Every time you catch a ‘thieve’ with your possession that he has stolen from you, 10 out of 10 times he'll say it's his and not yours. The problem with many Thais is that they have absorbed Khmer culture for so long that they instinctively believe this culture to be theirs in origins. In fact, the Thais have so proactively adopted and assimilated into Khmer culture that they have become - at least in terms of veneer or appearance and in cultural spheres - 'Khmerised' and are more so than other of Cambodia's neighbours.
The Koreans, Vietnamese and Japanese have also similiarly absorbed China's cultural influences since ancient time and can also be considered 'Sinicized' in the same way. One doubts, however, that these other nations would deny the historical influences China exerted on their people and culture because of China's pre-eminent past and heritage just as the Khmers' rich past and civilisation were the subject of envy and emulation from later arrivals into their territorial and cultural spheres such as the Siamese or T'ais from Southern China.
On the ground of Thailand’s Royal Palace in Bangkok today visitors can still find a small replica of Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat temple; built there by a Thai king to inspire his people – according to scholars. In fact, a Thai/Siamese king even ordered that Angkor Wat – the real one in Siem Reap! – be transferred to Siam but the sheer scale of the monument itself proved the idea to be too much of a challenge along with the native resistance.
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