BAYONJayavarman VII (r. 1181–1219), Suryavarman II’s son,
ruled over much of mainland Southeast Asia and built more during
his reign than all the Khmer kings preceding him combined. His
most important temple, the Bayon, is a complicated monument
constructed with unique circular terraces surmounted by towers
carved with giant faces (FIG. 6-32). Jayavarman turned to Bud-
dhism from the Hinduism the earlier Khmer rulers embraced, but
he adapted Buddhism so that the Buddha and the bodhisattva
Lokeshvara (“Lord of the World”) were seen as divine prototypes of
the king, in the Khmer tradition. The faces on the Bayon towers per-
haps portray Lokeshvara, intended to indicate the watchful compas-
sion emanating in all directions from the capital. Other researchers
have proposed that the faces depict Jayavarman himself. The king’s
great experiment in religion and art was short-lived, but it also
marked the point of change in Southeast Asia when Theravada Bud-
dhism began to dominate most of the mainland. Chapter 26 chroni-
cles this important development.
During the first to fourth centuries, Buddhism also spread to
other parts of Asia—to China, Korea, and Japan. Although the artis-
tic traditions in these countries differ greatly from one another, they
share, along with Southeast Asia, a tradition of Buddhist art and an
ultimate tie with India. Chapters 7 and 8 trace the changes Buddhist
art underwent in East Asia, along with the region’s other rich artistic
traditions.178 Chapter 6 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA BEFORE 1200
6-32Towers of the Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia, ca. 1200.
Jayavarman VII embraced Buddhism instead of Hinduism. His most important temple, the Bayon, has towers carved with
giant faces that probably depict either the bodhisattva Lokeshvara or the king himself.