13세기 말 元朝 학자의 눈에 비친 南國 - 周達觀의 ≪眞臘風土記≫

Abstract

This study is based on a comparison of the book printing, literature reorganization, phrasebook commentary, historical evidence, and culture of the 《A record of Travel to Zhenla》 written by Zhou Daguan, scholar of the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century, after staying in Cambodia for about a year. Zhou Daguan(1266~1346) is from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province of China, and has a lot of experience in sailing and rich in learning. He departed from Wenzhou Port in 1296 under the command of King Seongjong of the Yuan Dynasty, arrived at Angkor, the capital of ‘Zhenla’ that year, stayed for about a year, and returned to China in 1297. 《A record of Travel to Zhenla》 is a travel document written immediately after returning to China. It is not processed to process existing data, but is a survey report that records details of what he saw, heard, and observed, so it is highly valuable for folklore studies in medieval Cambodia, where little material remains. It is an important document for understanding the traditional Cambodian society before the modern era, as it contains detailed descriptions of Cambodia’s politics, economy, and society at the end of the 13th century, as well as daily life from the king to the lower class, as well as the naval and Tang migrants. It can be counted as an important source for understanding the current Khmer Empire. China has not a few travel-related works, but only a handful of them were published during the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, and most of them centered on the western part of North China-Mongolia- Afghanistan. 《A record of Travel to Zhenla》 is the first travel document recorded by traveling to ‘Zhenla’(Cambodia) in Southeast Asia, and a description of the name and place of ‘Zhenla’ and a record and a fortress (Angkor Tom), costumes, officials, religion, pregnant women, disease, death, farming, childbirth, trade, carts, villages, baths, and the king’s journey. In addition, 《A record of Travel to Zhenla》 contains a wide range of contents, from the appearance of the courts and nobles to the lower class. Since there are no domestic documents related to the Angkor period, 《A record of Travel to Zhenla》 is of valuable data.