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Mindon Min ((ビルマ語:မင္းတုန္းမင္း), ; 8 July 1808 – 1 October 1878) was the penultimate king of Burma (Myanmar) from 1853 to 1878. He was one of the most popular and revered kings of Burma. Under his half brother King Pagan, the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852 ended with the annexation of Lower Burma by the British Empire. Mindon and his younger brother Kanaung overthrew their half brother King Pagan. He spent most of his reign trying to defend the upper portion of his country from British encroachments, and to modernize his kingdom. ==Achievements== King Mindon founded the last royal capital of Burma, Mandalay, in 1857. His younger brother Kanaung proved to be a great administrator and modernizer. During Mindon's reign, scholars were sent to France, Italy, the United States, and Great Britain, in order to learn about the tremendous progress achieved by the Industrial Revolution. During Mindon's reign, the following reforms were undertaken: centralization of the kingdom's internal administration, introduction of a salary system for the bureaucracy (to dampen the authority and income of bureaucrats), fixed judicial fees, comprehensive penal laws, reorganization of the financial system, removal of trade barriers including custom duties, reform of the ''thathameda'' taxes (to increase direct taxation), and modernization of the kingdom's army and introduction of new police forces. A Burmese manuscript (Or 13681) held by the British Library depicts "seven scenes of King Mindon’s donations at various places during the first four years of his reign (1853-57)," including a monastery, rest houses, and gifts for monks.〔(Depictions of King Mindon’s Donations at Various Places from 1853 to 1857 ). 1850s. British Library, via World Digital Library.〕 Mindon introduced the first machine-struck coins to Burma, and in 1871 also held the Fifth Buddhist council in Mandalay. He had already created the world's largest book in 1868, the Tipitaka, 729 pages of the Buddhist Pali Canon inscribed in marble and each stone slab housed in a small stupa at the Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill. In 1871 Mindon also donated a new ''hti'' ('umbrella' or crown gilded and encrusted with precious diamonds and other gems) to the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is located in then British held Yangon, although he was not allowed to visit this most famous and venerated pagoda in the country. On 15 August 1873, Mindon also enacted the Seventeen Articles, one of Southeast Asia's first indigenous press freedom laws. In 1875, during a royal consecration ceremony, Mindon took on the title ''Siripavaravijayanantayasa Pandita Tribhavanadityadhipati Mahadhammarajadhiraja''. With the opening of the Suez Canal, Mindon assembled a flotilla of steamers to facilitate trade with the British. His brother Kanaung is still remembered by the Burmese as an avid modernizer, who would go to the factories early on cold winter mornings with a blanket wrapped around, just to talk to the mechanics about how the machines ran. He was in charge of the Royal Army, as was customarily required of Burmese crown princes, and he imported and manufactured guns, cannons and shells. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mindon Min」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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