Funan ហ៊្វូណន (Khmer) | |||||||
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| 50 CE–627 | |||||||
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| Government | Mandala kingdom | ||||||
| Historical era | Classical era | ||||||
• Establishment | AD 50 | ||||||
• Chenla secession | 550 | ||||||
• Chenla conquest | 627 | ||||||
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Funan (Chinese:扶南;pinyin:Fúnán;Khmer:ហ៊្វូណន,romanized: Hvunân,Khmer pronunciation:[fuːnɑːn];Vietnamese:Phù Nam,Chữ Hán:夫南;Sanskrit:व्याधपूर, Vyādhapūra) was a loose network of ancientIndianized states (Mandala)[1][2] located inMainland Southeast Asia, covering parts of present-day Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, that existed from the first to sixth century CE. The name is found inChinese historical texts describing the kingdom, and the most extensive descriptions a name the people of Funan gave to their polity, perhaps a Chinese transcription ofpnom, “mountain”. Funan is generally considered as the first known kingdom in Southeast Asia.[3] Some scholars argued that ancient Chinese scholars have found the records formerly the Kingdom of Funan, were located to the South-west of Linyi (Champa Kingdom in central Vietnam).
Like the name of the kingdom, the ethno-linguistic nature of the people is the subject of much discussion among specialists. The leading hypotheses are that the Funanese were mostlyMon–Khmer, or that they were mostlyAustronesian, or that they constituted a multi-ethnic society. The available evidence is inconclusive on this issue.Michael Vickery has said that, even though identification of the language of Funan is not possible, the evidence suggests that the population was Khmer.[4] However, several studies demonstrates that inhabitants of Funan probably spokeMalayo-Polynesian languages, as in neighboringChampa.[5][6] The results of archaeology atOc Eo have demonstrated "no true discontinuity between Oc Eo and pre-Angkorian levels", indicating ancient Mon-khmer region may have gone as far back as the 4th century BCE. Though regarded by Chinese authors as a single unified polity, some modern scholars suspect that Funan may have been a collection of city-states that sometimes were at war with one another and at other times constituted a political unity.[7] From archaeological evidence, which includesRoman, Chinese, and Indian goods excavated at the ancient mercantile centre ofÓc Eo in southern Vietnam, it is known that Funan must have been a powerful trading state.[8] Excavations atAngkor Borei in southern Cambodia have likewise delivered evidence of an important settlement. Since Óc Eo was linked to a port on the coast and to Angkor Borei by a system of canals, it is possible that all of these locations together constituted the heartland of Funan.
Some scholars have advanced speculative proposal regarding the origin and meaning of the wordFunan. It is often said that the nameFunan (Middle Chinese pronunciation of扶南: /bju nậm/,Later Han pronunciation: /buɑ nəm/[9]) represents atranscription from some local language into Chinese. For example, French scholarGeorges Coedès advanced the theory that in using the wordFunan, ancient Chinese scholars were transcribing a word related to the Khmer wordbnaṃ orvnaṃ (modern:phnoṃ, meaning "mountain").[10]
However, the epigraphist Claude Jacques pointed out that this explanation was based on a mistranslation of the Sanskrit wordparvatabùpála in the ancientinscriptions as equivalent to the Khmer wordbnaṃ and a mis-identification of the KingBhavavarman I mentioned in them as the conqueror of Funan.[11] It has also been observed that in Chinese the character南 (pinyin:nán,Vietnamese:nam) is frequently used in geographical terms to mean "South"; Chinese scholars used it in this sense in naming other locations or regions of Southeast Asia, such asAnnam.[12]
Thus,Funan may be an originally Chinese word, and may not be a transcription at all. Jacques proposed that use of the name Funan should be abandoned in favour of the names, such asBhavapura,Aninditapura,Shresthapura andVyadhapura, which are known from inscriptions to have been used at the time for cities in the region, as opposed toFunan orZhenla which are unknown in the Old Khmer language.[12]
The first modern scholar to reconstruct the history of the ancient polity of Funan wasPaul Pelliot, who in his ground-breaking article "Le Fou-nan" of 1903 drew exclusively on Chinese historical records to set forth the sequence of documented events connecting the foundation of Funan in approximately the 1st century CE with its demise by conquest in the 6th to 7th century. Scholars critical of Pelliot's Chinese sources have expressed scepticism regarding his conclusions.[13]
First record dated 84 CE in late Han period 后汉书.Chinese records dating from the 3rd century CE, beginning with theSānguó zhì (三國志,Records of the Three Kingdoms) completed in 289 CE byChén Shòu (陳壽; 233–297), record the arrival of two Funanese embassies at the court ofLǚ Dài (呂待), governor in the southern Chinese kingdom of Wú (吳): the first embassy arrived between 225 and 230 CE, the second in the year 243.[14] Later sources such as the Liáng shū (梁書,Book of Liang) of Yáo Chá (姚察; 533–606) andYáo Sīlián (姚思廉, d. 637), completed in 636, discuss the mission of the 3rd-century Chinese envoysKang Tai (康泰) andZhū Yīng (朱應) from the Kingdom of Wu to Funan. The writings of these envoys, though no longer extant in their original condition, were excerpted and as such preserved in the later dynastic histories, and form the basis for much of what we know about Funan.
Since the publication of Pelliot's article, archaeological excavation in Vietnam and Cambodia, especially excavation of sites related to theÓc Eo culture, have supported and supplemented his conclusion.
Chinese sources relate a local legend to document Funan's origin, that a foreigner named "Huntian (混填)" [pinyin: Hùntián] established the Kingdom of Funan around the 1st century CE in theMekong Delta of southern Vietnam. Archeological evidence shows that extensive human settlement in the region may go as far back as the 4th century BCE. Though treated by Chinese historians as a single unified empire, according to some modern scholars Funan may have been a collection of city-states that sometimes warred with one another and at other times constituted a political unity.[7]
The ethnic and linguistic origins of the Funanese people have consequently been subject to scholarly debate, and no firm conclusions can be drawn based on the evidence available. The Funanese may have beenCham or from anotherAustronesian group, or they may have beenKhmer or from anotherAustroasiatic group. It is possible that they are the ancestors of those indigenous people dwelling in the southern part of Vietnam today who refer themselves as "Khmer" or "Khmer Krom." The Khmer term "krom" means "below" or "lower part of" and is used to refer to territory that was later colonized by Vietnamese immigrants and taken up into the modern state of Vietnam.[15] While no conclusive study to determine whether Funan's ethnolinguistic components were Austronesian or Austroasiatic, there is dispute among scholars. According to the majority of Vietnamese academics, for example, Mac Duong, stipulates that "Funan's core population certainly were the Austronesians, not Khmer;" the fall of Funan and the rise ofZhenla from the north in the 6th century indicate "the arrival of the Khmer to the Mekong Delta." That thesis received support fromD. G. E. Hall.[16] Recent archaeological research lends weight to the conclusion that Funan was a Mon-Khmer polity.[17] In his Funan review,Michael Vickery expresses himself a strong supporter of Funan's Khmer predominance theory.
It is also possible that Funan was a multicultural society, including various ethnic and linguistic groups. In the late 4th and 5th centuries, Indianization advanced more rapidly, in part through renewed impulses from the south IndianPallava dynasty and the north IndianGupta Empire.[15] The only extant local writings from the period of Funan are paleographicPallava Grantha inscriptions inSanskrit of thePallava dynasty, a scholarly language used by learned and ruling elites throughout South and Southeast Asia. These inscriptions give no information about the ethnicity or vernacular tongue of the Funanese.
Funan may have been theSuvarnabhumi referred to in ancient Indian texts.[18] Among theKhmer Krom of the lower Mekong region the belief is held that they are the descendants of ancient Funan, the core of Suvarnabhumi/Suvarnadvipa, which covered a vast extent of Southeast Asia including present day Cambodia, southern Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Burma, Malaya, Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia.[19] In December 2017, Dr Vong Sotheara, of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, discovered a Pre-Angkorian stone inscription in the Province ofKampong Speu Baset District, which he tentatively dated to 633 CE. According to him, the inscription would “prove that Suvarnabhumi was the Khmer Empire.” The inscription, translated, read: “The great King Isanavarman is full of glory and bravery. He is the King of Kings, who rules over Suvarnabhumi until the sea, which is the border, while the kings in the neighbouring states honour his order to their heads”.[20]
Huntian
TheBook of Liang records a local legend to document Funan's origin, that of the foundation of Funan by the foreigner Hùntián (混塡,Middle Chinese pronunciation /ɦwənx tɦian/): "He came from the southern country Jiào (徼, an unidentified location, perhaps on the Malaysian Peninsula or in the Indonesian archipelago) after dreaming that his personal genie had delivered a divine bow to him and had directed him to embark on a large merchant junk. In the morning, he proceeded to the temple, where he found a bow at the foot of the genie's tree. He then boarded a ship, which the genie caused to land in Fúnán. The queen of the country, Liǔyè (柳葉, "Willow Leaf";Queen Soma,Middle Chinese:Iiu-iap) wanted to pillage the ship and seize it, so Hùntián shot an arrow from his divine bow which pierced through Liǔyè's ship.[21]: 37 Frightened, she gave herself up, and Hùntián took her for his wife. But unhappy to see her naked, he folded a piece of material to make a garment through which he made her pass her head. Then he governed the country and passed power on to his son,[21]: 37 who was the founder of seven cities." Nearly the same story appeared in the Jìn shū晉書 (Book of Jin), compiled byFáng Xuánlíng in 648 CE; however, in the Book of Jin the names given to the foreign conqueror and his native wife are "Hùnhuì"混湏 and "Yèliǔ"葉柳.
Some scholars have identified the conqueror Hùntián of theBook of Liang with the Brahmin Kauṇḍinya who married a nāga (snake) princess named Somā, as set forth in aSanskrit inscription found atMỹ Sơn[21]: 37 and dated 658 CE (see below). Other scholars[22] have rejected this identification, pointing out that the word "Hùntián" has only two syllables, while the word "Kauṇḍinya" has three, and arguing that Chinese scholars would not have used a two-syllable Chinese word to transcribe a three-syllable word from another language.[23] Historian O.W. Wolters states that it was rather the Indianized local Southeast Asian traders, not Indian Brahmins, who provided the initial contact with Indian cultural traditions and the local rulers followed up.[24]
The Sanskrit inscription (K.5) of Tháp Mười (known as "Prasat Pram Loven" in Khmer), which is now on display in theMuseum of Vietnamese History inHo Chi Minh City, refers to a Prince Guṇavarman, younger son (nṛpasunu—bālo pi) of a king Ja[yavarman] who was "the moon of the Kauṇḍinya line (... kauṇḍi[n]ya[vaṅ]śaśaśinā ...) and chief "of a realm wrested from the mud".[25]
The legend of Kaundinya is paralleled in modern Khmer folklore, where the foreign prince is known as "Preah Thaong" and the queen as "Neang Neak". In this version of the story, Preah Thaong arrives by sea to an island marked by a giant thlok tree, native to Cambodia. On the island, he finds the home of thenāgas and meets Neang Neak, daughter of the nāga king. He marries her with blessings from her father and returns to the human world. The nāga king drinks the sea around the island and confers the name "Kampuchea Thipdei", which is derived from the Sanskrit (Kambujādhipati) and may be translated into English as "the lord of Cambodia". In another version, it is stated that Preah Thaong fights Neang Neak.[26][27][28]
Kaundinya II
Even if the Chinese "Hùntián" is not the proper transcription of the Sanskrit "Kaundinya", the name "Kaundinya" [Kauṇḍinya, Koṇḍañña, Koṇḍinya, etc.] is nevertheless an important one in the history of Funan. Chinese sources mention another person of the name "Qiáochénrú" (僑陳如).[29] A person of that name is mentioned in theBook of Liang in a story that appears somewhat after the story of Hùntián.
According to this source, Qiáochénrú was one of the successors of the king Tiānzhú Zhāntán (天竺旃檀, "Candana from India"), a ruler of Funan who in the year 357 CE sent tamed elephants as tribute toEmperor Mu of Jin (r. 344–361); personal name: Sīmǎ Dān (司馬聃): "He [Qiáochénrú] was originally a Brahmin from India. There a voice told him: 'you must go reign over Fúnán,' and he rejoiced in his heart. In the south, he arrived atPánpán (盤盤). The people of Fúnán appeared to him; the whole kingdom rose up with joy, went before him, and chose him king. He changed all the laws to conform to the system of India."
Keneth Hall remarks that the basic details of the Chinese legend are reiterated elsewhere in Indian and Southeast Asian folklore.[30]
The historian Gabriel Ferrand believed that some Indian merchants might have immigrated to the region and established relations with the natives and that's how the myth emerged.[31] Some Indian historians have taken this myth to extreme length and speculate that a large population of South Asians colonized Funan.[32] Dutch historian J.C. van Leur stressed that it was the local rulers who recognized the benefits of associating with their relatively advanced social technologies and drew from the Indian traditions by encouraging migration of Brahmin clerks to help with the administration.[33]
As per O.W. Wolters, there was a mutual sharing process in the evolution of Indianized statecraft and no mass influx of Brahmans. He said that it was rather the Indianized local Southeast Asian traders who provided the initial contact with Indian cultural traditions and the local rulers followed up. He also stated that Hindu traditions was selectively mobilized by the local rulers to strengthen the political alliances among fragile polity of the states in that period.[34]
Successive rulers following Hun-t'ien included Hun-p'an-huang, P'an-p'an, and then Fan Shih-man, "Great King of Funan", who "had large ships built, and sailing all over the immense sea he attacked more than ten kingdoms ... he extended his territory five or six thousandli." Fan Shih-man died on a military expedition to Chin-lin, "Frontier of Gold". He was followed by Chin-cheng, Fan Chan, Ch'ang and then Fan Hsun, in successive assassinations. Before his death, Fan Chan sent embassies to India and China in 243.[21]: 38, 40, 42, 46, 56, 59–60 [35]: 283–284–285
Around 245, Funan was described as having "walled villages, palaces, and dwellings. They devote themselves to agriculture ... they like to engrave ornaments and chisel. Many of their eating utensils are silver. Taxes are paid in gold, silver, pearls, perfumes. There are books and depositories of archives and other things." The Indianised ruler Chan-T'an was ruling in 357, followed by another Indianised ruler Chiao Chen-ju (Kaundinya) in the fifth century, who "changed all the laws to conform to the system of India." In 480, She-yeh-pa-mo, Jayavarman or "Protege of Victory" reigned until his death in 514. One of his sons, Rudravarman, killed the other, Gunavarman, for the throne, and became the last king of Funan.[21]: 38, 40, 42, 46, 56, 59–60 [35]: 283–284–285
Funan reached the apex of its power under the 3rd-century king Fan Shiman (pinyin:Fàn Shīmàn). Fan Shiman expanded his empire's navy and improved the Funanese bureaucracy, creating a quasi-feudal pattern that left local customs and identities largely intact, particularly in the empire's further reaches. Fan Shiman and his successors also sent ambassadors to China and India to regulate sea trade. The kingdom likely accelerated the process ofIndianization of Southeast Asia. Later kingdoms of Southeast Asia such asChenla may have emulated the Funanese court. The Funanese established a strong system of mercantilism and commercial monopolies that would become a pattern for empires in the region.[36]
Funan's dependence on maritime trade is seen as a cause for the beginning of Funan's downfall. Their coastal ports allowed trade with foreign regions that funnelled goods to the north and coastal populations. However, the shift in maritime trade to Sumatra, the rise in the Srivijaya trade empire, and the taking of trade routes all throughout Southeast Asia by China, leads to economic instability in the south, and forces politics and economy northward.[36]
Funan was superseded and absorbed in the 6th century by theKhmer polity of theChenla Kingdom (Zhenla).[37] "The king had his capital in the city of T'e-mu. Suddenly his city was subjugated by Chenla, and he had to migrate south to the city of Nafuna" (Middle Chinese:*nâ-piiidt-nâ).[21]: 65
TheBook of Sui (complied in 636) states: "The Kingdom ofZhenla is to the southwest of Linyi and was originally subject to Funan… The surname of its [former] king was that of the Cha-li clan; his given name was Zhiduo-si-na 質多斯那. His ancestors had gradually become more powerful and flourishing until the time of Zhi-duo-sina himself, who annexed Funan and possessed it." TheNew Book of Tang (c. 1060) tells that "Yīshēnàxiāndài (伊奢那先代), son of Citrasena-Mahendravarman, subdued Funan and annexed Funan territory in the beginning of the Zhenguan era (627–649) [whenEmperor Taizong of Tangruled]."
The first inscription in the Khmer language is dated shortly after the fall of Funan. A concentration of later Khmer inscriptions in southern Cambodia may suggest the even earlier presence of a Khmer population.[38] Despite absence of compelling evidence as to the ethnicity of the Funanese, modern scholar Michael Vickery has stated that "on present evidence it is impossible to assert that Funan as an area and its dominant groups were anything but Khmer".[39]
According to British Historian Robert Nichol,[40]: 36 When Funan kingdom collapsed under Khmer invasions, during the year 680, theSailendra Dynasty set up rump states of Funan in the smallkingdoms of Sarawak in Borneo across the South China sea, from Funan.[40]: 36 He also posited blood relations with theVisayans in the Philippines with the Vijaya of Sarawak[40]: 36 which in turn cause them to be related to Funan people as well as theSrivijaya Empire.
The "King of the mountain" was the monarch of Funan.[41][42][43][44] There was a mountain regarded as holy.[45][42] Mountain in Khmer sounds similar to Funan.[46][47][48]
The Java-basedSailendras claimed that the Funan monarchs were their ancestors. Cambodia was taken control of after a sojourn in Java byJayavarman II.[49][50][51]
The "Mountain Kings" of Funan were claimed as the forebears of theMalacca Sultanate andBrunei Sultanate.[52][53]
Keeping in mind that Funanese records did not survive in the modern period, much of what is known came from archaeological excavation. Excavations yielded discoveries of brick wall structures, precious metals and pot from southern Cambodia and Vietnam. Also found was a large canal system that linked the settlements of Angkor Borei and coastal outlets; this suggests a highly organised government.[54] Funan was a complex and sophisticated society with a high population density, advanced technology, and a complex social system.
On the assumption that Funan was a single unified polity, scholars have advanced various linguistic arguments about the location of its "capital".
Unfortunately, only limited archaeological research has been conducted on Funan in southern Cambodia and Cochinchina in the last few decades, and it is precisely this region that reputedly housed the capital or capitals of Funan.[57] However, archaeological surveys and excavations were carried out by joint Cambodian (Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts; Royal University of Fine Arts) and international teams at Angkor Borei since 1994 continuing into the 2000s. The research included excavation and dating of human burials at Wat Kamnou. Numerous brick features, architectural remains, and landscape features such as mounds, canals and reservoirs have also been identified.
Some have been dated with a wide spectrum of results ranging from the late centuries BCE to the Angkorian period. A significant canal system linking the site of Oc Eo has also been researched and dated. Phon Kaseka led a Royal Academy of Cambodia and Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts team (also with Royal University of Fine Arts personnel) conducted Iron Age to Funan period burial excavations at neighboring Phnom Borei. Large landscape features, notable settlement mounds, and other sites exhibiting Funan material culture and settlement patterns extend from at least Phnom Chisor through Oc Eo and numerous sites in Vietnam. Vietnamese archaeologists have also conducted a fair amount of research on Funan sites in the lower Mekong region.
Many of the mounds show evidence of material culture and landscape modification (inclusive of species-genera biological regimes) ranging from the metal age through the post-Angkorian period and later as evidenced by 13th through 16th century CE Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Cham ceramics. The evidence suggests a 2000-year or longer period of urbanization, continuous activity, and relatively strong albeit indirect and multi-nodal connections to long-distance value chains. Nevertheless, it is quite evident that periods of intense production, consumption, activity, commercial and political centrality fluctuated.
The Funan period seems to have been the heyday and Angkor Borei may have been Funan's premiere capital for much of that period. However, many of the settlements did not necessarily spring up out of nowhere or vanish quickly. They were certainly well integrated into pre-Funan, Funan, Zhenla [Chenla], Angkorian and post-Angkorian socio-economic and political networks. The urbanization and networking processes demonstrate significant continuity, evolution and longevity before and after the typical first to sixth century CE historic classification scheme.
Archaeological evidence largely corresponds to Chinese records. The Chinese described the Funanese as people who lived onstilt houses, cultivated rice and sent tributes of gold, silver, ivory and exotic animals.[58]
Kang Tai's report was unflattering to Funanese civilisation, though Chinese court records show that a group of Funanese musicians visited China in 263 CE. The Chinese emperor was so impressed that he ordered the establishment of an institute for Funanese music nearNanking.[59] The Funanese were reported to have extensive book collections and archives throughout their country, demonstrating a high level of scholarly achievements.
Two Buddhist monks from Funan, named Mandrasena andSanghapala,[21]: 58, 92 took up residency in China in the 5th to 6th centuries, and translated several Buddhist sūtras from Sanskrit (or aprakrit) into Chinese.[60] Among these texts is theMahayanaSaptaśatikāPrajñāpāramitā Sūtra, also called theMahāprajñāpāramitā Mañjuśrīparivarta Sūtra.[61] This text was separately translated by both monks.[60] ThebodhisattvaMañjuśrī is a prominent figure in this text.
Funan was Southeast Asia's first great economy. It became prosperous through maritime trade and agriculture. The kingdom apparently minted its own silver coinage, bearing the image of thecrested argus orhamsa bird.[62]
Funan came into prominence at a time when the trade route from India to China consisted of a maritime leg from India to theIsthmus of Kra, the narrow portion of the Malay peninsula, a portage across the isthmus, and then a coast-hugging journey by ship along theGulf of Siam, past the Mekong Delta, and along the Vietnamese coast to China. Funanese kings of the 2nd century conquered polities on the isthmus itself, and thus may have controlled the entire trade route from Malaysia to central Vietnam.
The Funanese settlement ofÓc Eo, located near the Straits of Malacca, provided a port-of-call and entrepot for this international trade route. Archaeological evidence discovered at what may have been the commercial centre of Funan at Óc Eo includesRoman as well asPersian,Indian, andGreek artefacts.[63] The German classical scholar Albrecht Dihle believed that Funan's main port, was theKattigara referred to by the 2nd century Alexandrian geographerPtolemy as the emporium where merchants from the Chinese and Roman empires met to trade. Dihle also believed that the location of Óc Eo best fit the details given by Ptolemy of a voyage made by a Graeco-Roman merchant named Alexander to Kattigara, situated at the easternmost end of the maritime trade route from the eastern Roman Empire.[64]
Georges Coedès said: "Fu-nan occupied a key position with regard to the maritime trade routes, and was inevitably a port of call both for the navigators who went through the Straits of Malacca and for those – probably more numerous – who made the transit over one of the isthmuses of the Malay Peninsula. Fu-nan may even have been the terminus of voyages from the Eastern Mediterranean, if it is the case that the Kattigara mentioned by Ptolemy was situated on the western coast of Indochina on the Gulf of Siam".[65]
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At Óc Eo,Roman coins were among the items of long-distance trade discovered by the French archaeologistLouis Malleret in the 1940s.[66] These include mid-2nd-century Roman goldenmedallions from the reigns ofAntoninus Pius, and his adopted son and heirMarcus Aurelius.[67] From Óc Eo, archaeologists also found a fine gold pendant imitation of aaureus of Antoninus minted inc. 152 AD with caption ANTONINVS AVG PIVS (Antoninus Aug(ustus) Pius) and portrait of the emperor turning left. Similar gold sheet discs that imitated Roman coins minted by local Funanese also are rediscovered, included imitations of aureus of Antoninus (minted inc. 155–158),Commodus (c. 192),Septimius Severus (c. 198–202), perhaps the minting techniques were brought by traders including those from the Roman Empire.[68] It is perhaps no small coincidence that the firstRoman embassy from "Daqin" recorded in Chinese history is dated 166 AD, allegedly sent by a Roman ruler named "Andun" (Chinese:安敦; corresponding with the names Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) and arriving through theEastern Han Empire's southernmost frontier province ofJiaozhi in northern Vietnam.[67][69][70][71]
In addition to trade, Funan also benefited from a sophisticated agricultural system that included use of an elaborate system of water storage and irrigation. The Funanese population was concentrated mainly along the rivers of theMekong Delta; the area was a natural region for the development of an economy based on fishing andrice cultivation.
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Little is known about Funan's political history apart from its relations with China. The Funanese had diplomatic relations and traded with theEastern Wu andLiang dynasties of southern China.[54] Contact with Southeast Asia began after theSouthward expansion of the Han dynasty, and theannexation of Nanyue and other kingdoms situated in southern China. Goods imported or modelled on those from China, like bronze axes, have been excavated in Cambodia. An Eastern Wu embassy was sent from China to Funan in 228.[72] A brief conflict is recorded to have happened in the 270s, when Funan and its neighbour,Linyi, joined forces to attack the area ofTongking (Vietnamese: Đông Kinh, "eastern capital"), located in what is now modernNorthern Vietnam (which was a Chinese colony at the time).
Funan maintained diplomatic relations with theMurunda dynasty of northernKalinga during 3rd cen CE, when King Dhamadamadhara (Dharmatamadharasya) of Murunda received envoy Su-Wu who represented King Fan Chan of Funan (225–250 CE).[73][74][75]
According to Chinese sources, Funan was eventually conquered and absorbed by its vassal polityChenla (pinyin: Zhēnlà). Chenla was a Khmer polity, and its inscriptions are in both Sanskrit and in Khmer. The last known ruler of Funan was Rudravarman (留陁跋摩, pinyin:Liútuóbámó) who ruled from 514 up to c. 545 CE.
The French historianGeorges Coedès once hypothesized a relation between the rulers of Funan and theShailendra dynasty ofIndonesia. Coedès believed that the title of "mountain lord" used by the Sailendra kings may also have been used by the kings of Funan, since he also believed that the name "Funan" was a Chinese transcription related to the Khmer "phnom", which means "mountain."[76] Other scholars have rejected this hypothesis, pointing to the lack of evidence in early Cambodian epigraphy for the use of any such titles.[77]
People who came from the coast of Funan are also known to establishChi Tu (the Red Earth Kingdom) in the Malay Peninsula. The Red Earth Kingdom is thought to be a derivation nation of Funan with its own kind of Khmer culture.
| Order | Sanskrit Name | Names in Chinese Texts | Reign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Neang Neak (Queen Soma) | Liǔyè (柳葉) | 1st/2nd century? |
| 02 | Preah Thong (Kaundinya I) | Hùntián (混塡) / Hùnhuì (混湏) | 1st/2nd century |
| 03 | Unknown | Hun Pan-huang / Hùnpánkuàng (混盤況) | 2nd century |
| 04 | Unknown | Pánpán (盤盤) | late 2nd century |
| 05 | Śrīmāraña | Fàn Shīmàn (范師蔓) | early 3rd century |
| 06 | Unknown | Fàn Jīnshēng (范金生) | c. 230? |
| 07 | Unknown | Fàn Zhān (范旃) | c. 230–c. 243 or later |
| 08 | Unknown | Fàn Cháng (范長) | after 243 |
| 09 | Unknown | Fàn Xún (范尋) | 245/250–287 |
| Unknown rulers | |||
| 10 | Candana | Zhāntán (旃檀) | c. 357 |
| Unknown rulers | |||
| 11 | Kaundinya II | Qiáochénrú (僑陳如) | c. 420 |
| 12 | Sri Indravarman I | Chílítuóbámó (持梨陀跋摩) | c. 430–c. 440 |
| Unknown rulers | |||
| 13 | Jayavarman Kaundinya | Qiáochénrú Shéyébámó (僑陳如闍耶跋摩) | 484–514 |
| 14 | Rudravarman | Liútuóbámó (留陁跋摩) | 514–c. 550 |
Source:[78]
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