吴哥古迹是柬埔寨吴哥王朝的都城遗址，位于暹粒市北6公里处，分布在45平方公里的莽莽丛林中。吴哥是高棉人的精神中心和宗教中心，是9～15世纪东南亚高棉王国的都城。很多人对吴哥这块古老的圣地有着向往之情，他们总是徘徊在精美浮雕和残缺的佛像之间，继续探寻藏在石块中的千年奥秘。
1. Angkor：The historical stories and the people’s life of the magic civilization
Angkor is a miracle in the history of human civilization. On the vast land 400 square kilometers away from the northwest Kampuchea， in the vast virgin forest， there suddenly appeared one of the world's largest religious buildings. Its historical legends， war stories， agricultural development and people's life conditions are so fascinating.
吴哥：神奇文明的历史故事与人民生活
吴哥的出现，是人类文明史上的一个奇迹。在柬埔寨西北部400平方公里的广袤大地上，在莽莽的原始丛林中，突然冒出了一个世界最大的宗教建筑群。它的历史传说、战争故事、农业发展和人民生活，让世人神往。
The historical legend of its origin
This ancient city is known to the world as Angkor Wat after its most beautiful temple， but the true wonder is the city itself， which is actually called Angkor.
The first temples were completed in the eighth century by early Khmer1 king Jayavarman and his heirs kept building on his legacy. The whole of Angkor was built over a period of about 600 years. It never stopped. It was to recreate in Hindu mythology the Mount Mira， the Hindu Heaven. And the kings wanted to elevate themselves to a god like status and progressive kings enlarged upon it. And so it just grew and grew. Each king wanted to build another temple. They were trying to create Heaven on Earth.
The lush jungle paradise they created inevitably caught the attention of the neighboring kingdom of Siam now known as Thailand. After one hundred years of off and on battle， the Thai armies began to get the upper hand. At the end of it， the Cambodian people were exhausted. Their resources had run out. The Thais had a relatively easy victory when they finally sacked Angkor in 1431. But a mystery surrounds their victory. Without warning the Thai armies abandoned Angkor as suddenly as they conquered it and to this day no one knows why.
The Royal Court just literally walked away from Angkor completely. The couple of temples were maintained and visited from time to time. But basically they just turned their back on it. And the magnificent city became lost in the mists of time. Rumors of this sacred city floated throughout the jungles of Southeast Asia for centuries.
The locals were telling stories. There had been French naturalists through the area， but no one believed the tales. Then， in 1860 the French explorer Henri Mahout set out to find Angkor. One day he stepped into a jungle clearing and found himself walking through the imperial ruins of the ancient city. Hundreds of years later， the world is also beginning to understand the glory of Angkor.
有关起源的历史传说
这座古城被世人称为吴哥窟，它以城中最美的庙宇的名字命名，而真正的奇迹是这座城市本身，这座城市实际上叫吴哥。
城中第一批寺庙在8世纪由古高棉国王耶跋摩建成，他的后代们继承祖业继续修建。吴哥的整体建筑花了大约600年的时间，并且从未停止过。它要重现印度神话中的米拉山——印度人的天堂，国王们想把自己提升到神那样的位置上，于是一代一代的国王不断地扩建，所以它就越建越大。每个国王都想新建一个庙宇，他们试图建造人间的天堂。
国王们创建的奢华丛林天堂不可避免地引起了邻国暹罗王国（即现在的泰国）的注意。经过100年断断续续的争斗，泰国军队开始占了上风，柬埔寨人最终筋疲力尽了，他们的资源消耗殆尽了。泰国人取得了胜利，他们终于在1431年洗劫了吴哥。但他们的胜利却罩着一层神秘的面纱，就像他们迅速征服它一样，随后泰国军队一声不响地迅速放弃了吴哥，至今谁也不知个中原因。
柬埔寨皇室完全地离开了吴哥。一些庙宇还得到维护并不时有人来看一看，但基本上皇室已经弃用吴哥。这座华丽的古城被湮灭在时间的迷雾中，几个世纪以来在东南亚的丛林中一直流传着有关这座圣城的传说。
当地人讲述着关于吴哥的种种故事，曾有一些法国自然学家到过这个地方，但没有人相信这些传说。后来，1860年法国探险家亨利·马乌开始寻找吴哥，有一天他步入了一片丛林空地，发现他正走在这座古城的王国废墟上。几百年之后，世界也逐渐开始认识吴哥的辉煌。
The daily life of the ancient people
The Khmer （or Angkor） Civilization came into existence during the period from 802 to 1431 A.D. The Khmer Empire was once one of the most powerful， most successful， most sophisticated， and largest kingdoms in the history of Southeast Asia. The Khmer empire reached its apogee in the 12th century under its two great kings. King Suryavarman II （1113-1150） was the builder of the Hindu temple of Angkor Wat， and conqueror of most of South-East Asia. King Jaya-varman VII （1181-1218） further expanded the empire and built numerous Buddhist temples. In addition to its military prowess， a key factor of the strength of the Khmer empire was the creation of a complex network of irrigation channels that made two or three harvests a year possible and could sustain a vast population.
Interestingly， we learn about the daily way of life of the ancient Khmers， not from the Khmer themselves， but from the Chinese annals. In the middle of 13th century during Chinese Yuan Dynasty， a Chinese ambassador named Zhou Daguan traveled to Angkor， stayed with the local villagers， and explored this empire for a year before his return. He wrote in his Chinese chronicle about this amazing empire， and explained vividly how the people lived with the clear portrayal of the Khmer society during those days.
古代高棉人民的日常生活
高棉（或称吴哥）文明存在于公元802～1431年。高棉帝国曾是东南亚历史上最有力量、最成功、最成熟和最大的王国之一。高棉帝国在两位国王的统治下于12世纪达到其鼎盛时期。苏利耶跋摩二世（1113～1150年）建立了印度教寺庙吴哥窟并且征服了东南亚大部分地区；阇耶跋摩七世（1181～1218年）进一步扩展了高棉帝国版图并且建造了许多佛教寺庙。除了其军事实力之外，高棉帝国强大的一个关键因素是建立了复杂的灌溉渠道，这使得农作物可以一年两熟或三熟，收成便可以维持庞大人口的生计。
有趣的是，我们并不是从高棉人那里了解到古代高棉人的日常生活方式，而是从中国的史册中。在13世纪中期的中国元朝期间，一位中国大使周达观曾到达吴哥与当地村民待在一起并在回中国之前的一年游览了这个帝国。他在中国编年史中描写了这个惊人的帝国，并通过对那时期高棉社会的真实写照生动地刻画了当地人的生活方式。
2. The vanished civilization and its outstanding monuments
The Khmer Civilization had long been perished， but it left outstanding monuments such as the great Khmer temples of Angkor Wat and Bayon and numerous unique sculptures. The ruins of the Khmer Civilization include two important Hindu temple complexes， Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. The word "Angkor" is derived from Sanskrit， an ancient Indian language： Sanskrit.Angkor Wat literally means "the City of Temple" and Angkor Thom "the Magnificent City".
消失的文明与瑰丽的古迹
高棉文明早已消失了，但它留下瑰丽的古迹，如伟大的吴哥窟和巴戎庙以及众多独特的雕塑像。高棉文明的废墟包括两座重要的印度教庙宇建筑，吴哥窟和吴哥通王城。“吴哥”一词来源于古老的印度语言梵文，吴哥窟的字面意思是“寺庙之城”，而且吴哥通王城意味着“雄伟的城市”。