Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c43: Chapter XXXVI: The Architecture of Greater India: (1) Cambodia
Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c43
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Chapter XXXVI: The Architecture of Greater India: (1) Cambodia
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THE ARCHITECTURE OF GREATER INDIA
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THE previous chapters of this work have confined themselves entirely to the architectural productions contained within the strict geographical limits of the peninsula of India itself. But it has been truly observed that "to know Indian art in India alone, is to know but half its story."¹ For with the impulse mainly provided by the indigenous religions of the Indian people, Hinduism and Buddhism, the civilization and culture of India, together with the arts that these inspired, were carried eastwards into several of the great countries of Asia, there to flourish in some respects, with a more sustained vigour, than in the country of their origin. In the field of architecture, specifically, this movement led to the creation of large groups of buildings of marked significance, several of which, basically in the Indian tradition, are of such remarkable character and stupendous proportions as to equal any in the Western world This eastern development of the religious, social and even material life of India spread over a large region in the south-central portions of the continent corresponding to what are now the countries of Siam, French Indo-China, Java and Bali, Malaya and Sumatra, all of which for the present purpose have been grouped under the designation of "Greater India."
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¹ Sir John Marshall in the Foreword to Dr. le May's "*Buddhist Art in Siam*," Cambridge, 1938.
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The approach from India to these lands beyond the seas, was made from more than one direction, but was mainly maritime, from an early date ships sailing due east from ports on the Coromandel Coast crossed the Bay of Bengal to arrive at the nearest landfall in the Malay peninsula. This point was what is now known as the Isthmus of Kra, where, disembarking at Takuapa, the immigrants traversed the narrow neck of the peninsula to the Bay of Bandon in lower Siam. Again taking to the sea—the Gulf of Siam—they fanned out north-easterly to Champa, now Annam, believed to be one of the earliest of these settlements, and south-easterly to Java, and Banka (Sumatra).² Others, of a more adventurous disposition, may have taken the longer sea route through the Straits of Malacca, and so in this manner eventually reached the island of Java In addition to this approach by sea there are evidences of a penetration by land from the direction of Bengal, and Assam through Burma, down the great rivers into northern Siam, and so into the regions beyond.
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² Prof. G Coedes in *Indian Art and Letters*, Vol II, 1928, and Vol, IV 1930.
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Such is the generally accepted view, based largely on legendary evidence and supported in a lesser degree by inscriptional testimony, that the Indianization of these lands was brought about by immigration, whereby colonial organizations were founded and developed, with the result that the light of India's culture was communicated wherever these were established. On the other hand another aspect of this expansion may be considered. Religion, and that was the basis of the movement, has no frontiers, and so probably owing to the power and impulse of Buddhism, in the first instance, a racial and cultural drift ensued, gradually penetrating into the whole of this portion of Asia, together with the civilization that accompanied it. This may have taken the form of a slow but persistent infiltration eastwards, often along the valleys of the great waterways on account of easier progress. At times this peaceful penetration came into contact with races having definite art instincts, either a folk art, or, on occasion, an indigenous aesthetic sense of some character, but being recorded in impermanent materials no actual remains have survived. The traditions however of this aboriginal art show their traces in that which the intruding movement superimposed on them, and which was subsequently so highly developed That the inhabitants of these parts were receptively inclined and so prepared for such influences is clear from the primitive conditions under which many of them lived, all that was needed was some incentive of this kind to stimulate their progress in the natural course of evolution.
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Here may be mentioned the historical fact that at this period intercourse between different peoples, was not only regionally but universally very prevalent. For in the first millennium, and particularly during the earlier centuries, there appears to have arisen a world-wide movement on the part of individuals and groups, who journeyed from one country to another, a condition largely due to a state of spiritual unrest There was a marked coming and going of pilgrims, of missionaries, of searchers in quest of ideals, impelled by some mysterious urge which carried them over immense distances and sustained them over long intervals of time. In the West, these were the means by which Christianity, and all that it implied was conveyed from Asia to the northern countries of Europe, while in much the same manner in the Middle East, inspired by Buddhism, the religio-culture of India was communicated to the distant regions of Asia. The famous Chinese pilgrims who spent years travelling to the holy lands of Buddhism are a case in point, and there are doubtless many others of whom no records remain. Some of these were intellectual men who brought with them ideas on art and architecture and kindred subjects which left a permanent impress on the countries in which they often sojourned for a considerable time
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But whatever the process which brought about the extension of the Indian religions and much of the social structure of its people eastwards, its force was great and its results even greater. So much so that it was sufficient to inspire at least two races, the Khmers of Cambodia, and the inhabitants of Java, to produce monuments consecrated to the Indian religions and in the Indian tradition, which exceed in size and magnificence anything of a similar order in the land of India itself Of these two countries, Java being an island, the building art for which it became famed, was limited by its geographical boundaries, so that its effect on the architecture of this region as a whole was restricted. But the country of Cambodia, lying on the mainland, the influence of the Khmer style of architecture extended over the entire peninsula of Indo-China and even beyond. The historical progress of the building art of the Khmers, having wider implications, will accordingly be dealt with first.
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The rise, development, architectural accomplishments, and final dissolution of the Khmers of Cambodia is one of the most remarkable and dramatic episodes in the history of Asia. And the record of their greatness is proved by the size and number of their structural productions. These cannot by any means be described as the result of an Indian colonial settlement, nor the expression of a talented few, but that of a large cultured, organised, and technically qualified race of people. From a relatively insignificant tribe of aborigines, settled on the lower reaches of the Mekong early in the Christian era, in the country of a few hundred years, the Khmers emerged as a nation of mighty warriors, who founded a powerful empire, evolved a civilization of marked intellectuality and refinement, and above all, created a style of architecture having outstanding character and expressed by monuments of such magnitude that in the words of the renowned authority Fergusson, they figure as "one of the greatest building races of the world." Such is a brief outline of the development of the Cambodians up to the twelfth century. Then, equally dramatically, in the thirteenth century came their dissolution, followed by their complete disappearance from the country they had so magnificently ruled. For after consolidating over a large region their imperial power with its enlightened administrative and social system, they were over-run by the Siamese (Thais) and dispersed, forced to abandon their possessions, to desert their cities, palaces and temples, and to leave their architectural monuments to be swallowed up and obliterated by the tropical vegetation and other devastating forces of nature. So completely was this effacement effected that for some four hundred years this once influential empire and its vast structural undertakings were lost to sight as if they had never existed, they passed beyond human ken unknown and forgotten even by the people of the continent in which they had so magnificently flourished During this long period, unchecked, silently, slowly, but with deadly persistence, the sinuous roots of the jungle trees laboured to disintegrate the material proofs of its one time proud glories, built up after centuries of patient endeavour. In one instance, the temple of Angkor Vat, referred to by an authority as "one of the greatest, if not the greatest work of man standing" it seems as if nature, jealous of such an incomparable example of human handiwork, finding it left unguarded, threw a dense screen of vegetation around it and under its cover proceeded remorselessly to tear it to pieces Fortunately complete destruction has been stayed, as by little more than mere chance what remained of these monuments was brought to light. For, as late as the year 1858, a French naturalist¹ while exploring the impenetrable forests surrounding the Mekong and Menam rivers, stumbled on the vast complex of ruins comprising the city of Angkor, the Khmer capital, and from this accidental discovery, the significance of the Cambodian empire, and the grandeur of its building creations became revealed. But so recently has this disclosure been made, that in spite of an intensive study of these remains by eminent scholars, a number of problems relating to the sequence of events in the history of the Khmers, and especially those regarding the founders and dates of their buildings, still await accurate solution
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¹ Henri Mouhot. He died shortly afterwards, but his name should be remembered. See *Introduction a la Connaissanse d' Angkor* by the late Victor Goloubew.
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Racially the Khmers were the result of a fusion of the "aborigines of Indo-China with Aryan and Mongolian invaders" and derived their name from the Hindu Kambu, the mythical founder of their race, hence Kambuja, with its European form Cambodia. The actual beginnings of the Khmer empire date from the second half of the sixth century A D but there are records of the Khmers much earlier than this time, when they occupied the town of Angkor Borai, or Vyadhapura, on the lower reaches of the Mekong river in Southern Cambodia During the primitive period Brahmanism and the Sanskrit language were introduced, and probably due to this civilizing influence, under a rule of the name of Srutavarman about the fifth century the Khmers assumed some prominence as a growing power. Apart, however, from the inspiration caused by the spread of this culture, such a contact was bound to have an effect on their spiritual, intellectual, and physical activities, conditions which expressed themselves notably in the art of building so that a brief reference to the life of the people, together with their aspirations, appears to be a necessary preliminary to a study of their architectural ideals, and, subsequently, to their interpretation of these in structural form
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From an account by one of those ubiquitous Chinese travellers who spent much of their lives in visiting the countries of Asia during the early and middle ages some idea of the conditions that prevailed at Angkor when the Cambodian kingdom was at the height of its power becomes possible It may be inferred from a description by Tcheou Ta-kouan² who sojourned there towards the end of the thirteenth century, that the Khmers were resolved into two social strata, ethnologically widely separated, consisting of a high caste ruling class on the one hand, and the aborigines of the country on the other. Such a state recalls that which existed in India when that country was becoming populated by the Indo-Aryans In Cambodia the ruling class was evidently composed of people of refinement and marked intellectual ability with notable cultural aspirations, while the indigenous inhabitants were merely "hewers of wood and drawers of water." The former, with their vision and perceptive minds, conceived the architectural schemes which are the surviving records of their rule, and being endowed with supreme power these were materialized by exploiting the original race in a manner not far removed from slavery. But between these two extremes of human strata there must have been a large and very vital community corresponding to a middle class, in all respects superior to the unskilled labour mentioned above, from whom were recruited, among others, the artists, craftsmen, designers, the master masons and the numerous skilled personnel who would be an essential factor in the production of such superb examples of architecture and the plastic art.
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² *Record of the Customs of Cambodia*, translated by Pelliot. B. E F. E. O. 1902.
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Here a study of the monuments themselves may throw light on this aspect of the subject. For the walls of these buildings are engraved with a long series of pictures in bas-relief illustrating scenes from the rich mythology of India, and from the Hindu religion, in detail and in technique equal to if not excelling anything the Indian sculptors ever produced. But although conceived in the Indian tradition, they are staged in a Cambodian setting, much as if, a western parallel, episodes from the Old Testament were depicted in an environment similar to that of the "Field of the Cloth of Gold," the famous historical pageant which took place in France in 1520 The result is that we are not only presented with Khmer interpretations Indian themes, but, incorporated with these, there runs throughout the entire series the physical and spiritual pattern of Cambodian life during its most dynamic period. And from the evidence so graphically provided it seems implicit that to the Khmers a sensitiveness to art was even something more than a matter of common interest, it was the essence of life itself, the breath of their existence. With such aesthetic perceptions it is not therefore surprising that this element in their racial consciousness manifested itself in all forms of art, specially the building art, and in the raising of grand architectural monuments, as the Cambodian remains are abundant proof.
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And in the same manner that an appreciation of art and beauty entered so fully into the rhythm of their lives so did their religious belief, for not only are the majority of their buildings dedicated to the prevailing divinity, Buddhist or Brahmanical, as they worshipped at the shrines of both, but they embodied in these structures the same thought, piety, spirituality, and workmanship that moved the builders of the Gothic cathedrals in Europe at a slightly later date. For the meridian of the architecture of the Khmers was attained towards the 12th century, so that at this point such a significant movement appears to merit reference to outstanding building accomplishments in other lands, in order that the architecture of Cambodia may be compared to, or related historically with, correspondingly great phases of the building art.
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In India the important art of rock architecture which is one of the main features of the country's technique, had produced its finest achievement in the Kailasa at Ellora in the eighth century, much earlier than the Cambodian apogee, which at this time was only at the beginning of its classical development. Slightly previous also to the culminating century of the Khmers, were the two large temples of the Cholas in Southern India, at Tanjore and Gangaïkondacholapuram, both erected in the first quarter of the eleventh century. Much further west, in Asia Minor, contemporaneously with the Cambodian movement but inspired by very different ideals, the rulers of the Seljuks were raising Islamic palaces, fortresses and mosques of a specialized character of which the Qutub Minar at Delhi dated A.D. 1200 is a distant Indianized interpretation. Turning to Europe the eventful era of cathedral building was being initiated, with the Gothic style in England assuming the form known as Early English (12th-13th centuries). And here one cannot fail to be struck by the manner in which destiny affected the two movements, the Gothic and the Cambodian, as the subsequent history of both conclusively reveals. Whereas the Gothic cathedrals gradually evolved eventually to become outstanding records of the spiritual life and to exist as permanent possessions of mankind, while these majestic monuments were rising in their rich beauty in all the important cities of the West, the immense temples and proud cities of the Khmers, deserted and forsaken were crumbling to ruin under the devastating encroachment of the tropical forest. Where the Gothic movement signifies a great and momentous episode, not only in the history of architecture but in the building of character, the vast structural schemes of the Cambodians remains only to display the ruined and empty splendour of their prime
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In viewing the wide range of building undertakings attributed to the Khmers during the period of their domination the magnitude of the labour involved, and the amount of material required are astonishing. The layout, excavation, preparation of the foundations, the quarrying of the stone, the transport, the shaping of the blocks, and the mason-craft all these imply, must have been prodigious Moreover these operations were evidently maintained at full strength for several hundred years, necessitating a large and efficient organization and the regular employment of an immense amount of skilled and unskilled labour. For such purposes a very considerable proportion of the population must have been directly or indirectly engaged on these stupendous building enterprises, so that the development of the building art in Cambodia postulates a mass concentration of constructional sensibility almost without precedent. When in addition to this preliminary process the architectural and plastic manipulation of the building material so laboriously won from the distant quarries is studied, some idea of the high standards achieved by the Khmer craftsmen may be realized. It should be noted however that in their constructional practice the masons displayed no special mechanical aptitude, for instance the system of the true arch was not employed, the bridging of spaces being effected by means of the beam or lintel, although in certain parts of the buildings, as for example in the curved roofs of the corridors, an arcuate treatment may be detected, but this effect was obtained by oversailing course, and not by the scientific method of voussoirs Further, the masonry, was of the "dry" order, no adhesive such as mortar or cement being introduced, so that in their building technique, the structural principles put into effect by the Khmers corresponded in several essential particulars to those prevailing at this time in India. But if the constructional procedure was not according to that being developed in Western countries, on the other hand the artistic character of the architecture of Cambodia has been accorded high praise In the words of one writer the Khmers possessed "the imagination of the Gothic worker, the gift for harmonious charm of the Greek, the power of the Renaissance craftsman, and the prodigality and wealth of ideas that can exist only in the East."¹
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¹ *Angkor Ruins in Cambodia* by Jeanneret de Burski.
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It has been remarked however that although this aesthetic sense was distinctly pronounced, the Khmers never seem to have been aware of the fact that their constructional ability was not of an equal order. Yet in spite of many technical failings, the buildings, after being subjected to such adverse climatic conditions and other stresses, have on the whole preserved much of their original appearance in a most remarkable manner. That they are seriously ruined is obvious, but following centuries of neglect accompanied by year after year of uncontrolled devastation from jungle growth, they show by their condition, deplorable though this may be, that the Khmers built better than they knew. The materials employed consisted mainly of stone supplemented by a certain amount of brickwork. Two varieties of stone were favoured, laterite mainly for the foundations, and [Figure: DETAILS OF WAHALKADA OR OFFSET
(1) VIEW IN PERSPECTIVE
(2) ELEVATION
(3) PLAN
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Nepal : Temple of Changu-Narayan.
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Wata Dage Temple, Polonnaruwawa, Ceylon
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CAPITAL OF PILLAR FROM THE ENTRANCE PORTICO
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KOTA KAERAELLA (PINNACLE) SAT, UMBRELLA OR CHATTA KOTA DEVATA KOTUWA HATARAES KOTUWA GAEBA TUN-MAL PESAWA OR PESA-WALALLU (BASAL PLATFORM) WAHALKADA
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BRICK DOME UPPER PLATFORM MIDDLE PLATFORM LOWEST PLATFORM RELIC CHAMBER
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GENERAL VIEW OF THE RUWANWAELI DAGABA AT ANURADHAPURA CEYLON, 2ND CENT. B.C.
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LANKATILAKA (JETAWANARAMA) TEMPLE AT POLONNARUWA, CEYLON. 12TH CENTURY A D. P.B.
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CONJECTURAL SUPERSTRUCTURE OF WOOD, BRICK AND PLASTER OVER STONE PILLARS IN CEYLON
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PILASTER FROM NORTHERN TEMPLE
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FROM POLONNARUWA
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sandstone for the walls. Both these were obtained from quarries located some 35 miles southeast of the capital, and conveyed to their destination in blocks, partly by waterway and partly by road. The bricks were well made and kiln fired, the average measurements in inches being 10×5×2, a size which corresponds very nearly to those being used in Southern Europe at about the same date
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Throughout the course of their history extending over some nine centuries, the first three hundred years from A D., 500 to 800, during which the Cambodian Empire was in process of formation, may be referred to as the Early Period. Then ensued some four and a half centuries, from A D., 800 to 1250, leading up to and including what may be termed the Classical Period. After the thirteenth century, as far as the building art is concerned, there is little to record, and this therefore signifies the finale Such long periods as those designated above may be simplified for the purposes of study by being sub-divided into a succession of phases, according to the following table which gives the stages of development from the time when the Khmers dwelt in huts on piles, through the period of their greatness to that final effort when fantastic giant forms heralded the end.
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| (1) Up to A.D. 500 Prehistoric Phase (2) A.D. 500 to 800 Primitive Phase | } | Early Period. |
| (3) A.D. 800 to 1000 Formative Phase (4) A.D. 1000 to 1100 Foundations of Classical Phase (5) A.D. 1100 to 1200 Culmination of Classical Phase (6) A.D. 1200 to 1250 Flamboyant or Baroque Phase | } | Classical Period. |
| (7) A.D. 1350 Decline (8) A.D. 1431, End, conquered by Thais (Siamese) | } | Finale. |
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The table indicates that the art of Cambodia reached its meridian in the twelfth century, a century of marked architectural activity, distinguished by numerous notable building undertakings, but particularly by the erection of the temple of Angkor Vat, the grandest achievement of the Khmer builders. But before this architectural culmination was attained, the building art progressed logically through its various stages of development beginning with what has been referred to as the Prehistoric Phase. Of this initial period few material records have survived, but from the subsequent character of their buildings, it is surmised that the early Khmers, living on low ground raised their huts above the swamp of the delta by means of horizontal layers of logs readily obtained from the exuberant forest growth in their vicinity. This primitive system was so indelibly impressed on their consciousness that it survives in the distinctive parallel course of torus mouldings forming the excessively high plinths characteristic of the stone structures at a much later date. Moreover that these original habitations were roofed with terracotta tiles arranged on a flexured slope with transverse runnels to carry off heavy rain, is also evident from the same method, but copied in stone, being employed to roof the corridors of the more sophisticated buildings which followed. Then the abnormally steep staircases leading from terrace to terrace in these later edifices seem to be reminiscent of the ladder-like flights of steps peculiar to wooden houses elevated on piles. Other rudimentary elements may be identified, subsequently converted into elegant stone features, but these are some of the main evidences associating the Khmers, in their prehistoric existence, with timber-built dwellings raised above the low-lying deltaic region of the Mekong.
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From this elementary beginning an advance may be recorded, for about the fifth or sixth centuries A.D. what may be termed the Indianization of the Khmers seems to have taken place, when the Primitive Phase (A.D. 500 to 800) of the Early Period comes into view. Of this stage of development also actual remains are rare, but it is possible that under the influence of Indian culture, buildings of a more substantial nature were erected, and were distributed over a wider area, as the power of the Khmers became more extended. In place of the wooden abodes of the previous period, brick construction was favoured, of which several examples believed to be of this period have been identified. Among these the temple of Tat Panom on the Mekong, although rather distant from the original settlement, may be a clue to the progress of the building art at this stage. Presumed to date from "the sixth or seventh century A.D., at the latest," it is a Buddhist structure, built "of large rectangular red bricks" with the lower story containing a series of carvings in bas-relief of a pronounced Indian character, "a link with the Amaravati school."¹ Here it is worthy of note that about the same time, in India, there was a brick building, Hindu and Buddhist, the technical features of which, such as carving and modelling in brick and terracotta, were not dissimilar from those found at Tat Panom. Among the Indian examples, a temple at Bhitagaon of the fifth century and, more important still, the great Buddhist shrine at Budh Gaya, while, at a later date, the brick temples at Raipur, are all illustrations of this structural method, which may have some bearing on the contemporary development of the brick technique in Cambodia. Such evidences, it is admitted, are however slight, but firmer ground is encountered when the next phase, that referred to as the "Formative" comes to be studied.
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¹ Dr. le May in *Buddhist Art in Siam*, pp. 59, 60. Cambridge 1938
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Marking the first stage of the Classical Period, the Formative Phase comprising the two centuries from A.D. 800 to 1000, this opens with a decisive event in the history of the Khmers. For when the king Jayavarman II (802-854) transferred the centre of his rapidly expanding dominions to Angkor, a site on the Mekong near the lake of Tonle-Sap, he not only planned the creation of a capital city, but also began the process of consolidating the empire. This ruler has left behind him the reputation of an ardent builder—a royal palace and important temples being his architectural contributions to the rising metropolis of the Khmers, but particulars of these await exploration. On the other hand, rather later, towards the end of the ninth century, a successor, Yesovarman I (889-910), either re-constituted the original capital or established another on its site which he named Yasodharapura, now only defined by mounds and other extensive remains hitherto unidentified. But some idea of its extent and arrangements have been obtained by an aerial survey, which shows that the quality of spaciousness, afterwards a notable characteristic of the subsequent architectural creations, was in process of germination. For the hill of Phnom Bakheng marking the original temple of the city, indicates the geometric centre of a rectangle about ten square miles in area, with the remains of a wide moat on the west and south sides, while on the east it was aligned parallel to the main city gate. The city temple, the focus of the scheme, raised on an eminence was contained with a walled rectangle having a cruciform terrace in front of the ramp and a stairway leading to its entrance on the east. From a square space which probably corresponded to a forum, or ceremonial parade ground, main roads radiated symmetrically in four directions connecting with the city gates, thus dividing the whole city into four wards each reserved for and inhabited by a certain class of citizen. In addition therefore to the grand dimensions of the layout of this city, it shows a system of town planning in symmetrical lines and rectangles on a broad scale, which seems to have been the ideal underlying most of the Khmers' architectural compositions.
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Yet all that is visible of Yasovarman's capital of Cambodia of the ninth century at the present day is an immense area of mounds and plantations, under the surface of which lie the remains of this once great city. Such complete obliteration leaves no material record of the architectural style that comprised this civic scheme, but fortunately several detached buildings, away from the site of the capital, provide sufficient evidence to enable this to be visualized Among these are the temples of Mébon, Pré Rup, and Banteay Srei, the last named, although small, is in many respects a typical example of its kind. Known to have been erected in A.D. 969, during the reign of Jayavarman V (965-1002), when the empire was beginning to become conscious of its power and domination, the temple of Banteay Srei, situated fifteen miles from Angkor, represents in every one of its sculptural stones that effort to obtain supreme richness in architectural design which is not infrequently indulged in by handicraftsmen and encouraged by their patrons in the orient As elaborate in its plan as in its plastic decoration, this temple suggests a stage in the evolution of the building art when this calling was largely in the hands of sculptors rather than in those of masons, although even if this should be the case, as a miniature replica of a larger original built in the grand manner it implies definite architectural knowledge and structural experience. If the buildings buried under the mounds and swamps marking the destroyed capital were of the same order, then this phase of the architectural development in Cambodia must have been rich in the extreme. The temple of Banteay Srei formerly named Isvarapura, consists of an assembly of several buildings comprising three shrines or sanctuaries with two other structures presumed to have been libraries or rooms for vestments, the principal external feature of the scheme as a whole being the grouping of its three towers and their architectural treatment. These towers or sikharas, show an originality in their design and a marked play of imagination in the shape of the curved arches over the doors and alcoves, elements repeated on the face of each story, the entire conception being so freshly ingenious as to bear but little relation to the sikharas of temples in any part of India (Plate CLIX).
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With the long reign of Jayavarman's successor Suryavarman I, who ruled the empire for nearly the whole of the first half of the eleventh century, the foundations of the building art of the Khmers were well and truly laid, so that this century may be said to denote the Foundational Phase of the Classical Period. During this king's reign the city of Angkor Thom, the existing capital, was planned and built, an undertaking of great significance in the history of architecture in Cambodia. The establishment of this imperial seat of the Khmers on such a permanent basis, with its walls 22 ft. high having a perimeter of 7½ miles, containing magnificent buildings grouped around the pyramidal temple of Baphuon, was in itself a notable achievement, and not unlike other royal enterprises it had the effect of stimulating the architectural ambitions of the people to a remarkable degree. For the remains of buildings of note dating from this period within the vicinity of Angkor are in themselves sufficient to establish the artistic reputation of any people and any age These are however only a portion of the whole, for distributed with a lavish hand over a large part of the peninsula of Indo-China, a number approaching a thousand structures of note has been listed, either examples of the building art of the Khmers or of a character associating them with that style Such a wide extent of low-lying country over which these buildings were dispersed naturally led to a system of built-up causeways with ornamental bridges and other means of direct communication, paved throughout not unlike those of the Romans, which with canals, waterways and other irrigational projects indicate that the Khmers were possessed of no little engineering knowledge and experience, while they also postulate that Cambodia teemed with active life and had attained a civilization of a standard unknown at the present time It is not however certain that all this building construction and these technical and mechanical enterprises of works of public utility relate to the eleventh century only, but it is not improbable that they were largely inspired by Suryavarman with his conception of an imperial capital worthy of the empire and the aspirations of the people he ruled The grand scale of the city is a proof that this monarch was gifted with preception, great ideas, and resources sufficient to enable his plans to be materialized Apart from the dimensions mentioned above, the Cambodian capital was surrounded by a moat 300 feet wide over which were thrown five bridges connecting with the five entrance gates, the most imposing of which, the Gate of Victory, cruciform in plan, led to the Palace a large building confronted with an extensive enclosure, the terraced walls sculptured with figures of elephants Another great structure was the pyramidal temple of Phimeanakas its elevational effect being produced by a series of ascending terraces which together with other structures all in the impressive architectural styles of the time, each made a notable contribution to this vast imperial undertaking.
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But fully to appreciate the building art of the Khmers at its apogee, the architecture of the succeeding century, that of the twelfth, and here referred to as the "Culmination of the Classical Phase" should be studied This century in Cambodia was one of marked constructional activity, and several important buildings were erected, but one edifice, of such a monumental character as to stand out above all others, is the temple of Angkor Vat, considered to be the largest and most impressive stone temple in existence. This magnificent architectural composition was the conception of King Suryavarman II (1112-1151) during whose reign the main part of it was constructed, the final completion, however, for it was a huge building project, being due to his successor King Dharanindravarman II (1152-1181) The name Angkor is a corruption of the Sanskrit "Nagara," meaning city, or capital, while "Vat" is a relatively modern Siamese name for any Buddhist building, so that the Angkor Vat is the "City Temple" or "Grand Cathedral" of the Khmers. Originally consecrated to the Hindu deity Vishnu, whose image was installed in the adytum, at a later date, believed to have been under King Jaiyavarman VII (1181-1201), the last of the great Cambodian rulers, it was adapted to Buddhism.
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Situated about one mile towards the south of the walled capital of Angkor Thom, too spacious even to be located within its ample perimeter, the principal approach, instead of being as was the custom from the east, is from the west, to bring it into alignment with the royal city. No doubt partly for the sentimental reason of isolating the great sacred pile from the material world, as well as with the object of propitiating the Naga spirits, the entire scheme was laid out within an environment of water in the form of an immense moat 650 ft. broad, square in plan, and having a total length of 2½ miles. It is recorded that the vast quantity of earth excavated for this purpose was piled up in the centre of the site to create the massive mound on which the actual temple structure was erected. But this system may also explain the presence of a wide moat surrounding other architectural undertakings of the Khmers, as the soil thus removed provided a substantial foundation to carry the load of a heavy building. In the design of Angkor Vat the only communication across the water barrier of the moat was by means of a bridge supported on piers on the western side and approached by a raised causeway consisting of a broad paved avenue 36 feet across and 1500 feet long elevated seven feet above the ground and bordered on each side by a massive balustrade. As this causeway nears the main building it is expanded into a cruciform terrace raised above the surface of the foundational platform on which the whole temple stands. This immense stone platform is square in plan and considerably over three thousand feet side, in the centre of which the temple gathers itself up into a towering turretted mass. In terminating the approach in such a manner the cruciform terrace thus forms an appropriate prelude to the imposing entrance gateway which immediately confronts it. From here the actual structure begins.
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The entrance portico leading to the temple proper is a finished architectural conception in itself, but none the less it composes with and forms an appropriate contribution to the scheme as a whole. The facade consists of an elaborate storied structure breaking effectively the long lines of the arcaded enclosure, which, with its corridors and corner towers forms the outer perimeter of the entire composition. Interiorly the portico resolves itself into a square plan of pillared halls with two diametrical corridors crossing the rectangle of the central space leaving four open courtyards, one in each angle. These entrance halls are symmetrically grouped on the wide raised terrace, the first of three such courts which, superimposed serve the important purpose of elevating the monumental pile of the main structure above its surroundings. In the open parts of this terrace on each side of the entrance halls small detached shrines have been placed, recalling the *panchayatana*, or five shrine planning of some of the temples of India.
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A stairway, continuing the axial line of the portico ascends to the second terrace, which consists of a platform raised approximately double the height of the first, and contained within another enclosure of pillared corridors having towers (sikharas) at each corner, the whole forming a rectangle of 185 feet by 200 feet side Above this a third terrace rises, approached by a long and steep flight of steps, for the height of this uppermost story is again twice that of the one below and which supports it. At each angle of this terrace, the inner space of which is a square of 130 feet side, is a sikhara, while in the centre is a cella for the accommodation of the deity, above which soars the tall central spire, bringing the total height of the whole structure from the ground to the golden lotus pinnacle to 210 feet.
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From even this brief outline of the temple of Angkor Vat, it may be inferred that the scheme revolves itself into a somewhat complicated composition, but such is not actually the case. On analysis it will be found that, in spite of certain elaborations, it is a comparatively uninvolved arrangement, the plan consisting of a series of rectangles concentrically disposed, while the elevation is a system of superimposed diminishing terraces with the angles emphasized by towers and a larger and higher one in the centre. Orderly and balanced, and logically symmetrical it is readily comprehensible, and from this view alone the Angkor Vat stands out as an architectural masterpiece But there are other and more subtle qualities in this building which raise it above the material plane of mere stone and its physical manipulation by means of immense labour and skill. Its grouping of terraces and halls, colonnades and towers enunciates a profound sense of rhythm which is characteristic of the Khmers as a people and a very real factor in their being. From their art, which is intensely expressive of their life, it is clear that rhythm in all things was their ideal, in the dance, music, their figure drawing, dress and ornament ; but in no aspect of their aesthetic and social environment is this quality more pronounced than in their architecture, as exemplified in the design and composition of the Angkor Vat. In some of its details this building has certain faults of structure, but as a correlation of parts to the whole, in the measured movement of the entire conception, in a word in the cadency of its articulation it has few equals.
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And towards this architectural consummation the artistic and structural treatment of some of the more important elements, so skilfully united, may be individually studied. In such an immense undertaking, and where every constituent part is so experientially worked out and applied, it is not possible to refer to many of these, but some of the more salient may be selected On account of their singular character as well as for their significance in the scheme as a whole, the towers or sikharas of the Cambodian temples merit special reference, those on the Angkor Vat being fully representative of the style The obvious cognate relationship of this form of spire to the sikhara in the Indian temple cannot be overlooked, but there are differences between the two types which in many aspects are fundamental Except for its main outlines and volume conforming to the same structural principles as those employed in the better-known Indo-Aryan examples, the surface manipulation of the Khmer sikhara manifests definitely original attributes. The shape of the Cambodian tower has been likened to a gigantic fir cone and the simile is not an inapt one. Apart from its intentionally aspiring quality the most pronounced feature is its texture, produced by a horizontal system of zoning, and herein lies its resemblance not so much to the Indian style but more to the conventional design of the pagoda as seen in buildings in the Far East, an example of which is a brick structure at Sung Shan (Honan) dated A.D. 523. Here the horizontal courses are emphasized in the same manner as those in the Angkor sikharas, the designers of the latter apparently at some formative stage of their development having looked more to the East than the West for inspiration on this point of detail. On the other hand the fact that the Khmer Sikhara is stellate in section allies it to some of the Dravidian examples in Southern India which assume this distinctive shape. In view of its architectural significance the scheme of the Khmer sikhara may be described more fully. On plan, and in its lower portions, the sikhara is rectangular, although this square shape is interrupted by re-entrant angles, and also on the free sides there are shallow recesses. Rather less than half way up the height, the rectangular base changes in section to become star-shaped and this continues in diminishing zones, usually nine in number, to terminate in a metal crowned finial, the height of the whole being 2½ times the diameter of the square base. The diminishing zones are sharply defined by prominent string courses, also stellate in plan, with wide cavetto intervals between each course These intervals of dark shadow are relieved by a series of semi-detached motifs, not unlike Greek acroteria, known to Indian craftsmen as a *khudu*, an element in miniature derived from the chaitya-arch form of the Buddhists Each zonal cornice is supported on small decorative arches, simulating in some respects the technique of Islamic honeycomb vaulting. The appearance of the whole is rich and animated, an appropriately vibrant treatment to this outstanding feature of the style.
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Another architectural constituent remarkable on account of its originality, is the great depth of the range of torus mouldings, particularly those forming the high stylobate of the middle storey of the building. As already mentioned, presumably a memory of the logs supporting their primitive dwellings, although the repetition of these string courses has reached its reasonable limit as shown in certain parts of the Angkor Vat, at the same time they do not fatigue the eye and fit into the scheme in a rational manner. Some of this effect is due to the introduction at correct intervals of massive cornice-like elements, suggesting equilibrium, stability, and strength just where such qualities are most needed. It is instructive to compare these with the bold torus mouldings at the base of the Chola temples of Southern India proving how virtually the same results may be obtained but in a somewhat different manner. Similarly, also derived from a usage found in the earliest phase of Khmer history, are the double flexured fluted roofs over the corridors, originally executed in terracotta now appearing as slabs of sandstone, their rippling texture not only affording a pleasing contrast to their more conventional lithic surroundings, but serving the practical purpose of speedily throwing off the heavy rain. In the formation of these corridors, pillars and piers are extensively used, having shafts generally square or octagonal in section, and monolithic in structure as was also the practice in the temples of India. No special treatment was accorded to the capitals of the pillars, they were commonly moulded or patterned, but not sufficiently distinctive in the design to constitute an "order." The application of these pillars to produce light in the corridors and also to form by their long colonnades and arcades effective passages of alternating solids and voids in the elevational aspect of the composition indicate that the builders realized the increased vitality that such a procedure brought into their scheme. In connection with the method of lighting, rectangular window openings were devised and also, on occasion, a continuous screen of apertures was inserted, but broken up in an effective fashion For in these openings moulded mullions, evidently turned on a lathe and resembling slender balustrades, were set at close intervals, thus providing most effectually and also artistically the admission of light and air. It is tolerably clear that these uprights were copied in the first instance from either wooden slats or sections of bamboo originally used as windows in their primitive wooden huts. Such mullioned openings are found in many of the temple buildings of Cambodia, as in that of Prah Khan and of Banteay Srei, in their pattern and intention recalling similarly balustrated apertures in some of the temples of India, particularly at Bhubaneswar in Orissa of about the same date.
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There are other architectural elements forming essential and artistic portions of Angkor Vat and the buildings of this period, all well worthy of study, of which the elaborately sculptured tympanums over the openings, niches, and gable ends, hold an important place. These "overdoors" take a variety of shapes, often being composed of arches with emphatically involuted curves and invariably enriched with figures and foliage, the figures in high relief occupying alcoves, thus by their structure contributing to the stability of this feature as a whole. Although the carved figures are mainly drawn from the religious and mythological records of the country some of the subjects appertain more to the secular in which *apsaras*, or nymphs, and others of semi-divine attribution display their voluptuousness elegantly posed on the sides of pillar, pilaster and pier. Of the carved patterns the foliage convention, the modelling and technical manipulation of these arabesques are of a very distinctive character, so much so that they might actually be the handiwork of the sculptors who decorated the temples and palaces of Oakhnauti, the ancient capital of the Pal empire in Bengal of the tenth and eleventh centuries, so exactly do they resemble in design and relief the productions of the famous Varendra School.
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Where, however, the Khmer sculptors excelled was in the high standard and lavish display of their plastic art as represented in the long series of bas-reliefs on the walls of their buildings particularly those in the corridors of Angkor Vat, in which temple alone they form a continuous frieze of over two thousand feet, resolved into eight compartments, six feet in height, the figures of all kinds thus portrayed aggragating upwards of eighteen thousand in number. Episodes of war and peace, pomp and pageantry, ceremony and cavalcade, the forest and the field, every picturesque event of a picturesque age, allegory and legend sacred and profane, all are imaged in this absorbing national art gallery More-over these reliefs hold a mirror to the Cambodian people themselves, from which it is possible to sense their reactions to art and life, and to realize something of their emotional nature generally. And all are drawn, composed, and in a form of relief that has rarely been equalled. Delicately but firmly modelled, a comparison of this method of plastic art with that practised in other countries may be useful. Nothing could be more emphatic than their contrast with the reliefs in the adjacent country of Java, especially on the famous stupa of Borobudur, the sculptured galleries of which are almost as extensive and continuous as those at Angkor. But whereas the former are moulded in high, bold, rounded forms almost aggressively robust, the Cambodian school has obtained its results by means of a more subtle treatment of gradations and planes, less impressive at first sight, but with a more sensitive feeling for artistic quality, recalling in a manner that of tapestry. Turning to the schools in India, the Khmer reliefs bear the nearest resemblance in technique to those on the stupa of Amaravati in Madras, executed several centuries previously, but here also there is a difference in modelling and in the actual height of the projection, besides other variations which seem to rule out any definite relationship On the other hand although the Angkor art displays an originality in every aspect of its treatment, it is worthy of note that the same textural attributes may be discerned in the bas-reliefs of some of the contemporary schools in China.
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