and Samiti meetings still existed, which was a restriction on royal power and also showed that the political system at this time was still in the aristocratic stage.

The political systems of various nations have been diverse. Only two of the 16 major countries are peace states, and the rest have developed into monarchies. 16 Small countries other than big countries are mostly small republics. At the same time, the political institutions of these small countries are also diverse and not exactly the same. Among the 16 major countries, Magadha was the most powerful. The literature exaggerates that the country has 80,000 villages and towns under its jurisdiction, and each village and town has a village chief and a village assembly under the leadership of the village chief. At this time, the royal power was strengthened, but five kings came to power by killing their fathers. Under the king, there were a large number of officials responsible for administration, justice and military affairs, as well as a large council composed of village chiefs. The Kingdom of Magadha continued to expand outwards. By the time of the Nanda Dynasty, literature records stated that there were 20,000 cavalry, 200,000 infantry, 2,000 chariots, and 3,000 war elephants (some say there were 80,000 cavalry and 8,000 chariots). , 6,000 war elephants, 200,000 infantry), the Nanda Dynasty not only unified the Ganges River Basin, but also began to take shape as an empire. However, this process was interrupted by Alexander's eastward invasion.

After the establishment of the Mauryan Empire, the political system changed from diversity to unity. At this time, the king, the supreme ruler, had integrated military, administrative, and judicial powers into one body, and began to become deified. The third king, Ashoka, claimed to be the "favorite of the gods". The Code of Manu declares that the king is a god with human form, like the sun, with burning eyes and heart, and that no one on earth can look at him. There is a huge bureaucracy under the king. Ministers are in charge of central ministries. Local areas are divided into several provinces and are ruled by governors. Most of the governors are princes, so they are also the color of the family and the world. In order to strengthen its rule, the empire built an army of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, 9,000 elephants and 10,000 chariots. In addition, capable spies were everywhere, delivering a stream of reports to the capital via couriers and carrier pigeons. The means of maintaining order are ruthless. This is a strict bureaucratic political society, embodying the famous saying of Chaudiriya, the counselor of the founding monarch Chandragupta - "Politics is the science of punishment." The emperor's life was also extremely luxurious. According to literature, when the king went hunting, he was accompanied by armed huntresses, who either drove chariots, rode horses, or rode elephants, as if they were on an expedition. When a certain religious ceremony is held, the palace procession will have many elephants decorated with gold and silver, four-horse chariots, attendants holding various gold or brass vessels filled with precious stones, and There are many buffaloes, tamed lions and leopards, etc. The king is usually protected by 24 elephants. In addition to attendants, the royal family also has maids, dancers, singers, musicians, nurses, masseurs, gatekeepers, etc. But the emperor's enjoyment was not carefree. The king often changed his bedroom at night to prevent sudden events, which showed that there were sharp contradictions hidden in the palace.

The monarchs of the Mauryan Empire were good at adopting a ruling policy of combining leniency with force, kindness and power. For example, King Ashoka was initially said to be a vicious tyrant who killed 99 brothers in order to win the throne. He also specifically selected the most vicious people to set up a "hell on earth" to kill people at will. When he conquered the Kalinga Kingdom in southern India, King Ashoka kidnapped 150,000 people, killed 100,000 people on the battlefield, and several times that number died. But after this war, he is said to have expressed repentance and converted to Buddhism. This is not so much a confession as it is an adaptation to the needs of the situation. Ashoka's ruling policy did change, that is, from violence to spiritual conquest, such as sending missionaries to promote "holy law". This was of course a ruling policy that had to be adopted to ease conflicts, because the empire had been established and there was no need to continue violent conquest. Therefore, King Ashoka preached love and compassion, advocated religious tolerance, and did not allow various sects to attack each other. He once made it clear that what he cared about was not what his subjects believed in, but their behavior and attitude. He preached non-violence, required not to kill, and even stipulated that royal life should be vegetarian. Ashoka also advocated public welfare undertakings, such as building roads, planting trees, digging wells, building pavilions, etc., to facilitate travel. He also improved equipment for treating patients and sent officials to inquire about people's sufferings.

Ashoka was a famous emperor who was diligent in political affairs in ancient times. It is said that he was not even willing to waste time on going to the toilet and still asked reporters to report state affairs to him. In order to commemorate his prestige, he also erected many huge sandstone pillars throughout the empire. These stone pillars were all hewn from a single stone and were more than 40 feet high. They were Persian bell-shaped capitals with animal shapes on them. It is engraved with religious laws and regulations that people should abide by. However, all the efforts of Ashoka cannot be passed down from generation to generation. Most of his successors are mediocre people and lack his ruling talents. Therefore, after the death of King Asoka, the empire was divided until the last emperor was killed by generals from the Sunga tribe.

Ancient India has been in turmoil for nearly two centuries. By the time of Kanishaka, the third king of the Kushan Empire, the centralized monarchy system was further strengthened. Although Kanishaka was not an Indian, in order to consolidate the rule of the empire, he also believed in Buddhism and recruited a group of outstanding Buddhist scholars to his court, making Buddhism the spiritual pillar of the empire's rule. But Kanishka does not exclude other religions. The Kushan Empire’s coins have statues of Greek, Mesopotamian, Persian and Indian gods on the back. Therefore, this is to maintain the rule of the empire, or in other words, he has to take advantage of it. Gods from various places came to serve as spiritual tools for the political rule of their empires, and they had to adopt an inclusive religious policy. However, although he managed to alleviate various contradictions in the empire, the Kushan Empire remained a short-lived empire, and Kanishka himself died a violent death.

Social Nature The social nature of ancient India, which was more divided and less unified, can of course be examined only from its brief era of unity. It is generally believed that the Mauryan Empire was a slave society and the Kushan Empire was the transitional stage from slave society to feudal society. But in fact there are differences of opinion on this issue.

From the perspective of the land system, on the surface, the land of the Mauryan Empire is also "all the land in the world is the king's land". In fact, it is divided into three categories: one is the land occupied by the country and the king; the other is the land owned by the monks and lay nobles. The third is the land occupied by rural communes. The country’s land refers to the country’s mountains, forests, water sources, underground mineral deposits, unoccupied wasteland and farmland. The cultivators of this type of land only have the right to use the land, but have no ownership rights and must pay taxes to the country; the king’s land refers to the land directly owned by the king. The profits from the operation of the Wangzhuang belong to the royal family. The workers on the Wangzhuang are slaves, hired workers, and criminals. These people do not occupy allotments of land, and the Wangzhuang provides them with rations or wages based on their labor conditions. There are also two situations in the territory of monks and lay nobles: one is fief, that is, land granted by the king. This kind of land is tax-free and can be inherited, but has no ownership and cannot be sold or transferred; the other is private farm directly operated, which Part of the land was cultivated by their own servants and slaves, and part was given to hired workers. This kind of land could be bought, sold and transferred. The land occupied by rural communes is also different. One is public ownership; the other is public and private, that is, water sources, forests, etc. are publicly owned, and the land is allocated to each family for use. Village commune members must pay taxes to the state. In addition, small landownership also exists in economically developed areas.

From the perspective of the slavery system, before the Mauryan Empire, there were domestic slaves, small farmers farming with slaves, or small farmers farming with slaves delivering meals. During the Mauryan Empire, there were productive slaves in royal villages and noble territories. It can be seen from the "Manu Code" that the sources of slaves can be roughly divided into seven types: prisoners of war, family-born, purchased, donated, inherited, voluntary for obtaining supplies, and criminals. However, the empire also had various regulations on slaves: First, Aryans were generally not allowed to become slaves. Parents who sold or mortgaged their children as slaves would be punished; second, slaves of Aryan origin should be redeemed by their relatives as soon as possible. , in order to restore their free status, slaves of non-Aryan origin cannot be abused casually, such as asking slaves to carry dead bodies, clean up excrement, or beating and scolding slaves, destroying the chastity of female slaves, etc. The victim slave must be freed, so Some say this is mild slavery. Some authoritative experts who have long studied ancient Indian history even believe that the scale of use of slaves in the production field is also limited. In this way, the problem is more complicated, because its limited use in the production field means that slavery did not dominate the society at that time, or that this society was not a slave society. Therefore, this issue remains to be discussed in depth.

3. Multi-caste and multi-sect

The caste system is a specialty of ancient India. Westerners usually call it the "Castle system" and Indians call it the "Varna system". System,” varna means color, quality, or complexion.

This system sprouted in the early Vedic era. The Aryans who entered the subcontinent called themselves "Aryan Varna", that is, they regarded themselves as a high-ranking aristocratic group, and called the local residents "Dasa Varna" , meaning a hostile group. With the internal differentiation of the Aryans, the distinction between civilians and nobles emerged in the tribe. The civilians were called "Vaishyas" (meaning members of the vis clan), and the nobles were called "Roshenias" (