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Cin Phsar

The Chinese Market

Angkor, the region that was the seat of the Khmer Empire, was a great religious, social and administrative metropolis at its peak, with an extensive rural hinterland that may have made it the largest integrated rural and urban residential network in the pre-industrial world. The principal temple of the Angkorian region was the vast complex of Angkor Wat, built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. As its name, "City Temple", suggests, Angkor Wat was intended to be not only Suryavarman's state temple, but also his capital city.

Angkor Wat's outer wall enclosed a space of 820,000 square metres (203 acres), and included not only the temple proper but also the royal palace and the city. All the secular buildings - palaces, public buildings, and houses - were built of wood and are long since decayed and gone, leaving only the outlines of some of the streets.

Since we don't know what buildings existed in Angkor Wat, I am taking the liberty of assuming there would be a town's usual mixture of residential houses, religious and administrative buildings, shops, inns, markets, and artisan workshops for traditional Khmer crafts included silk weaving, basket making, wood carving, silver working, stone sculpting and lacquerwares. Silversmithing reached its height during the 11th century, producing ornate filigree objects for ceremonial purposes, funerary and religious rituals.

You may be thinking to yourself - fine, but is it likely one would find a Chinese trader in Angkor Wat? Yes, it is! Diplomatic relations between Cambodia and China bad been in abeyance since the 9th century, when in 1116 between his military campaigns, Suryavarman II resumed formal relations with China. He sent an embassy to China that year and another in 1120. In 1128, the Chinese emperor officially recognized the Khmer ruler as their vassal. By sending tribute to China, Suryavarman acquired a powerful ally to discourage attacks from neighbouring Southeast Asian kingdoms and ensured that China would not interfere in Khmer domestic affairs. So it's not too unfeasible to imagine foreign traders or even Chinese immigrants in Angkor Wat's markets!

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