Morality and Empire: The Mauryan Dynasty and Han China

Depending on how morality is spread, it can strongly hamper or help the growth of the empire in question – if it is spread in a way that is immoral, this hinders the growth of the empire, while if it is spread in a moral way, and applies to all, it helps the empire. Ashoka spread morality through an empire which he had conquered through killing, and spread it by invading into people’s privacy, and believed that he was the only person who did everything right whilst Han China spread morality and made sure that morality had to apply to everyone and made sure that how morality was spread matched the moral system of the dynasty. Also, depending on their moral system, their willingness to delegate power varied, which also changed how lasting the empire would be. Morality as an imperial tool is only effective when you have delegation and when you have trust of people.

Ashoka’s empire followed the Buddhist system of morality, with a special focus on the Dhamma – morality was very important for the Mauryans. One of the main parts of the Dhamma in Ashoka’s empire was the idea of not killing any living creatures – a part which is almost expected since Ashoka apparently feels “deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas” (“Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka”[1]) and is therefore very objected and even writes an edict saying that “no living beings are to be slaughtered or offered in sacrifice.” Ashoka also encourages “proper behaviour towards relatives, Brahmans and ascetics, and respect for mother, father and elders” (“Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka”). Similar to Confucianism, this moral system seems moral at first glance, with special rules about being respectful and not doing harm.

The way in which Ashoka spread his system of morality based on Buddhist teachings was in a way which went against the Buddhist teachings, and helped in building up a surveillance state, forcing people to be moral. To spread and make sure people used Ashoka’s moral system, Ashoka established a system in which Dhamma Mahamatras would go around and check on people, to make sure they were following the moral system he had put in place. This can be clearly seen in the 3rd rock and pillar edict, where is written “Everywhere in my domain the Yuktas, the Rajjukas and the Pradesikas shall go on inspection tours every five years for the purpose of Dhamma instruction and also to conduct other business. Respect for mother and father is good, generosity to friends, acquaintances, relatives, Brahmans and ascetics is good, not killing living beings is good, moderation in spending and moderation in saving is good. The Council shall notify the Yuktas about the observance of these instructions in these very words.” (“Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka”[2]). Even though the people in Ashoka’s empire respected him, he didn’t respect them back, and didn’t listen to their opinion. Ashoka does not trust the people of his realm, nor does he trust the Dhamma Mahamatras to make their own decisions about what is correct. By not being able to trust, this goes against the moral system of Ashoka, and also makes the empire less effective, as establishing trust in people is only an effective imperial tool when the emperor trusts back.

Even though Buddhism and Ashoka furthers religious tolerance, many of his actions infringe people’s ability to define their religion, and instead forcing the ideals of Buddhism upon them. Instead of appreciating and allowing people to practice their religions and perform their ceremonies, Ashoka outright criticizes them, making it less likely that anyone will even practice these religions. This includes quotes such as “Women in particular perform many vulgar and worthless ceremonies” (“Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka”).

Ashoka is spreading morality through an empire conquered by immoral means, by killing people. Although Ashoka apparently feels remorse for the people who died during the Kalinga campaign, he doesn’t let go of the land, and, instead of feeling very bad, he criticizes people who are doing things such as killing animals. Although he may have changed, he can’t really expect everyone to change when he commands them to and can’t criticize places where people who are good “are injured, killed or separated from their loved ones” (“Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka”), seen as he has done things that are much worse such as deporting and killing hundreds of thousands of people.

Several times within the “Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka[3]” there are mentions that Ashoka feels that he is better than anyone else, a better Buddhist, furthering an idea of hypocrisy. The edicts also convey the sense that Ashoka can never do anything wrong, so, if there is a mistake, it must be the fault of someone else, an example which can be seen when he talks about the edicts and says “If some things written are incomplete, this is because of the locality, or in consideration of the object, or due to the fault of the scribe” (“Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka”). Because of Ashoka’s belief that nothing can be his fault, he hinders the growth of the empire. It also shows that he is too self confident to accept a mistake, a virtue which he encourages strongly among his people. The fact that he also calls himself “beloved-of-the-Gods” and allows himself to be called that brings another part that he isn’t very modest, which goes against the traditional values of Buddhism, although not against the values of his version of it. By establishing a sense of a gap between Ashoka and everyone else in the empire, this made it impossible for anyone to give feedback to Ashoka, who thought that he was just better than anyone else, thereby hampering the improvement of the empire.

Although Ashoka seems to want to do good, instead of helping the families of the soldiers killed in battle, he decides to spread a new religion, one which most people in India don’t even believe in. This again reinforces the idea that he only really cares about what he thinks is the best, and not the actual opinion of the people.

Although Ashoka may have had good intentions on spreading morality, the Mauryan Empire declined shortly after his reign. This may have also been partly because he did almost all of the work himself, which meant that work which could have been taken care of better wasn’t, due to his mindset that he was the best. Ashoka, believing himself to be better than any other minister, didn’t allow for much delegation and treated other ministers as lessers, even if they had studied much more and knew much more than him. Also, Ashoka wasn’t so open to feedback from others in the population. He “consider”ed “the welfare of all to be” his “duty,” (“Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka”[4]), a mindset which would eventually lead to his empire’s demise, due to his sheer unwillingness to delegate power.

Han China took a different take on their moral system. They had a system in which farmers were highly respected, whilst merchants were treated badly, as they were seen as moneymaking and greedy in China, even though they help bring quite a bit of prosperity to their country, as well as nobles to a certain extent, who were considered wholly responsible for the warring states period due to their greed and apparent need for power. The succession of dynasties in China followed the pattern of the mandate of heaven, in which one dynasty after the other would be given a mandate of heaven from the Gods to rule, and then lose this mandate of heaven when the Gods believed that the dynasty was falling to pieces and no longer effective. This made rulers feel constantly under the pressure to keep improving their governing strategy, partly due to philosophy but also largely due to not wanting to lose the Mandate of Heaven.

Knowledge and learning was highly valued in Han China, which established a civil service examination by which people were selected based on their ability in academics and knowledge of Confucian classics, the philosophy of the government. Confucianism has a large focus on the 5 noble relationships: between parent and child, elder and younger siblings, husband and wife, ruler and subject and friends, in order of importance. He believed that the secret to a good government was correct family behaviour, family being the key element of orderly society. Confucianism very much focused on improving society and highly valued tradition, unlike Daoism, which focused more on harmony with nature.

Confucius encouraged subjects to be respectful to their rulers, only if their rulers were also respectful to them. People respected Emperor Wen, and therefore he was also open to feedback, criticism and learning. For example, when there were no good harvests, emperor Wendi, writes the “Edict of Emperor Wen[5]” where he openly states that there is an issue, which is not common among emperors, and even asks for help from anyone by saying “should there be anything that might be of assistance to Our subjects, let them apply themselves with all their minds and think deeply about the matter.” Unlike some emperors who only want feedback which is good, and no criticism, Emperor Wen says, “Let them not hide anything from Us.”

Later during Emperor Wen’s reign, there is an unpredicted solar eclipse, which suggests that “heaven has reproached” (“Kingship and the Eclipse of the Sun[6]”) him, a sign that he has lost the mandate of heaven. This makes him even more forthcoming in hearing criticism especially. In the edict, he even writes “after this decree is issued, all of you should think seriously about my shortcomings and inform me on happenings that I have not been able to hear and see myself” (“Kingship and the Eclipse of the Sun”). Asking and getting feedback helped establish a non-hypocritic system where anyone would ask for true feedback, thereby establishing an ever-improving empire.

Emperor Wen not only hears feedback but implements and metabolizes it. When Chao Cuo writes the “Memorial on Agriculture[7]” to Emperor Wendi, we can see that there is a great appreciation for farmers within people of all classes, something rarely seen in other ancient societies. Here, Chao Cuo expresses how hard the farmers have to work and even then that “the taxes are collected at no fixed date” (“Memorial on Agriculture”) and that “there are people who have sold their land, their houses, their wives and children in order to pay their debts (i.e. taxes)” (“Memorial on Agriculture”). Emperor Wen acts on this and “took this advice and his reign was remembered as one of peace, prosperity, and budget surpluses.” (“Memorial on Agriculture”). Chao Cuo is a minister in Wendi’s court. Wendi trusts his ministers and hears and also implements their feedback, bringing a sense of openness to delegation of roles which he himself is not the best at. He doesn’t give other reasons, but clearly states that he actually wants help and is not perfect in anything.

Because Wendi and other Han emperors were happy to delegate power, especially since they realised that they weren’t the best in everything, this allowed for the best people do take each job, keeping the country running smoothly. The idea of delegation can be clearly seen when Chao Cuo gives feedback and does his job by providing Wendi with helpful advice. Emperor Wen listens to this advice, which again strengthens the idea of delegation in which the emperor is happy to receive feedback and people are happy to give it to him because he treats others like equals. Unlike Ashoka, Emperor Wen has little self-esteem and self-confidence, a trait which in some ways may be desirable whilst in other ways it may not. Because the Han empire delegated power and appreciated and metabolised feedback from anyone, the Han empire stayed for hundreds of years after the reign of Wendi.

Depending on how morality is spread, it can strongly hamper or help the growth of the empire in question – if it is spread in a way that is immoral, this hinders the growth of the empire, while if it is spread in a moral way, and applies to all, it helps the empire. The Han dynasty spread morality in a moral way, whilst the Mauryan dynasty spread morality in an immoral way. Also, depending on their moral system, their willingness to delegate power varied, which also changed how lasting the empire would be. While the Han delegated power and would stay in power for hundreds of years after the death of Wendi, the Mauryan dynasty collapsed shortly after the reign of Ashoka, due to issues in Ashoka’s system and his unwillingness to delegate power, which meant that the best people in each field couldn’t sort out the country’s issues.

[1] Author Unknown, "Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka," in Unknown, ed. Unknown editor (Unknown publisher, unknown publishing date), 1-7. [2] Author Unknown, "Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka," in Unknown, ed. Unknown editor (Unknown publisher, unknown publishing date), 1-7. [3] Author Unknown, "Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka," in Unknown, ed. Unknown editor (Unknown publisher, unknown publishing date), 1-7. [4] Author Unknown, "Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka," in Unknown, ed. Unknown editor (Unknown publisher, unknown publishing date), 1-7 [5] Emperor Wendi, "Edict of Emperor Wen, Han Poems," in Primary Documents of Early China, ed. Unknown editor (Unknown publisher, unknown publishing date), 148-149 [6] Emperor Wendi, "Kingship and the Eclipse of the Sun," in The Evidence, ed. Unknown editor (Unknown publisher, unknown publishing date), 96-97 [7] Chao Cuo, "Excerpt from a Memorial by Chao Cuo on Agriculture," in Unknown source collection, ed. Unknown editor (Unknown publisher, unknown publishing date), Document 10