Sources of Khmer history
Several written accounts of Khmer history exist. the earliest being Chinese rather than indigenous. Before the appearance of locally-engraved stone inscriptions. Chinese dynastic annals had already related in considerable detail the early historical periods of the countries of Southeast Asia The annals have not always been invoked wisely. In particular the initial conclusions of their early twentieth century translator. the renowned sinologist Paul Pelliot. have scarcely been challenged. The knowledge which has gradually accumulated since then through study of other documentary sources should have enabled scholars to re-evaluate Pelliot's tentative hypotheses. Indeed he had already warned his readers that the Chinese accounts had often been re-copied and contained various observations which ought not to be taken at face value