Editing Angkor (section)

=== Religious pluralism ===
[[File:Buddha shielded by Naga.jpg|200px|thumb|right|A statue of the Buddha, shielded by the Naga Mucalinda, from 12th century]]
When Chinese traveller [[Zhou Daguan]] came to Angkor in AD&nbsp;1296, he found what he took to be three separate religious groups. The dominant religion was that of [[Theravada]] Buddhism. Zhou observed that the monks had shaven heads and wore yellow robes.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=137}} The Buddhist temples impressed Zhou with their simplicity. He noted that the images of Buddha were made of gilded plaster.{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=72}}

The other two groups identified by Zhou appear to have been those of the [[Brahmin|Brahmans]] and of the [[Shaivism|Shaivites]]. About the Brahmans, Zhou had little to say, except that they were often employed as high officials.{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=72}} Of the Shaivites, whom he called "[[Taoism|Taoists]]", Zhou wrote, "the only image which they revere is a block of stone analogous to the stone found in shrines of the god of the soil in China".{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=72}}