One of the cast-iron canons of the former capital city at OudongI read somewhere that the cast-iron canons to be found in one of the numerous pagodas that populate the area around
Oudong are of Japanese origin and were brought to Cambodia by the Tokogawa shogunate who were based in Oudong and acted as bodyguards to one of the Kings. I first saw them a decade ago when I visited Wat Veang Chas, on the outskirts of Oudong town. At that time they protruded from the earth base of one of the wooden pagodas and looked quite dramatic in appearance. However, yesterday, with a lot of construction work taking place in the grounds of the pagoda, financed in no small part by the PM Hun Sen,
the canons have been seemingly tossed aside randomly and without any consideration for this slice of Cambodian history, when Oudong was, for a while, the capital city and home of the royal court. As you might expect there's little to show that this area was once home to the royal household of quite a few kings, founded in the early 17th century by King Soryopor and finally abandoned in favour of Phnom Penh in 1866. I intend to delve a little deeper to see if I can throw any more light on the former capital. No-one that I asked at the site could tell me any more information about the canons or the former royal household, so I don't know whether these artillery pieces were purely ceremonial or had been used to fend off Thai and Vietnamese attackers in bygone years.
Half a dozen iron canons dating from the 17th century lie in a heap as construction work takes place in the grounds of the pagoda
Three of the Japanese canons lie underneath a tree in the pagoda grounds
This ceremonial pond may've been a former bathing pool for the royal household and the wooden beams may've supported a gazebo style building - or not!
This Neak Ta statue with a marvellous moustache was seated in a corner of Wat Veang Chas
One of the cast-iron canons of the former capital city at Oudong
Half a dozen iron canons dating from the 17th century lie in a heap as construction work takes place in the grounds of the pagoda
Three of the Japanese canons lie underneath a tree in the pagoda grounds
This ceremonial pond may've been a former bathing pool for the royal household and the wooden beams may've supported a gazebo style building - or not!
This Neak Ta statue with a marvellous moustache was seated in a corner of Wat Veang Chas
2 Comments:
I've read a few of the history books on Cambodia and aside from the odd line or two, there isn't a great deal of actual information on the royal household that was in place in Oudong (or Udong as its often called). Interestingly, the following information comes from no less an authority that the Prime Minister Hun Sen when he inaugurated a nearby pagoda, of which there are numerous in the area of Oudong.
'The old royal palace - a rambling wooden affair - at Veang Chas was built by Preah Baat Ang Duong and later a Buddhist pagoda was named after it (Wat Veang Chas). Construction of the pagoda at the site began in 1863 but the area was extensively destroyed during the civil war of the 1970s.'
I can't find any more details of the Japanese influence and nothing regarding the cast-irons canons that are scattered around the grounds of Wat Veang Chas today.
Andy, as always, thanks for your observationa and pictures of all the places in cambodia you visited. anyway, i just want to say that i hope cambodia will build a museum to preserve these canons as they are the real national treasure of cambodia as well as khmer temple ruins. i'm sure when they build museum for it, they will tell story or legends about it. i think someone may know about the history of these canons. however it may be hard to find the right person to talk to about it, thanks to the KR killing fields. anyway, sometimes, the truths are in the legends of cambodia. it also may require extensive research into this period of cambodia in order to learn more about it. thank you and best of luck find the facts about it.
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