Latest / The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The 1296 Chinese Diplomat Who Documented Angkor
In 1296, a Chinese diplomat named Zhou Daguan arrived at the Khmer capital of Angkor Thom as part of a Yuan dynasty mission. He spent nearly a year observing every aspect of Khmer life — from the god-king's golden regalia and the queen's private chambers to the bustling markets, the fishing techniques on the Tonlé Sap, and the controversial practice of public defecation. His book, 'The Customs of Cambodia' (Zhenla Fengtu Ji), remains the only surviving first-hand account of Angkor at its peak, before the empire's slow decline and the jungle's reclamation of its…
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