For two hours, Chevance, known to everyone as JB, has been leading me, along with a two-man Cambodian research team, on a grueling trek. Chevance checks the coordinates. Seconds later, as if on cue, the ground beneath our feet gives way, and we sink into a three-foot-deep muddy pool.
Chevance, a lanky year-old dressed in olive drab and toting a black backpack, smiles triumphantly. We are quite possibly the first human beings to set foot in this square-shaped, man-made reservoir in more than 1, years. The vast urban center that Chevance is now exploring was first described more than a century ago, but it had been lost to the jungle until researchers led by him and an Australian colleague, Damian Evans, rediscovered it in It lies on this overgrown 1,foot plateau, known as Phnom Kulen Mountain of the Lychee fruit , northeast of Siem Reap.
Numerous excavations as well as high-tech laser surveys conducted from helicopters have revealed that the lost city was far more sophisticated than anyone had ever imagined—a sprawling network of temples, palaces, ordinary dwellings and waterworks infrastructure. Phnom Kulen is only some 25 miles north of a metropolis that reached its zenith three centuries later—the greatest city of the Khmer Empire, and possibly the most glorious religious center in the history of mankind: Angkor, derived from the Sanskrit word nagara , or holy city, site of the famed temple Angkor Wat. But first there arose Phnom Kulen, the birthplace of the great Khmer civilization that dominated most of Southeast Asia from the 9th to the 15th centuries.
The Khmer Empire would find its highest expression at Angkor. But the defining elements of Kulen—sacred temples, reflecting the influence of Hinduism, decorated with images of regional deities and the Hindu god Vishnu, and a brilliantly engineered water-supply system to support this early Khmer capital—would later be mirrored and enlarged at Angkor. By the 12th century, at Angkor, adherence to Buddhism would also put its own stamp on the temples there.
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In the late 19th century, French explorers and scholars, pursuing fragmentary clues about the existence of Phnom Kulen, hacked their way through the jungles of Southeast Asia. Inscriptions found on temple doors and walls made mention of a splendid hilltop capital called Mahendraparvata the mountain of the great Indra, king of the gods , and its warrior-priest monarch, Jayavarman II, who organized several independent principalities into a single kingdom in the beginning of the ninth century.
This story is a selection from the April issue of Smithsonian magazine. Another French archaeologist, Philippe Stern, trekked to the top of the Phnom Kulen plateau in , and in five weeks of excavations he and his co-workers uncovered the ruins of 17 Hindu temples, fallen carved lintels, statues of the Hindu god Vishnu, and remnants of a great stone pyramid. Stern believed that he had located Mahendraparvata. Then came decades of neglect and horror. Four years later, President Nixon escalated a secret bombing campaign of Cambodia, killing tens of thousands and helping to turn a ragtag group of Communist guerrillas into the fanatical Khmer Rouge.
About two million people—nearly one-quarter of the population—were executed or died of starvation and disease before the Vietnamese toppled the Khmer Rouge in Chevance reached Phnom Kulen in , while conducting research for advanced degrees in Khmer archaeology. Evans had become fascinated by Lidar for Light Detection and Ranging , which uses lasers to probe a landscape, including concealed structures.
Mounted on a helicopter, the laser continually aims pulses toward the ground below, so many that a large number streak through the spaces between the leaves and branches, and are reflected back to the aircraft and registered by a GPS unit. The jungles of Kulen presented a problem, however: Rampant illegal logging of valuable hardwoods had stripped away much of the primary forest, allowing dense new undergrowth to fill in the gaps.
It was unclear whether the lasers could locate enough holes in the canopy to penetrate to the forest floor. Despite skepticism, Evans, with help from Chevance, raised enough money to survey more than 90, acres in both Phnom Kulen and Angkor. In April , Evans joined Lidar technicians as they flew in a helicopter at 2, feet in a crosshatch pattern over Phnom Kulen. About two months after the overflights, Evans, awaiting the processing of visual data they had collected, switched on his desktop. They were all clustered around what the archaeologists realized must be a royal palace, a vast structure surrounded by a network of earthen dikes—the ninth-century fortress of King Jayavarman II.
Now the two archaeologists are using the Lidar images to understand how Mahendraparvata developed as a royal capital. The early water-management system they now saw in detail demonstrates how water was diverted to areas on the plateau that lacked a steady flow, and how various structures controlled supplies during rainless periods. The Lidar imagery also has revealed the presence of dozens of ten-foot-high, foot-wide mounds in symmetrical rows on the jungle floor. Chevance and Evans at first speculated that they were burial sites—but, in succeeding excavations, they found no bones, ashes, urns, sarcophagi or other artifacts to support that hypothesis.
We may never know what those things are. Indeed, as the archaeologists studied the images of Mahendraparvata, they realized with a flash of insight that they were looking at the template for Angkor. Chevance and I set out on dirt bikes, bouncing over rickety wooden bridges that cross silt-laden streams, groaning up steep hills and plunging down switchback trails hemmed in by dense stands of cashew trees grown illegally in this reserve.
Most of their masks are hideous, and represent either monstrous Beasts, or kinds of Devils. The Show which they call Lacone is a poem intermix with Epic and Dramatic, which lasts three days, from eight in the morning till seven at night. They are histories in verse, serious, and sung by several actors always present, and which do only sing reciprocally The Rabam is a double dance of men and women, which is not martial, but gallant The accomplishment and influence of Thai art and culture, developed during the Ayutthaya period, on the neighboring countries was evident in the observation of James Low, a British scholar on Southeast Asia, during the early-Rattanakosin Era: Ayutthaya was a kingdom rich in literary production.
Even after the sack of Ayutthaya in , many literary masterpieces in the Thai language survived. However, Ayutthayan literature as well as Thai literature before the modern era was dominated by verse composition i. Thus, there are many works in the nature of epic poetry in the Thai language. Some of these poetical forms—notably Khlong —have been shared between the speakers of tai languages since ancient time before the emergence of Siam.
Through Buddhist and Hindu influence, a variety of Chanda prosodic meters were received via Ceylon. Since the Thai language is mono-syllabic, a huge number of loan words from Sanskrit and Pali are needed to compose these classical Sanskrit meters. Terwiel, this process occurred with an accelerated pace during the reign of King Boromma-trailokkanat who reformed Siam's model of governance by turning the Siamese polity into an empire under the mandala feudal system. This literary influence changed the course of the Thai or Siamese language, setting it apart from other tai languages, by increasing the number of Sanskrit and Pali words drastically and imposing the demand on the Thais to develop a writing system that preserves the orthography of Sanskrit words for literary purpose.
By the 15th century, the Thai language had evolved into a distinctive medium along with a nascent literary identity of a new nation. It allowed Siamese poets to compose in different poetical styles and mood, from playful and humorous rimed verses, to romantic and elegant klong and to polished and imperious chan prosodies modified from classical Sanskrit meters. Thai poets experimented with these different prosodic forms, producing innovative "hybrid" poems such as Lilit Thai: The Thai thus developed a keen mind and a keen ear for poetry.
To maximize this new literary medium, however, a rather intensive classical education in Pali was required. This made poetry an exclusive occupation of the noble classes. Terwiel notes, citing a 17th century text book Jindamanee , that scribes and common Siamese men, too, were encouraged to learn basic Pali and Sanskrit for career advancement. Most countries in Southeast Asia share an Indianised culture.
Traditionally, therefore, Thai literature was heavily influenced by the Indian culture and Buddhist-Hindu ideology since the time it first appeared in the 13th century. Thailand 's national epic is a version of the Ramayana called the Ramakien , translated from Sanskrit and rearranged into Siamese verses. The importance of the Ramayana epic in Thailand is due to the Thai's adoption of the Hindu religio-political ideology of kingship, as embodied by the Lord Rama.
Thai kings of the current dynasty from Rama VI forward, and retroactively, have been referred to as " Rama " to the present day relations with the west caused the crown to seek a brief name to convey royalty to both Thais and foreigners, following European styles.
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A number of versions of the Ramakien epic were lost in the destruction of Ayutthaya in Three versions currently exist. One of these was prepared under the supervision and partly written by King Rama I. His son, Rama II , rewrote some parts for khon drama. The main differences from the original are an extended role for the monkey god Hanuman and the addition of a happy ending.
Many of popular poems among the Thai nobles are also based on Indian stories. In the Ayutthaya period, folktales also flourished. The composition of KCKP, much like other orally-transmitted epics, evolved over time. It originated as a recreative recitation or sepha within the Thai oral tradition from around the beginning of the 17th century c.
Siamese troubadours and minstrels added more subplots and embellished scenes to the original story line as time went on. The version that exists today was composed with klon meter throughout and is referred to in Thailand as nithan Kham Klon Thai: The Ayutthaya Buddhist temple falls into one of two broad categories: Sizes may vary, but usually the prangs measure between 15 and 40 meters in height, and resemble a towering corn-cob like structure.
Prangs essentially represent Mount Meru. In Thailand Buddha relics were often housed in a vault in these structures, reflecting the belief that the Lord Buddha is a most significant being in having attained enlightenment and having shows the path to enlightenment to others. The Thais never lacked a rich food supply. Peasants planted rice for their own consumption and to pay taxes. Whatever remained was used to support religious institutions. From the 13th to the 15th centuries, however, a transformation took place in Thai rice cultivation.
In the highlands, where rainfall had to be supplemented by a system of irrigation [note 2] to control water levels in flooded paddies, the Thais sowed the glutinous rice that is still the staple in the geographical regions of the north and northeast. But in the floodplain of the Chao Phraya, farmers turned to a different variety of rice—the so-called floating rice , a slender, non-glutinous grain introduced from Bengal—that would grow fast enough to keep pace with the rise of the water level in the lowland fields.
The new strain grew easily and abundantly, producing a surplus that could be sold cheaply abroad. Ayutthaya, at the southern extremity of the floodplain, thus became the hub of economic activity. In the process, the Chao Phraya delta—mud flats between the sea and firm land hitherto considered unsuitable for habitation—was reclaimed and placed under cultivation.
Traditionally the king had a duty to perform a religious ceremony to bless the rice planting. Although rice was abundant in Ayutthaya, rice exports were banned from time to time when famine occurred because of natural calamity or war. Rice was usually bartered for luxury goods and armaments from Westerners, but rice cultivation was mainly for the domestic market and rice export was evidently unreliable.
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Ayutthaya official used cowrie shells , prakab baked clay coins , and pod duang Thai: Pod duang became the standard medium of exchange from the earlyth century to the reign of King Chulalongkorn. Trade with Europeans was lively in the 17th century. In fact European merchants traded their goods, mainly modern arms such as rifles and cannons, for local products from the inland jungle such as sapan lit. Most of the foreign merchants coming to Ayutthaya were European and Chinese, and were taxed by the authorities. The kingdom had an abundance of rice, salt, dried fish, arrack , and vegetables.
Trade with foreigners, mainly the Dutch , reached its peak in the 17th century. Ayutthaya became a main destination for merchants from China and Japan. It was apparent that foreigners began taking part in the kingdom's politics. Ayutthaya's kings employed foreign mercenaries who sometimes joined the wars with the kingdom's enemies.
However, after the purge of the French in the late 17th century, the major traders with Ayutthaya were the Chinese.
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Ayutthaya's economy declined rapidly in the 18th century, until the Burmese invasion caused the total collapse of Ayutthaya's economy in In , immediately after having conquered Malacca , the Portuguese sent a diplomatic mission headed by Duarte Fernandes to the court of King Ramathibodi II of Ayutthaya.
Having established amicable relations between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Siam, they returned with a Siamese envoy with gifts and letters to the King of Portugal. Five years after that initial contact, Ayutthaya and Portugal concluded a treaty granting the Portuguese permission to trade in the kingdom. A similar treaty in gave the Dutch a privileged position in the rice trade.
Foreigners were cordially welcomed at the court of Narai — , a ruler with a cosmopolitan outlook who was nonetheless wary of outside influence. Important commercial ties were forged with Japan.
Ayutthaya Kingdom
Dutch and English trading companies were allowed to establish factories, and Thai diplomatic missions were sent to Paris and The Hague. By maintaining all these ties, the Thai court skillfully played off the Dutch against the English and the French, avoiding the excessive influence of a single power. In , however, the Dutch used force to exact a treaty granting them extraterritorial rights as well as freer access to trade.
At the urging of his foreign minister, the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon , Narai turned to France for assistance. French engineers constructed fortifications for the Thais and built a new palace at Lopburi for Narai. In addition, French missionaries engaged in education and medicine and brought the first printing press into the country. Louis XIV's personal interest was aroused by reports from missionaries suggesting that Narai might be converted to Christianity.
The French presence encouraged by Phaulkon, however, stirred the resentment and suspicions of the Thai nobles and Buddhist clergy. Some studies said that Ayutthaya began a period of alienation from Western traders, while welcoming more Chinese merchants. But other recent studies argue that, due to wars and conflicts in Europe in the midth century, European merchants reduced their activities in the East.
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Constance Phaulkon is seen kowtowing in the lower left corner of the print. Between and , the Chinese Ming dynasty sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions. Emperor Yongle designed them to establish a Chinese presence, impose imperial control over trade, and impress foreign peoples in the Indian Ocean basin.
He also might have wanted to extend the tributary system. Meanwhile a Japanese colony was established in Ayutthaya. The colony was active in trade, particularly in the export of deer hides and saphan wood to Japan in exchange for Japanese silver and Japanese handicrafts swords, lacquered boxes, high-quality paper. From Ayutthaya, Japan was interested in purchasing Chinese silks , as well as deerskins and ray or shark skins used to make a sort of shagreen for Japanese sword handles and scabbards.
The Japanese quarters of Ayutthaya were home to about 1, Japanese inhabitants some estimates run as high as 7, The community was called Ban Yipun in Thai, and was headed by a Japanese chief nominated by Thai authorities. A Japanese Red seal ship.
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Tokyo Naval Science Museum. See Wyatt, David K. Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Some of these are available in Cushman, Richard D. The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya: A Synoptic Translation , edited by David K. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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