Southeast Asia's Geopolitical Context and Angkor Wat Art: Insights from India, Thailand, and China

Abstract

The geopolitics of Southeast Asian countries are different in culture, religion and political system. However, after many colonial and anti-colonial political movements, the countries in the region have become a community of shared destiny. India, Thailand and China, as countries with close geographical locations to Cambodia, have learned from and influenced each other in politics, religion and art during many exchanges in history. For instance, Hinduism had an important influence on the rule of the Angkor Dynasty. As the Khmer people and the Chinese had frequent diplomatic exchanges in military and economic trade, Chinese culture also penetrated the Angkor Dynasty. Thailand, part of the former Cambodian territory, has had centuries of entanglement with Cambodia. An important Buddhist building built during the Angkor Dynasty, Angkor Wat’s architectural structure and the relief art on its internal walls is an extremely beautiful epic painting.