History of Oceania, South-East Asia and Pacific: Funan

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Funan - the first Southeast Asian state

Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: History of Oceania, South-East Asia and Pacific
Forum Discription: Discuss the history of SE Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore etc.
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16160
Printed Date: 25-Apr-2024 at 00:24
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Topic: Funan - the first Southeast Asian state

Posted By: flyingzone
Subject: Funan - the first Southeast Asian state
Date Posted: 11-Nov-2006 at 20:22

Funan was the first important Southeast Asian mandala state which flourished from the 3rd through 6th centuries AD. Centered in southern Vietnam, Funan was in regular contact with China. It had become extensively Indianized, esttemed literacy, planned masterful irrigation systems and was probably organized by a branch of the Khmer people who likely dominated that area. It was apparently part of a large trading networks, since trade goods from as far as Rome and Central Asia have been found in its ruins. The people of Funan also skillfully manufactured jewelry, pottery and other trade goods. But some historians suspect Funan was never more than a federation of coastal towns.

Source:

Lockard, C. A. (1995). Integrating Southeast Asian into the framework of world history: The period before 1500. The History Teacher, 29(1), 7-35.

For more information on Funan, go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funan

Replies:

Posted By: chimera
Date Posted: 02-Feb-2007 at 23:10

When Champa developed into a nation able to invade Angkor Wat, it also had a navy which raided Chinese ports. This suggests that Champa was able to send ships to other countries and explore unknown areas. This leads into questions about contact with Australia, and the north Pacific currents from Phillipines which go east.

chimera

Posted By: TranHungDao
Date Posted: 01-Jun-2007 at 04:15

Originally posted by flyingzone

Funan was the first important Southeast Asian mandala state which flourished from the 3rd through 6th centuries AD. Centered in southern Vietnam, Funan was in regular contact with China. It had become extensively Indianized, esttemed literacy, planned masterful irrigation systems and was probably organized by a branch of the Khmer people who likely dominated that area.

Actually, in K.W. Taylor's book, The Birth of Vietnam, the author says the people of the Red River Delta had a very sophisticated irrigation system which could not have been built unless there was a level of coordination due to a well organized state. Moreover, there is the remants of the Cao Lo citidel in northern Vietnam which predates any Chinese conquest of the region. This Citidel is associated to a Vietnamese state called Van Lang.

Vietnamese lore claims that Van Lang goes back to nearly 3000 BCE. Taylor says the archeological records suggest it goes back to at least 600-700 BCE.

Au Lac was also a short lived dynasty from 257 to 207 BCE. It is said to have succeeded Van Lang by conquest.