User:Ashoka/Ashoka's and his sons' Asvamedha of Yunnan
| Ashoka's / His sons' Ashvamedha of Yunnan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mauryan conquests | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Mauryan Empire | unknown | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ashoka's sons | unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
BackgroundEdit
In the first century BC, when Yunnan became part of the Chinese Han empire, Indians known as 'Shendu' in Chinese records were among the local ethnic groups. From then until the fourteenth century, the term 'Maharaja' was used to refer to certain local kings in Yunnan, especially the ruler of Dali. This is recorded in Chinese historical documents from the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279-1368) and Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644), where 'mokuo luocuo' is a Chinese version of 'Maharaja'.
Mauryan conquests of YunnanEdit
During the Yuan Dynasty, a Chinese book, whose author's name is unknown, recounts an intriguing story. According to this tale, the three sons of the renowned Indian king Ashoka were chasing a golden horse that appeared in Magadha and fled eastwards. Eventually, the third son caught the horse on a hill near Lake Dianchi in Yunnan. This event led the locals to name the hill 'Jinmashan' (Hill of Golden Horse). Ashoka's first son also arrived at the shore of Dianchi Lake and found a green jade cock on another hill, naming it 'Bijishan' (Green Jade Cock Hill). The second son of Ashoka settled on the banks of Dianchi Lake. Ashoka subsequently sent his brother-in-law to find them, and he too settled in Yunnan along with the three nephews. Over time, their descendants intermarried with the Han Chinese and formed a new ethnic group known as the Bai (White) people.
ReferencesEdit
- India's Interaction with China, Central and West Asia, Volume 3, Part 2, 2002, page [1]
- The Transformation of Yunnan in Ming China, page 53
- Chieftains Into Ancestors
Imperial Expansion and Indigenous Society in Southwest China 2013, page 108 [2]