Zhou Daguan

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhou.
Names
Chinese: 周达观/周達觀
Pinyin: Zhōu Dáguān
Wade-Giles: Chou1 Ta2-kuan1

Zhou Daguan (Chou Ta-kuan; French: Tcheou Ta-Kouan; c. 1270–?) was a Chinese diplomat under the Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan. He is most well known for his accounts of the customs of Cambodia[1] and the Angkor temple complexes during his visit there.[2]:176,213–217 He arrived at Angkor in August 1296,[3] and remained at the court of King Indravarman III until July 1297.[4][5] He was neither the first nor the last Chinese representative to visit the Khmer Empire. However, his stay is notable because he later wrote a detailed report on life in Angkor, The Customs of Cambodia (Chinese: 真臘風土記) . His portrayal is today one of the most important sources of understanding of historical Angkor and the Khmer Empire. Alongside descriptions of several great temples, such as the Bayon, the Baphuon, Angkor Wat, and others, the text also offers valuable information on the everyday life and the habits of the inhabitants of Angkor.

Biography

Zhou was a native of Yongjia, a name often used in Zhou's time for Wenzhou. He had also been referred to as Zhou Jianguan (周建觀) and Zhou Dake (周達可) in other works. He used the assumed name of Thatched Courtyard Recluse (Cao ting yimin, 草庭逸民) in his later life.[6]

Diplomatic mission to Cambodia

Zhou was part of an official delegation sent by Yuan Dynasty Temür Khan in 1296, although official Chinese records made no mention of his mission. On 20 February 1296, Zhou Daguan set sail from Mingzhou (明州, today's Ningbo) in Zhejiang province, on a compass guided ship, passing the ports of Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Quanzhou (Zaitong), the Island of Hainan, the Seven-Islands Sea (Qizhou yang), the sea off Central Vietnam coast (Jiaozhi Sea), and stopped over in Zhancheng or Champa (today's Qui Nhon). The ship resumed its trip passed the province of Zhenpu Baria in present-day South Vietnam), through Poulo Condor Sea, then heading north on the Mekong River into Tonle Sap River reaching the town of Kampong Chhnang of Cambodia; from there he boarded a small boat, sailing for a dozen days, through Tonle Sap Lake arriving at Yaśodharapura (Angkor Thom), the capital of Cambodia in August.

As part of the diplomatic mission, Zhou was given access to the Royal Palace, although the inner palace was out of bound. He described the palaces and temples, as well as the buildings in and around the city. He observed the parades and ceremonies as well as the daily life of the people, and he also travelled outside the capital to the countryside. For much of his stay in Cambodia, he lived in a house near the north gate of Angkor Thom.[7]

Zhou stayed in Cambodia for eleven months, and left in July 1297. He wrote the book The Customs of Cambodia within 15 years of his return, although the exact date of the book's completion is uncertain. Little is known of his life after his return, but he may have lived until the 1350s.[8]

The Customs of Cambodia

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Main article: The Customs of Cambodia

The book The Customs of Cambodia was written within 15 years of Zhou's return from Cambodia. The current surviving text is believed to be only around a third in size of the original.

Description of Angkor Thom

Zhou wrote that the city had five gates with multiple doorways, one in each compass direction, but in the east two. The city was surrounded by a wide moat crossed by bridges with sculptures of 54 figures pulling a nine-head nāga. On top of the city gate there were five Buddha heads, four of them facing four directions, the one at the centre was covered with gold. "The city is square in shas at each corner; the city gates are guarded, open during the day but closed at night. Dogs and convicts are barred from entering the city".

Description of the palace

Zhou wrote that the Palace was at the north of the golden bridge and the golden tower, and the Palace faced east. The main hall of the Palace was covered with lead tiles, the rest had clay tiles.

Description of the Khmer people

Zhou wrote that both men and women had their chests exposed, walked barefoot and wore only a piece of cloth wrapped around their waists. He reported that the common women had no hair ornaments, though some wore golden rings or bracelets. Beautiful women were apparently sent to court to serve the king or his royal family at his whim. Interestingly, he stated that all trades were carried out by women. In the market place, there were no buildings, but rather the female vendors sold their wares on large mats spread on the ground. The space in the market also apparently required a rent to be paid to the officials. He stated that the Khmer people had no tables or chairs in their homes, and not even what the Chinese considered to be bowls or buckets. They reportedly cooked their food in earthen pots used for boiling rice and for preparing soup. Their ladle sticks were made from coconut shells and soup was then served into a tiny bowl made from woven leaves, which were apparently waterproof.

He recorded a royal procession of Indravarman III who carried a sacred sword in his hand:

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When the king goes out, troops lead the escort; then come flags, banners and music. Palace women, numbering from three to five hundred, wearing clothes decorated with flowers, with flowers in their hair, hold candles in their hands, and form a troupe. Even in broad daylight, the candles are lit. Then come other palace women, carrying lances and shields; then the king's private guards; then carts drawn by goats and horses, all in gold. After that ministers and princes mounted on elephants, and in front of them one can see, from afar, their innumerable red umbrellas. After them come the wives and concubines of the king, in palanquins, carriages, on horseback and on elephants. They have more than one hundred parasols, flecked with gold. Behind them comes the sovereign, standing on an elephant, holding his sacred sword in his hand. The elephant's tusks are encased in gold.

Translations

Zhou's book was first translated into French by the sinologist Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat in 1819,[9] and again by Paul Pelliot in 1902.[10] The Pelliot translation, which was later revised, has been translated into English and German.[11][12][13][14] In 2007, the linguist Peter Harris completed the first direct translation from Chinese to modern English. Harris also draws a series of parallels between the voyage of Zhou 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 have yet to be fully explained.[8]

Other translation of Zhou's record on Cambodia are also available. A direct translation from an ancient Chinese text into English by a native Chinese (Mrs. Beling Uk) and a native Cambodian (Solang Uk) in 2010. A Cambodian version of the translation by the same authors was published in Phnom-Penh in 2011.[15]

See also

References

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  9. ↑ Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat: Description du royaume de Cambodge par un voyageur chinois qui a visité cette contrée à la fin du XIII siècle, précédée d'une notice chronologique sur ce même pays, extraite des annales de la Chine, Imprimerie de J. Smith, 1819
  10. ↑ Paul Pelliot: Mémoires sur les coutumes du Cambodge de Tcheou Ta-Kouan
  11. ↑ Chou Ta-Kuan, The Customs of Cambodia, transl. by John Gilman d'Arcy Paul, Bangkok: Social Science Association Press, 1967.
  12. ↑ Zhou Daguan, The Customs of Cambodia, transl. by Michael Smithies, Bangkok: The Siam Society, 2001.
  13. ↑ Zhou Daguan, Sitten in Kambodscha. Leben und Alltag in Angkor im 13. Jahrhundert, Phnom Penh: Indochina Books, 6th edition 2010.
  14. ↑ Chou Ta-Kuan: Sitten in Kambodscha. Über das Leben in Angkor im 13. Jahrhundert. Keller und Yamada, Frankfurt: Angkor Verlag, 2nd edition 2006. ISBN 978-3-936018-42-4.
  15. ↑ Zhou Daguan, A Record of Cambodia's Land and Customs, transl. by Solang and Beling Uk, Sandy (Beds., England): Authors OnLine, 2010. ISBN 978-0-7552-1306-1

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