Customs of Cambodia
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The Customs of Cambodia (Chinese: 真臘風土記) is the English translated name of the document written by the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan (roughly pronounced "Joe Da-gwan") during his stay at Angkor between 1296 and 1297. Zhou's account is of great historical significance because it is the only surviving first person written record of daily life in the Khmer Empire. The only other written information available is from inscriptions on temple walls.[1] Zhou's account was translated into French by Paul Pelliot in 1902, and later from French into English by Michael Smithies. In 2007, Sino-linguist Peter Harris, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies New Zealand, completed the first direct translation from Chinese to modern English, correcting many errors in previous translated versions. Harris worked in Cambodia for years and includes modern photographs and maps directly relating to Zhou's original account. This book also includes more than 100 bibliographic references, two appendices and a detailed index, all with Chinese characters for continuing research.
Harris also draws a series of parallels between the voyage of Zhou Daguan and the travels of Marco Polo. Marco Polo was Zhou's contemporary, however, according to Harris, Polo's travels contain a number of unusual omissions that beg further investigation.
On Khmer Homes:
| “ | The dwellings of the princes and principal officials have a completely different layout and dimensions from those of the people. All the outlying buildings are covered with thatch; only the family temple and the principal apartment can be covered in tiles. The official rank of each person determines the size of the houses. | ” |
On the king's wardrobe:
| “ | Only the ruler can dress in cloth with an all-over floral design…Around his neck he wears about three pounds of big pearls. At his wrists, ankles and fingers he has gold bracelets and rings all set with cat's eyes…When he goes out, he holds a golden sword [of state] in his hand. | ” |
More detailed information is available under the entry for Zhou Daguan.
