Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Some thoughts on ancient Thai scripts
I've been busy with my paper and other things and regretfully have neglected blogging. There's also so much new information I'm trying to digest. What's been an interesting result of my paper, are these serious questions: Why does the Thai government attribute the discovery of the Thai alphabet to King Ramkhamhaeng, when there seems to be abundant physical evidence that there are other ancient scripts that Thais have obviously been using before that time. Especially, why not include the Lanna script? or the Isan dharmma script for writing Pali? The deeper I dig, the more confusing the information. In a post on my other blog, I've linked some images of Thai script to compare it with Kmer, Thai Lue, and Brahmi script (which is said to be the origin of our script.) Below, I've linked from Rajaphat Ubon University an image of Thai Noi or Isan Dharma script (the blue script). Description can never be as good as the images themselves.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Deconstructing SE Asian history and archeology
I wonder if other history and archeological fans get the same uncomfortable feeling as I do concerning the "evidence" that are used in these two fields of investigations. In the development of these two disciplines, the need to be "scientific" becomes its Achilles' heel. Maybe if they could scientifically account for all the non-recoverable historical records and the undug, yet to be dug, and undiggable archeological finds, they might actually become scientific.
Meanwhile, their metanarrative goes on trying to justify itself and grows a few generations of children with distorted worldviews, whose sad misconceptions explodes as a social timebomb some 20-30 years in the future, as we incrasingly see going on around us in our present. Our wake-up call to how we write our history books and the ways it feeds segregations and alienation may come a bit too late. Very sadly, too late for those hundreds that have died in the south of Thailand since the beginning of this year.
Meanwhile, their metanarrative goes on trying to justify itself and grows a few generations of children with distorted worldviews, whose sad misconceptions explodes as a social timebomb some 20-30 years in the future, as we incrasingly see going on around us in our present. Our wake-up call to how we write our history books and the ways it feeds segregations and alienation may come a bit too late. Very sadly, too late for those hundreds that have died in the south of Thailand since the beginning of this year.
"Pra Chao Paendin" not a God
Reading western text on the history of Thailand, the concept of Kings as Gods seems to crop up quite often. In my eagerness to digest what is said about the history, I've always tended to skip over the nagging feeling that is generated with this western interpretation of Kingship. As I've come to develop a sense of caution on the internal logic of each language, the question marks behind each concept that get translated across cultures have become bigger and bigger for me. This particular one hit me in the middle of my head, since I've had to intensively review books and articles about the history of Thailand in preparation for my paper.
We Thais highly revere our Kings, and willingly place them on top of our heads, but we've never conceptualized them as "God"! Come on, being Buddhists, we don't even believe in God, or gods. OK, so we pray to spirits, go to Indra and Brahmin shrines, but seriously, someone should make it clear, they are never related to as gods. Please, someone, dig in and explain, we don't have the concept of a sole creator who creates the universe, etc, etc., etc.
Our Kings, "Prachaopaendin" literally means "Lord of the Land". "Chao" which through lack of equivalent term in English is translated into "Lord" and then thought of as God. Going into the definition of this term "chao" needs a linguistic paper. A "Chao's" right to rule is sanctioned by what is known as "Tosapit Rajataam" or the 10 laws of Kingship. These are an expression of how centuries of rulership has been tested and what qualites of kingship are valued. Nothing in those rules says he's a god in the western sense that he is the descendant of a creator of the universe. A King's royalty and his power comes from his ability to command many qualities that allows him to rule for the benefit of the people.
I'm registering my protest against this unquestioned definition of a historical concept written in western languages that carelessly use this equation which actually comes from the western epistemology that God gives the Chruch the right to rule, and then the Church gives the right to Kings to rule. Well, that logic doesn't follow in our society. This way of looking at the history of our region through these lenses have written versions of history that somehow just doesn't seem to ring a bell.
We Thais highly revere our Kings, and willingly place them on top of our heads, but we've never conceptualized them as "God"! Come on, being Buddhists, we don't even believe in God, or gods. OK, so we pray to spirits, go to Indra and Brahmin shrines, but seriously, someone should make it clear, they are never related to as gods. Please, someone, dig in and explain, we don't have the concept of a sole creator who creates the universe, etc, etc., etc.
Our Kings, "Prachaopaendin" literally means "Lord of the Land". "Chao" which through lack of equivalent term in English is translated into "Lord" and then thought of as God. Going into the definition of this term "chao" needs a linguistic paper. A "Chao's" right to rule is sanctioned by what is known as "Tosapit Rajataam" or the 10 laws of Kingship. These are an expression of how centuries of rulership has been tested and what qualites of kingship are valued. Nothing in those rules says he's a god in the western sense that he is the descendant of a creator of the universe. A King's royalty and his power comes from his ability to command many qualities that allows him to rule for the benefit of the people.
I'm registering my protest against this unquestioned definition of a historical concept written in western languages that carelessly use this equation which actually comes from the western epistemology that God gives the Chruch the right to rule, and then the Church gives the right to Kings to rule. Well, that logic doesn't follow in our society. This way of looking at the history of our region through these lenses have written versions of history that somehow just doesn't seem to ring a bell.
Friday, October 29, 2004
My paper and blog on orality and literacy in Thailand
As part of a course, Comparative Orality and Literacy, that I'm auditing at the University of Toronto, I was asked to set up a blog: Orality and Literacy in Thailand as part of my research file for which I am producing a term paper. I will be developing my ideas about Thailand's oral tradition and some aspects of early literacy in that blog, so if anyone is interested, please give me a visit there....
Sunday, October 24, 2004
The Concept of the Thai Spirit
“Spirit is a power that causes, through its working from outside, changes and engenders unequal, asymmetrical relations within the individual as well as social groups. It is an ambiguous, external power, and affects directly or indirectly the individual and social relations, irrespective of whether it is institutionalized or not. This power of spirit is explicit when it attacks a person unpredictably or punishes him in response to his neglect of ritual duties. Such workings of spirit can cause instability, or destruction or, even worse, tatal collapse of internal equilibrium, which normally is believed to be maintained within the individual and social groups.
A person intrinsically has his or her own internal equilibrium, constituted of the relationship between khwan (soul) and rangkai (soul), which is always vulnerable and exposed to external power represented by various forms of spirit. …khwan as a popular notion refers to the collective soul entity believed to be firmly located within the person’s body. The firm unity of the soul entity and body provides health, while the drifting away of soul from body that could occur upon intrusion of external power, or through interference from other influential forces, can result in ill-health or even death. It is this idea of unity of soul and body which forms the basis of the stability of the equilibrium and its breakdown in association with external forces.”
from "Thai Construction of Knowledge,
ed. by Manas Chitakasem and Andrew Turton, London: SOAS, 1991."
A person intrinsically has his or her own internal equilibrium, constituted of the relationship between khwan (soul) and rangkai (soul), which is always vulnerable and exposed to external power represented by various forms of spirit. …khwan as a popular notion refers to the collective soul entity believed to be firmly located within the person’s body. The firm unity of the soul entity and body provides health, while the drifting away of soul from body that could occur upon intrusion of external power, or through interference from other influential forces, can result in ill-health or even death. It is this idea of unity of soul and body which forms the basis of the stability of the equilibrium and its breakdown in association with external forces.”
Cornell's collection of Southeast Asian books
In this beautiful on-line "book"produced by Cornell University, you will be able to find some beautiful images of ancient manuscripts and old books of Souteast Asia. The site draws attention to what official history books have omitted to tell us, that ancient ancestors of Southeast Asia were avid readers, literate, and collectors of precious manuscripts, dating as far back as 1st century AD.
I quote from this site: "In the first centuries A.D., the earliest foreign visitors to Southeast Asia remarked on the books of the region, which were incised into palm leaves or written into mulberry- or bark-paper manuscripts, usually employing alphabets derived from Indian scripts or, in Vietnam, using Chinese characters. The first libraries of the region were at royal capitals such as Angkor in ancient Cambodia. Then with the advent of Theravada Buddhism and Islam from the thirteenth century onwards, handwritten books were found almost everywhere.".
I quote from this site: "In the first centuries A.D., the earliest foreign visitors to Southeast Asia remarked on the books of the region, which were incised into palm leaves or written into mulberry- or bark-paper manuscripts, usually employing alphabets derived from Indian scripts or, in Vietnam, using Chinese characters. The first libraries of the region were at royal capitals such as Angkor in ancient Cambodia. Then with the advent of Theravada Buddhism and Islam from the thirteenth century onwards, handwritten books were found almost everywhere.".
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Wiang Goom Gaam, Chiang Mai's Ancient City
This excellent article, "From Beneath the Sands of Time", was published by 'Welcome to Chiangmai & Chiangrai' magazine. Reminds me that there are archeological sites we tend to miss, because they are not so well publicized. It was a happy discovery for me to see this visual proof of our legendary King Mengrai's ancient abode. One day, I've promised myself to read more extensively about the Chiang Mai Chronicles. For now let's just enjoy the following picture:
I also found Jing Reed's musings about the site, another nice read with a few more pictures.
I also found Jing Reed's musings about the site, another nice read with a few more pictures.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Ancient Isaan alphabets to go high-tech
From MCOT News:Tuesday 12 October 2004, through 2Bangkok.com
UBON RATCHATHANI, Oct 6 (TNA) - A lecturer at a college in Thailand's Northeast has invented a computer font for two ancient Isaan alphabets which are in danger of dying out.
The new high-tech inventions mark a huge change in the life of the 'Tai Noi' and 'Dharm' alphabets.
According to Asst. Prof. Sanit Phokaphan from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the Rajabhat University's Ubon Ratchathani campus, the Tai Noi alphabet was originally written on palm leaves as a mean of recording events relating to merit-making ceremonies and other local traditions, as well as local folk tales and medical formulas.
The 'Dharm' alphabet, meanwhile, was regarded as a high-ranking mean of recording issues relating to Buddhism.
It was not until the 19th century, when government legislation insisted on the use of the Thai alphabet, that the two alphabets slipped into disuse.
Asst. Prof. Sanit, who invented the computer fonts, says that the alphabets are now only taught at the Rajabhat University, and among Buddhist monks wanting to read ancient manuscripts.
The lecturer hopes that his inventions will lead to a resurgence of interest in the ancient scripts, and prevent their extinction.
The fonts will also make it easier for researchers to learn about national historical events written on palm leaves.
The fonts can be downloaded for free at the Rjabhat University's website.
UBON RATCHATHANI, Oct 6 (TNA) - A lecturer at a college in Thailand's Northeast has invented a computer font for two ancient Isaan alphabets which are in danger of dying out.
The new high-tech inventions mark a huge change in the life of the 'Tai Noi' and 'Dharm' alphabets.
According to Asst. Prof. Sanit Phokaphan from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the Rajabhat University's Ubon Ratchathani campus, the Tai Noi alphabet was originally written on palm leaves as a mean of recording events relating to merit-making ceremonies and other local traditions, as well as local folk tales and medical formulas.
The 'Dharm' alphabet, meanwhile, was regarded as a high-ranking mean of recording issues relating to Buddhism.
It was not until the 19th century, when government legislation insisted on the use of the Thai alphabet, that the two alphabets slipped into disuse.
Asst. Prof. Sanit, who invented the computer fonts, says that the alphabets are now only taught at the Rajabhat University, and among Buddhist monks wanting to read ancient manuscripts.
The lecturer hopes that his inventions will lead to a resurgence of interest in the ancient scripts, and prevent their extinction.
The fonts will also make it easier for researchers to learn about national historical events written on palm leaves.
The fonts can be downloaded for free at the Rjabhat University's website.
Monday, August 30, 2004
My fascination with Ban Chiang
Ban Chiang, its discovery, its pots, the mystery of its people captivated me from the moment I stumbled on the first pictures of the pots. I drew the images, I searched out all the books I could get my hands on in Bangkok, and continue to look for more information. Despite its deep historical and archeological implications, there is frustratingly little public information, the internet has helped a bit, but not enough. I think I should just warn my readers that I will probably tend to be obsessive with this subject and come back to it again and again.
Ban Chiang is preserved as a World Heritage Site.
The best website on this subject is University of Penn State.
I recently discovered this photo in University of Hawaii's Ban Chiang Gallery
Disappointed that I can't find much deep information from Thai sources apart from touristic info sites.
However, I did find the official site of the Ban Chiang Museum here.
You can find some picutes of Ban Chiang pots shown in these websites below. For me, it is a somewhat sad reminder of all the smuggling that occurred when the dig was first discovered in the 60s. The pots became so much in demand that such good fakes, that were nearly impossible to detect as fakes, were sold. (Note: no connections with the ones shown here.)
Tinny Fishers Antiques
Hundred & One Antiques
Shaw Collection
Vase from Suan Pakard Museum
List of other interesting websites I found related to Ban Chiang:
Image from Met Timeline
Wikipedia page on Ban Chiang
A page of Museum Presentation Association's Exhibit on Prehistoric Thai Ceramics: Ban Chiang In Regional Cultural Perspective
The Crucibles of Ban Chiang, by Dr. William Vernon
A Ban Chiang ritual bell, (most of Ban Chiang's amazing bronze artifacts tends to be overshadowed by the much more interesting pottery)
Ban Chiang is preserved as a World Heritage Site.
The best website on this subject is University of Penn State.
I recently discovered this photo in University of Hawaii's Ban Chiang Gallery
Disappointed that I can't find much deep information from Thai sources apart from touristic info sites.
However, I did find the official site of the Ban Chiang Museum here.
You can find some picutes of Ban Chiang pots shown in these websites below. For me, it is a somewhat sad reminder of all the smuggling that occurred when the dig was first discovered in the 60s. The pots became so much in demand that such good fakes, that were nearly impossible to detect as fakes, were sold. (Note: no connections with the ones shown here.)
Tinny Fishers Antiques
Hundred & One Antiques
Shaw Collection
Vase from Suan Pakard Museum
List of other interesting websites I found related to Ban Chiang:
Image from Met Timeline
Wikipedia page on Ban Chiang
A page of Museum Presentation Association's Exhibit on Prehistoric Thai Ceramics: Ban Chiang In Regional Cultural Perspective
The Crucibles of Ban Chiang, by Dr. William Vernon
A Ban Chiang ritual bell, (most of Ban Chiang's amazing bronze artifacts tends to be overshadowed by the much more interesting pottery)
Sunday, August 29, 2004
The making of oral history in Thailand
A paper on "The making of oral history in Thailand" was presented at the 65th International Library Associations and Institutions on August, 1999.
Rujaya Abhakorn, Department of History, Chiang Mai University, writes about the paper:
"This paper is based on a rough survey, with the kind assistance of Nakharin Mektrairat and Warunee Osatharom of Thammasat University, of "oral history projects" conducted since 1976 as well as publications that used oral interviews. The result shows that a state agency, the National Archives, and academic historians have played the most active roles in the making of oral history in the modern era. There appears to be three types of oral history, all of which are political in nature, but reflecting three different concerns: the history of the state, the history of the democratic movement and the history of the people."
An explanation of "What is oral heritage" prepared by Thai Library Association can be found here.
Rujaya Abhakorn, Department of History, Chiang Mai University, writes about the paper:
"This paper is based on a rough survey, with the kind assistance of Nakharin Mektrairat and Warunee Osatharom of Thammasat University, of "oral history projects" conducted since 1976 as well as publications that used oral interviews. The result shows that a state agency, the National Archives, and academic historians have played the most active roles in the making of oral history in the modern era. There appears to be three types of oral history, all of which are political in nature, but reflecting three different concerns: the history of the state, the history of the democratic movement and the history of the people."
An explanation of "What is oral heritage" prepared by Thai Library Association can be found here.
Who are the Tai?
A few months ago I found this very thought provoking article Who are the Tai? A Discourse of Place, Activity and Person that was presented by RICHARD A. O'CONNOR of the University of the South.
Here are some intresting quotes from his paper:
"Asking 'who are the Tai?' already presumes there are Tai. Are there Tai? No, not if that means a timeless ethnic whole.....All groups are always changing, and if their boundaries are absolute then we can't cross them to discover what's there anyway. Why then do we imagine 'Tai' as a fixed group that once had or now has a single consistent culture? We're creatures of our era. Ours is an age that imagines discrete peoples swept along or away by progress. That's the modern story. My own discipline, anthropology, gets caught up in this teleology which creates cultures that don't exist whose passing we then mourn."
"Building upon Leach, Moerman and Condominas' insights, scholarship on the region suggests four working truths. 'Working' means open to revision. Our four are thus first approximations. ... First, the Tai are a wet-rice people... Second, the Tai are social-cum-political entrepreneurs ... Third, Tai live in place-defined groups ... Fourth, Tai ethnicize difference"
"That requires me to retheorize culture and redefine the Tai."
"I propose three changes. First, to bring contradiction and power into our model as it is in life, we should equate culture with the openness of discourse rather than the closure of a code or text. Second, to ground our constructs empirically, we should focus on functionally and historically specific Tai complexes that we can study in the field. That's what 'place,' 'activity' and 'person' are. Third, to keep culture open, we need to stress the interaction of semi-autonomous complexes within a regional tradition rather than the integration of a single timeless ethnic whole. Making this shift redefines the Tai."
"What I'm calling the Tai tradition is a largely inherited set of well institutionalized cultural complexes. We might liken each to a tradition within a larger Tai tradition. I identify and group these complexes as 'place,' 'activity' and 'person.' That triad is my grouping."
By chance I found another web article about a DAAC study that follows O'Connor's thinking about the spread of the Tais, from a linguistic and geographical perspective: "Tais that Bind" written by Rachel Hauser in a seemingly unrelated site, Earth Observatory.
Here are some intresting quotes from his paper:
"Asking 'who are the Tai?' already presumes there are Tai. Are there Tai? No, not if that means a timeless ethnic whole.....All groups are always changing, and if their boundaries are absolute then we can't cross them to discover what's there anyway. Why then do we imagine 'Tai' as a fixed group that once had or now has a single consistent culture? We're creatures of our era. Ours is an age that imagines discrete peoples swept along or away by progress. That's the modern story. My own discipline, anthropology, gets caught up in this teleology which creates cultures that don't exist whose passing we then mourn."
"Building upon Leach, Moerman and Condominas' insights, scholarship on the region suggests four working truths. 'Working' means open to revision. Our four are thus first approximations. ... First, the Tai are a wet-rice people... Second, the Tai are social-cum-political entrepreneurs ... Third, Tai live in place-defined groups ... Fourth, Tai ethnicize difference"
"That requires me to retheorize culture and redefine the Tai."
"I propose three changes. First, to bring contradiction and power into our model as it is in life, we should equate culture with the openness of discourse rather than the closure of a code or text. Second, to ground our constructs empirically, we should focus on functionally and historically specific Tai complexes that we can study in the field. That's what 'place,' 'activity' and 'person' are. Third, to keep culture open, we need to stress the interaction of semi-autonomous complexes within a regional tradition rather than the integration of a single timeless ethnic whole. Making this shift redefines the Tai."
"What I'm calling the Tai tradition is a largely inherited set of well institutionalized cultural complexes. We might liken each to a tradition within a larger Tai tradition. I identify and group these complexes as 'place,' 'activity' and 'person.' That triad is my grouping."
By chance I found another web article about a DAAC study that follows O'Connor's thinking about the spread of the Tais, from a linguistic and geographical perspective: "Tais that Bind" written by Rachel Hauser in a seemingly unrelated site, Earth Observatory.
Outlawed pages of history
This was published by Nation on Jan 5, 2004. Since the link to the page is usually difficult to find. I thought it better to just copy the whole text here:
Scholar and publisher says the writings of erstwhile social pariahs have by no means lost their relevance for the mores and politics of modern-day Thailand. Literature has always been a most effective and timeless tool for reflection, especially when the books have been banned and their authors discredited by the authorities. At least that's the opinion of Chalong Soontravanich, a noted historian at Chulalongkorn University. Since 1995, Chalong and his social-science colleagues have reprinted five controversial books written by some of the most significant and controversial authors in the nation's history.
The books, reprinted by Chalong's Chakawal Witthaya ("Universal Learning") Institute, were first published between 1907 and 1937. They cover a wide range of controversial topics, from female monks to political decentralisation.
"We would like more people today to know what people of previous generations thought about society," Chalong said. "We've only selected books that were rejected at the time they were published. The writers were social outcasts, and some of them were even jailed for being too radical."
Chalong's literary revival focuses on unconventional thinkers who had ideas before their time. The project also serves to prove that censorship, which is an ancient tool used by the authorities to suppress rebellious thinkers, only works in the short term and seldom succeeds in the long term. Funded by the Osaka-based Thai Club of Japan, the institute has published 5,000 copies of rare books. The selection features the works of Kor Sor Ror Kularb or Kularb Trisananond (1834-1921), Narin Bhasit or Narin Klueng (1874-1950), Aum Boonthai (1902-1940), MC Sakol Wannakorn Vorawan (1888-1953) and Phraya Soontorn Pipit (1891-1973). Half of the published books were donated to libraries and academic researchers in related fields. The other half were put on sale at the Chulalongkorn University Book Centre.
Chalong said the group was always on the lookout for rare books that it might be able to publish. It is waiting for funding to reprint another extremely important book that contains biographies of 100 significant bureaucrats who served the country from the reign of King Taksin (1767-1782) to that of King Rama III (1824-1851). Some of the controversial issues of that time are still unresolved today. Not least of these was Narin Klueng's belief that women should have an equal right to be ordained into the monkshood. In 1928 he began a campaign for the acceptance of female monks and saw his two daughters ordained as female novices in a temple especially established for them.
Narin wrote a book called "Thalaaengkarn rueng Samanaree Watra Nareewong" ("Statement About Female Novices"), which campaigned for the revival of female novices and monks, which he believed had existed at the time of the Lord Buddha. But the novices were later derobed and arrested by the authorities. Narin fought back by sending a petition to King Prajathipok, who ordered that Narin end his campaign.
Several decades have passed, and the issue of female monks is still a controversial one in today's society. Last year Bhikkuni Dhammananda was ordained in Sri Lanka because female monks were not accepted in the Thai Buddhist tradition. The argument about female monks hasn't gone very much further than in the time of Narin Klueng. It's still centred on the question of whether or not the Lord Buddha allowed women to be ordained as monks. Bhikkuni Dhammananda believes that Narin Klueng represented the first wave in the struggle for the rights of female monks. Her late mother, Bhikkuni Woramai, who was ordained in Taiwan in the early seventies, represents the second wave. Chalong republished Narin's book last year as a part of his group's contribution to the debate concerning the case of Bhikkuni Dhammananda.
"I like the book because it challenged the status quo and authority," he said. His group believes that no other institutions would ever have reprinted Narin's book or any of the other books selected by the Chakawal Witthaya Institute. "This is because they are controversial and rebellious," Chalong said. The writers of these books had to pay a high price for having the courage to publish their beliefs. Narin Klueng was jailed many times while Kor Sor Lor Kularb was portrayed as "mentally retarded". Prince Damrong, the "father of Thai history", accused him of stealing knowledge about Siamese chronicles from the Royal Hall and rewriting them as his own work. Prince Damrong also discredited Kularb's works. He claimed they were fake history and asked for King Rama V's judgement. Though the king granted him a pardon, Kularb was sent to a mental hospital in 1900.
Kularb wrote "Aryatiwat" in 1911, explaining the 136 changes in royal and bureaucratic tradition. The Chakawal Witthaya Institute republished this book in 1995. Aum Boonthai was jailed on Tarutao island soon after his 1933 classic "Krisadarnkarn bon Theeraabsoon" was published. Aum was accused of being a member of the Bavordej Rebel Group, which fought against the government's People's Party in 1933. He died a prisoner in 1940. Aum published the book to introduce himself to the people ahead of the country's first general election. "His book is the first political template in Thai history. It's the first example of people's politics," Chalong said.
Another book that reflected people's politics was the 1935 classic "Pathakkatha Khong Phuthaenrasadorn Rueng Saphab Khong Jangwat Tangtang" ("MPs' Speeches on the Condition of the Provinces"), which Chakawan Witthaya republished in 1996.
"It's interesting that how these MPs viewed and thought of their provinces," Chalong said.
The latest Chalong revival was "Sakol Thesabal" ("Local Governance"), by MC Sakol-wannakarn Vorawan and Phraya Soontornpipit. The book was published in 1935 and was used as the country's first textbook on local administration.
"We selected this book because of our expectations of local administration and decentralisation under the present Constitution," said Chalong.
The two authors were interested in democracy despite being a nobleman and a member of the royal family. "MC Sakol Vorawan was one of those who defended Pridi Banomyong's economic policy," Chalong said.
The Chakawan Witthaya group hopes these reprinted books will encourage debate among those who believe that local governance is the root of democracy and civil society. The second edition of "Sakol Thesabal" will be launched today in Room 105 of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Arts Building I as part of an event from 12pm to 7pm including a seminar on "Rare Books and Thai Society". Speakers will include Professor Nidhi Eewsriwong, Nakarin Mektrairat, Attajak Satayanurak, Supoj Chaengraew and Anek Laothammathat.
------
To the authorities they were mad, bad or just too contrary
Progressive thinkers:
Kor Sor Ror Kularb/Kularb Trisananond (1834-1921)
Kor Sor Ror Kularb gained a reputation among Thai and foreign scholars as a historian and liberal writer, even though he was discredited by the "father of Thai history." In 1891 Kularb worked as an editor of the Siam Observer, a newspaper owned by Phraya Attakarn Prasit.
From 1897 to 1908 he published his own magazine called Siam Prapaet, which focused on history, chronicles, biographies of important people and legends. He also published a magazine called Samut Bamrungpanya Prachachon ("Book for Thought"). One edition of the magazine was called Aryatiwat, and others dealt with "official conversations" and "details of rules and traditions used in official business".
Narin Bhasit/Narin Klueng (1874-1950)
Narin was given the title of "Phra Phanomsarnnarin" by King Rama V and appointed governor of Nakhon Nayok. He resigned from the official post in 1909, when he was 35 years old, and began to study the teachings of the Lord Buddha. In 1912 Narin and his friends established the Buddha Borisat Samakhom in Bangkok. He wanted this samakhom ("association") to be a centre of Buddhist knowledge. Narin felt the wealth of Thai society was centred on institutional Buddhism. He thought people were fooled because they were ready to believe without reason. Narin also established two publications, Saradhamma and Lok kab Dhamma, where people could discuss Buddhism.
Narin is probably Thailand's first human-rights activist. Apart from his campaign for the acceptance of female monks, he distributed leaflets called Sa-ngob Yoo Mai Dai ("We Can't Live in Peace") during World War II, criticising the government's non-neutral policy. He also campaigned against the death penalty.
Aum Boonthai (1902-1940)
Before running in Thailand's first general election, Aum Boonthai was a teacher in Ubon Ratchathani. He was also a freelance writer for Witthayajarn magazine and the newspaper Prachachat. His articles focused on the "cooperative system". In his book, Krisadakarn bon Theeraabsoong, Aum criticised Pridi Banomyoung's economic policy. His ideas were more in line with the beliefs of King Prajadhipok. When he was arrested in 1933, Aum was ordered to stop writing, and his books were burned by the authorities.
MC Sakol Wannakorn (1888-1953).
The eldest son of Prince Narathip Praphanpong, MC Sakol Wannakorn was educated in England. He was interested in theories of the state, labour, social welfare and local governance and was among those who supported Pridi Banomyong's economic policy. He played an important role in drafting the Municipal Laws of 1930 and 1933.
Phraya Soontorn Pipit (1891-1973).
He was appointed governor of several provinces before being named director-general of the Home Ministry. He was also a political lecturer at Thammasat University. His topics were municipalities and the spirit of authority.
Subhatra Bhumiprabha, Nantiya Tangwisutijit
THE NATION
Scholar and publisher says the writings of erstwhile social pariahs have by no means lost their relevance for the mores and politics of modern-day Thailand. Literature has always been a most effective and timeless tool for reflection, especially when the books have been banned and their authors discredited by the authorities. At least that's the opinion of Chalong Soontravanich, a noted historian at Chulalongkorn University. Since 1995, Chalong and his social-science colleagues have reprinted five controversial books written by some of the most significant and controversial authors in the nation's history.
The books, reprinted by Chalong's Chakawal Witthaya ("Universal Learning") Institute, were first published between 1907 and 1937. They cover a wide range of controversial topics, from female monks to political decentralisation.
"We would like more people today to know what people of previous generations thought about society," Chalong said. "We've only selected books that were rejected at the time they were published. The writers were social outcasts, and some of them were even jailed for being too radical."
Chalong's literary revival focuses on unconventional thinkers who had ideas before their time. The project also serves to prove that censorship, which is an ancient tool used by the authorities to suppress rebellious thinkers, only works in the short term and seldom succeeds in the long term. Funded by the Osaka-based Thai Club of Japan, the institute has published 5,000 copies of rare books. The selection features the works of Kor Sor Ror Kularb or Kularb Trisananond (1834-1921), Narin Bhasit or Narin Klueng (1874-1950), Aum Boonthai (1902-1940), MC Sakol Wannakorn Vorawan (1888-1953) and Phraya Soontorn Pipit (1891-1973). Half of the published books were donated to libraries and academic researchers in related fields. The other half were put on sale at the Chulalongkorn University Book Centre.
Chalong said the group was always on the lookout for rare books that it might be able to publish. It is waiting for funding to reprint another extremely important book that contains biographies of 100 significant bureaucrats who served the country from the reign of King Taksin (1767-1782) to that of King Rama III (1824-1851). Some of the controversial issues of that time are still unresolved today. Not least of these was Narin Klueng's belief that women should have an equal right to be ordained into the monkshood. In 1928 he began a campaign for the acceptance of female monks and saw his two daughters ordained as female novices in a temple especially established for them.
Narin wrote a book called "Thalaaengkarn rueng Samanaree Watra Nareewong" ("Statement About Female Novices"), which campaigned for the revival of female novices and monks, which he believed had existed at the time of the Lord Buddha. But the novices were later derobed and arrested by the authorities. Narin fought back by sending a petition to King Prajathipok, who ordered that Narin end his campaign.
Several decades have passed, and the issue of female monks is still a controversial one in today's society. Last year Bhikkuni Dhammananda was ordained in Sri Lanka because female monks were not accepted in the Thai Buddhist tradition. The argument about female monks hasn't gone very much further than in the time of Narin Klueng. It's still centred on the question of whether or not the Lord Buddha allowed women to be ordained as monks. Bhikkuni Dhammananda believes that Narin Klueng represented the first wave in the struggle for the rights of female monks. Her late mother, Bhikkuni Woramai, who was ordained in Taiwan in the early seventies, represents the second wave. Chalong republished Narin's book last year as a part of his group's contribution to the debate concerning the case of Bhikkuni Dhammananda.
"I like the book because it challenged the status quo and authority," he said. His group believes that no other institutions would ever have reprinted Narin's book or any of the other books selected by the Chakawal Witthaya Institute. "This is because they are controversial and rebellious," Chalong said. The writers of these books had to pay a high price for having the courage to publish their beliefs. Narin Klueng was jailed many times while Kor Sor Lor Kularb was portrayed as "mentally retarded". Prince Damrong, the "father of Thai history", accused him of stealing knowledge about Siamese chronicles from the Royal Hall and rewriting them as his own work. Prince Damrong also discredited Kularb's works. He claimed they were fake history and asked for King Rama V's judgement. Though the king granted him a pardon, Kularb was sent to a mental hospital in 1900.
Kularb wrote "Aryatiwat" in 1911, explaining the 136 changes in royal and bureaucratic tradition. The Chakawal Witthaya Institute republished this book in 1995. Aum Boonthai was jailed on Tarutao island soon after his 1933 classic "Krisadarnkarn bon Theeraabsoon" was published. Aum was accused of being a member of the Bavordej Rebel Group, which fought against the government's People's Party in 1933. He died a prisoner in 1940. Aum published the book to introduce himself to the people ahead of the country's first general election. "His book is the first political template in Thai history. It's the first example of people's politics," Chalong said.
Another book that reflected people's politics was the 1935 classic "Pathakkatha Khong Phuthaenrasadorn Rueng Saphab Khong Jangwat Tangtang" ("MPs' Speeches on the Condition of the Provinces"), which Chakawan Witthaya republished in 1996.
"It's interesting that how these MPs viewed and thought of their provinces," Chalong said.
The latest Chalong revival was "Sakol Thesabal" ("Local Governance"), by MC Sakol-wannakarn Vorawan and Phraya Soontornpipit. The book was published in 1935 and was used as the country's first textbook on local administration.
"We selected this book because of our expectations of local administration and decentralisation under the present Constitution," said Chalong.
The two authors were interested in democracy despite being a nobleman and a member of the royal family. "MC Sakol Vorawan was one of those who defended Pridi Banomyong's economic policy," Chalong said.
The Chakawan Witthaya group hopes these reprinted books will encourage debate among those who believe that local governance is the root of democracy and civil society. The second edition of "Sakol Thesabal" will be launched today in Room 105 of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Arts Building I as part of an event from 12pm to 7pm including a seminar on "Rare Books and Thai Society". Speakers will include Professor Nidhi Eewsriwong, Nakarin Mektrairat, Attajak Satayanurak, Supoj Chaengraew and Anek Laothammathat.
------
To the authorities they were mad, bad or just too contrary
Progressive thinkers:
Kor Sor Ror Kularb/Kularb Trisananond (1834-1921)
Kor Sor Ror Kularb gained a reputation among Thai and foreign scholars as a historian and liberal writer, even though he was discredited by the "father of Thai history." In 1891 Kularb worked as an editor of the Siam Observer, a newspaper owned by Phraya Attakarn Prasit.
From 1897 to 1908 he published his own magazine called Siam Prapaet, which focused on history, chronicles, biographies of important people and legends. He also published a magazine called Samut Bamrungpanya Prachachon ("Book for Thought"). One edition of the magazine was called Aryatiwat, and others dealt with "official conversations" and "details of rules and traditions used in official business".
Narin Bhasit/Narin Klueng (1874-1950)
Narin was given the title of "Phra Phanomsarnnarin" by King Rama V and appointed governor of Nakhon Nayok. He resigned from the official post in 1909, when he was 35 years old, and began to study the teachings of the Lord Buddha. In 1912 Narin and his friends established the Buddha Borisat Samakhom in Bangkok. He wanted this samakhom ("association") to be a centre of Buddhist knowledge. Narin felt the wealth of Thai society was centred on institutional Buddhism. He thought people were fooled because they were ready to believe without reason. Narin also established two publications, Saradhamma and Lok kab Dhamma, where people could discuss Buddhism.
Narin is probably Thailand's first human-rights activist. Apart from his campaign for the acceptance of female monks, he distributed leaflets called Sa-ngob Yoo Mai Dai ("We Can't Live in Peace") during World War II, criticising the government's non-neutral policy. He also campaigned against the death penalty.
Aum Boonthai (1902-1940)
Before running in Thailand's first general election, Aum Boonthai was a teacher in Ubon Ratchathani. He was also a freelance writer for Witthayajarn magazine and the newspaper Prachachat. His articles focused on the "cooperative system". In his book, Krisadakarn bon Theeraabsoong, Aum criticised Pridi Banomyoung's economic policy. His ideas were more in line with the beliefs of King Prajadhipok. When he was arrested in 1933, Aum was ordered to stop writing, and his books were burned by the authorities.
MC Sakol Wannakorn (1888-1953).
The eldest son of Prince Narathip Praphanpong, MC Sakol Wannakorn was educated in England. He was interested in theories of the state, labour, social welfare and local governance and was among those who supported Pridi Banomyong's economic policy. He played an important role in drafting the Municipal Laws of 1930 and 1933.
Phraya Soontorn Pipit (1891-1973).
He was appointed governor of several provinces before being named director-general of the Home Ministry. He was also a political lecturer at Thammasat University. His topics were municipalities and the spirit of authority.
Subhatra Bhumiprabha, Nantiya Tangwisutijit
THE NATION
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Thailand before the Thais.
This is a text, I've borrowed from USMTA,I wonder if they've written the documents on history themselves,but I've seen copies of the wordings in several other webpages, so I don't really know. I feel the wording has been carefully chosen, why duplicate the effort? The purpose of my blog will be to provide links (a bit too lightly coloured with this blogging template, hope you can see them) on key issues I find interesting, and maybe have chats with others who have similar interests once a while.
Thailand before the Thais: The area covered by the modern state of Thailand, known until 1939 as Siam, is one of considerable diversity. The term Thai or Siamese is therefore primarily not ethnic, but political, denoting a subject of the king of Thailand, secondarily linguistic, meaning a speaker of the Thai language, and thirdly cultural, signifying a product of the culture to which the various ethnic groups that have formerly lived or live today in the region have all contributed.
The term Tai is generally used to denote the various related peoples, among them the Shans, the Laos and the Siamese Thais, who graduallly migrated into mainland Southeast Asia from southwest China (this issue is still widely debated) and of whom the Siamese Thai branch now form the majority of the population of the kingdom of Thailand.
Trading relations between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia go back far into the prehistoric period, but the earliest evidence of Indian influence penetrating into Southeast Asia in the wake of this trade dates from the 1st century AD with the formation in mainland Southeast Asia, the Malay peninsula and the western islands of the Indonesian archipelago of states in which, the kings in order to legitimise their power, had adopted either Hinduism or Buddhism, together with other Indian ideas of kingship, statecraft, law and administration, and forms of religious art and architecture derived from Indian models.
Among the earliest of these kingdoms was the state called Funan by the Chinese. According again to the Chinese sources, Funan was replaced as the leading power in the Mekong valley by one of its vassals, the Khmer state of Zhenla, which was centered round Bassac in southern Laos. When Funan was being threatened by the rising power of Zhenla, the dominant people of central Thailand seem to have been the Mons, an ancient people, related to the Khmers, who probably settled in the region at about the same time. While under the rule of Funan, the Mons adopted Indian religion, chiefly Theravada Buddhism. unlike the predominantly Hindu Khmers. There appear to have been numerous small Mon states in the region, of which the most important was Dvaravati. Little is known about Dvaravati, and even its name occurs only once, in an inscription that refers to the 'Lord of Dvaravati'. Many believe that it was a federation of Mon states rather than a single state, but the term is now applied to all Mon art and culture of this period in Thailand. The principal Mon-Dvaravati centers were U Thong, Lopburi, Khu Bua and Nakhon Pathom. In the north in the Lamphun area was the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya, called Hariphunchai in Thai.
Haripunjaya is traditionally believed to have been founded in the late 7th century by a group of holy men at whose invitation the Buddhist ruler of Lop Buri sent his daughter Cham Tewi with a large retinue of Mons to Lamphun to be the first ruler of the new state. At about the time that Haripunjaya was founded, Dvaravati seems to have become politically, though not culturally, subject to the great maritime empire of Sri Vijaya, the capital of which is thought to have been at Palembang on the east coast of Sumatra and which at various times between the 7th and 13th century extended its rule over much of western Indonesia, the Malay peninsula and southern Thailand as far as the Kra Isthmus and other parts of the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.
In the early 11th century the eastern part of the Mon realm fell under Khmer rule, while the western part was conquered by the Burmese King Anawrahta of Pagan (ruled 1044 -77). Haripunjaya also fell under Khmer rule in the II century and was finally conquered at the end of the 13th by King Mangrai, ruler of the northern kingdom of Lan Na.
Finally after a serious of battles they succumbed to Khmer domination, but by early 13th century, they outnumbered the titular overlords. It was at this point that several groups united, proclaimed their freedom and in 1238, founded the independent kingdom of Sukhothai, (Dawn of happiness) in the Pali language. Under its second ruler, King Ramkhamhaeng, Sukhothai expanded its empire pushing the Khmer as far back as Malaysia and the Philippines. The kingdom of Sukhothai is remembered for its culture rather than political power. in a brief but brilliant period,it was the scene of a 'golden age' that saw the introduction of the Theravada Buddhism as the state religion, the creation of the Thai alphabet and the establishment of a paternal monarchy that made a vivid contrast to the aloof Khmer god-kings of Ankor.
Thailand before the Thais: The area covered by the modern state of Thailand, known until 1939 as Siam, is one of considerable diversity. The term Thai or Siamese is therefore primarily not ethnic, but political, denoting a subject of the king of Thailand, secondarily linguistic, meaning a speaker of the Thai language, and thirdly cultural, signifying a product of the culture to which the various ethnic groups that have formerly lived or live today in the region have all contributed.
The term Tai is generally used to denote the various related peoples, among them the Shans, the Laos and the Siamese Thais, who graduallly migrated into mainland Southeast Asia from southwest China (this issue is still widely debated) and of whom the Siamese Thai branch now form the majority of the population of the kingdom of Thailand.
Trading relations between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia go back far into the prehistoric period, but the earliest evidence of Indian influence penetrating into Southeast Asia in the wake of this trade dates from the 1st century AD with the formation in mainland Southeast Asia, the Malay peninsula and the western islands of the Indonesian archipelago of states in which, the kings in order to legitimise their power, had adopted either Hinduism or Buddhism, together with other Indian ideas of kingship, statecraft, law and administration, and forms of religious art and architecture derived from Indian models.
Among the earliest of these kingdoms was the state called Funan by the Chinese. According again to the Chinese sources, Funan was replaced as the leading power in the Mekong valley by one of its vassals, the Khmer state of Zhenla, which was centered round Bassac in southern Laos. When Funan was being threatened by the rising power of Zhenla, the dominant people of central Thailand seem to have been the Mons, an ancient people, related to the Khmers, who probably settled in the region at about the same time. While under the rule of Funan, the Mons adopted Indian religion, chiefly Theravada Buddhism. unlike the predominantly Hindu Khmers. There appear to have been numerous small Mon states in the region, of which the most important was Dvaravati. Little is known about Dvaravati, and even its name occurs only once, in an inscription that refers to the 'Lord of Dvaravati'. Many believe that it was a federation of Mon states rather than a single state, but the term is now applied to all Mon art and culture of this period in Thailand. The principal Mon-Dvaravati centers were U Thong, Lopburi, Khu Bua and Nakhon Pathom. In the north in the Lamphun area was the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya, called Hariphunchai in Thai.
Haripunjaya is traditionally believed to have been founded in the late 7th century by a group of holy men at whose invitation the Buddhist ruler of Lop Buri sent his daughter Cham Tewi with a large retinue of Mons to Lamphun to be the first ruler of the new state. At about the time that Haripunjaya was founded, Dvaravati seems to have become politically, though not culturally, subject to the great maritime empire of Sri Vijaya, the capital of which is thought to have been at Palembang on the east coast of Sumatra and which at various times between the 7th and 13th century extended its rule over much of western Indonesia, the Malay peninsula and southern Thailand as far as the Kra Isthmus and other parts of the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.
In the early 11th century the eastern part of the Mon realm fell under Khmer rule, while the western part was conquered by the Burmese King Anawrahta of Pagan (ruled 1044 -77). Haripunjaya also fell under Khmer rule in the II century and was finally conquered at the end of the 13th by King Mangrai, ruler of the northern kingdom of Lan Na.
Finally after a serious of battles they succumbed to Khmer domination, but by early 13th century, they outnumbered the titular overlords. It was at this point that several groups united, proclaimed their freedom and in 1238, founded the independent kingdom of Sukhothai, (Dawn of happiness) in the Pali language. Under its second ruler, King Ramkhamhaeng, Sukhothai expanded its empire pushing the Khmer as far back as Malaysia and the Philippines. The kingdom of Sukhothai is remembered for its culture rather than political power. in a brief but brilliant period,it was the scene of a 'golden age' that saw the introduction of the Theravada Buddhism as the state religion, the creation of the Thai alphabet and the establishment of a paternal monarchy that made a vivid contrast to the aloof Khmer god-kings of Ankor.
Welcome to the History of Thailand Blog
As a student of the effects of media, I started surfing the net when blogging started to boom. "Wow, what a tool!", I thought. So easy to use, it's free, and it's creating all these networks among bloggers and webpages. Oh...there are still lot of things that frustrate me about the ready-made blogging software they provide, but what the heck, one has to make do.
Now, one of my deep interests (among the many capricious ones I have) is Thai history. As I surfed along, I realized that there were so many version of it out there in Webworld! Not all correctly crafted, I must say, but well, this is the "Web". We all know that the information we find here is not trustworthy just because it's there in a webpage, right? Do your academic research, read real books that have gone through trustworthy publishers, learn to discriminate who the reputable authors are. BTW, that's the speciality of the publishing industry. Don't listen to the syren songs of future ebooks, etc. We will still need publishers and editors, just so they can show us who to trust in the increasing mad house of literature.
Anyway, I thought why don't I use the blog to record which pages I've visited and what I think about them. That's how blogging started after all. But, wait, hesistation! Awh, shucks, the web is changing every single day,new pages being created every minute, news being produced every second, how am I ever going to be able to search out all, and comment on all? It's worse than looking for a needle in a haystack! But if I think like that, nothing will get done. Let's tone down our perfectionism, no? It's just an illusion.
So welcome to my journal, please comment, but be warned that one can't always be perfect, I just try to do my best. Thanks all for paying attention. :)
Now, one of my deep interests (among the many capricious ones I have) is Thai history. As I surfed along, I realized that there were so many version of it out there in Webworld! Not all correctly crafted, I must say, but well, this is the "Web". We all know that the information we find here is not trustworthy just because it's there in a webpage, right? Do your academic research, read real books that have gone through trustworthy publishers, learn to discriminate who the reputable authors are. BTW, that's the speciality of the publishing industry. Don't listen to the syren songs of future ebooks, etc. We will still need publishers and editors, just so they can show us who to trust in the increasing mad house of literature.
Anyway, I thought why don't I use the blog to record which pages I've visited and what I think about them. That's how blogging started after all. But, wait, hesistation! Awh, shucks, the web is changing every single day,new pages being created every minute, news being produced every second, how am I ever going to be able to search out all, and comment on all? It's worse than looking for a needle in a haystack! But if I think like that, nothing will get done. Let's tone down our perfectionism, no? It's just an illusion.
So welcome to my journal, please comment, but be warned that one can't always be perfect, I just try to do my best. Thanks all for paying attention. :)
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