"The Customs of Cambodia" has been translated into French, Japanese, Thai, English, Vietnamese, German, Spanish, Italian, Korean, and other foreign languages since the first half of the century, with more than different translated editions published. Authors: Yang Qiang, Xiang Xinyu

Zhenla was the ancient name for Cambodia, and "Records of the Customs and Culture of Zhenla" is an ancient Chinese book introducing the history and culture of Cambodia, written by Zhou Daguan of the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhou Daguan was a geographer of the Yuan Dynasty in China. In the first year of the Yuan Zhen era (year), Zhou Daguan, as an envoy's assistant, was ordered to accompany the Yuan Dynasty's diplomatic mission to Champa (present-day Cambodia). They set off from Wenzhou Port and after sailing at sea for several months, they arrived in Angkor, the capital of Champa. Zhou Daguan stayed in Angkor for about a year and returned to China in the first year of the Dade era (year). He wrote the book "Description of the Customs of Champa" in the form of a travelogue.

The "Description of the Customs of Chenla" provides a detailed account of the social life, politics, economy, cultural customs, and language of the local residents, as well as the geography, natural resources, and the then Sino-Cambodian relations, including the situation of overseas Chinese living in Chenla.

Gu Jiayun, Vice Dean of the School of Asian Studies and Director of the Cambodia Research Center at Beijing Foreign Studies University, who has long been dedicated to the study of Cambodian political culture, recently noticed that the existing Cambodian translation and Chinese annotated edition of "Zhenla Fengtu Ji" from earlier years had significant discrepancies and many errors, prompting him to consider a new translation. In [Month], the Cambodian version of "Zhenla Fengtu Ji" translated under the leadership of Gu Jiayun was launched in Phnom Penh. Recently, Gu Jiayun was interviewed by China News Service's "East-West Dialogue," where he shared his findings on Zhou Daguan and "Zhenla Fengtu Ji" over the past few years, explained the contemporary value and significance of retranslating this ancient text, and guided readers to revisit the "Zhenla Journey" that spans over a thousand years.

The image shows the cover of the Cambodian edition of "Description of the Customs of Chenla," published in a certain month and year. The photo is provided by the interviewee.

The following is a summary of the interview transcript:

Reporter from China News Service: In the eyes of Chinese and Cambodian cultural and historical researchers, who is Zhou Daguan? How do scholars from both countries evaluate Zhou Daguan's "Journey to Chenla" from back then?

Gu Jiaoyun: At the end of the 13th century, Zhou Daguan accompanied the Yuan Dynasty's diplomatic mission to Cambodia, where he traveled for a year, documenting the local customs and conditions. Upon returning to China, he compiled these experiences into the book "Zhenla Fengtu Ji" (Records of the Customs and Conditions of Zhenla).

In the eyes of researchers from both China and Cambodia, Zhou Daguan is first and foremost a cultural envoy. He grounded himself in Chinese traditions and Confucian norms, commenting on the social landscape of Cambodia at the time through "A Record of the Customs of Cambodia," attempting to understand across cultures. For instance, he used "Lu Ban's Tomb" to metaphorically describe Angkor Wat, essentially equating the Chinese god of craftsmen, Gongshu Ban, with the Indian god of craftsmen, Vishvakarman, because it was believed in legend that Angkor Wat was Vishvakarman's masterpiece.

Secondly, Zhou Daguan is also a recorder of precious historical materials. In the academic circles both in China and abroad, "A Record of the Customs of Chenla" is a must-read classic whenever it comes to the study of ancient Cambodian history. This is because no other work provides such detailed firsthand information about the social conditions of the Angkor period in Cambodia.

"Zhenla" is the term used in Chinese historical records to refer to ancient Cambodia after the Funan period. The Cambodian academic community defines "Zhenla" as the period between "Funan" and "Angkor," specifically from the late first century to the early second century AD, and refers to the peak period after the year as the "Angkor Kingdom." Zhou Daguan's "Journey to Zhenla" actually took place during the late period of the Angkor Kingdom. Both Chinese and Cambodian academic circles believe that Zhou Daguan vividly recreated the appearance of the ancient Angkor capital with his pen.

The image shows a stone statue on one side of the gate of the Angkor Thom city. Photo by Lian Xu.

Reporter from China News Service: In your view, how does "Zhenla Fēngtǔ Jì" (Description of the Customs of Zhenla) present the "Angkor Civilization" to the world? What reference value does it have for future generations studying ancient Cambodia?

Gu Jiaoyun: The Angkor civilization presented in "Records of the Customs of Chenla" has both a magnificent and grand side, as well as a close-to-life aspect. Zhou Daguan's journey took him through the vast Angkor Thom, which "surrounded an area of about twenty li." Within it, there were numerous tall and magnificent "golden pagodas" and "copper pagodas." Zhou was able to witness the "golden" and "copper" scenes of the pagodas because at that time, the tops and railings of the temple pagodas were adorned with gold and copper foil, which reflected dazzling golden light under the sunlight.

The attire and processions of the Angkor kings were also highly elaborate. For instance, the cloth used by the king "had gold threads weighing three to four taels, extremely luxurious and exquisite." The king's household "had five wives, one main wife and four from the four directions. Below them, there were said to be three to five thousand concubines and maids." When the king traveled, "soldiers and horses led the way, with banners, drums, and music following behind."

Zhou Daguan carefully observed that there were many differences between the daily lives of the people in Angkor and those in China. For instance, the verdicts in Angkor's legal disputes often relied on divine judgment, without written laws; although the women of Angkor were skilled in commerce, they "did not know how to sew or mend clothes, and could only weave cotton cloth." Of course, there were also many similarities between Angkor and China, such as the use of zodiac signs for dating years in both cultures.

The language recorded in the "Description of the Customs of Chenla" during the Angkor period has pronunciation very similar to modern Khmer, the language used in Cambodian society today. The pronunciation of numbers is almost identical, and the grammatical habit of placing adjectives after nouns, as well as the writing habit of "not starting from the top and going down," have been preserved to this day.

From this, it can be seen that "The Customs of Cambodia" presents a comprehensive picture of the late society of the Angkor Kingdom. It includes a retrospective on the ancient history and culture of Cambodia, as well as commentary on the contemporary social conditions; it encompasses descriptions of the local customs and folkways, and also reflects the evolution of ancient Cambodia's relations with neighboring countries.

Compared to contemporaneous Cambodian inscriptions that have been deciphered, the content of "Description of the Customs of Chenla" is more direct, complete, and easier to understand, making it of higher reference value for studying the ancient history and culture of Cambodia.

The image depicts the daily life of the people of Angkor in the bas-reliefs of the Bayon Temple. Photo by Lian Xu.

Reporter from China News Service: What significant discoveries did you make during your research on "The Description of the Customs of Chenla"? What records does "The Description of the Customs of Chenla" have regarding the early historical relations between China and Cambodia?

Gu Jiayun: Regarding the collation and annotation research of "Zhenla Fengtu Ji," there are numerous works by previous scholars. Referencing recent archaeological research findings, I found that there are indeed some areas in the existing collation and annotation research that need correction. Wang Yuanlin, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Chinese Academy for Cultural Heritage, also discovered through field investigations that the number of stone statues outside the city gate of Angkor Thom, as most collation and annotation studies have counted, is "not accurate" and "has an error of double the actual number."

"The Customs of Cambodia" contains numerous records of the relationship between China and Cambodia at that time, including both official exchanges and civil interactions, with a significant amount of information on civil exchanges. For instance, Zhou Daguan once encountered a fellow townsman from Wenzhou, named Xue, who had been living in Angkor for years. This Mr. Xue thus became the earliest Chinese resident in Cambodia documented in Chinese literature.

The "Description of the Customs of Chenla" also records the bustling scenes of interaction and intermarriage between the "Tang people" and the people of Angkor. Moreover, Zhou Daguan specifically mentions the "New Tang people," further confirming the close and frequent exchanges between the Chinese and Cambodian people at that time.

The image shows Khmer soldiers alongside Song Dynasty soldiers marching side by side on the bas-reliefs of Bayon Temple. Photo by Lian Xu.

Reporter from China News Service: What was the original intention behind retranslating the Khmer version of "Description of the Customs of Chenla"? What corrections and clarifications were made in the version released this year compared to previous editions?

Gu Jiayun: After conducting extensive comparative studies on various translations, we found that none of the Cambodian, French, English, or other language translations of "Zhenla Fengtu Ji" were led by Chinese scholars. This phenomenon reflects the division of research fields between Chinese and international academic circles regarding "Zhenla Fengtu Ji": Chinese scholars focus on textual collation and annotation, while overseas scholars focus on translation and dissemination.

Although the Chinese academic community has accumulated a wealth of annotations and archaeological research results, it has not yet benefited or promoted the external translation and dissemination of "The Description of Cambodia" within the country. This retranslation marks the beginning of Chinese scholars' "dream come true" in Cambodia studies.

A Cambodian translation of "Description of the Customs of Cambodia" already had a previous version. One is the translation by Li Tianding in a certain year, which is the most influential translation in Cambodia. The second is the translation by the Royal Academy of Cambodia in a certain year, which, although revised in terms of format, wording, and grammar from Li's translation, still largely maintains the original appearance of Li's version. The third is the translation by Ousolong and Oubabellin in a certain year, which was completed with reference to the "Ancient and Modern Extinct Histories" compiled by Wu Guan in the Ming Dynasty, based on Li's translation.

The three aforementioned translations were all produced by Cambodian scholars, and they collectively exhibit issues in three areas: translation problems caused by the source text; translation problems resulting from the translators' understanding; and translation problems arising from cultural differences.

This retranslation of "Description of the Customs of Cambodia" attempts to interpret the differences between the two languages and two cultures through the use of Cambodian annotations. The new Cambodian translation is more faithful to the Chinese original, specifically the annotated edition of "Description of the Customs of Cambodia" by Xia Nai. The most difficult and important aspect of retranslation is ensuring that the meaning of the text can be accurately understood by Cambodian readers, for which local scholars have provided significant assistance.

Reporter from China News Service: Why has Zhou Daguan and his "Description of the Customs of Champa" attracted the attention of numerous Chinese and foreign scholars?

Gu Jiayun: Since the first half of the century, "The Description of the Customs of Chenla" has been translated into French, Japanese, Thai, English, Vietnamese, German, Spanish, Italian, Korean, and many other foreign languages, with more than different translations published. I believe that "The Description of the Customs of Chenla" has attracted attention from scholars both domestically and internationally primarily because of the extremely important historical status of ancient Cambodia.

From the beginning of the Common Era to the first half of the century, Cambodia was once the most powerful and expansive nation in the Indochina Peninsula, and also the cultural center of the region. The "Divine King Culture" nurtured during the Angkor period is a crucial basis and perspective for understanding the ancient regional order and international relations in Southeast Asia, as well as for conducting historical and cultural research on ancient Southeast Asia. As an ancient Chinese document recording the history of Cambodia, "Zhenla Fengtu Ji" provides invaluable reference material for the study of ancient Southeast Asian history and culture.

Interviewee Profile:*

Gu Jiayun. Photo courtesy of the interviewee.

顾佳赟，文学博士，副教授，现任北京外国语大学亚洲学院副院长、柬埔寨研究中心主任，兼任中国东南亚研究会理事，中国海洋发展研究会海洋战略规划与经济研究分会理事。在国内外重要学术期刊及报章发表论述文章40余篇，著有专著《丝绸之路上的东南亚文明：柬埔寨》。研究方向：柬埔寨政治文化研究、中柬关系研究、中国和东南亚关系研究。

Title: "Gu Jiayun: 'True Records of the Khmer Land', Why a New Translation? East and West Ask" Text Editor: Xu Huangguan Image Editor: Cui Chuqiao Layout: Liang Jing Editor: Song Fangcan

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