REVIEW, G. C:nede::o: Po1o· Mit14:1'} Comprendre A11ahn·;·,
H(lnoi, Impdmerie d'.E:~:tremr•-Orient, tMfJ.
To Understand Angkm· Better consists of 8 lectures given during 1·eoent years by Professo~· Coedes, Director of the Ecole Fraul}u.iae cl.'Ib:trllme-Orient, short e:Ktro.cts of which hr.we beau published in the Oa.hiers of that Institution. '!'he idea of publishing these leetmes com. plate in book fotm is a.n excellent one, and should be instrnmenta.l in I opening the eyes of the genera.l rel.\di.ng public to the meritorious work ·. of the French Sohool of the Far Eo.st:, and give them u. clearer insight ._ ;
of what Angkor really is, a.nd what its temples sha.ud for. By Anglwt :1 is, of course, meant the group of monuments witliin u.nd without the old oa.pital of Angkor Thoro, includinG its centnl s~nctuary Ba.yon, the mystery of mysteriea, with Angkor Wat, Phra Kho.n, Pnom Bakbeng, Nak P'an, Tn. Phrom, B!t.ntai Kdei ana still others, not "fo;-getting lovely Bantai Brei u.nd the two huge w,_,.t,er reservoirs, the t:oa.stern a.nd western Baray. His Excallenoy Vioe-Admir:ol Jean Decoux, the Governor-General in his preffl.oe to this book, rightly styles Professor Ooedes a M!lster of a.ll knowledge pertaining to ancient Cambodia and pru.ises bis, to us so well !mown, .talented and elegant exposiliion of the facts laid before us. We would fain call the Professor a Master Mind even becu.nse of his at onoe lucid and aobe1· tlenett·a.ting mind wbioh ha.s opened up to others so muoh of this fl.\scina.tiug world of ancient Hi11dn thought here made manifest in stone and, formerly, in l.Jronze. Professor Coedes, t\S the accomplished epigra.phist, Su.nskritist a.n<1 a.rchaeologi:;;t that he is, possesses jueb the qua.lifications, ve-ry brilliant ones u.t that, neces~o..ry for underta.king such a. task. Those, who have read this book, will agree that he has o:l.rried it out very well indeed. 9G. ERJR SEinENl~A DJ~N [vor,, XXXV
As a. conqiderable part of the information, given here in hook form, ha.s a,lrea.dy been treated in our a.ppraciatione o{ the Oahiers The last sentences of Professor Coedes' own rweface to his hook read as follows: "In a. word I ha.ve trie!l to get the stones to speak (3). Theoe stones that never in the thoughts of the builders (of the temples) were b':tt lifeless ma.tter without a soul the imperishable cha.rm of which is made of tha.t spiritnality with which they are a.ll endowed." That saying chara,cterizes the book In the Jirat ch:1pter on the historical a.nc1 religious frame of Cambo dia.,. the laud of the Ka.mbuia.s, the author says Lhat the Khmer monuments are found fcom Wieugcha.n in the north to the Gulf of Thai laud in the south, and from Saigon in the east to the 1.\fenam va.lley in the west. Why not sa.y the. 1\Ieklong valley where Mu'a.ng Sing represents a. typical Khmer temple construction from the XII or XI II , century 0, E.? The essentia.l pa.rt of these monuments ·:::.re, however, limited to the east, with the Kora.t platea.u in the north a.nd i;he lowbnds of present Cambodia in the south, so chara.cteristica.lly ca.lled hy the"' 'l'h:.ti Khamen tam, the low-lying Khmer country, in· contra.st to the high-lying, to the north of tbe Dongrek oha.in. ·There ha.s a.lwaya ruled a. certa.in antago nism between these two parts of ancient Camboc1io. sopa.ru.ted by this forbidding mountainous ha.rrier which still to-day ia not ~,llSY to cross. Both the northern a.nd southern region formed, of course, parts of the vast Hinduized empire of Funau, from the. first to the middle of the sixth century C. E. The name of Funlln is a. Ohinese corruption of the Khmer word Phnom, a mounta.in. The kings, or emperors, of. Funan ca.lled themselves kings of the mou.ntain which refers to the so.cred central world mountain of Meru, and as such they "Claimed to be universlll monarchs, The Kambuja.s were the inhabitants of (at le:J.st) the southern and eastern parts of the Karat plate!tu, the a.uthor says from ( 1) Vide JTRS. XXXIII, Pt. 1, 1941,24-28 and XXXIV, 1, 1943, pp, 34-38, ( 2.) Vide JTRS. XXXIII, Pt. 1, 1941, 78-91. ~-3} ~book by !'l'Ofessor Coedes bearing the title .J 'ai essr;yd de j'aire pade1· lcs Ple7Tes ts now bemg published in Hanot, · l'T. 1] REVIEW 97 Khon in the south to Thi Khek in the north with their cttpita.l iu Cammon. ( 4) Between the Ka.mbui:;.s ttnd the Jl'una.nites of Lower Ca.mbodi:.r. there was no ethnic difference, though there m:JJY ha.ve bee11, as still is the case with the present Khmers living no1·tb u.nd south of the Dongrek chu.in, a difference o£ dialect. The I\ambuja.s seceded from Funa.n by the middle of the sixth oeu tury C. E., a.nd .decla.red themselves independent, a.fterw ::uds annexing Lower Cambodia in the VII century C. E. and thtts unkiug an end of. the Funan empi1·e. However, alrea.dy in the VIII century the I\hmer rea.lm again beca.me sepa.ra.\ed iuto two states; in Tchen-h of the dry land or Upper Cambodia. and Tehan-la of the wa.ter of Lower Ca.mbodi:t, so called by the Chinese (5}. It w:\s during that period that J:J.ya beea.me the overlord of~ parb of Southem Cambodia. Jayav:.uman II, the first great king of Cambodia., unified the kingdom :tnd introduced the rosal cult of the Godldng, the ldng's " Subtle I" residing in the lin(!a placed in a sanctuary. Then followed grea.t kings such as Ytl.~ovarman, who built tbe oldest Angkor Thom under the na.me of Ya9odhtuaptna; Suryavttrman II, apotheosed under the name of Paramavishuuloka, bniltler of the wonder· ~ ful Anglmr Wat, n.nd finally Jayavarmo.n VII, mighty conqueror and builder of the pr~ent Angkor Thorn with Bayou, Pbra Kha.n, N ak Par1, Ta Pbrom, Banta.i Kdei, B:tnta.i Chmar and a. host of other temples, perhu.ps the greatest of a.ll the Khmer kings, who was also in part at lea.st responsiblefor the decline of his country, are well known to the readers of this journal. Their reigns dated from 802 to 1202 C. E., am\ Anglwr Thorn still lasted for two and a h11.lf ce.ntmies longer until itr Wasfinally deserted owing to the deva.sba.ting wars with the Ayuthy11 Th:1i. It is interesting to lel\m that the famous S:~.nskrit inscription o.t V o-can, IJrovince of Nhu.·trang, Ann am, is not, as hitherto believed, a. Obam king's inscription but a. Fun11uite king's in the 3rd century C. E. The ta.sk of dating correctly the va.rious periode and schools of E.hmet art and architecture bas not been an easy onB. Distinguished ( 4) See however our remark about this in JTRS. XXXIII, 1, 1941, p, 78 bottom. ( 5 j Oambodia was divided fer a third time iuto two states during the XII century when a foreigner, Jayavarman VI, ms,de himself king of the territories of the Khorat plateau. 98 t aa.vant·S u.nd archa.eologiste ( su The seooud oh!!o.pter ot the book dea.le with some erroueous opinions conaerning the origin o! the anoient Khmer people a.nd the composition of 'the present one which have a.lren.dy been trel\ted in our a.ppreoiations of the Oa.hiers. As regards the ''discovery" of the Angkor ruins, which reo.lly must be a.soribed to Hev. Father Bouillava.ux in 1850, a.nd not to M onhot, a deoennium later, we rea.lly wonder why we Westerners spea.k u.bout it as ~ discovery? Instea.d of sa.ying discovery we should use the word a{'(znainta})('e, . The Kinner a.nd the Thai ha.d of course the whole time along, from their being deserted a.hout 14:40 C. E. down to our days l!nowu a.bout the existence of the old ca.pita.l and the other Angkor monuments wherea.s we Westerners were first acquainted with them during the time of Rev, Father Bouillevaux a.nd Moubot by ihe middle of the 1aet cen tnry. With regard to the a.ge of :r.ny monument in Indochina, whether in the Angkor disttiot ot· elsewhere, not one of them can claim a.ny high :.ge compa.red with that of the rea.lly ancient ones in Egypt, not to spea.k of "Niesopota.mia. or Ela.m, some of which go bs.ck e.lmost to the da.wn of human civilisation. The oldest monuments in Indochina., even when " including the megaliths and the giant ja,rs of Ohieng Kwa.ng or Assam, ca.nnot possibly claim au a.ge of more than about 2000 yea.rs, while the PYramid of Cheap"' was b'lilt 5600 years ago, a.nd exca.va.tions in Meso potamia a.nd Elam ha.ve a.lready brought to light monuments of an age ·exceeding that by several thousands of years. Thanks to the patient (l.Ud Pr.lrsistent work of ~uch French 1.\l'Cha.eo logists, epigra.phists and historia.na u.s Professor Coedes, we do know that the mighty stone enceinte and the five gates with their towers of Angkor Thom inClluding B~yon were built dttring the years 1182 to 1202 C. E.; and so on. Angkor W a.t, which preceded a.ll these gra.nd buildings, wa.s bnilt during the reign of King Sury:.wa.rmn.n II from the beginning to the middle of the 12th century, a.ud though fixed da.tes are nob yet known it Q:l,ll ha.rdly have t:.~.ken more tha.n 30 yea.rs to construct. this ma.sterpieoe of architecture. With rega.rd to the destruction of the temples Professor · · Ooedes says tha.t such wa.s due to both ma.u a.nd na.ture, both the vile t.ren.enre-hunter and the exnbara.nb ~ropica.l vegeto.tion. Ea.r&hquakes ·have, however, not, conbra.ry to th~ opinion of some people, had a.ny The'thi1'd chapter of Professor Coedas' book tre:J.tsof Pers(;uol cult.;., the apothensi.<~ of prinre8 and the Godkin{!. The P·rofesaor says that of the· innumer~~oble statues of Vishnu, Siva and the other Hiudu, as well as :.\Ia.bayanist divinitiee which the ancient Khmer empire bas left us, only a minority really represent the gods themselyes. The large ma jority represent kings, princes, princesses or high digu ita des under the t,rahs of that particular god in whom they were thought to have been absorbed a-fter their death. Well known evidently was the case of the two brtwe :md f:dthful sanjolcs ( a.rmy officers) who laid down their lives in order to stwe that of their prince, a son of Jayavarman VII, during a c~mpa.ign against Cba.mpi\, Their rewal'd was the erection a.nd hononring of their st.atues in the mighty temple-convent Ba.utui Cbmar whose ceutml tower housed the statue of that prince they had saved. The aspects .under which many of these images are executed show such n. mixture of the attributes of Siva., Vishnu a.nd the Buddha that it is often difficult to decide exactly to which cult they belong. Tbe cult of personages wa,s in rea.liGy neihher Hindu nor Buddhist, says the author. It was a cult apart, and rather was it a sort of (l.ncestor worship the goal of which was tbe obtaining of immortn.lity through the adoration o! these "glorious bodies." M.P. Mus ha.A most u.dr:Jira.bly elaborated the idea of the stnpa as not being a tomb in our occiclentu.lsenfle but :a. combined tomb and sanctuary which becomes a.n :1rtificial body of the defunct, a "cosmic man'' in which dwells that magic entity that ena.bles the clefnnct to continue to exist.(6) Professor Coedes says that this ie exactly the role played by these "gloriOUS bodies" being animatEd lihe the stupa.'s" living tomb" by the dharma,, The exact signifio(l.nce of the dhM1na is the Law (Buddha's) or religion, but in Cambodia extend~d to mean the well established monarchical orde1· whieh served [l,S 3: brioga between parents and tbeh descendants, i.e. preserving the continuity, that preci~ns desire so dear to all humanity. The devaraJa or godldng undel' the form of a linga has already been mentioned in our appre· oiations of the Oahie1·s. ( 6) Vide Paul M~ts: Ba1·abudur BEFEO. vol. XXXII-XXXIII & XXXIV,. His paper; which runs to, over 800 pages, not only trea.ta the symbolism of Boro hudur but gives a survey. of man's religious thoughts from the very lowest fetish. .lltage up to the high phil . When Ja.y~va.rma.n VH ascended the throne the devamja or King's " subtle I" quitted the linga to dwell in a.n itn!l.ge of the Buddha. the ima.ge wbioh wa.s found by the· late M. Trouve in a.n interior. well i~ the Ba.yon. It seems to ue bha.t this oba.nge of abode of the " subtle I " of the king to a.n ima.ge of the Buddha. aonsbitutes a. f:.H higher, nobler, and wbolely abttste, conception tba.t the gross veneration of the linga. Professor Ooedes also remarks tha.t whether the king's " subtle I" resided in a. Un.?a or in a.n ima.ge of the Bltddh~, it is not a.n exu.ggero.tion to sa.y that the g1·ea.t God of a.Mient Oa.mbodi:1 (in reality) was the king. And Ba,yon was thus the na.tiona.l temple of the Khmer. The cult of the ileV(Waja or godking, the a.nMstors and the deified persona.ges wa.s essentially a.u a.ristocra.tic one within the frames of Hinduism and Mahaya.nism, Buddhism of the Gnat Vehiole, and the Professor conaludes this clu,pher by saying: " With the introduction and victory of the Hina.ya.na. Buddhism, the "LE~sser Vehicle," which is fundamentallY hostile to the idea. of a personality ( of an Ego ), whose existence it denies, the spirit of this arigtollratic oult wa.s destroyed, a. spirit which bad hitherto united the people in the a.doration of their kings and great nobles," And he a.dds that in this ( fatality) one should perhaps see one of the g~ounds for the rapid decadence of the Kbrner empire which set in .. during the XIII anr1 XIV century C. JJJ, When the sovereign ceased to be Siva descended to the Earth or to be the living Buddha., the dynasty could no longer in"spira the people with tha.t respect that formerly had enabled their Idngs to do great things. Through the a.na.rchic spirit of Singhalese Buddhism the prestige and the temporal power of the Khmer kingi! declined too. The downfa.ll of the godking from his throne signified at the same time the Gotterdiim mern;zg of gods and kings. S~ill :1 lit~le of this parsona.l cult lingers in the court rituals of Cambodia. arid Thailand. Iu Pnompenh, the capital of modern Oa.mbodia, in the Silver Pa.goda. within the Royal P:J..ln.ce grounds, is seen a golden image of the Buddha studded with jewels which bdonaed to the late Kill[] Numlom, a.ncl which ha.s the exact height of the lu.lie King Om ca.nnot deny that there ifl a. aerta.in relationship between this image. a.nd the deified ones in ancient Angkor. And :~.gain in Bangkok, in Wat Phra Ka.eo, the two gi.lt standing statues, one on each side of the ta.ll altar on which is throned the Emerald Buddha., the pa.ll~dinm of the Kingdom· of Thaila.nd, which are said to personify the two first Kings of the Oha.kri dynasty, do they not a.lso recall the ide:L of ·the personal cult of the "subtle I?" We think so. 102 The contents of the fourth ohapter Ti'IIIJ)l••.-; i\1' T():11l1s h:J.s already 'hsen treated in onr ::tPpreoi~tions of the Oahiars t~-nd espeoiu.lly by His late Highness the Prince Dew:~.wongs in the JTB8 Tho.i number 2, Ma.y 1942. The statue of the so-ca.lled Leper ldng, flo w.:>ll known to (I.J! visitors to Angkor Thorn, may now. be considered to rtlpresent the Dharma.ra.ia. i.e. Ya.ma., the Hindu counterpart of King :Minos, judge of th In the fifth chapter Professor Coedes trea.ta u.rchitectura.l symbolism as expressed in most of the Ang1wr monumen:ts. This &rohitecturu.l symbolism of the ancient Khmer must be tn.ken as an endea.vour to establish a.n intimate link between the universe anu the terrestrb.l wol'!d. ,. Professor Baron Robert von Heine Geldern sa.ys in hit~ fine essa.y Weltbilrl nnd Baztform in Siido.~tasien that the recirlrocu.l rola.tions between cosmology a.nd architecture in the civilized lnrlochina and Inilo· nesia rest on a conception of the world (Weltan&oha.utmg) which origina· ted in the ancient Orient, namely the belief in a magica.l rehtion between the microcosm and the ma.crocosm, or between humauity and the universe, between the worldly ma.nifestations and the stt1.r constellationH ( ttB in ancient Babylonia.). To obtain the bo.rmony between this rnicrooosm and macrocosm the ancient Khmer and Ind onesi~~ons organized their kingdoms, built and arranged their capitals, pa.boes, temples a.nd monasteries like microcosms, teplioo.s of the cosmological edifice. This system was even extended to the royu.l courts, the a.clruinistrn.tion, the Provincial divisions, weight and coins, etc., a.ll a.ccording to space and time, in conformity with the laws of nature. So far the distingnished Austrian savant. In China a lilte systerm wu.s in vogue for several millennit1rus. Professor Ooedes says that it was due to the inspira.tion fostered by such ideas that the ancient Khmer raised their grand monuments. Angkor Thom with Bayou and Nak Pan a.re the tra.nsla.tions into stone of the, greQ.t myths of Hindu cosmology PT. 1) REVIEW 103. The Buddhisl system, though different in detnil, rests :1.lso on th6 idea of a central mount. Meru, on which are situ:1ted the vt~.rious heavens, and surrounded by the seven concentric ch:J.ins of mountains separated by an equal number of seas which ao:ra again walled in by a . huge ring. of mountains outside anc1 on the four sides of which rolls the· great ocean. In this are situated four continents of whieh the southern, Ja.mbndvipa, is onrs, the world of men. On the top of Mount Meru. resides the great god I nora with the 33 other ma.jor gods. The central tower, the "high place" or temple mount:.in, whether· Pnom Bakheng, Ba.phuon or Bayon where the linya, housing the king's ''subtle I," fulfilled the s:l.me function as the z·iggumt in ancient Mesopotamia, the rea.l '' tower of Babel " the ga.te to the heavens, through which man was to enter the celestial abode. This architectural symbolism we also find in Java in the gra.ndiose atupa.-temple of Borobudnr. In Hindu cosmology the connection between man and the gods is represented by the rainbow. l\:1. P. Mus, a master in solving the riddles of symbolism, has shown that the Khmer stone bridge3 with their halustra.des of nagas, which give admittance, over the city mo(l.ts, into the city itself, a.lso stand for the idea of the passing from the wol'ld of men, outside, to tbe world of the gods, inside the great • sa.cred city,_, a.nd thus then also symbolize the rainbow.(7) Professor C~edes a.dds that the lo.dders of gold, silver and ctystal, by meanH of which the Buddha. ascended to the he!\vens in order to prea.oh the IJ~W to his mother, is nothing else tba.n the rainbow. M. P. Mus points out that the occurrence of the thundergod Indra. mounted ou his threeheaded elephant, on either side of the Angkor Thotn. gateways, also allude to t.he rn.inbow connection. Indeed this god is to-do.y known in Cambodia under the 1;1ame of the minbow. It would take up too much space to mention all, however tempting that ma.y be, tb11t Professor Coedes hn.s to say about the symbolism of Khmer architecture so we will limit H to one or two examples more. 1'he central portion of the Elephant's terrace of the Royal Palace in Angkor Thoro is decorated with the figures of large uarndas which serve as atltmtides. As the royal Pavilion ( of wood) was erected on this te!'l'&ce there can be no doubt that the presence of the rwrudas symbolizes (1, floating aerial palace, a vima11a. ( 7) In the old Nordic mythology the rainbow was the bridge befweeu Asgaard, the abode of the gods, and Midgaard, the world of men. The parallel is of course due to a common origin of bGth conceptiGns. ERIK SEIDEN.F'ADEN [vor,, XXXV The unique mon~1ment of N a.k Pa.n, which we b:we oa.lled '' I he jen·l'l i.n a lotus pond" with its single tower standing in the midst of a. wa.1;er filled ba.sin on a tiny island encircled by the sinuous bodies of two giant na.ga.s ( Nak Pa.n-Naga.s encircle) should be taken a.s the symbol of the famous sa.ored lake Ana.v11opba., in Thai 8ra Anoclat, which is situa.ted in the Hima.laya.u regions, on the roof of the world. The four gargoyles, through which the hea.lth-giving water pom:ad, were mu.ds in the likeness of the heads of a. ma.n, a..n elephant, a horse and a. lion. JVI. l\larcbu.l's discovery of many images of Lokesvara proves thu.t thia sa.nctt1u.ry wa.s d~dicated to this merciful Boddhi::~a.tva., and as such it wa.s n. much sought :for pla.aa of pilgrimage for sick and suffering people who by drinking of and bathing iu.the sam·ed W!l.ters, ancl by praying to the merciful One, believed they conld obtain a. cure for their various maladies. In the sixth chapter of his book Professor Oor.des treats the mystery of B3oyon with its cluster of towers deooratecl with the 1.60 enigmn.tioa.lly smiling faces of f.Jokesva.ra., a.t the sa. me time portraits of J a. yava.rman VII, Ba.yon is mysterious because of its complicated plu.n ; mysterious by reason of its bas.reliefs pa.rtly still unex.plu.ined and mysterious tlnally ,. by the eerie decorations of its towers, unique in the history of :1rt There must. ha.ve been an ea.rlier building of which we know nothing but even the original plan of Bayou 'wa.s different from whitt we see now. It ha. manhioned rnost of this informu.ti·on, we shall con'fin'e ·ourael ves to cull hera and there some points of int'ereat new to re:Ldere, ia.yil.vu.rma.n II's reign is interesting for several reasonl:l. · He pacified .. ·and unified the country, which was in a. state of a.na.rohy when he took over the power ; he made himself independent of the Malay overlordship, of the 1\faha.rrtja. of Srivijo.·· ya. a.nd he introduced the cult of the Deva.raja, the royallinga housing tba "subtle I" of the king. JaYava.rmn.n II resided in a number of more or less tempora.ry c!ipitals during his long reign of 52 years ( 802-854 C.E.) The Ten.son for all these peregrinations was no doubt connected with tbe unsettled state of the country. Our knowledge of Jaya.va1;man II is almost whole I y clue to the famous inscription on a. Meia fonud at Sdok Ka.l' Thorn in the Aran district., Ohangvad Pra.chinburi, now kept in the National Museum in Bangkok, whioh tells about the rather fictitious relationship of ,Ja.ya.vu,rman II with the princes of Tehan-la of the wa.ter whose capita.! was in Anindita.pnra., so far unident!fied. The :first in the series of Jayava.rman's capitals was Ind1·a.pm·a, localized by Professor Coedes somewhere in the province of Thbong Khmum, east of I\ompong Cham, perhaps at the site of Banta.i Prei Nolcor ;. the second was in the Angkor gt·oup region at Knti, identified· by Professor Coedes as Kntigvara • a little to the north of Banta.i E:dei, where there are ruins dating back to the beginning of the IX century C. El. From here the ldng moved to Haribaralaya. lying sonthest of Anglwr. This third capital has been identified with the group of temples called Roluos1 consisting of the sanc tuaries of Ba.!wng, Phra l{o and Lolei. As his· fourth ca. pi tal J a.yn. Vill'· man II built Amarendra.pura., which, after much discussion, ho.s been. localized to the west of the great occidental BaraY (water reservoir):,. anr1 near to Vs western embankment, where through aerial reoonnais·. sa.nces ancient ea,rth work have been discovered. After some years iri ·residence at this fourth capital the king moved to 1\'Iahendrapa.rva.ta 1:. <'. the rocky pln.tean of Pnom Kulen, to the northeast of Angkor. It wo.s here in his fifth capital that the king let his chaplain, the Brahman \ Qiva.kaiva.lya. compose a 'new ritual worth~r of an·independerit king who no longer, first thing in the morning, needed to kowtow in the direction of the residence of a foreign overlord, !l.nd here also was erected the Devaraja, the godklng, na.mely'\the li1iga, sYmbo~ of the creative power o£ Siva, in which was thought to dwell the king's " subtle I II or the . ~sse nos of royalty, which was to be worshipped ·for more than four hund1•ed years in a.1m ost unbrolten sucoessioli tili Hina.yana. Buddhism ' '106 G. COEDJ~S [VOL, xx:w made nn end to it in tbe XIV century 0.1!!. The tinga of King Ja.y~~.var ma.n II was believed to have been obtained from the god Siva through the intermediary of the king'a clever cha.pla.in. The kings of Oa.mbodia., ·a.nd a d~·nasby in J a.va., at> well a a the emperors of Fun an, former! r took ·ae their titles tht\t of the Kiny of the Mountain, Sa.ilendra, from the 11anctua.ry housing the roya.l linya erected on n. natural hill, ot· simply on a. stone pyramid, which symbolized Meru, the centr:t.l mountain of the universe. King Ja.ya.varma.n II finally returned to Ha.rihn.raln.ya. ( a.ccompanied by his Deva.raja.) where he died in 954 C. B. He w:1s a. ·grea.t king who m:~.de bie countrY free a.nd s~rong. Certain arohitectura.l feto:ll·es oc;urdng during the reign of this Jcing h:we eu:J.bled ns to bridge :the gulf formerl v existing between the pre-.\ngkor u.nd Angkoria.n schools -of lltrt. The lltl'b of King .Ja.yJ.ya.rm:l.u l['g reign shows the distinct ·influence of both Cbll.mpii: a.nd Java.. FL"Om the first it is u. o:1se of phn 'ning of the temples from the la1;ter decora.tive deta.ils. About the other great J a..yu. va.rm:J.n, the seventh of these " proteges of victory," Ml theiL· n11.mes signify, so much hMl a.lrea.dy been sa.id in our :appreoia.tions, and during this review, t.ha.t we shill! u.dd here only a. few ,.. words. Of special interest is what we llre told a.bout the sister of Ja.ya.vat•ma.n's queen " whose knowleilge was anperior to that of the wisdom of the phllosopher»," lltllcl whom the king :J.llpointecl supreme teacher in a. fa.mons B\lddhist ml)na.stery where ahe to.t~-ght the women. Her Sa.nskrit, s'l.ya Professor Ooedeg, wa.a of the purest. It is interesting to us in Thailand to lea.rn tha.t the ima.ge of the so.ca.lled Thu.o Phroma.tha.t, formerly in :,;itu in the central tower in the M:a.haya.nistic f!a.nctu~ry of Phima,i,(8) a.nd now in our N a.tion1•l Mnseu,n, represents the greu. t King, ~Ja.yava.rma.n VII WllB perhaps the much di~cussecl Leper King, 'and beoa.use of suffering fror.n this terrible mtt.la.dy he htlilt, out of oomp::~.ssion for fellow sufferers, his 102 bosplh:l.ls which were sm·ea.d ft·om south to nor~h over bia extensive rea.lm. He wa.s u. val'y fervent Budclhisb of the .Maha.ya.na. sect, a.nd a.s such a. speci:\1 devotee of r~okesvu.ra, :1nd he made of Bayou a. rea.l Pa.ntheon where were oeubra.li:r,ed the oult of tpe roYal fa.mily, a.nd of the va.dous provinoia.l cults 'rhere ou.n be no doubt of the king's considering himself a. living Buddha.. '.ro promote the cult of himself 23 statues of the Ja.ya.buddh:J.ma. ha.na.tha. ( the. enlightened great IJord of Victory) were ereoted a.nd consecrated in a.s ma.ny towns, among which figure Ltopburi, Suphanburi, --( 8) See our pa.per .An Excursion to Phlmai JS s: X vli,l~------·- · l'T. l_j rmvmw 107 Ra.ia.buri, Phet:Jha.buri l\ud :'IIn'a.ng Sing. l'his piece of informa.tion is of grea.t interest to \H in Tha.ibnd, rtnd shollld Incite u.~, a.s soon as nor m:>! coudiGions return, to ma.ke a. t•a.tiona.I sea.rch for these statues which mw be discovered hidden in the ground at the respective teruplee dating tn.ok to tha yoa.r ca.. 1200 O.El. [n Lopbul'i the search should be carried out a,t Wa.t Ma.ha.t.hat, in Phetch'lburi a.t Wa.t Ka.rupeng La.eng [l,lld so on. .rL~Y:l.Vat•ma.n VII n•)t only restm·ed the Khmer empire to its former h)nn•b,de,; lmt e:d.;mded these. 'rhe ever inva.,ling a.nd pilla.ging Cham were compleGely subjuga.ted, :l.nd from 1203 to 1220 Oha.mpi.\. wo.s :lo verita.hle province of Cambodia., As his inscription at Sa.y Fong shows .T<1Y:3.V -:nanglrok, 1st August 1943. ERIK SEIDllJNF ADEN Corresponding lllember of Ecole F'rangaise d'E:1.·treme-Orient 109 REVIEW. Uollt~clion de te:cte, d documents 8W' l'.lndochhe, Ill ' . ' I nscription8 du Orn11horl ge, Fol, li hy G. Coedes. Hanoi 1942. ~Phis l'!tl In a.n in~roihw~ory notice the leo.rnod epigra.phist sa.ys that this second vohull!J eonun.ius the texts :J.lrea.dy published in 1926 in volumes I and II of the Oor1m8 r!1!1: tnsr·ription.~ du. Oamboduc. 'rho book ends with a. • aeeoni! suppl!~mentu.ry liat of the newest inscriptions found in Cambodia. and Oh:Lmpii,, tht',\ehy inm:ea.aing the number of inscriptions, so far known, from 877 to BVl lor O:J.mbodin., a.nd from 197 to 209 for Oho.mpii., There iN a.lao a.n ml•IPnrlu 1'1 I'OI'!'i!fm/(la, ru (l lingni<-JiiiC note prooecling lihe texts Professor Ooedea gives an int.oref:lt;ing liHt of nerLa.in Khmer words under the form they were pro JHi\lUO•Hl a.nd writ;ten during the Augkor period, compared with the same words nuder their reapechive forms in pre-Angkor dn.ys and in modern times. It will he seen tha.t Lhe difference between the pronunciation of mocl~rn times a.nc1 tha-t of pre-Angkor do.ya is much less tho.n that of both cornpa.red with the prommoin.tion in vogue during the Angkor Jleriod. The t~.nthor an.yfl t;ha.t all the inscrip&ions of the pre-Angkor period which ha.ve supplied the words for the aforementioned list, are from temples situ::~.tecl either in the southern or eastern po.rt of Oa.mbodb i. e. ~that part of the kingdom which a.t first, during pre-Angkor days, and thereafter in post-Angkor days (XV century C. E.), constituted its centre. ·This would exphin the close resemble.nce of the pre-Angkor pronunciation. with that of modern times . .. 110 On the other baud, when th8 C[l.pitll.l wa~ fb:ud rtt Attgkor, the form of the words in the inscriptions oh:1nged ::tccording to the loeal J1ronnn oiation and tlu.t of we3tern Cambodia.. It is also iuteresti~1:.:; to notB that words borrowed from the Khmer by the Thai show regularly the dipthongneJ form of the An~kor pronunciation. So worils which b::~.re been adi1P~tld to the peculiarities of the 'l1 h[Li tongue, lwlonged no doubt to the dialect; of the Khmer 1anguage spoke !I at Angkor ::md tlw.t of Western OlLtnbodio.. Fur!ihermore a number of these word~ borrowed lly the Tha.i o.t that pedod, and thereafter olw.uged to Rrlit Tb::Li pronuu oia.tion, ha.ve come back into modem Khmllr in 1/u!ir '/'hoi (onu. Take for insto.nce the word for clerk or scribn, which i_11 origiual Khmer was smm·, a.nd thereafter ohanged by the Thai into samien, hn.s been adopted by the modern Khmer in its Thai form. The 73 inscriptions treated in the present voltime :ue eitl1er in the Ehmer or S:tnskrit language or in both. The greater part of the contents of these ancient inscriptions is rll.ther monotonons ali it is genera.lly con fined to the invocations of some Hindu god or godrloss and emm1erating the gifts offered to his or her temple in tlw form of lttnd, paddy, rice, animLds, gold or silver utensils, slaves, musicians and danci11g girls even. "" The inscriptions usually conolude with calling down the wruth of the gods on any trespasser threatening him and bis wbolo hmily inclnding both the previous and future generations, with the dire vmu~.hmonts of tlHl B3 hells, Howeve1·, as all the ternp!('s have l.1eeu thoroughly Jllundered for all their valuables ib seems that posterity ha.s uot paid any heed to the terrible menaces uttered by the pious donors l In the following we shall mention somrJ of the more intEn·estinA inscli!l· tions such aa the one found on a stela at tbe tmtnmce to the ca.ve temple of Phra I\uh'ii. Lu'ong nea.r Kompot. It was set up to tho honour of Siva., it Praises Jayavarmau I, :mc1 is dated G74 0. R It mentiOlJS two dignitaries \vho lived dmh1g the reign of BtldraYuman of Euna.n (515- 545 0. El.). The town Dha.nvipurn. also mention eel therein must have br~;~n · a locality in the southernmost part of Cambodia. ana is not to be under stood as another name for Vyaclhapnra, the capital of the Fnnan empire. In another inscription, dated 611 C. E., is mentioned a. number or femu.le musicians and dancers, almost ::~.11 with Sanskrit names, -..vbile other servants offered to the god are named by their I\hmer names which, .curiously enongh are very contemptible ones 1 PT. 11 REVIEW 111 An interesting inscription is one of the two found in Prasat Nang Khma.u. It is an invocation of Vishnu under the name of Lokanatha. (Lord of the world) and under the aspect ofT rivikra.ma. The inscription praises Jayavarma.n IV, who reigned in 928 C. E. Professor Ooedes Sll.YB that the Vishnuite invocations h:umoniAe well with the frescoes (1) that decorate the interior walls of the two towers, and which represent Krishna lifting the mountain, and a dancing Vishnu which ma.y be Trivikro.ma covering the extension of the universe in three steps. The inscription, on a stela from Kompong Thoro, which contains an edict by I\ing J ayavarma.n V, dtl.ted 974 0. 1!1., is interesting as it cont:~.ins a. roYal command to create two new ca.stes (2) or corporations. One of these, the Khmuk, was perhaps destined for the work of preparing the food for the gods, which shows that food wa.a offered before the images of the Hindu gods in ancient Cambodia. It was probably a daily rite. It furthermore appears from this same ~: An inscription from Oho'n Ek mentions the name of the god Siddha.~ yatana (VII century 0. E.). This name is a.lsp found in an inscription from Ohantaburi. ( 1) P·r.asab Nang Khmau ·is the only temple in Oambodi11. where frescoes have,. ao far, been found. ( 2) 'fhough there we1·e castes in ancient Cambodia that imtitution never became so all-embracing or rigorol1s as in India, ( 3) Minted money was probably unknown in ancient Cambodia. ( 4) Vlde M, Baradat'li excellent monograph ·Lvs Samr!J ou P!Jar BEFEO. Vol. .XLI, Part 1,1941, PT• 1] REVIEW llS Of interest for us Th!!oi ia the mention, in staliza LVII, of a prince whose name ended in -indra.va.rroa.n, and who was Lord of La.vodaya. (Lava- Lopburi), (5) Queen Jayarajadcvi, lt seems, practised television (st~nzs. LX-LXI), being able to see her absent and adored husband, the great wa.rriol'' and temple-building king. From stanza. LXXXVIII it a,ppea:rs that she presented the Buddha Vima.ya. image (in Phimai) with a gilt silver drum. ERIK SEIDENF ADEN. Bangkok, 7th November 1§43. • ( i) J!ide page 17G footnote 8 bottom linea, 115 .REVIEW Rccherehes de Gimgrapliie Musicale en Indochinc · par Georges de Gironoourt, \ Bulletin de la 8ociettJ des Etudes Indochinoise:::, ·Tome XII J, N(,, 4) .-it a time whem the sounds of wa.r reverberate around the world and civilisa.tion seems about to crash to its fall amid scenes of horrid strife, it is plea.siug a.ncl solacing to know that there yet remain learned men of good. will whose minds are bent, not on devising new means of de3tmction, but on pceserving those a.rts that give joy to mankind, a.nd on ... en1nidng into their origins. Such must be the thought of one who peruses in the Bulletin de l.q Societe des Etudes Indochinoises (Nouvelle Serie, Tome X VIII, No. 4) a monogra.ph by Georges de Giron court entitled Reohe?'Chee de G4ngraphie nmsicale en Indochine, published at Sa.igon this year. 'i\'Iusicu.l Geogr::tphy is a· new science which was first presented as such at a meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris in 1928 and has since been developed by resea.rch in many countries. It is a. soience with a. wide appeal, for music is one of the links in the chain that binds .men into one great f:1mily, It is one of the tna.rks that distinguishes man from the lower creatures. Nat without reason is music called the divine art for, h:wing its origin in Heaven, its influence on manldnd u.s a civilis ing and refining agent cannot be·over-estimated. The monograph coyers. a very wide ground. Among many others, it ·touches upon such subjects as the origin of hllman song; the influence of climatic conditions on music; the music of ancient China.; and the origins of i:l.zz .. As far a.s this pa~t of the world is concerned, the researches ha. Ye extended not only oYer the whole of French Indochina but also to -:Bangkok, Yunnan-fil, and the districts round tb::tt ancient capital. 116 ANONYMOUS (VOL. X"XXi' While some pa,rts of the work oa.n be fully ~ppreeiu,teu only by t\ttl musician ,vell versed in the theory of his art, most of it can be followed with pleasure ::~.nd profit by the ordina.ry reader. Nearly :.\11 of us ha,ve some interest-be it aver so slight-in the origins of things; o.nd the a.nlihor ha.s written in a. way to stimulate tha.t interest. To those-few though they mt\Y be-who a.re interested in primi.tive music and the in struments by wbicl:i it is produced, the work is Lt veritable mine of informa.tioxi; presl'mted in a. mu,noer so. order[;; ~md scientific, thn.t avery page bears witness to the o.u~hor'a ernditioit. The instruments of music used by the indigenous peoples of Indo china o.re of the stringed, woodwind, and pclrcussiou f:1milles, so that- with tbe exception of brass-they are in line with the f:11:oilies into which onr own symphonic orchestras are divided! In the monogmph these instruments_, whose riames :1re Ml weird in sound a,s the instruments themselves in a,ppeu.rance, are represented by <1xcelleut J.lhotognphs and sketches, the mode of holding the instruments a.nd t,lw position of the fingers ana lips in producing the sounds being a.lso shown. l\loreover, in ma.ny ca.ses, the 1\UthOJ: ho,s given the scale to which the int~trument is r tuned, and lllso its range. This is ~\ ma,tter of extreme interest to the musician for the following rea.son. The scale used in most Western music is sp,\ced tone, tone, semi tone; tone, tone, tone, semitone u.nd is basecl on the 13th" or Ioniu.n Mode .. There were originally 14 Modes, but they luwe become obeoloto except tbe one iuet mentioued and the 9tl;l, or . Aeolian, on wltich th predecessors over long periods of time jngt hov; tight! Y h f' must stretch hi"'· strings to get his rndimenta.ry violin in tune. He does noli lmow why, but experience ha.s ta.nght him tha.t if his strings :ll'e 'ltretehed 6vc;r an hollow body, grea,ter resonance will result; a.nd <:o he atb.ches his in strument to a. gourrl or an empty coconnt.shell. 'l'he s~1.ma kind of' experience ha.s taught the gong-founder thn.t oert:tin notes CLre assochttec1 with certain degrees of thickness of meta.l. Buo wit·h u.ll E:l.stern instru ments there comes a time when experience eo.n teaoh no more :1nd a.u instrument comes, so to spea.k, to be stereot,yped. The iustruments found toda.y in the orchestra. of &n orc1ina.rY Chinese the~tre \\'ere ancient in the days of Confucius. In twenty-four cent.uries littls or uo development ha,s taken place. An outstanding fea.turo of M. de Gironoourfs monograph is the wea.lth of musical motifs with which it is· illuatrl\ted. Some of them are but sna.tohes of melody; others of considerable length. 'rhere are mot.ifs proper to all occasions of rnru.l life such a.s the planting D.nd harvesting of rice ; the retnt·n in the evening from the ricei\eldfl ; the aaorif:ice of a. buffalo; a marriage fet1st; a. mortutHY ceremony; the invoou.tion ... of the· Sllirits 'tha.t preside over the growing crop~. Or!).dle-songs ::~.re numerous, I" some of them not without charm. JJove songs, in wl!ich the village Romeo ma,kes a. musical appeal to his ,fuliet who responds in u. second musical motif, have a prominent l)laoe. All primitivf'l people!> seem to indulge .in this form of love-making :tnd doubtless the sl:lreno.ding of one's lover pr down mot~fs in free rhythm, b:J.f.led on ontlcmdiah sc:J.le;;;, !l.Ud executed on primitive instruments of faulty intonation, is a task of extreme difficulty ancl M. de Gironcomt is worthy of the higl}est praise for his a.ohievement. It may be tha.t there are those who consider the study of primitive music only a waste of time. This is by no means the case. ''The proper atucly of ma.uldnd is man" and the steps of m:J.n's progress in the re::~.1m of m'Bic 3.t·e ~ts worthy of stucty ::ts those he has taken in other directions. We should not be too proud to remember tba.t music in the West was once as primitive a.s that heard in Indo-china. tochy; and that the accurate and intrica.te Boehm flute, for instance, is but :1 development of the t·wo-or four-holed reed flute on which in ancient times the European rustio plll.yed his simple a.irs and on which the Indo-chinese villager of our times .pro duced his quaint mnfifs. Why should primitive music be scorned a.s barbarous when there are thousands of "cultur_ed" Westerners who would rather run a mile th&n listen to a Beethoven symphony yet wbo find. delight in the lost-soul-like W!Liling of a S(I.Xophone and fall into ecstasy at the hideous cacophony of a jazz-band'! In writing a.nd publishing his paper M. de Gironcourt h~\S rendered timely service; for the primitive muaio of Indo-obina is doomed. Every-• where the gramophone, the radio, a.nd the cinema a.re making such inroads·~ sven into the remotest regions, tha.t little by little the indigenous music is being supplants~ by that produced in the West. The old motifs will be forgotten a.nd the instruments on which they have been pla-yed for ages will be leas and less nsed nnt.U their manufacture will aHogetber die out. The profound changes brought t1bonh by the War will but hasten the, process. Well is it, then, that M. de Gironcourt bas rescued so many moti{8 from the oblivion into wbioh they :tre fated to fall a.nd th~t his po,ges a.re l'iob with t;he descriptions of instrt;ments that, in tl few genera,·· tions, will have vanished from the dwellings of men. ANONYMOUS. l3angkolt, Thailand, 1943. ,. ,.. 121 REOBNrr THAI I'UBI:,ICA'riONB. ( 1) The Annals pt' A!}urlhurr. ( l'f1~'l"WVJ~1:fl1~11TilHif;'UIJ1itnl, version of Prinoe Para.ma.nttjit in three volumes: ' ' · Vol. I, From the foundation of Ayudhya. to the end of King Naresuan's reign, pnbl. by royal command in memory of His late Excellency Gene1·a.l Um Bija.yendrayodhin, member of the Council of Regency, December 24:85 ( 1942 ), pp. l-240; Vol. II, ·l!~rom the reign of King Ekt1.thoaa.roth to the death of King N aro.i, publ. by royal cowma.nd in memory of Her late Royal High ness Princess Phong, Deo, 2485, pp. 241-382; Vol. III, From the reign of King Petra. raja to the sack of Ayudhy:J., • publ. by royal oomro(l.nd in memory of Her late Royal Highness Prinoeas B1wban, Deo. 2485, pp. 383-513. The u.bove "Volumes being published on the occasions of the crema~ tion of the rer:na.ins of distinguished personages, each one therefore though not prefaced as usuu.l by o. short biogro.phy, contains a. photogru.ph of the l'espective personage. In a. prefn.ce to each of the volumes, the Fine Arts Department states that the Anno. Ia published used to be known as the Pflro R(~japony.~aw(uian in two vulumes or as Dr. Bradley'"' Vet-.~iou C!/ lhe .Annals. 'J:he latter name w&..s due 1o the fact tba,t Dr. Br:~dley of the America.n ( Presbyterian ) Mission wa.s the first to print the work (in 1863 ). The preft\CG goes on to say that when the fact became widely known that Prince Para.manujit was the author of the work, bter historians oame to know it as Prince Pa.ra.manujit's vereion of the history of the country. Since its first publication some 78 years have elapsed and copies of it a.re hard to find. The Fine Arts Depart ment has been using the work for vn.rifyiug dates in history and is of opinion tha.t it is not very i.n~~occtmJ>te a.s regards chronology. It. is there fore reprinted in order to :1oid historians in their task of oompal"ing his torical facts. D. .[ vor., :xxxv As :1. ma.tter of fa.ot there have of oourse bean published, since tl~e origiua.l edition of Dr. Bradley in 1863, other .editions suoh u.s tha.t of the King Mongkut Pa.li Aoa.demy and the a.bl'idged edition of the Ministry of Pttblic Insliruction in R. S. 131 ( 1912). 'rhe original edition of Dr. Bro.dley conta.ined a. summary-Phra 'BajapongsmDadmt San!t·!tep whioh >vas pla.ced in h·ont of the full text of the Annals. In-his introductory SJketch of the sources of Tha.i history prefa.ced to the Royal Autograph History (B. E. 2456-1912) Vol. I, p, 6 ct 8erf,, His Roya.l Highness Priuce Da.mrong ma.de it' clear tha.t the version of Tha.i History i)opula.rlY known as Pri11ce ParamanuJit'.<:: Vei'Hion wu.s really much older than its retmted author. Wha.t tha.t learned scholar wrote wa.s the Slt.lrww.ry or Pht' B~side~ the acbi•wement of the Primary purpose of preserving 111 work which is bscomiug ra.re, the mu.in feature of the present edition is the a.doption of the new spelling. In view of the times, the paper is not a.s good iu quality as might be wished for. The fact Cl\nnot however he helped. It is certainly good to see a rapidly disappearing work of reference being rasusc'ita.ted. ( 2} The Annals of Ayudhya, version of .Lua.ng Pra.soet, · publ. , for presentation on the occasion of the cremation of Colonel P. Mitrabha. kdi, former Phya N a rind Ra.iaseni, .B. E. 2486 ( 1943), pp, 1-48. This is another reprint of a. doi:lument, written in 1780 but; Lost sight of till R. S. 126 ( 1907 ), which ha.s beau deemed the most a.ccurn.te of all T ha.i a.nna.la a.s regards chronology. This edition follows former ones save in spelling. A biographical notice of the late nobleman and a foreword a.re from the pen of H. E. Pridi Pa.uomyoug, who compares in the foreword l.'T. 1) REVIEW 123 the pronouncement of a verdict in historical oriLioiJ>m to its judicial counterpart. Among his instances of ba.d evidence in historictul criticism are some ''absurdities ana· blunders," the sort of whioh w'ere mentioned by Burna.y as quoted a.bove. · ( 3 ) The Diary of Ris Royal Highness Prince Somrn;t, part I, selected and edited by M. R. Sumonajati Svastiknl, published for pre sentation on the occasion of the cremation of tbe remains of Momchao Vipulya Svastivongs, B. E. 2485 (1942), octo. 90 pages. His Royal Highness Prince. Sommot was King Ohulalongkorn's Private Secretary a.nd Keeper of the Privy Purse for some thirty odd yea.rs. An extremely taciturn. personality, of studio-qa habits and inex haustible energy, he was greatly trusted by his Sovereign· and generally considered as an ideal Secretary to a. King who wa.s his own Prime Minister, through whom importa.nt a.nd often very confidentiaJ m~~otters ha.d to pa.ss and obtain their decision. The diary of such a man, there fore, can not fail to be of interest, As the Prince himself u.dmitted, he often had the grea.test difficulty in keeping up writing his diary. An example of such an admission is quoted in the preface of the editor, u. gr:J.ndson of Prince Som!llot. It is worth the following reproduction: .. "Monda,y, the 11th of the waxing moon of the first month, cor· responding ~o the lOth December 1883 : . , , .. An excessive amount of worlc tod:J.y. No rest possible. Everything seems to have to be carried over because I have neither the strength nor time left. No one to take some of it off roy shoulders either. Arrived a.t the office about :fiHy minutes past one. Looked in a.t the lower office (tha Privy Purse) till about two, and then went to the upper office (the Private· Secretariat). Went into lihe King's study and worked with Him till four. Came out and did some work till half past five. Had something to eat and worked on till eight. Went in again to work with the King till past eleyen ..... , . Hands ached through writing. Came home n.nd wrote diary, Siok to death with it, but it would be a pity to leave off a.fter keeping it up regularly for almost a year. Seems as if coming out of a scorching ~un to bn.s1' before a. fire . , . " It is presumed that the diary baa been selected for the present publi (la.tion primarily with a. view to a.ssemble all the data concerning the life-history of Momcha.o VipulYtll, his eldest son, in whose memorY the Hl.\ n. !vnr.. :;:•:xv book ha.s been isstlefl. It, confi!lin~ tVlVt'rtlu:le.:.:; nLht=:r ma.Uers nf ~;l'toa.l; int•3rest for t.he historian, tho philologiBt and t;he a.rehtv•olo,:ist.. Among those f~r the former a.re : "lrJ .Tnne 188:3 (p. 24) His M \\.jc•l:it·\' re(miVLHl in :1w1ience the French Consul (there being no !vTiniflterin thnso. d~t\'ill who e):Jll'f:H;secl u, WiSh that the I(ing might SBUrl lL!l expedic·ion:Hy foree nf p~tha.pS 500 men to help France in her campa,iKn in Tongldng lTiH :\I:.t.jt~Rty sa.id that He wonld ha.ve to oonsult th•.o e:~hir.u:t firl"t." "25 June 1883 (p, ~H) A Chiueso olliebl :nrivod. tmhy .... on 3. mission to remind om· Gov,n·mn:mt tha.t the periolli~:•l tribute v ' (f1'Cl~) is due. 'l'his is non olu cnsoonl which wn,!l cli~contintted by King Mougkut iu C. S, 1214 ( L85~). No r·:con1 ''Xif-lts a.a to whatl1tH the ·Chinese Govemment sent t1DY further romiw'lnr to tba.t Lllf(l(:L in tha.t reign, bnt in C. S. 1231 (1809) tlm Hegent, (ilnrinl,l th'~ miuorily of King Chulo.longkorn) asked permission for tlH~ !):\S:-l~LgH tl1rough Tientsin instea,d of the usnu,l roLltH via. Canton of u. 'L'htti missi ·Chinesa proteges of Western powers we a.re a.t :1 disadva.nta.ge. Ba.il 1 for insta.Me is required of a. Th11i; wherea.s a. foreign protegc1 needs none when a consul sta.nds surety .•... A foreign p~oteg{} can often dela.y indefinitely his a.ppear~J,nae in Oonrt. whilst if a Thu.i does not pu~ in an. a.pDea.ra.ooe his bail is a.rresteJ •••..•. 'I'he Chinese _proteges of Western powers a.re mostly not genuine natives of the Western oolonies or proteotora.tes, but ha.ve just honght certificates );'T, 1) REVIEW 125 . of nationality here in Bangkok. If a Chinese Dutch protege, for in stance, is qnestioned regarding the town of Batavia he wonld probably be quite at a loss for an answer, having never been in the colony." Philological interest is served for instance on pages 21-23, where technical terms in the science of Elephant Service are given. The archaeologist will find mur.b of interest throughout the collection. On p~ge 11 there is a full explanation of the significance of the eight Prangs, pagorh-like strnctures of different colours to the east in front of the Pantheon ·at W a.t Phra. E. a. eo. Guides and sightseers usna.lly · mis understand or do not know what these mean even to the present day. According to Prince Sommot, then, they are as follows :- 1 white, dedicated to the Buddha., 2 ultramarine, dedicated to the law (Dhamma.), 3 pink, t,o the noble oommnnity of monastic disciples, 4 green, to the now extinct community of women mouks,· 5 purple, to the Pra.tyeka. or .Pa,coe!ta. Buddhas, 6 light blue, to the ideal Imperia-l.sovereign, 7 red, to the Bodhisattva, • 8 yellow, to Sri Arya 1\ia.itriya, the future Buddha. Pages 42-7 ~nta.in the text of the so-far unpublished inscriptions, set up by King i.Vlongkut at two vicinities of the Phra.bad shrine, much respected by local inhabitants as well as the Bangkok tourists of the old schookt> The gist is mainly propitiatory, bearing however dates and in· formation regarding the effigies of the thewad'a set up at those places. On page 51, on his visib to the Bodleian LibrarY at Oxford, the Prince was shown, among other objects of interest, a roya.l autograph ·letter from the King a.t Ayudhya bea.ring the da.te of B. E. 2230 written on fibre paper with a bla.ck pencil and a. letter from Pbya Pipat dated · 0. 8. 1048; wi·itten on foreign paper with ink f).lld signed with a lotus se.a,l. ( 4 } Memoirs of Forbin, translated into Tba.i by Momcba.o Datnras Devakul, published for presenta.tion on the ocoasion of the cremation of His la.~e Highness Prince Deva.vongs V a.rodaya, 1943, PP· 196, with a. bio· gra.phy of the deceased, 35 pages. ' That Morochao Da.mras Devaknl should be responsible for the first :translation into Thn.i of yet another of the XVII century French l\l6 1>. [YOL, XXXV inemoira dealing with the Coul't of King N lll'O.i a.nd with 'I'l{n.i :l.l'fn.it'H in geuera.l is doublY fitting. 'rhe Prince was hy profMJsion a. diplom11t trained in the Eoolt! libre des Sciences Polil.iques of P"ris, n.ntl a.tta.ined, in the practice of bis profession, to the gotl.l o[ :1. dip!otn:.t.t's Cl11'68l'-the office of an :Hlnvoy Es:tr:~oordino.ry a.ncl ;\Iiuistet· Ptenivot':'nti:J. ry accrediLed to a. foreign Court. It 11:1ight he said, therefor;~, thn.t he haa lived in an atmosphere, the couuterparll of which, however dista.nt in rego.n1 to their chronology and situation, Fo1·bin ha.d been writing mnmoirs of. It is moreover fitting th11t Prince Damras' tr:1.uslation W(l.9 publh;bed as a me.morial book on tl1e occ:l.sion of the cremn,tion of the remains of his own brother. The book is prefa.ced, as is the custom in this country, by a. biography of the deceu:sed to whom it is intended to serve :).H a. memoriaL The. au thor of the memoirs wo.s 11 man of high RIJiritA :~.nd hh youthful escs.pades before the time of the emb:1ssy fill up some :) I. [)~\ge3, They are nevertheless interesting n,nd help one to underst'.l.m1 m:l.ny develoP· ments of his subsequent o:1reer. 1 ] orbin was selected by the Gru.nd i\Iout.~orquo to S!H'Ve as a member of his first emba.ssy to King Narai nmler the le:J.darship of th0 Cheva.lier de Ohu.nmont, u.nd wa.s Io.ter loaned for militn.ry service nnder the Thu.i King. He a.tt:~;ined to the high ro.nk of Okphrt\ H::d;t:li 8ouggra.m, In· trigue, he sa.ys, r.elega.ted him b.ter to u. provinoi:1l comma.nd a~ B:J.u!.ll\ok, whence eventually be left t,he country. Prince Damras' style in writing ha.ppeus to fit in with th::~.t of: the original, which wa.s short., direct a.ud unburdenea wit,h litet•ary :1dorn· ments, The commt1tation of French weights and rnt~u.durea Ml well u.s con· tempora.ry monetary values into present·du.y 'J.1ha.i stu.ndu.rds mu.y not he g13nera.lly a.pproved by reo.dew1 for it lletra.ots somewhat lrcm.1 the XVII century atmosphere of the original. 'rhe suhHtitution of Buddhist cleriua.l terms for Catholic dignita.ries, Bnch o. abb1J, sonnds ho.rdly congruous, bub it cannot be helped and the hitch can not be a.litributed to t,he tra.nslu.tor. Tire book is in a.ny oo.se a. valua.ble contribution to the setieq of, 'l'ho.i · tra.nslations of French memoirs of hhe XVII century which must be by now nearly con1plete. Bangkok, 7th September 1943. I"L', lj '· REVIEW 127 Unde1· the S/1elter of the Yellow Robes ('l~jlJtmmviom"), by the . Rev. Dr. Bunrod Sujiva. of Wat Ka.nmS.tuyiri1m, 4 + 178 pages, King . .Mongkut Pali Aca.demy Press, B. E. 2486 (1943) . . Under the Shelter of the Yellow Robes is. the title of a pioneer work a.long the lines of a. historica.l novel in the Thai language. It is true tba.t origino,l historical novels in Thai have been written ere this and it is not ola.irned here that this work is a. pioneer in that respect. It seems how ever tha.t a historica.l novel constructed out of the Tipital;a. and other Buddhist literature has never been written in our language. The author is a young Buddhist monk who gra.dua.ted in the highest·-tbe ninth sta.nda.rd-of the clerical exa.miu!l.tion in P:.>li and Buddhist Literature. His ta.lents seem to ha.ve been duly appreciated for he has been selected to a. sea.t on the Grand Council of the Ohurch·-an honour extended to very few of its younger members even though they have graduated in the ninth standard. In the preface the author admits that he drew inspiration from [l.ll English tr[l.nslatiou o£ Gjellerup's Der Pilge1· Kiimanita, a. work of propaganda. on behalf of the Buddhist Faith as well as a literary accom plishment, which h3.s been done into Thai from th.e English tra.nslation by two well-known writers under the pseudonyms of Sathia.n Koses and N a.ga,pra.tip, The literary merit of the Thai version is 'videly recognised • here and it has just been prescribed as a. school classic for Thai Literature. The Rev. Dr ..Bunrod's work, like the Pilgrim lGimanita, interests its':llf in the ta.ming' of the murderer, who came to be !mown a.s "Finger- Garland" (Aiignlimiila in 'Pali) on account of his resolve to murde~· a thousand persons for the rHckoniug of which record he a.tta.ched a. finger of ea.ch vietim to a. strin;~ worn round his neck g:uland-wise. .Gjellerup, however, trea.t~d the disagreeable personu.lity as a. side-issue, while the B•w. Doctor a.dopts him as the raoo1~tcu.r of his plot. Prefaced by an i.atroductory chapter setting forth the period and scene of the story, incidentally the first resume I have come ::J,Cross in Thai of the political situ3.tion in the lauds in whicll the Master lived and disseminated his doatrines, describing more especially the city of Sivatthi, capital of the Buddba.'s friend and supporter King Pa.seuadi, as au (l,d. ministra.tive as well a,g a. culhural centre, the nu.rrative takes us in, its twelve chapters through the story of how a young man of good breeding entering upon the final Rtages of au academic education beca.me led a.stny by a.'i:1 idea. of trying to a.ccoroplit.lh a. thousa.nd mnrders·in order to ·COmplete his education ; how he set himself to the task in earnest until he tecame the terror of the countryside and gained the name of Finger. 128 !), [vor .• xxx:v Garland: how he oa.me to be tamec1 by tho Buddkl. :~.nd sought the Master's guidance by adopting His way of life (J,S a disciple; bow he came across a preguu.nt woma.u ::tnd helped her through the pains of childhood by his act ol tr nth- a.n episode held np in this country ::ts a classic exa.mple of the sacoo.kirZ:ya and recited on every ooc::tsiou of a henedictory service; how be lived under the Master in the .T etaY::nw. Mon(l.stery of Sii.ntthi where his conversations with fellow-monks 3.1'0 utilised for setting forth the m(l,in doctrines and te(l.chings of the Budd.h~t; ending, in ch3.pter 12, in the night scene within the d(l,rk chasm of a ruined Hindu sancliua.ry where in the solitude of (1, cold snowy night the former rnnrllerer's outlines could be discerned, ta.ll and majestic, Pilent a.t firgt as if in deep meditation but finally giving vent to ecsta.hio utterances of joy 3.t haying realised the inner mea.ning of the l'lbster's doctrines. This scene forms the climtJ.x to the plot which thus drama.tica.lly ends. By way of cdhicism, it wonlll he no use to mainbin that (l. vioneer work like thi.s is fla.wless. 'rhe (l,hsence of an element of love and wom~tn in lt popular novel iS of COUrse a. factor which ha.ndimLps. r_rhe introduc tion however of such themes would be absurd for an n.l1thor of monu.stic sto.ncling a.nd therefore o. greater handicap thn.n their absence, After (1,11, " romances like the Jonaleur ds Not1·s Dame o.ncl the Arthurian legendlll have been able to succeed without hrwing to depend much uvon tho love element. The author ha.s evident! y tried to ttse very simple la.nguage and yet iu mfl.ny pla.oes, snob as in the dialogue between (he monk N 'indi ya. and the leu.der of the sect of Jatila, the lo.ngu:.\.ge is somewhat teulmiea.l tending to follow the oral method of the over two-thonsa.nd.-yeo.r-olcl Holy Sct•iptnre3 so much that its repetitions would seem· to be thing to the ordina.ry lay rea.der. A very nseful !aa.tme of the book is the references given of thl'\ soureus of all tha more important sto.tements of doctrine a.ud in fu.ct of :J.l\Y d::tta. of imporhance with regttrd to the historical. geographict~.l a.nt1 soeiologictd descriptions which ha.va been welded togethe1,· to present a. compl<:~te · pict1ne of Bqdd'hist India.. The chief merit ot the book would seem to be on the one hand t~a.t it letLds the wu.y in presenting a.-could we say-~ teobnioa.l subject to tbe genera.lrea.der and thereby serves to popula.rise · Buddhist ethics. For those Thai readers on the other ho.nd who though ha.bitno.l students of Buddhism yet neglect any other :1spect of the study but those of e~hics a.nd philosophy, the book should help to bl'oaden their outlook through its free introduction of social, political o.nd descriptive. elements. l'T· LJ REVIGWS 129 History of the Thai Diplomatic Service ( 1h~1~~ rll'i~ 111 11\'lu) 1 H 71 pages, 8 pl. 2 maps. Phrl\ Chant Press 2486 ( 1943), by His Royal Highness ,. Prince Wan W aitba.ya.kon. In the preface to this volume, Prince Wan traces, clearly and con· cisely, the growth and development of international intercourse in the modern age which l'esulted in International Law primarily to govern in. t.ercourse between the Christian nations of Europe. When these nations began to have dealings.mostly commercial and missionary-with the non· ·Christian nations, Turkey at first, others more to the ea,st afterwards, it •,vas deemed Ht to apply the system of capitulations~ hter to be Jmown a.s exterritoriality, to safeguard their interests. The Industrial Revolution in the West over 11 century 11go aggravated matters and the old commerci11l :wtivities,took the sha.pe of guests for raw materis.l and for markets to dispose of their industrial products, finally becoming quests for new territol'ies, China, among others, resisted that aggression by force ::md paid her price very dea.rly. '.rhe Thai na.tion, va.luing its independence, no less than t,he European ones, uuenanmbered by religious intolerance for Bmldhism inculcates love for a.ll men, bas always professetl the open-door policy in its foreign relacionship and managed to survive. This, concludes " the author, is the diplomatic culture of the Tha.i, in illnstr11tion of \\hich the present work ~s written. Starl;ing with the earliest times of N a.nrhao, pa.ssing throngb those of Sukhothai and Ayntbya, we come step by step to the modern period; We are told how the impact of western might n.nd dipl,)mo.cy limited our sovereign rights by the Rystem of exterritoriality, how a l'ei1l da.uger threa.tened our sovereignty from east a.nd west am\ how the nation began in the time of King Ohulalongkorn to recover gradually a.nd with no small amount of trouble thG full sovereignty that waE:> not complete till 1937. How such a.restitution was accomplished is best illustrated by the moral of a. simple story told by King i\fongkut reproduced in the conclusion of this book. It is : " There were two men of the forest carrying bundles of primitive " merchandise such as jute bound for a trade emporium. On arriving :1t "the first stopping pla.ce, a little less primitive than their homel3.ud " the cleverer of the two sold hi3 jute for the more valu11ble commodity " o.f cotton. This was 3.gain sold a.t the next stopping pbce in order to " obta.in money to buy a more va.lua.ble commodity" still-sill\. At the eud " of their journey the cleverer one rea,lised his Rale for an infinitely 130 u. [vor•. xxxv "greater amount than his friend who in~iste(l on k<,aping his het\Vier " bundle of the inferiol· commodity of jute." One is tempted to think, in addition to wlw,t the Prince bo.s said, that •, it is a fitting quotation, for was it not that King who with his successors took the leading share in that liberal movement resulting in the complete emancipation of the Thai's sovereign rights? The a.uthor of thia monograph is of course the lan.ding n.utbority on Thai diploma.cy ,both in theory and pracLioe. No better choice could h:we been r:nu.de by tqpse responsible for the publioa.tion of this series of cultura.l monogr:1phs in a.skillg Prince Wan Wttith(l.yalwn to write on this subject, D. J3angkok, 13 December 1943 . ...... ------, 131 PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST IN OTHER JOURNALS. BULLETIN DE LA SOCIJflTE DES ETUDES INDOCHINOISES. 'l'ome XVIII, no!:! • .z & 2. Paris, P. : L' Amerique prcoolombienne et l' A. sis meridionale (2e arti ole), pp, 45-68. Here is an additional contribution on the similarity between American pre-Columbian art and that of south Asia by the same author whose article Wall mentioned in our columns before (JTRS XXXIV, 1, p. 88). In the present article M. Paris examines among other items the problems of elephant-representation, of the turban, the \inga and the prolongation of the.eyelids and eyebrows toward• the temples in a horn-shaped curve. This last feature is found among us on the• Khan mank~ of demons. Both the .American and the South Asiatic arts have traces. of Chinese influence. The author touches again on the tran3ocean relationships and the problem."tf navigation. Recalling the theory of Laufer that, though America had been from an early pedod peopled by Asiatic migrations she even~ tually followed an evolution of her own completely independent of Asiatic in 'fluence, the author comes to the conclusion that inspite of its Jargar dimensions: it was acTO$B the Pacific rather than the Atlantic that cultural connection~ were' m;~de between the two continents. Dupont, P. : La P?'OtJagation dn Buddhisme indien en Indoohine occidentale, pp, 91-106. This very interesting opinion baaed on strong arguments m~y be summed up I in the words of its owner that the form of religion now prevailing in western Indo .. china, which is taken by M. Dupont to cou~ist principally of Burma, Cambodia ar1d Thailand, haa been that kind of Buddhism which was developed in these countries from the first centu:des of the Christian era and maintained to the present-day without much interruption, Merida.t, L. : La Nouvelle Annee Zaotienne, pp.107-Il'?. A veritable work of referedce for students. of ethnography with detailed description• of the Lao calendar, the different eras in use in that country, going on ihen to describe bow the Lao new year is reckoned and celebrated. ,.