Cambodia's Temple Kingdom | The Mark Of Empire | Angkor

Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse places on the planet with so many different cultures and religions all living side by side and I'm an example of just that my name is Peter Lee I'm a Singaporean scholar of Peranakan descent Chinese with a dash of Malay blood I celebrate being makes up it's right in my DNA my passion is collecting artifacts that offer a fresh narrative it's a European fairy tale but is depicted on a buttock from Indonesia how wonderful is that I'm setting off on a new journey traveling further back in time oh my god we see this everywhere in Southeast Asia to explore how the region's mighty empires have shaped our collective identity this is a goldmine no culture exists in isolation in this episode I'm visiting Cambodia a land of abundance a thousand years ago the uncle Empire founded one of the most sophisticated cities in the ancient world and built the world's largest religious monument they were masters of ringing stone to life I think if they let go I'm gonna fall I'm exploring how the unko Empire dominated Southeast Asia for 600 years a male ascetic cutting his own fingers into the fire as the most powerful civilization of the medieval age that was really fun to see what remains of a great people just look at the size of him and how their legacy shapes the nation today I'm visiting Penang : the most sacred mountain in Cambodia for centuries this has been an important pilgrimage site for the people here you can't come to the top of a Nam : without getting a blessing I feel sanctified this mountain is such a spiritual place because legend has it it was where the great uncle Empire was born 1200 years ago Wow look at this amazing view there aren't many written records left from the earliest period of Khmer history but a stone inscription discovered in the late 19th century tells of a khmer prince who spent many years in a foreign land described as Java the story goes jive arm in ii was a son of a nobleman who lived abroad for most of his life but in 790 at the age of 20 he returned to unite khmer for the first time he travelled the land making alliances with competing factions in 802 he came to the Kulin Hills for a special ritual to proclaim himself the tract of attorney or ruler of the universe and this was the universe he ruled a 1000 square kilometer plane on the edge of Southeast Asia's largest lake this is a land of extreme weather cycles in the monsoon season between May and November water levels can rise over ten meters but for the rest of the year drought takes hold and temperatures can soar to 40 degrees Celsius because of this water became the focus of the ancient Khmer these symbols carved into the rocky riverbed are called lingers and our sacred fertility symbols associated with the Hindu god Shiva and there are so many of them here the reason why this river is called the river of a thousand lingas the thinking behind the carvings was there as the water flowed over them it became sanctified it later merged downstream with the siem reap river into the paddy fields of angkor they were almost like the spiritual water purifiers for the entire region and they remain so today but sacred waters aren't enough to make an empire to succeed uncle needed a stable supply of food and the solution was an amazing strain of rice to find out more I'm helping in a paddy field with some good old-fashioned weeding here I'm here in winds ricefield to pull out these long grasses Khalsa love dear which means duckwing grass laughs the enemy and corruption corruption JimBob is joined by a minbari begging for more parm oh crap we're and Papa Jodi I love these very simple occupations that really clears my mind so I'm gonna be busy happily busy every year the monsoon flood brings fresh nutrients to the soil making it extremely fertile but with the annual deluge of the monsoon growing rice here is a challenge so we have professional weeks rolling that cannot pull me good twist rate and I'm throwing keep man a slide or sometimes roll so that I might wait mark lavery twist all day so that's so amazing so this is an ancient grain that can respond to the changing water levels known as floating rice these plants can grow as much as 10 centimeters a day to a height of about 6 meters fast enough to stay above flood waters the grain was key to the early success of the anko Empire allowing the fledgling kingdom to secure enough food for its people but to truly succeed the ancient Khmer needed not just to adapt to changes in the water level but to control it this is the West Mabon temple what I can see here is this incredibly beautiful pond with steps going down and a dramatic walkway that would have risen above the water to a central shrine in the middle it must have been all arranged to ensure that water is always present here the ancient Khmer believed all life came from the sea of creation and surrounding the temple is an enormous reservoir that represents this mythical ocean built in the 11th century the westboro is over 2 kilometers wide and 8 kilometers long making it the biggest hand-cut reservoir in the world a thousand years on it still holds close to fifty billion litres of water which is used to irrigate areas crops it's a remnant of the ancient Khmer engineering mastery that allowed them to wear their yearly droughts the Westbury was part of a hugely complex system of canals and reservoirs that fed into the city of Angkor and his rice fields the result was a quadrupling of the grain harvest which was transported along canals and rivers to the furthest corners of the Empire the result was food security and a surplus of rice for trade which became the economic foundation of Angkor and propelled the Empire into greatness but to extend their influence father uncle needed more direct means of transport roads this is a 1000 year old pathway to learn how it was built to survive so many centuries I'm joining a team of builders led by soapy Aparna clonk unity this technique is known as soil compacting and was used by the Khmer to build the roads and temple foundations Jen garner some died inhabit are some laitanan we we have Joey Biden being a chaplain are some lame book naengmyun a 9-mil one some laying and I know you botany let Morgan okay so I have to keep pounding until I hear this brighter most solid sound right this technique allowed uncle's roads to withstand the contraction and expansion of the soil during the dry and wet seasons it's incredible how the simple technique of compacting sand can build a foundation that lasts for millennia the Khmer relied on basic tools and sensory techniques to build a fast network of roads across the entire region so different from the technologies we rely on today by the 11th century uncaused Kings had built an extensive network of roads some of which are still used today I'm travelling on a dirt road on this charming ox cart which has been used for about a millennia here the road is as straight as an arrow just like the great Roman roads in Europe I can see endless rice fields water buffalos and it must have looked just like this in the Alko period this was a superhighway of that time people travel like this for days it's quite comfortable now but to be honest I don't know how I'd feel after a few days six main arteries stretched for over 1,000 kilometres to the west to modern Thailand an important salt producing region to the north to the access point of the Mekong River where rice and fish were traded with neighboring kingdoms and east to the old capital an important center of learning this network of roads help to extend uncle's political power and cultural influence across the region but to become a true regional powerhouse the uncle Empire first needed to overcome the largest annual flood event brought about by Southeast Asia's largest river I want to know how the ancient Khmer adapted to survive in their environment near the ancient capital of Angkor lies sally's Asia's largest body of fresh water Tonle Sap Lake I'm helping fisherman Ty to check his nets and bring in his catch the net is really fine so the fish gets really caught into it and you have to gently tug it out because it also has really sharp pins on the side so what would you consider a good catch please about big money but Kajal Ettore Tantra is about travelingmom maybe now in a movie tomorrow you come home clean come try my junk appear to be bigger than me every year something amazing happens here the monsoon floods the country and expands the lake to five times its normal size flooding over 7,000 square kilometres then in the dry season the flow of water reverses and the lake empties back into the Mekong this annual ab inflow has seen the lake nicknamed the beating heart of cambodia I'm traveling along a river running out of the lake to the village of camp on clown which has built 15 metres off the ground in the wet season the lake would rise taking the water to just below the level of these homes just look at me it's like a surreal fortress I've never seen anything like it I want to see how its residents survive in such an extreme environment oh my goodness look at this view Kim Hyung family makes a living from shrimp so what is it like to live here not a nickname thanks little bear Oh Polly Batman okay Bronx jabiru have a sangeun tough challenging my hot dog delayed so your happiness is dependent on the water yeah I have a size of ice yet to build settlements and survive on such a lake show the resilience and ingenuity of the Khmer people it's so inspiring to see how people in this village have adapted to their environment by building houses so high up it can be dry one season and then the next completely submerged in so much water it's unimaginable as the ancient Khmer thrived they built a complex society to find out how I'm at a site built by uncle's greatest king Giovanna and the seventh at its height the temple of preah khan was the epicenter of ancient society it was a place of learning but also linked to administration an inscription found here states that almost a hundred thousand public servants donated goods and services to the temple to ensure the smooth running of the Empire poly is an archaeological architect who is overseeing the restoration of the temple liquid here strongly to student groups in the Canopus a become Meleager come can hear about her usual composure to to grow to lose your crown to suck me killed among some people to complaint you're married alarming Garuda's are mythical bird-like creatures popular in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology 72 of these winged guardians protect these sacred grounds Giavanna and the seventh who built this temple came into power over divided empire and used it as a center of administration to reunite his people and restore order across his lands poly lets me have a go at carving my own piece of uncle history yo Murray and then manage it all make it all my junk junk like weak boy don't nap chang-jung your move the time we look around you but bad its fact you don't even tell me yet but did I try yeah yeah I hope I don't break something you actually get quite good control yeah this is the perfect tool it's so peaceful here it's hard to imagine that eight hundred years ago it was a hive of activity scholars visiting from all over the region local farmers paying their taxes and officials making crucial decisions about matters of state it's like a Temple University and government ministry all rolled into one the ancient Khmer relied on its temples as gateways to manage its almost 1 million strong populace under which the Empire thrived and the result was the building of one of the most iconic structures of all time I'm exploring the rise of the unko Empire and at last my journey brings me here the largest religious monument in the world uncle what built almost 900 years ago the temples design mimics the Hindu universe with the five towers representing the peaks of Mount Meru home of the Hindu gods under which it said king surah Varman ii was laid to rest in 1150 I've been here so many times but it just never ceases to move me in this very deep way surrounding the temple is an enormous moat that symbolizes the Hindu sea of creation but it also holds a secret that helped structure withstand the cycle of flood and drought to learn more I'm speaking to archeologists socrata M who has studied this feat of architecture for 20 years this mode is so beautiful and it is so huge can you tell me more about it yes yes you are right beautiful in India no landscape but also there are practical the mode asked the men to degrease the present pulls out from the heavy structure without this mode uncle what will collapse I find that so incredible it just looks like this very beautiful lake and you'd never imagined that it had this really important function but it wasn't just masterful engineering that made this mega structure possible we have enough population enough Sakata me in a resource and human capacity so all these things combined at the right time to create this incredible monument yes Angkor Wat is an engineering masterpiece it looks a part of a sacred Hindu temple but there are also all these things going on which have helped realize this enormous structure I would never have imagined that to build something so high you needed to worry about the underground water table but they were so good at managing and storing water that they found this very elegant design solution that also ticked the box of religious symbolism it's pure genius but that just scratches the surface of this incredible structure inside the compound is further evidence of the ancient Khmer artistic skill decorative stonework and visit carvings that bring the past to life including the mighty king surya Vaman ii in whose honor the temple was built he seated on this grand strong with all these symbols of his kingship just look at him this is really a very wealthy and powerful King further down the corridor is another iconic scene that tells us something about the uncle Empire of the day here is the khmer army and their allies heading into battle with their longtime enemy to the east the dive yet that depicts all these kings on elephants from the satellite states surrounding our course it emphasizes Sri Obama in the seconds power that he was able to muster all these forces from the states around him towards this attack against the die via these carvings are a testament to uncle's might but the majority of the carvings here aren't about the empire at all instead they tell stories of Hindu cosmology that shed a light on the inner beliefs of its people now this is simply spectacular possibly the most iconic bas-relief in Angkor Wat this is a massive 49 meter heavenly tug-of-war between good and evil above look at all these ups Aras or celestial dancers springing out from the ocean there are more than 2,000 up Sara's carved into the walls of Angkor Wat images that have found new meaning in modern Cambodia this Apsara dance is a modern adaptation inspired by the imagery found at Cambodia's most famous temple this is really stunning it's as though the carvings have come to life the joy is in observing the slightest movements which speak volumes while the original dance is said to have begun in the seventh century the closest we can come to it today is through these modern re-imaginings it's one of the most popular dances in Cambodia I'm going to learn what all the movements mean it's mean this is a sign yes I'm saying in pain oh wow this is crying yes quite the makeup and ever I feel like a clumsy will be among the up Zara's the agenda cry go Vanita halftime oh this is flying yes Oh flying I think if they let go I'm gonna fall and after the Angels Flight it's time to come down oh hi Jim look at our item what could I buy buying by a company when I think so this is arriving the final pose we've landed back to her that was amazing thank you what I've learned is that it's very difficult mommy means that as I'm con man when I booked him it's not good Jeanette there's a line Robert or blink John went our way and throw throws all about come on I'm and don't like mad mom thank you so much thank you thank you what's so interesting is how important this was for modern Cambodians to create a national identity based on Angkor that everyone could rally behind me by the 12th century uncle was a prosperous city with a thriving culture and it was the rise of a new king with new ideas that pushed the Empire to unprecedented Heights but he also set the stage for its ultimate downfall I'm exploring the last chapter of the great uncle Empire in 1181 a new king to power call jaya farm on the seventh he ordered more building projects than all of his predecessors combined extending the road network further than ever before and expanding the Empire's territory as far as modern-day Myanmar Vietnam and the Malay Peninsula uncle was the uncontested superpower of sally's Asia I'm at the Bayon temple built by king giovanna and the seventh just look at the size of him its famed for its over 200 stone faces said to be the Kings own likeness frozen in eternity as the image of the Buddha julia is dev an expert of ancient Khmer religion has a theory about the change of faith away from Hinduism which has to do with a mystical sect tantric Buddhism is a secret path that is very strongly populated with secrecy magic forbidden behavior to become enlightened while live so here for example we can see a male ascetic cutting his own fingers with a knife yes yes either into the fire this could be yes a very good illustration of these two behaviors that a tantric Buddhism is the practicing these forbidden rituals were designed to reaffirm King Giovanna and the sevenths connection to the divine it attracts fear and also respect and it gives extreme magical powers so he was playing with fire but it helped him achieve this aura which no other King could manage before yes giant Varman the seventh built this magnificent temple with these faces one of the most recognizable images of the unco empire in order to enhance his claim to power the King put himself as a god of a new kind of state religion full of rituals mantras and magic it was a very clever tactical move and it worked thanks to his political move to embrace tantric Buddhism Jive arm and the seventh enjoyed a golden ring but the move away from Hinduism had repercussions a hundred years later Hindu hardliners rebelled in the late 13th century destroying the Buddhist temples of state and dividing the Empire from within you it was then that a powerful enemy from the West made their move in 1431 uncle was attacked by a new force the kingdom of a UTI after a seven-month siege a UTSA army ransacked the city taking close to a hundred thousand prisoners and several tons of gold so came the sudden end of the great-uncle Empire but new research is showing that this was the final blow in a long decline archaeologist Miriam Stark is looking back in time for clues about life here in the 13th century the closing years of the uncle Empire you take a trowel okay and you can scrape around the back here around the front very gently and see if you can expose this try not to break the shot from doing a good job there so we think these are residential areas we're finding all kinds of artifacts and materials that suggest household activity cooking eating we have animal bones I see so this is sort of domestic trash we like to say domestic debris it sounds a little more polite yep now why don't you stop for a minute and just gently with your hands wiggle it and then you can look at it mm-hmm it's beautiful it's just amazing to pull out something just from a shallow pit like this which is so ancient next the shard is washed and it's beginning to show itself for the first time in 800 years yeah that looks fantastic so it has these wonderful mottled colors you see green you see Browns it's almost abstract yeah we called this a brown glaze so it's really high fired we don't often find such large pieces like this so it's really special archeologists Allison Carter is piecing together these shards to build a picture of what was going on in the Angkor Empire we start seeing a decline in the number of ceramics that we find and that tells us that there are probably fewer people living in that area but this population declined didn't just count at the end of the Empire in the 15th century but much earlier than previously thought the kind of punk were actually seems to be taking maybe a couple centuries and there's a lot of different factors that are part of that religious change and socio-political change and even climatic change so this is revealing that people were leaving uncle way before the official end of the empire right exactly as ocean-going technology improved maritime trade between China and India increased pooling economic activity and people away from Hong Kong with less people and money the city's elaborate system of reservoirs and canals filled up with silt and became ineffective leaving uncaught devastated by two mega droughts each of which lasted decades unable to recover uncle was left to ruin reclaimed by the jungle but after its rediscovery in 1860 the city of Angkor has been given a new lease of life as the heart of Cambodian identity it's are these Asia's biggest tourists raw visited by over two million people each year this is putting a strain on the city's resources and bringing a whole new problem litter but its residents are coming together to conserve their symbol of national pride I'm joining sopia a local hotel worker who is volunteering to clean up the modern city of Siem Reap straw a lot of straws plastic spoons oh my god a battery it's quite fun to be out here and I love cleaning up so this is really my kind of activity what do you think about cleanup projects like this I think we must do it every day and every week right now is time to change we stop using plastic that we trying to clean more and more to keep our environment clean and great so we've been picking trash down the stretch of road and this is just my hole it is so heavy clearly people who live and work around here want to see a much cleaner seem real while the volunteers are busy cleaning up the ancient city I'm getting a taste of a vibrant living tradition once a necessity of life in Angkor this Khmer pastime is kept alive through a much-loved national celebration the annual Dragon Boat Race it takes place every November at the end of the rainy season this team of local farmers is busy training for the race their captain mummy is giving me tips on how to paddle like a real uncle man the more you chew go throw wheel chair you could include somebody you're throwing to watch a key thing off by Malucci no dude I can flip it mine okay before noon somebody I'm trudging back to so basically follow instructions keep the momentum and don't fall off this unique paddling style was a technique used in battle by the ancient Khmer army giving rowers more power I love how this competition brings everybody in the village together it's such a community effort it's so wonderful to learn that such a vibrant festival has its roots in a battle that took place almost 800 years ago during the Angkor Empire and the fact that Cambodia's biggest festival is based around the annual water cycles shows how much it's still in the heart of the nation psyche I've seen how for eons life in Cambodia has been defined by water and the ability to store and control it enable the empire to grow and flourish to unprecedented Heights the Angkor Empire found itself in challenging conditions on the edge of flood plains where water levels could rise as much as 10 meters high but these harsh conditions also Prime their skills to survive and build dazzling structures which remain to this day while unko has become a world icon of Southeast Asian history to the Cambodian people it remains a beacon of their past glory on which they build their modern identity and nation

Channel: CNA Insider

Views: 3,437,281

Rating: 4.7200952 out of 5

Keywords: cna insider, cna insider documentaries, cna mark of empire, history, empire, Peter Lee, bangkok, paris, yt:cc=on, travel, southeast asia, kingdom, cambodia, angkor wat, khmer, angkor, asia, asian history, CNA, asian stories, ancient civilisation, asian civilisation, CNA documentary

Id: EQYJ8-o1K0w

Length: 45min 39sec (2739 seconds)

Published: Sun May 31 2020