Life of Buddha, bas relief, Wat May
The abbot of Wat Mai also played a role in the opening of Luang Prabang to the world outside of Asia. In 1887 Auguste Pavie, who had a strong admiration for the region, arrived in Luang Prabang as the first French (and European) vice-consul in Laos. At the time the city and region was under the Siamese; they tried to isolate Pavie and his group from the king, Oun Kham, and interfered in a number of ways. The abbot, however, a confidant of the king, served as a conduit for messages between the king and Pavie and invited him to stay at the monastery. French influence grew and by 1893 Siam was forced to recognize the French protectorate over Laos and its incorporation into French Indochina. Pavie was also allowed to examine the extensive palm leaf manuscripts of the monastery and used them to write the first extended early Laotian history in a European language.
Life of Buddha, bas relief, Wat May
The abbot of Wat Mai also played a role in the opening of Luang Prabang to the world outside of Asia. In 1887 Auguste Pavie, who had a strong admiration for the region, arrived in Luang Prabang as the first French (and European) vice-consul in Laos. At the time the city and region was under the Siamese; they tried to isolate Pavie and his group from the king, Oun Kham, and interfered in a number of ways. The abbot, however, a confidant of the king, served as a conduit for messages between the king and Pavie and invited him to stay at the monastery. French influence grew and by 1893 Siam was forced to recognize the French protectorate over Laos and its incorporation into French Indochina. Pavie was also allowed to examine the extensive palm leaf manuscripts of the monastery and used them to write the first extended early Laotian history in a European language.