HISTORY: learn about Keng Vannsak, The Forgotten Antagonist

The late historian, linguist, philosopher and politician Keng Vannsak was a pivotal player in the creation of modern Cambodia. Ninety years after his birth, his legacy remains as complicated as his prolific career

The 20th century intellectual Keng Vannsak is a hard man to pigeonhole.

Professionally, he wore many hats: philosopher, historian, linguist, professor, playwright, novellist, poet and, for a short while in the 1950s, statesman. During his life he invented the first Khmer typewriter, headed a major post-independence opposition party and published endless volumes of material ranging from literary criticism, to historical research, to linguistic treatises.

To some he was a champion of Khmer identity, regularly churning out grandiose treatises on Khmer history. To others, such as the late King Norodom Sihanouk, he was a menace and a quack.

Whatever he was, Keng Vannsak stands as one of 20th-century Cambodia’s most influential figures.

He is also one of its most controversial, having acted briefly as a mentor to the young Pol Pot in Paris.

But on the eve of what would be his ninetieth birthday on September 19th, the full scope of Vannsak’s legacy remains murky, and few outside of Cambodia’s educated elite have heard his name.