D'Angkor au Lān Xāng: une révision des jugements

摘要

The only explicit references made to Cambodia in the Lao chronicles are related to the reign of Fa Ngum (fourteenth century), unquestionably a historical figure. These acknowledged the support of his father-in-law, the Khmer king, towards Fa Ngum's founding of the Lan Xang kingdom, and towards the introduction there of Theravāda Buddhism. Although historians down through our own times have accepted this recounting, it may nevertheless turn quite questionable when the sources are subjected to stringent critical analysis. Indeed, there is no shortage of arguments challenging the received wisdom on the implantation of a Khmer kingdom in central and northern Laos during the Angkorian period. In light of these, it seems that the Khmer influence there may have been much less than is commonly assumed.