“Cambodian Customs – Zhou Daguan” Translated by Suolang and Wu Beiling
Amazingly, Angkor’s best guide may have been a 700-year-old Chinese traveler whose newly translated notes reveal countless travel secrets that have remained unchanged for centuries.
Siem Reap, Cambodia (PRWEB)
March 4, 2017
Hidden in the jungles of Cambodia, Angkor was the wealthy capital of the Khmer Empire that ruled Southeast Asia from the 8th to the 13th centuries. Today, hundreds of ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples still attract adventurous pilgrims seeking to rediscover the secrets of this lost kingdom. Surprisingly, the best and least likely guide may be a 700-year-old Chinese traveler whose notes reveal countless travel tips and observations that have remained unchanged over the centuries.
Our story begins in AD 1296, when the adventurer Zhou Daguan spent a year at Angkor as part of a diplomatic mission sent by the Chinese Emperor Timur Khan. Zhou diligently documents interesting — sometimes bizarre — aspects of the country’s complex society and court, as well as subtle details of the kingdom’s customs, religion, flora and fauna. For example, the beginning of his description of the Royal Procession:
“In my more than a year, I have seen this king go out four or five times. Every time I go out, there are cavalrymen in front, flag-carrying drummers and musicians in the back. There are three to five hundred court ladies, wearing floral dresses and hair buns. Arranged flowers, holding a large candle, in a ball of its own. Even in the bright daylight, the candle will be lit.”
Chou carefully divides his records into forty themes as follows: Peripherals of the City; Palaces and Houses; Clothing and Jewelry; Officials; Three Great Religions; People; and calendar orders; disputes and lawsuits; diseases and skin diseases; death; cultivation; mountains and rivers; production; trade; ideal Chinese goods; plants and trees; flying birds; walking animals; vegetables; fish and dragons; fermented alcohol; salt, vinegar , soy sauce and koji; silkworm trees; tableware; wheelbarrows and sedan chairs; boats and oars; provinces; villages; collecting gallbladders; a remarkable story; bathing; immigration; the army; and finally the act of the king entering the palace.
More than a century after his visit, the empire collapsed for unknown reasons, and scholars are still debating it. Today, Chou’s words are the only surviving testimony of Cambodia’s glorious life in the mysterious late 13th century.
Fast-forward to the 21st century, and retired Cambodian scientist Solang Uk and his Chinese-born microbiologist wife Beling embarked on a multiyear project to translate one of Zhou’s earliest records into English. Drawing on personal knowledge of Chinese and Cambodian culture, language, and geography, their new translations clarify hundreds of mysteries related to each of Zhou’s forty themes, previously unanswered centuries ago solve.
Their project reached perfection when renowned author and mathematician Amir D. Aczel agreed to write the sequence for theirs. Like the translator, Axel follows in the footsteps of the ancient traveler in his lifelong goal of discovering who invented the abstract concept of zero. Aczel found the answer in Cambodia, as revealed in his bestselling book Finding Zero.
DatAsia Press’ new edition of “Cambodian Customs – Zhou Daguan” is now available. It includes over 100 full-color illustrations and engaging annotations, relevant to all modern visitors to Cambodia. For the first time, details such as unknown places, names, plants, and animals are brought to life, allowing readers to see the ancient Khmer Empire most accurately through the eyes of Zhou Daguan’s ancients.
DatAsia Press specializes in publishing excellent fiction and non-fiction books related to the history, art, literature and culture of Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos). DatAsia books are available online from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with worldwide shipping.
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