Funan and Champa · c. 100-550 AD

Funan and the first kingdoms of Southeast Asia

Halfway between India and China, the kingdom of Funan grew rich from ships, canals and markets in the Mekong delta. Its rulers adopted Sanskrit and Indian gods by their own choice. Students explore a port where a Roman medallion, Indian beads and Chinese mirrors lay side by side.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 500 to AD 200
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Halfway between India and China, the kingdom of Funan grew rich from ships, canals and markets in the Mekong delta. Its rulers adopted Sanskrit and Indian gods by their own choice. Students explore a port where a Roman medallion, Indian beads and Chinese mirrors lay side by side.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Funan, Champa and the port of Oc Eo on the map.
  • Explain how Funan grew rich from the sea trade between India and China.
  • Describe how Indian religions and writing were adopted in early Southeast Asia, and by whose choice.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 500

Kingdoms of the Mekong

Open the map in AD 500. Find Funan and Champa. Which great river flows through Funan to the sea?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 500

Between India and China

Zoom out and turn on Trade Routes. Find the Maritime Spice Route. Why was the land between India and China a good place for trading ports?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 200

Faiths from India

Set the year to AD 200, turn on Spreads and choose Buddhism. Find Oc Eo and read its text. Which other Indian religion also reached this region?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Almost everything we know about Funan comes from Chinese visitors and from archaeology. What could each source miss?
  2. A Roman medallion, Indian beads and Chinese mirrors were all found at Oc Eo. What does this tell us about the port?
  3. Funan's rulers took Sanskrit titles and Indian gods, but India never ruled them. Why might they make that choice?
  4. Merchants once carried goods across a narrow neck of land instead of sailing around it. Why did Funan suffer when ships began to sail straight through the strait to the south?
  5. People of the Mekong delta dug long canals across the flat, wet land. Why would canals matter so much there?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Mansa Musa in Rule History. Like the kings of Funan, he ruled a kingdom grown rich on a great trade route, about 800 years later and in West Africa. After the round, discuss: what makes a trading kingdom strong, and what makes it fragile?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.