Mother of Waters: The Mekong River and the Soul of Cambodia

Chapter One: The Great Artery: The Mekong as the Lifeline of Ancient Khmer Civilization Before the first stone of Angkor was laid, before the first king was consecrated as a living god, there was the river. The mighty Mekong, a colossal artery of water and silt weaving its way from the distant Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea, has always been the undisputed lifeline of the Khmer people. It is impossible to understand the rise of their great ancient civilization without first paying homage to this powerful, life-giving force. The Mekong was not merely a feature in the landscape; it was the very cradle in which the early kingdoms were nurtured, the great artery that pumped life into the sprawling heart of the Angkorian Empire, and the sacred entity whose rhythms dictated the fortunes of kings and commoners alike. From the earliest agricultural settlements to the sophisticated hydraulic engineering that supported a city of a million people, every facet of ancient Khmer life was shape…