Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
went into the adornment of Xieng Dong Xieng Thong. These rulers also reorganized the gov-
ernment, which served to make the kingdom more stable than it had ever been before.
Buddhism flourished, under
Visoun
in particular, as monks took up residence in the city and
the monasteries became centres of literary culture, where sacred Pali texts were studied. It
was also during his reign that the Lao Buddhist world-view came together. Visoun ordered
the composition of the
Nithan Khoun Borom
, which brought together legends concerning the
origin of the Lao, Khoun Borom and the founding of Xieng Dong Xieng Thong - complete
with grand stories of Fa Ngum's deeds - and placed these tales within the framework of
Theravada Buddhism. Arguably, Visoun's most important act was bringing the
Pha Bang
to
Xieng Dong Xieng Thong from Vientiane in 1512, a defining event in the development of
Lao identity. The golden Buddha image, installed at Wat Visoun, became the palladium of
the ruling dynasty and the symbol of unity and power of the kingdom itself.
Whereas Visoun and his immediate predecessors had ruled over a peaceful state concerned
primarily with domestic affairs, Visoun's son Phothisalat and grandson Setthathilat had major
ambitions for Lane Xang, which they saw as being the equal of Ayutthaya.
Phothisalat
(1520-47) was a man driven by profound piety. He gave generously to the monastic order
and left his mark on the spiritual life of Xieng Dong Xieng Thong when, in 1527, he broke
with local traditions and banned the practice of animism, ordering the destruction of associ-
ated religious buildings. In pursuit of his expansionist aspirations, Phothisalat established a
wide network of regional relations, which included taking a Lan Na princess as his queen.
He chose to reside at Vientiane, which had the advantage of being closer to the trade routes
linking Lane Xang with Vietnam, Ayutthaya and Cambodia. Vientiane was also closer to the
population centre of the expanding Lao world: with the downfall of Angkor in the previous
century, the Lao had begun to shift into the middle Mekong Valley and onto the Khorat Plat-
eau where the land was flatter and more fertile.
Phothisalat's aggressiveness contributed to the souring of relations with Ayutthaya. Ten-
sions between the neighbours flared up over the now weakened state of Lan Na; Lane Xang
prevailed, and Phothisalat's son
Setthathilat
(1548-71) assumed the throne at Chiang Mai
in 1546. He quickly hurried home, however, after the death of his father, who was crushed
beneath his elephant during a display of his riding skills. In his hasty departure, Setthathilat
nonetheless managed to pilfer Lan Na's talismanic Emerald Buddha, the sacred
Pha Kaew
that today is the palladium of the ruling line in Bangkok.
The Burmese invasions
Setthathilat was only 14 when, in 1548, he assumed the throne of Lane Xang. But the young
king's hold over Lan Na gradually slipped away, as internal disputes in Chiang Mai and the
rise of a powerful Burmese kingdom in the west dashed hopes of a greater Lao state unifying
Lane Xang and Lan Na. Wary of the growing
Burmese threat
, Setthathilat reacted defens-
