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    Thailand Literature

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    Thea Baltazar
    Thai literature has a long history, fostered by Thai kings who were often writers themselves. The earliest literature from the 13th-14th century Sukhothai period survives through stone inscriptions providing accounts of contemporary life. Classical literature from the 14th-18th century Ayutthaya period includes important religious and historical works in verse form. The 17th century reign of King Narai was a golden era that saw the development of new verse forms. Much literature was lost when Ayutthaya fell in 1767, but was later rewritten including versions of the Ramayana and other epics. In the early 20th century, translations of Western novels became popular before original Thai stories emerged addressing social issues through serialized fiction

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    Thailand Literature

    Uploaded by

    Thea Baltazar
    2K views5 pages
    Thai literature has a long history, fostered by Thai kings who were often writers themselves. The earliest literature from the 13th-14th century Sukhothai period survives through stone inscriptions providing accounts of contemporary life. Classical literature from the 14th-18th century Ayutthaya period includes important religious and historical works in verse form. The 17th century reign of King Narai was a golden era that saw the development of new verse forms. Much literature was lost when Ayutthaya fell in 1767, but was later rewritten including versions of the Ramayana and other epics. In the early 20th century, translations of Western novels became popular before original Thai stories emerged addressing social issues through serialized fiction

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    Thai literature has a long history, fostered by Thai kings who were often writers themselves. The earliest literature from the 13th-14th century Sukhothai period survives through stone inscriptions providing accounts of contemporary life. Classical literature from the 14th-18th century Ayutthaya period includes important religious and historical works in verse form. The 17th century reign of King Narai was a golden era that saw the development of new verse forms. Much literature was lost when Ayutthaya fell in 1767, but was later rewritten including versions of the Ramayana and other epics. In the early 20th century, translations of Western novels became popular before original Thai stories emerged addressing social issues through serialized fiction

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    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    2K views5 pages

    Thailand Literature

    Uploaded by

    Thea Baltazar
    Thai literature has a long history, fostered by Thai kings who were often writers themselves. The earliest literature from the 13th-14th century Sukhothai period survives through stone inscriptions providing accounts of contemporary life. Classical literature from the 14th-18th century Ayutthaya period includes important religious and historical works in verse form. The 17th century reign of King Narai was a golden era that saw the development of new verse forms. Much literature was lost when Ayutthaya fell in 1767, but was later rewritten including versions of the Ramayana and other epics. In the early 20th century, translations of Western novels became popular before original Thai stories emerged addressing social issues through serialized fiction

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    THAILAND LITERATURE

    Thai literature, body of writings of the Thai (Siamese) people, historically


    fostered by the kings, who themselves often produced outstanding literary
    works.
    The earliest literature, that of the Sukhothai period (13th to mid-14th
    century), survives chiefly in stone inscriptions, which provide vivid accounts
    of contemporary life. The most famous of these is the Ramkhamhaeng
    inscription of 1292, in which King Ramkhamhaeng records the economic
    abundance of his kingdom and the benevolence of his rule.
    Classical literature, written in verse, dates from the Ayutthaya period (1351
    1767). It includes religious works such as Maha chat (The Great Birth), later
    rewritten as Maha chat kham luang(The Royal Version of the Great Birth),
    the Thai version of the Vessantara jataka, which recounts the story of the
    future Buddhas penultimate life on earth; Lilit phra Lo (The Story of Prince
    Lo), a tragic romance, widely regarded as one of the greatest of Thai poetic
    works, and Lilit Yuan phai (The Defeat of the Yuan), a historical work,
    celebrating Ayutthayas defeat of the forces of the northern Lan Na kingdom.
    The reign of King Narai (165688) is seen as a golden era, in which writers
    were welcomed at the royal court, and new verse forms were developed;
    some of the most highly regarded nirat poemsa genre characterized by the
    themes of journeying, separation, and love-longingdate from this period,
    including Si Prats famous Nirat khlong kamsuan (A Mournful Journey),
    describing his journey into exile in Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
    Much literature was lost in the sack of Ayutthaya by Hsinbyushin of Myanmar
    (Burma) in 1767. After the restoration of Thai sovereignty, and the
    establishment of a new capital at Bangkok, many law codes, religious works,
    and literary texts were rewritten. These include the Ramakian, a Thai version
    of the Indian Ramayana, which was composed during the reign of Rama
    I (17821809); Khun Chang Khun Phaen, an epic poem full of martial and
    amatory exploits, which took its title from the two main protagonists;
    and Phra Aphaimani, named after its hero. The second and third both date
    from the reign of Rama II (180924).

    Translations of best-selling Western fiction by authors such as Marie Corelli,


    William Le Queux, Charles Garvice, H. Rider Haggard, Sax Rohmer, Anthony
    Hope, and Arthur Conan Doyle, began to appear at the beginning of the 20th
    century, but by the mid-1920s original Thai stories, often serialized in
    newspapers and magazines before their publication in a book, had become
    more popular. Most were romantic novels, typically involving a poor boyrich
    girl (or rich boypoor girl) theme, in which the plot was brought to a happy
    conclusion by a series of improbable coincidences.
    The late 1920s heralded a golden decade in which a number of writers began
    to address social issues (such as polygamy, prostitution, social inequality,
    and social class) in a serious way. Works such as Lakhon haeng
    chiwit (1929; The
    Circus
    of
    Life)
    by
    M.C.
    Akatdamkoeng
    Raphiphat,Songkhram chiwit (1932; The War of Life) and Khang lang
    phap (1937; Behind the Painting and Other Stories) by Siburapha (pen name
    of Kulap Saipradit), Ying khon chua (1937; The Prostitute) by K.
    Surangkhanang (Kanha Khiengsiri), and Phudi (1937; The Gentry) by
    Dokmai Sot (Buppha Kunchon), have since come to be regarded as classics.
    Of these, the most famous is Siburaphas Behind the Painting, which by the
    turn of the 21st century had been reprinted almost 40 times, translated into
    Chinese and Japanese, and twice adapted for film. Set partly in Japan, the
    story relates the doomed love affair between a young Thai student studying
    finance in Japan and an older, unhappily married Thai aristocrat. It differs
    from most fiction of the period in its attempt to deal honestly with emotions;
    more than 10 years after its appearance, an influential essay by P.
    Muangchomphu (Udom Sisuwan) suggested that, at a deeper level, the
    characters symbolize the eclipse of the old aristocracy by a new comprador
    capitalist class.
    In the late 1940s many writers were influenced by Socialist Realism and for a
    brief period produced novels and short stories highlighting social injustice.
    Most were silenced or fell silent during the literary dark age of the 1950s
    and 1960s when freedom of speech was severely curtailed; in the later years
    only escapist fiction, called stagnant water literature, survived. One writer
    who proved an exception during this period was Lao Khamhom (Khamsing
    Srinawk), whose subtle stories about country folk, first published in a
    collection called Fa bo kan (1959;The Politician and Other Stories), often
    carry a more subversive message than is immediately apparent. Although his
    output was small, with most of his best work dating from the late 1950s to

    the early 1970s, Lao Khamhoms stature within the literary world continued
    to grow, and in 1992 he was awarded the prestigious title National Artist
    of Thailand.
    By the late 1960s a new generation of writers was rediscovering Socialist
    Realism, known as Literature for Life in Thailand, and their work played a
    part in articulating the intellectual climate that led to the overthrow of the
    military government in 1973; however, such fiction, with its often simplistic
    treatment of issues, had little broad appeal and soon disappeared, hastened
    by the vicious military counter-revolution of 1976. This event caused many
    writers, intellectuals, and students to flee to the jungles to join the
    Communist Party of Thailand. But fears of a new dark age proved
    unfounded when the coup leaders of 1976 were quickly replaced by a more
    liberal faction. In 1977 the writer, artist, and prolific editor Suchart Sawatsi
    set up the groundbreaking literary journal Lok nangsu (197783; Book
    World), which, with its eclectic combination of articles, interviews, reviews,
    short stories, and poems, covering both the Thai and international literary
    world, provided a real and challenging focus for all who aspired to be a part
    of the literary community. After the demise of Lok nangsu, Suchart
    continued to play a major role in the Thai literary world, promoting short
    stories through his quarterly magazine,Cho karaket (19902000; Screwpine
    Flower Garland), and annual prizes and undertaking research on early 20thcentury Thai literary history.
    The rapid economic and social changes that were beginning to sweep
    through Thai society by the mid-1980s offered writers new and challenging
    themes, while the introduction of literary prizes, accolades, and constant
    media attention also played a part in creating a vibrant literary scene. Of the
    writers that emerged during this period, Chart Korbjitti (also spelled Chat
    Kobjitti) proved to be the most successful, both artistically and commercially.
    His skillfully structured short novel Chon trork (1980; The End of the Road),
    with its constant time shifts, chronicles the economic and moral descent of a
    decent working-class family, who no matter how hard they work are unable
    to withstand the relentless pressure of day-to-day living on the minimum
    daily wage; unlike Literature for Life writers, Chart forced readers to draw
    their own conclusions from the accumulation of detail rather than pointing
    the finger of blame at a sector of society. The same uncompromisingly bleak
    vision
    is
    also
    apparent
    in
    his
    award-winning
    novel Kham
    phiphaksa (1982; The Judgment), in which a well-meaning rural school janitor
    is turned into a social outcast through the narrow-minded gossip and

    hypocrisy of the community in which he has grown up. By publishing his own
    works, Chart achieved a degree of financial independence that most writers
    in Thailand could only dream of. It is a measure of both his serious literary
    purpose, in wishing to reach an international audience, and his financial
    astuteness, that he published English translations of his novels.

    Submitted by:
    MERVIN P. BORGOOS

    Grade VIII
    Liceo de Liliw

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