The Customs of Cambodia 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.

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  • The Customs of Cambodia 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. 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: On the king's wardrobe: More detailed information is available under the entry for Zhou Daguan.
  • 《真腊风土记》是一部介紹位于柬埔寨地區的古國真臘歷史、文化的中國古籍。《真腊风土记》由中國元代人周達觀所著。 後來1431年暹罗破真腊国都吳哥，真腊迁都金边，吴哥窟被遺棄，森林逐渐覆盖漫无人烟的吴哥。后来有些当地的高棉人猎户进入森林打猎，无意中发现宏伟的庙宇，也有一些当地的佛教徒在庙旁边搭盖屋寮居住，以便到庙宇中朝拜，但吴哥遗迹多不为世人所知。 1819年法國J.P.A. 雷慕沙首先將周達觀所著《真腊风土记》譯成法文。此后个别葡萄牙的传教士和旅行家到过这个地方，还写过报告，但被世人目为天外奇谈，一笑置之。1861年1月，法國生物學家亨利·穆奥為尋找新的熱帶動物标本，無意中在原始森林中發現，宏伟惊人的古庙遗迹，并大大肆宣扬，他说，“此地庙宇之宏伟，远胜古希腊、罗马遗留给我们的一切，走出森森吴哥庙宇，重返人间，刹那间犹如从灿烂的文明堕入蛮荒”，这才使世人对吴哥刮目相看。 《真腊风土记》對當代及現代研究真臘及吳哥窟起了非常重要的作用。是現存與真臘同時代者對該國的唯一記錄。中國清代的《四庫全書總目提要》稱此書“文義頗為賅贍，本末詳具，可補元史佚闕。”。
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  • The Customs of Cambodia 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.
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  • Customs of Cambodia
  • 真腊风土记
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