Ep. 326 | The History of China-Cambodia Relations (Part 1)

This is part 1 of a 2-part series covering the history of the relations between China and Cambodia. In this first half of the series, I present the early history. Some of this material was covered in the China-Vietnam series: Funan, Zhenla, and the Khmer Empire. This is a nice refresher if you forgot about that. Cambodia didn't have the same historical relations with China as their two neighbors and sometimes antagonizers, Thailand and Vietnam. A lot of what happened later on, in Part 2, had its roots in mid-19th century Cambodia. I hope this episode is useful as an intro to Cambodian history. We'll take things up to 1965 here and finish off next time.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Jiǎnbǔzhài	柬埔寨	Cambodia
Fúnán	扶南	The name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states centered on the Mekong Delta. Funan existed from the first to sixth century CE.
Zhēnlà	真腊	The Chinese name for the successor state of the kingdom of Funan preceding the Khmer Empire that existed from around the late sixth to the early ninth century in Indochina. Chinese contuinued to use the Zhenla name for Cambodia
Zhōu Dáguān	周达观	Chinese Yuan Dyansty diplomat serving under Temür Khan. He is most well known for his accounts of the customs of Cambodia and the Angkor temple complexes during his visit there. He arrived at Angkor in August 1296, and remained at the court of King Indravarman III until July 1297
Sūn Quán	孙权	182-252, Founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China
Eastern Wú	东吴	Also known as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu. It was a dynastic state of China and one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. It previously existed from 220 to 222 as a vassal kingdom nominally under Cao Wei, its rival state, but declared complete independence from Cao Wei in November 222. It was elevated to an empire in May 229 after its founding ruler, Sun Quan, declared himself emperor.
Fújiàn	福建	Coastal province in southern China
Liáng Shū	梁书	One of the Twenty-four official histories of the dynasties. This one was compiled in 636 during the early Tang
Kāng Tài	康泰	One of the envoys sent by Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms Period to go check out the coastal areas to China's south
Zhū Yīng	朱应	He accompanies Kang Tai during this embassy to the south of China in Vietnam and Cambodia
Wú Shí Wàiguózhuàn	吴时外国传	Account of Foreign States in the Time of Wú, written by Kang Tai
Champa	占城	A collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary present-day central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd century AD until 1832
Emperor Wǔ of Jìn	晋武帝	Founding emperor of the Jin 晋 Dynasty, also known by his personal name Sima Yan. He reigned as emperor of Jin from 266-290
Sīmǎ Yán	司马炎	See above Emperor Wu of Jin
Guǎngzhōu	广州	Historic and ancient port city in the south of China
Jìn Dynasty	晋朝	Founded in 266 by Sima Yan, it unified China until it too, was overthrown in 420
Línyì Kingdom	林邑国	Also known as the Kingdom of Lâm Ấp. It was located in central Vietnam and existed from 192 AD to 629 AD. Linyi was one of the earliest recorded Champa kingdoms. The name Linyi, like Zhenla in Cambodia, was a name given to this kingdom by Chinese historians. They continued to call the place Linyi from 192 to even 758. The ruins of the Linyi capital, the ancient city of Kandapurpura is now located in Long Tho Hill, 3 kilometers to the west of the city of Huế.
Dézōng	唐德宗	Tang Dynasty emperor who reigned from 779-805
Jayavarman II		founder of the Khmer Empire, uniter of all the individual kingdoms into one single Khmer State. He reigned from 802 when the Khmer State was founded up to 850
Sòng	宋朝	Dynasty that lasted from 960 to 1127, based in Kaifeng and from 1129-1279 when the capital was in Hangzhou
Yuán	元朝	Dynasty founded by Kublai Khan that overthrew the Song and lasted until 1368
Míng	明朝	The Ming Dynasty lastted from 1368 to 1644
Suryavarman II	蘇利耶跋摩二世	Khmer Empire king from 1113 to 1145/1150. Best known as the builder of Angkor Wat, which he dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. His reign's monumental architecture, numerous military campaigns and restoration of strong government have led historians to rank Suryavarman II as one of the Khmer empire's greatest kings
Huīzōng	宋徽宗	Northern Song emperor who reigned 1100-1126
Southern Sòng	南宋	The part of the Song Dynasty that began followuing the Jürchen conquest of the north in 1127. The Zhao royal family moved the imperial court to the south where the Southern Song was based until its fall in 1279
Zhào Family	赵家族	The Zhao's were the royal family. The founder of the dynasty was Zhao Kuangyin 赵匡胤
Jayavarman VII	阇耶跋摩七世	King of the Khmer Empire from 1181-1218. He was the first king devoted to Buddhism. He built the Bayon Temple Complex as a monument to Buddhism. Jayavarman VII is generally considered the most powerful of the Khmer monarchs by historians. His government built many projects including hospitals, highways, rest houses and temples. With Buddhism as his motivation, King Jayavarman VII is credited with introducing a welfare state that served the physical and spiritual needs of the Khmer people.
Vijaya	毘闍耶 (占婆)	An ancient city in Bình Định province, Vietnam. From the 12th century, it served as the capital of the Kingdom of Champa until it was conquered by Dai Viet during the Champa–Dai Viet War of 1471.
Nánhǎi	南海	The South Seas, generally meaning the South China Sea
Temür Khan / Emperor Chéngzōng	元成宗	Mongol emperor of the Yuan Dynasty from 1294-1307
Zhēnlà Fēngtǔjjì	真腊风土记	The Customs of Cambodia, “A Record of Cambodia,” written by Zhou Daguan
Indravarman III	因陀罗跋摩三世	Ruler of the Khmer Empire from 1295 to 1308.
Zhèng Hé	郑和	voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East between 1405 and 1433
Héxiān / Hà Tiên	河僊鎮	A settlement on Vietnam's southernmost coast located on the boirder withg Cambodia. It was once a settlement populated by Chinese escaping from the Manchus after 1644
Mò Jiǔ / Mạc Cửu	莫久	The Chinese leader who established Hà Tiên and ran it as a ruler would
Guangdong	广东	Province in southern China. Guangzhou is the capital
Kāngxī emperor	康熙帝	Long-reigning Qing emperor who reigned 1661-1722
Léizhōu Peninsula	雷州半岛	A peninsula off the westernmost portion of Guangdong province in the South China Sea, directly across from Hainan Island
Qióngzhōu Strait	琼州海峡	Also called the Hainan Strait. It separates Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula from Hainan. It connects the Gulf of Tonkin on its west to the South China Sea on its east. The strait is on average 30 km wide
Hǎinán	海南	Island province located off the coast of Guangdong in the South China Sea
Norodom Sihanouk	诺罗敦·西哈努克	1922-2012, a major figure in 20th century Cambodian history
Ang Duong	安東	King of Cambodia from 1841 to 1844 and from 1845 to his death in 1860. Formally invested in 1848, his rule benefited a kingdom that had suffered from several centuries of royal dissent and decline.
King Norodom	诺罗敦	King of Cambodia from 19 October 1860 to his death on 24 April 1904
Sisowath	西索瓦	King of Cambodia from 1904-1927
Sisowath Monivang	西索瓦·莫尼旺	King of Cambodia from 1927 to 1941
Zhōu Ēnlái	周恩来	1898-1976, premier of the PRC from 1949 to 1976
Saloth Sar	沙洛特绍 / 波尔布特	1925-1998, Cambodian revolutionary and dictator, often blamed for the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge that he led
Lon Nol	朗诺	Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71),as well as serving repeatedly as defence minister and provincial governor. As a nationalist and conservative, he led the military coup of 1970 against Prince Norodom Sihanouk, abolished the monarchy, and established the short-lived Khmer Republic.

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