The Engineer Who Survived Angkor: Zhou Daguan's Lost Account

In 1296, a Chinese diplomat named Zhou Daguan arrived at the Khmer capital of Angkor Thom. His journal, 'The Customs of Cambodia,' is the only detailed eyewitness account of the empire at its peak — and the only one to describe the daily life of ordinary Khmers, from slaves and merchants to the rituals of the devaraja cult. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Zhou Daguan's descriptions of the water management system, the silk trade, the royal procession, and the sudden disappearance of inscriptions after his visit. Did Zhou's visit coincide with the beginning of the end? We examine the clues he left behind: the irrigation works that later failed, the tribute system that propped up the king, and the hints of religious change. Zhou Daguan saw a society that was already straining under the weight of its own success — and his text may hold the key to understanding why Angkor fell. #ZhouDaguan #AngkorThom #KhmerEmpire #CustomsOfCambodia #devaraja #AngkorWat #TonleSap #13thCentury #ChineseDiplomacy #SoutheastAsianHistory #Cambodia #MongolYuan #Irrigation #SilkTrade #HistoryPodcast #FexingoHistory #AngkorCollapse #LostCities Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo