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MARCH- APRIL-MAY 2020ISSUE NO. 23

CHINESE INFLUENCES

| INFORM | LEARN | GUIDE | INSPIRE

NATIONAL MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS BANGKOKUnder the auspices of the Fine Arts Department

GUIDEThe Chinese Shrine at Wang NaInterview with Dr Achirat Chaiyapotpanit

LEARNChinese ImmigrationInterviews with Khun Yuwadee Tonsakulrungruang

and Ajarn Sitthiphon Kruarattikan

INSPIREDecipher the Images in

Chinese Mahayana Buddhism

Khun Tasnee Sirikantraporn

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I recently discovered a map that shows that there are two primary ways to refer to the precious drink that we all love, words that span the globe and

transcend borders. Isn’t it extraordinary? These words are cha and te. The Brits fancy a cuppa “tea” at 4.00pm, but the French drink “thé” for breakfast and the Germans drink “Tee” too; when the Su-danese or Malaysians take “the” and the Moroccans drink “atay”, the Ashanti in Western Africa enjoy some “tu”. The southern Indian Tamil would offer you some “te-neer” but the northern Hindi some “chai”, as in Persian you should ask for some “chay”, and in Turkey some “çay”. Whereas here in Thailand, we drink “chā” exactly like in mainland China.Tea originated in China; it is represented by the character “茶” pronounced “cha” in Mandarin, the language spoken in main-land China, but pronounced “te” in Min Nan, a variety of Chinese, spoken in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guang-dong, in Taiwan or Hainan (see map p.19). Some scholars think that the countries

that adopted tea via Chi-na through the Silk Road (land) referred to it in various forms of the word cha; whereas the countries that traded with China via sea, off the Min Nan port, called it in different forms of te. The map below shows how both words have spread all over the world. Even if it shows a 3rd category “others” for languages owning their own words, it is a power-ful testament to the strength and depth of the Chinese influence accross the globe, for thousands of years.As guides, we constantly refer to the rich-ness of Indian influences on Thai art and beliefs. For our last issue, we wanted to give credit to this ancestral and inspiring culture from the far east that has perme-ated Thailand in every aspects of society. We hope you enjoy this issue that had to overcome many obstacles to finally reach you at home. I thank dearly every members of the team and all the con-tributors for their dedication and kind-ness that led to this beautiful edition.

Happy Reading!

Edito!#23 succumbs to China’s inspiring stories of migrationsNiamke-Anne

Very old tea shop on Yaowarat intersection, Bangkok.Photo: Stephanie Lavolle

Cha by the land and Te by the sea or the journey of tea leaves around the world.Source: The World Atlas of Language Structures Online.

Words derived from Min Nan Chinese te

Words derived from Sinitic cha Others

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INFORM

learn

Over to the ExpertThe Chinese Shrine at Wang Na

My Favorite Piece The Chinese Guardian Lions of the Red House

GuidE

INSPIRE

InsightsDecipher the Images in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism

NMV in ActionNMV Junior

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20

26

31

41

On the cover: Little girl heading to the altar of the Chinese shrine in Wat Mangkon a few days before the Chinese New Year. Credit: Caroline Larriere.

Contributors

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Fred’s SketchpadChinese Influences in Everyday Life SALA #23 Team

Editors: Niamké-Anne, Dimpy Kongsiri, Mellow Cammaert.

Proofreaders: John Quarmby Robert Arnold.

Photography: Caroline Larriere.

Printer: Speedjet.

Letter from the President

NotebookChinese Immigration in Thailand

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56 สวย / So Beautiful!

6 NMV Information

INFORM Contents

Bookworms Chinese Art

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Dear all

It is not easy for me to write this foreword. We are all under the impression of the pan-demic that affects our lives in many ways. Helplessly we watch as families and indi-viduals are driven into illness and econom-ic ruin. It is the incredible fragility of our existence that frightens. Culture, one would think, could relieve pain in such times, of-fer us some distraction and remind us that creativity and emotion are inextricably linked to our existence as well. However, the museum, which is at the centre of the activities of the National Museum Volun-teers, is closed, as are all other cultural in-stitutions in Thailand. In our minds, we can stroll through its halls or even take a virtual museum tour via the Internet. But there is no direct contact between our members, nor is there any contact with the visitors whom we offer so much with our guided tours.I am incredibly grateful to my colleagues from the SALA Editorial Team that they designed and published an issue even in these challenging times. They offer a link

between all of us, something that connects us and our common interests.Nobody can say how this year will end. The only thing that is clear is that in the end, when the pandemic is over, everything will not be as we had hoped for. Thanks to all of you for standing by the NMV! The members of our Executive / Steering Committee keep in touch and continue to plan activities. The intention is to resume the guided tours in the museum as soon as it is open and tourism in Thailand starts to pick up again. Of course, we are deal-ing with the question of this year’s guiding workshops and the planning of a lecture series in November. I will keep you posted.In no case do I want to forget the Annu-al Reception 2020. We have provisionally scheduled it for late September or early October. I have great hope that we will see each other again in person and celebrate together at last.Take care, stay safe and keep the fire burning!

Peter

NMV News

Letter from the PresidentPeter H. Hufschmid-Hirschbuehl

INFORM

BeliefsKang Kaeng Prae

50

In our previous issue, we mentioned the new box in the NMV Digital Library called ‘Wom-en: deep thoughts, brilliant writing, lasting impact’. The folder actually gathers already 120 books and articles up to now. If you have no access yet, please contact nmvdocumentation@gmail.com

ERRATUM

Accross: A- Mangkon. B- Chou. C- Talad Noi / Kites. D- Lu. E- Arahants / Paper. F- Dim Sum / Guan Yu. G- Yuan. I- Pagoda / Peach. K- Soya / Bat. M- Tai Suay Ear. N- Pak Choi. O- Benjarong. R- Tin. S- Kuaitiao. T- Siew. U- Gong Tek. V- Screens. X- Mahayana / Han. Y- Wei Tuo.Down: 1- Silk. 2- Guan Yin / Pao / Bowring. 4- Pearls / Pa Thong Ko. 6- Kana /Phra Klang. 8- Maitreya / Astrology / Tai. 10- Ming. 11- Luukjeen. 12- Tin. 13-Theravada / Putai. 14- Teochew. 15- Lion / Feng Shui. 17- Yunnan / Canton. 19- Oolong / Phoenix. 20- Fou. 21- Puppetry / Keng. 22- Xihia / Sampan. 23- Rice / Thonburi. 25- Shrine / Siamsi.

Answers to the crossword on page 52

In any way that men love me in that same way they find my love: for many are the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me.

Bhagavad Gita (4: 11)

SALA’s Backstage45

SanukCrossword on Chinese Influences

52

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INFORM NMV Information

NMV EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:President: Peter H. Hufschmid-Hirschbuehl presidentnmv@gmail.comVice-President: TBAGuide Chair: Elodie Valmary nmvguidechair@gmail.comMembership Claudine Kohler nmvmembership@gmail.comSecretary: Tiziana Dall’Antonia-Greger nmvsecretary@gmail.comTreasurer: Peter H. Hufschmid-Hirschbuehl nmvfinances@gmail.comMember at Large: Mom Bongkojpriya Yugala mombetty@gmail.comMember at Large: Joyce Meer nmvenglishguides@gmail.comMember at Large: Marion Milliet-Dufour Member at Large: Mellow Cammaert Member at Large: Yoshimi Nomura

NMV STEERING COMMITTEE:President: Peter H. Hufschmid-Hirschbuehl presidentnmv@gmail.comVice-President: TBA Guide Chair: Elodie Valmary nmvguidechair@gmail.comGuiding English: Joyce Meer nmvenglishguides@gmail.comGuiding French: Marion Milliet-Dufour nmvfrenchguide@gmail.comGuiding German: Jutta Klement germanguidesnmv@gmail.comGuiding Japanese: Tomomi Nagano nmvjapaneseguide@gmail.comAt Homes: Robert Arnold nmvathomes@gmail.comExcursions: Montse Amado excursionsnmv@gmail.comLectures: Dimpy Kongsiri nmvmonthlyprogram@gmail.comLibrary: Barbara MacNeill nmvlibrary@gmail.com Membership: Claudine Kohler nmvmembership@gmail.comProducts: Tiziana Dall’Antonia-Greger nmvproducts@gmail.comPublicity: TBA publicitynmv@gmail.comSALA Magazine: Niamke-Anne Kodjo Guiot nmvnews@gmail.comStudy Groups: Mom Bongkojpriya Yugala nmvesg@gmail.comTreasurer: Peter H. Hufschmid-Hirschbuehl nmvfinances@gmail.com

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Credit: Göran Ehren

LEARNNotebook

Chinese Immigration in ThailandJohn Quarmby

based on the interviews with Khun Yuwadee Tonsakulrungruang

and Ajarn Sitthiphon Kruarattikan

For this issue, dedicated to Chinese influence, we thought we should start by explaining when and why the Chinese migrated to Thailand and how those migrants influenced the Thailand of yesterday and to-day.In addition to invaluable interviews with Khun Yuwadee Tonsakulrun-gruang and Professor Sitthiphon Kruarattikan, we received help from Khun Pimpraphai Bisalputra, and drew heavily on the works of Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit as well as Khun Wasana Wongsurawat.

Any mistakes which may have crept in remain, of course, our respon-sibility.

Ajarn Sitthi-phon Kru-a r a t t i k a n is Associate Professor of History at the College of Inter-disciplinary Studies, Thammasat Univer-sity. His current research fo-cuses on China’s foreign rela-tions in the Cold War years. Since August 2018, he has been Director of Thammasat University’s Institute of East Asian Studies, under the royal patronage of Her Royal High-ness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

A Thai-can-t o n e s e who loves w r i t i n g and has

many books of fiction and non-fiction, including the his-tory of B. Grimm, Thailand’s first German pharmacy, Khun Yuwadee Tonsakulrungruang graduated from the Faculty of Arts in Chulalongkorn Uni-versity. She is still active with writing.

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The southward march of the

Tai people.

There is a sense, of course, in which the Thai people them-

selves are immigrants from China. The ancestors of the present-day Thai were part of an ethnic group known as the Tai living in present-day China south of the Yangtse river. Northwards from there, in the Yellow river valley, around Xian, was a civilisation which would later de-velop into Imperial China and, over a pe-riod of a thousand years, starting under the Han dynasty, expand southwards, into the Yangtze valley and down to the southern coast. Over centuries, the Tai were pushed south and west, overland into the Red river, Mekong, Chao Praya and Salween valleys.The immigration which we are consid-ering here, however, is from a later pe-riod, ethnic Chinese rather than Tai, and predominantly by sea.

The Merchants come to Siam

Those of the Tai who moved into the Mekong and Chao Praya valleys slowly gained ascendancy over Khmer and Mon predecessors and, by the 12th century CE established cities such as Chiang Saen, Chiang Mai, moving down the val-ley and growing richer as power moved to Sukhothai and then to Ayudhya in the 14th century CE. But the merchants were already there, Arabian, Indian and Chinese. The trade from Arabia and In-dia by sea to the West Coast of the Ma-laysian peninsula, overland to the East Coast and on by sea to Indochina and China had been running since the first

century CE. The trading stations were also, more recently, handling trade from Pegu (Burma) and Angkor (Cambodia) to China.The Siamese Kings realised that inter-national trade could bring them riches which could be turned if needed, into military power and greater supremacy. Both Sukhothai and Ayudhya were based on trade and their Kings partic-ipated actively themselves. They re-alised too that the big prize was trade with Imperial China which was, at the

LEARN LEARNNotebooktime, by far the largest economy in the world and was increasingly seeking access to foreign commodities. The Empire’s ever-growing population and wealth were putting a strain on domes-tic resources. They coveted the raw materials, forest, and animal products of SE Asia and could offer the technolo-gy, weapons, tea, silk, and luxury goods which the SE Asian rulers coveted. The bulk of the trade was controlled in China by the court and they would only deal on a “monarch to monarch” basis with rulers who recognised the emperor as their suzerain lord. Tribute had to be proposed to the emperor, and the sta-tus of a tributary state requested. Both Sukhothai and Ayudhya sent tribute and competed in requesting recognition, but only Ayudhya was successful, in 1371, a fact which effectively sealed their dom-inance over Sukhothai and, thus, over the Chao Praya basin.The resulting trade-link between Ayud-hya and China was the line along which Chinese immigration to Siam flowed for the next 500 years. As dynasties came

and went, laws were changed, wars were fought, trade flow changed hands, and commodities changed. Through it all, trade remained the fundamental strength of Ayudhya and became that of Bangkok, too. And through it all, the migration associated with that trade continued. The Chinese merchants themselves were the first to settle in Ayudhya, but then the Chinese captains and crews of their vessels would take up, at least temporary, residence. Sia-mese vessels could also sail the route but there were restrictions on the entry of Siamese sailors into Chinese ports and, in time, Chinese vessels predomi-nated. Even vessels owned by Thai roy-alty or merchants would often be Chi-nese-manned. The crews would be at least semi-resident in Siam because, in the days of sailing junks there were no “quick turn-arounds”: when the mon-soon is blowing you can’t sail against it, you just have to wait, maybe for months. Furthermore, the Chinese, then as now, always like to bring over their own people to handle operations, so there

Lighthouse in Koh Sichang, Chonburi, where many Chinese junks have stopped for business purpose for centuries. A Chinese junk dreamed by a street art painter in Bang Rak, Bangkok.

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would be Chinese clerks, stevedores, and shipwrights. The semi-permanent shortage of man-power in Siam due to the conscription of Thai men to forced labour strengthened this trend, as did the freedom from this servitude award-ed to Chinese men. Following the same logic, as Chinese merchants moved into the processing of materials before shipment, in the mining and smelting of tin or the tanning and drying of animal products, they would bring the work-ers over from China too. Such Chinese communities established themselves in Ayudhya of course, but not only there. They were also in Bangkok, at the en-trance to the Chao Praya, in Nakorn Sawan where the produce from the North is consolidated at the con-fluence of the rivers, at the mouths of the rivers in Chacheng-sao, Samut Sakhon, Chantaburi, Surat Thani and Pattani, and at the source of minerals (tin) in Phuket and Nakorn Si Thammarat (Ligor). This latter city was also one of the major links in the portage trade across the Malay Pen-insula linking the China trade, the Indian and Arabian markets (the other major routes were from Mergui to Prachuab Kirikhan (Kui) and Tavoy direct to Ayud-hya). Thus, Chinese merchants were everywhere that the produce of the land was exploited, refined, loaded, consoli-dated, or shipped. Their dominance was such that English merchants, struggling to establish themselves from 1620, wrote that there were over 30,000 Chi-

nese in Siam, of whom less than half were based in Ayudhya. This, at a time when the population of the present-day Thailand is estimated to have been below 2 million (Baker & Pasuk “Thailand”). Most of the Chinese immigrants were from the area covered today by the Provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, quite simply because that’s where the ships came from. The “trea-ty ports” were specified by the Imperial government as origin/destination for the SE Asian trade. They were the most southerly Chinese ports, cutting down the distance and time at sea and min-imising the very significant risks from

storms, vessel failure or pi-rates.

The people from that region identified as Hokkien, Canton-ese, Hakka, Teo-chew, Kwangsai, Hokchiu, Hokchia, Henghua or Hailam

(Hainanese). They came to Siam without

family as Chinese custom forbade women to leave the

country, or even the home-town of their family. In fact, there were times too when the Imperial government forbade any Chinese settlement at all outside the mainland and sent out punitive ex-peditions to enforce the law. However, the rules were generally simply ignored and slipped into desuetude. Once here, many immigrants set up families with Siamese wives, sometimes in parallel to pre-existing families in China. As a general rule, pain was taken to ensure that the male children were brought up

LEARN LEARN

in the Chinese tradition, whilst female children were brought up by their moth-ers as Siamese. Clearly, however, the means available dictated the options open. A rich merchant or high official could send his Siamese-born sons back to China at an early age for their educa-tion, and could bring his Chinese-born sons over to Siam as soon as their ed-ucation was complete. A labourer, or even a middle-ranking employee, would be limited to a local Chinese school for his son, as long as the father’s health and income permitted. On the other hand, though, a bright young man could hope to “marry-up” with a Siam-Chi-nese girl from a successful family.As the Chinese merchants grew rich-er through their trade, they grew more powerful, but also more exposed to risk. They could use their money to gain fa-vour with people in authority, but were completely dependent on the good-will of the Ayudhyan king and threatened by envy all around. The kings, in turn, knew that they needed the merchant class (Chinese primarily, but also the

Persians, Moors, Japanese, and oth-ers) to continue their profitable trade, but that any one merchant, whoever he might be, was expendable and there was little solidarity among them. Final-ly, the kings also knew that the principal danger to their own position came not from the merchants but from the high nobility.As a result, merchants, especially but not only the Chinese, were increasing-ly granted positions of authority in the later Ayudhyan reigns. These included tax farming concessions, management of royal monopolies, provincial gov-ernorships, and ministerial positions. These appointments were a source of riches and power. It was safer for the king to confer them on men who them-selves had no intrinsic power-base or political support. A Siamese noble in these positions could be too power-ful: a foreigner, quite apart from any consideration of competence or back-ground, would be totally beholden to the king and, in case of problems, could be disposed of in a night. This process

Above: Painting of a Chinese junk ashore in Phuket. Phuket Tai Hua Museum.Opposite page: Chinese hair cut. Courtesy of ความรู้ภาคพิสดาร @amazingknowledge

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brought Chinese merchants on several occasions to the post of Phraklang, the royal minister responsible for the trea-sury, trade, and the royal warehouses. The organisation was also responsible for the China trade and, effectively, for the royal fortune. However, this was a high-profit/high risk position. One Chinese Phraklang won great glory by negotiating with the Imperial Court, in 1722, the right to export rice to Chi-na, including also private sector ship-ments. Another Chinese Phraklang was executed in 1703 for taking the wrong side in a succession dispute. The over-all standing of the Chinese community continued to grow. In the second half of the 17th century CE there was a major inflow of Chinese of high rank fleeing the violent transition from the Ming to the Qing era in China. Several of these men were Mandarins

from the imperial elite and moved quick-ly into the gaps left in government by the bloody purge of the Siamese nobility carried out after the fall of King Narai in 1688. At the same time other groups of refugees settled in Pattani, Ligor, and Chonburi. At the time of the Burmese attack in 1765, the Chinese community in Ayudhya, and Siam overall, was at an all-time high in both numbers and political standing. They had overflowed their traditional area in Nai Kai, near the Chinese Gate and set up subsidiary set-tlements, distilling liquor, raising pigs, manufacturing furniture, and trading in all forms of Chinese goods. There were many Chinese shrines, temples, and streets of housing.

The Fall of Ayudhya The Chinese community was split

by the events leading up to the fall in 1767. Some fled the city with what they could carry, others stayed on and put up a strong, but finally vain defence of their community. Casualties were very heavy. It is said that 3,000 Chinese combatants fell alone in their last stand in the abandoned Dutch factory.Many of the survivors, plus Chinese from the provinces, subsequently rallied to the cause of King Taksin who was, himself, half Teochew. His Chinese reg-iments played an important role in his ascension to the throne of Thonburi, and again in his campaigns to restore the old frontiers of Ayudhya. Finally, how-ever, they found them-selves on the losing side again when Tak-sin was overthrown and his supporters purged. Overall, be-tween 1767 and 1782, the Chinese community lost in manpower, wealth, and influ-ence. Together with the loss of records in Ayudhya this meant that only a few Chinese families in Thailand today can trace their ancestry to Ayudhyan days.

Rattanakosin, the Change from Supply-push to Demand-pull Immi-grationBetween 1768 and 1830, from Taksin through to the Third Reign, Siam was on a constant war footing with campaigns firstly to push out the remaining Bur-mese garrisons, then overthrow upstart local rulers in the Siamese heartland and subsequently to regain lost territo-

ry in the South, in Lanna, in Laos and in Cambodia. These campaigns were successful, and the bounty in terms of tributes, trade-goods, and captives was enormous. Campaigns cost money and the treasury had disappeared, so Siam restarted trade-links to China as soon as possible after the start of the Thonburi regime. Since the start of the rice-trade in 1722, this commodity had become the most important single item on the China-trade and was the first to restart, even before full control was re-estab-

lished over the timber-producing areas.

By the 1810’s trade in-come was flowing and victories accumulat-ing, but still Siam’s social structure was close to col-lapse together with

the system of forced labour. All Siamese

freemen, i.e. other than slaves and nobility, were

registered as Phrai and were obliged to provide unpaid services to their lord (the king or a noble) in the form of military service or other duties, up to 6 months per year. This is the way military cam-paigns and construction projects were manned and there was, for hundreds of years, no way of avoiding it without becoming a hunted outlaw. Every time, however, that wars went on too long or better opportunities presented them-selves, the Phrai would take the risk and make themselves scarce. And that was the case in the early 1800’s. Kings could no longer raise large armies, royal projects stopped for lack of labourers.

LEARN LEARNNotebook

Above: old Chinese houses built in the Sino- Portuguese style in Phukhet Town. Many of these houses belong to families whose ancestors first came to the island as labourers in the 19th century tin mines. Opposite page: entrance of the 200 year-old Sol Heng Tai Mansion built in a Hokkien-Teo-chew architectural style; one of the oldest mansion in Bangkok.

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the contractor who had hired them, but thereafter they could move. Those who could afford to pay their own fare could decide from the start. They would usu-ally, however, try to be near their own people. The “clan” offered help to get started, protection in lawless times, maybe even co-investors. About 40% of all immigrants were Teochew and

they settled predominantly in Bangkok, the Central Plains, Chonburi and the South East. Hainanese, Hakkas and Hokkien favoured the South, Cantonese the South and South East. By trade, the Teochew favoured agriculture. In China cultivation of the land was much more intensive than in Siam; they saw oppor-tunities to increase production and pro-ductivity, introduce new crops such as sugar cane, rubber, kale and commercial vegetables. The production of rice had

to be systematised and yields increased for the export market. Later they dom-inated wholesale and retail sales of agricultural products and textiles. The Hokkien, as traders, were active on the peninsula, not only in Siam ese main-land but also in Phuket, Singapore, Pen-ang, Malacca, and the Philippines. The Hakka latched onto the long-standing trade in animal skins, bones, ivory, and leather, looking to add value, process-ing the goods before export and mov-ing into shoe manufacturing. Many of the Cantonese moved into repair, metal working, and light engineering (though in Europe they mostly became cooks), and the Hainanese in Siam mostly set up eateries and food stores.As the new migrants worked their way up the economic ladder they moved down the supply-chain, processing the primary products and prospering on the value-added. They set up saw-mills, sugar-mills, and boat yards to process primary into secondary goods and sim-ple manufactured goods. They moved further upcountry looking for unexploit-ed opportunities, and contributed to an ongoing economic boom in the country.All had, of course, the advantage of not needing to take part in forced labour. The problem of the forced labour for Siamese did not go away, until the 5th Reign attempted a reform.Not all the new immigrants were poor; established businessmen moved in too, and new very rich families quickly es-tablished themselves. Nicknamed “Jao Sua” (Chinese business owners, in Thai), the new Chinese tycoons con-tinued to climb the social hierarchy in the traditional manner, making money

The system had often been in crisis be-cause Siam, like all SE Asian countries, suffered from chronic under-popula-tion. The major constraint on every pol-ity was the number of people they had. An aggressive war, if successful, could culminate in the transport of most of the defeated population back to the victor’s country and, with luck, a net gain. The gains from Siam’s wars had not been enough. There were enough men to keep the wars going, or the civil con-struction projects, but not both simul-taneously. Especially as the booming economy made it more attractive, and easier, to avoid service. So the Siamese government, passing via brokers, used the ships coming from China to bring not just cargo but also immigrants. The import of workers, rather than being driven by Chinese merchants bringing over trusted workers, was now pulled by an urgent demand in Siam to replace the men conscripted, dead, or abscond-ed upcountry. During the late 1820s already, immigration was running at around 7,000 per year, by 1850 it was estimated that 300,000 Chinese were living in Siam and by 1870, driven by poverty and social disorder in South Chi-na, arrivals were running at 14,000 per year. By that time there was a regular direct steamer service between Shan-tou and Bangkok plus indirect steamers via Hong Kong and of course the sailing ships. The brokers estimated that 50% of the immigrants would return to China after completion of their indenture but we have no data as to the actual figure.Many of these immigrants were entre-preneurs. Contractually bound to work on civil works for a period of years,

thereafter they could work on their own account. These are the people of whom it was said that they arrived with just “a pillow and a mat” and made their for-tune.During the Ayudhyan era the merchants had chosen their location in Siam based on the goods they planned to extract, export or import, and sell. The mass

of the migrants, the workers, would be sent out to join their boss wherever he might be. The boss would, automatical-ly be from the same area, maybe even the same town or village, as he only hired people he knew he could trust. Only the most successful few could set themselves up in a new location. In the Rattanakosin period however, location became a decision. Those who came out as indentured labourers would of course have to serve their time with

LEARN LEARNNotebook

Chinese traders at the beginning of the 20th century. Exhibition at the Yaowarat Chinatown Heritage Center. Photo credit: Phanthit Malisuwan.

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from trade and commerce, moving on to tax-farming and official posts, fund-ing state projects, and marrying daugh-ters into noble families. Many of today’s great Chinese families are from this vin-tage.

The Era of the EuropeansSiam, however, was on the threshold of a new geopolitical era. By the 1840’s the junk trade to China had started to de-cline as the junks were no longer com-petitive with the faster and higher ca-pacity European ships based in the new European colonies and circulating in the South China Sea. Furthermore, the relative wealth of the Chinese empire was fading as the decline of the Qing dynasty continued. The first opium war, between the British and Chinese em-pires, which finished in 1842, was the finishing blow for the traditional trade between Siam and China. The Chinese were obliged, by the treaty of Nanjing, to open up the tribute ports to British ships, annulling all the advantages Siam possessed with the tribute trade and allowing the European powers to com-pete in the Chinese market selling not only opium, but all their own produce and that of their colonies. Siam, under King Mongkut, faced up to reality by agreeing, in their turn, to sign the Bow-ring Treaty of 1855 with Great Britain which opened up Siamese ports also to “free trade” and abandoned royal trade monopolies (except for the new one on opium to which came also alcohol and gambling). Preferential treatment of Chinese vessels was abolished, as were preferential duty rates. Extraterritorial-

ity was granted to British citizens. In a series of “cut and paste” treaties in the next few years, several other European countries and the USA received similar conditions. Many Chinese citizens in Siam subsequently managed to obtain extraterritorial status. On a strategic level the step into the world economy proved beneficial for Siam. The special relationship with Im-perial China was finished, Siam was turning towards the West and wanted to do so as an equal partner. Sometimes it is better to take a step back to get onto the right path.

Growing influence: Growing tensionsThe geopolitical turn-west had, howev-er, no direct influence on immigration, nor on the ever-increasing wealth and influence of the Chinese within Siam who were now fully integrated into the administration and commerce of the country. But over the following 60 years, small clouds appeared on the horizon. Since 1868, King Chulalong-korn had introduced British, and other European advisors and counsellors, into all ministries and administrative units of the country to help with the moderni-sation of the country. These gentlemen were worried at the increasing number of Chinese in positions of authority and, indeed as a percentage of the popu-lation, Fears of a “Yellow Peril” were stoked by the General Strike of 1910 in which the Chinese community, en-raged at an increase in the taxes levied on them, had halted Bangkok for three days in protest. This demonstration of their power gave rise to mistrust. And

indeed, the events leading up to the 1911 revolution in China had stoked Chinese nationalism within a community in Siam who had previously identified with their region of origin, (e.g. Teochew or Hok-kien) rather than with China as a whole. Dr Sun Yat-Sen visited Siam four times before 1910 and raised large amounts of money for his cause. The Revolution itself, the overthrow of the Qing / Man-chu dynasty and the installation of a Re-public of China caused celebrations in Chinatown which could hardly be well received in a monarchy. Finally, and perhaps surprisingly, the ar-rival of female Chinese immigrants after 1911 changed important and longstand-ing parameters in Siamese society.

There was no change in Chinese law, and there had never been a law in Siam forbidding female immigrants, but the revolution changed the cultural cli-mate in certain parts of China. Whilst it was still desirable for a female to stay in the town of her ancestors and look after the aged family, it was no longer binding. Many came to Siam to join their husbands or to marry one here. This broke the centuries-long pattern of Chinese men marrying Siamese or luukjeen (children of Chinese) wives and created, for the first time, pure Chinese households where nobody spoke Thai as a first language. Clearly the children of these families would be less likely to integrate fully into Thai society and those who distrusted the Chinese saw this as a dangerous de-

velopment. These worries encouraged a growing Siamese nationalist move-ment well favoured by the new King Va-jiravudh from 1910. His article describ-ing the Chinese as the “Jews of Asia” is often cited, but in practice he took little or no action against Chinese community leaders or institutions. He did, however, favour a stronger Siamese national con-sciousness as a bolster against foreign nations. In a strange twist, this idea was shared by the People’s Party, co-insti-gators of the 1932 Revolution in Siam which led the change from absolute to constitutional monarchy. The People’s Party under General Pibulsongkram officially abolished all extraterritorial rights in 1938.

LEARN LEARNYoung Chinese couple in Bangkok. Thanks to the Chinese revolution, Chinese women could leave their homeland and travel overseas.

18 | SALA SALA | 19

ConclusionBy that time, however, the Chinese commu-nity were securely established within Sia-mese/Thai society and, though the political pendulum swang wildly, along with military fortunes in the World War II, the ties created between the Chinese and Siamese/Thai peo-ples over the 700 years we have considered here, proved strong enough to withstand the strains. Thailand did not, unlike many neigh-bours, decline into civil war after the war.These ties are unique among the various countries of SE Asia who also received im-portant ethnic diasporas during the same period. The immigrant Chinese were ab-sorbed into the Thai population to an extent not seen elsewhere. Partly, one might say, because Siam had, for 700 years, suffered from chronic under population and had, thus, absorbed many times the original number of Thais from many different ethnic groups. Partly because no colonial power had ever driven a wedge between the majority Sia-mese and minority Chinese as so often else-where. Partly because of a shared Buddhist faith which facilitated inter-marriage. It was not always smooth but what the philosopher Sulak Sivaraksa said remains true: “Siam is the only country where a Chinese could be-come king. It is also the only country where he loses his Chinese identity”.

LEARN LEARNNotebook

Legend

China-Southeast Asia Trade Routes and Migrations by Region.Sources: Lynn Pan (ed) The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas (2006), Singapore: Ed Didier Millet; The History of Bangkok’s Chinatown by Sjon Hauser in sjonhauser.nl

Major Trade Routes

Hainanese

Cantonese

Kwangsai

Hakka

Teochew

Hokkien

Henghua

Hokchiu

Hokchia

References

• “History of the Thai Chinese”, Pimpraphai Bisalputra and Jeffery Sng, 2015, published by Editions Didier Miller Pte” Singapore

• “ A History of the Thai Chinese”, NMV Lecture with Pimpraphai Bisalputra and Jeffery Sng (see QR code on p.19)

• “A History of Ayudhya”, Chris Baker & Pasuk Phongpaichit, 2017, Cambridge University Press

• “A History of Thailand” Chris Baker & Pasuk Phongpaichit, 2014, Cambridge University Press (2014)

• Wasana Wongsurawat, “The Crown and the Capitalists”, published by 2020 Silkworm Books

Shanghai

Hoi An

Sukhothai

Chiang Mai

Ava

Pagan

Suphanburi

Mergui

Ayudhya

Chantaburi

Ranong

PHUKET

Aceh

PahangBrunei

Manilla

HONG KONG

Canton

Quanzhou

Fuzhou

HAINAN

TAIWAN

BORNEO

Cebu

Amoy

BangkokAngkor

Champa

Nakhon Si Thammarat

Pattani

Pasai

River

Chaopraya

Salw

een

Rive

r

Mekong

Phnom Penh

My Tho

Sulu

Red River

N

TONKIN

GUANGXI

HUNAN

JIANGXI

FUJIANYUNNAN

ZHEJIANG

ANHUI

GUANGDONG

GUIZHOU

Hanoi

Hokkien business men migrated to Phukhet, Ranong, Malacca, and Penang.

The little eateries and food stalls became predomi-nantly a Hainanese enter-prise.

Hakka working on leather in China became renown shoe makers in Bangkok.

Cantonese cooks mainly migrated to Europe and America. In Bangkok, they stopped at Talad Noi and Sathon; they produced many skilled carpenters, me-

chanics and instrument-makers.

South China Sea

LUZON

Penang

0 300 600 km

600 miles

300

River

Teochew farmers migrated to the fertile central plains of Siam.

Teochew business men migrat-ed to Bangkok in Song Wat, where they dominated retail and

wholesale (rice milling, imported textiles, pawnshops).

Shantou

20 | SALA SALA | 21

The Chinese ShrineInterview with Dr Achirat ChaiyapotpanitDimpy Kongsiri

Dr. Achirat Chaiyapot-panit teaches Art History at the De-partment of Archeology, S i l p a k o r n University . Her interests are Chinese

art, SE Asian Art and the influ-ence of the one upon the other.Dr. Achirat has written two books: the first is based on her research on Chinese shrines in Bangkok, the second, yet to be published, on the deities wor-shipped in those shrines. Both books have the objective of find-ing out the parallels between Chinese shrines and their Chi-nese patrons according to their ethno-linguistic group.

The small Chinese-style structure behind the North Wing and in front of the Pinklao House is easily missed, but take a visit and you’ll discover a relic of Wang Na with its marvelous carved wooden doors and unusual Chinese murals. This is the Kengnukijrachaboriharn, known in short as ‘Keng Jeen’ and to NMV members as the Chinese Shrine.The Kengnukijrachaboriharn was part of a Chinese complex that was originally composed of a two-story residence called the Bavornpariwat Palace and a Chinese-style garden. The complex was initiated by King

Pinklao, possibly to contrast with Issaretrachanu-sorn Palace, the Western structure that was his residence. The two palaces were divided by a wall and gate. To find out more about the ‘Keng Jeen’ we enlisted the help of As-sistant Professor Dr. Achirat Chai-yapotpanit.

GUIDE Over to the Expert

SALA would like to know more about

the Kengnukijrachaboriharn. How

is this shrine different from other

Chinese shrines in Thailand? What

does “keng” mean?

The word ‘keng’ is borrowed from a Teochew word: the predominant Chi-nese ethno-linguistic groups in Thai-land are Teochew, Hakka, Hokkien, Hailam (Hainanese), and Cantonese. To start we must understand that the Chi-nese language is written the same way throughout China, but the pronunciation would vary in each geographical area. The word ‘keng’ likely comes from the

The only remaining Chinese building of Wang Na called Keng Jeen. Photo: Pichada Rajavechpisal.

Chinese character “宫” which Manda-rin speakers would pronounce ‘kong’, but Teochew would pronounce ‘keng’. This originally meant a house or build-ing but later was used for shrines, an-cestral shrines, schools or even palace buildings. When Teochew in Thailand called their shrines ‘keng’, Thais picked it up with a slightly different pronunci-ation and it became a Thai word used for Chinese-style buildings in general. The Kengnukijrachaborihan may have been called ‘keng’ because it is a Chi-nese-style building, but it is likely this was also a shrine. In my personal opinion, the difference between this shrine and other Chinese shrines in Bangkok is the impressive artwork on the interior walls. The mu-ral paintings in most Chinese shrines have been damaged and painted over;

only a very few remain. The other major difference is that the shrine was com-missioned by the Siamese royal fami-ly, not by a Chinese person, like other shrines, therefore it demonstrates how Chinese art had a significant influence in the Siamese royal court.

When was the Keng Jeen built and

why? What is the significance of King

Pinklao building a Chinese shrine in

his palace?

The shrine was commissioned as part of the Bavornpariwat Palace. King Pin-klao assigned Phra Wisutmoli to build him a Chinese-style place complex next to his western-style palace, Issaretra-chanusorn Palace which still remains at the NMB. However, King Pinklao passed away before the project was completed

22 | SALA SALA | 23

GUIDE

The door carvings indicate pres-tige. They show Chinese table ar-rangements “Krueng Toa”, popular at the time. The vases represent-

ed here contain auspicious flowers and peacock feathers, representative

of high rank and good fortune.Photo: Pichada Rajavechpisal.

GUIDEOver to the Expert

and it had to be finalised by King Mong-kut. The original intention was to have a Chinese garden complex next to a West-ern one.In 1963, the Fine Arts Department took down the Bavornpariwat Palace (Edi-tor’s note: located approximately where the central stairwell is now in the North wing) leaving only the shrine.

Can you tell us how the area might

have originally looked? Is it true the

shrine was used as a staff room for

the Dramatic Arts College?

If I were to imagine what this complex looked like (for there are no remaining pictures) I would base it on how Rama II described the right-side garden in the Grand Palace in a letter to the Lord of Vientiane. His idea of a Chinese garden was to bring the key features of nature into a garden setting, therefore there was a water channel that represented the river, an earth mound as a minia-ture mountain, various trees, and a sala where one could sit and enjoy the sur-1 Another Chinese style building that was added to the complex later by King Mongkut

roundings.The Chinese garden was first popular during the reign of King Rama II. It is interesting to note that in China they would have animal figures decorating their gardens but in Siam as well as an-imals they would have human figures, sometimes as large as 3 meters, like the statues at Wat Pho.It is likely that King Pinklao would have wanted something similar for Wang Na. There remain some Chinese human fig-ures in front of the shrine – if they are remnants from the original Bavornpari-wat compound then it fits with the style of Chinese gardens of the time.I have also heard that the Keng Jeen was used as a staff room in the past. There was a photo of it labelled, “Keng Jeen, part of Phra Tinang Sarojrattanaprapat1, used as staff room” so it may be true.

What are the architectural features

we should take note of? What do the

decorative items symbolise? Please

can you tell us about the carved

Detail of the Teochew-style roof of the Keng Jeen: the top frame of the pediment has linear slots with drawings within (left) and the curve of the roof’s end splits in two.Photos: Pichada Rachajevpisal and Kennie Gallery.

wooden doors and why these images

were chosen?

The architecture of this building is a mixture between Teochew style and traditional Thai style. One can see the Teochew characteristics in the curve of the roof’s ridge and how the end splits in two. This is also used in Hokkien ar-chitecture but with the latter the split is usually deeper.Another Teochew characteristic is that the top frame of the pediment has lin-ear slots with drawings within. These are typical sculptural and artistic styles of Teochew architecture, often used in their traditional houses in China. The pictures found here are auspicious in

meaning: pome-g r a n a t e

brings multiple sons, the fingered-cit-ron or Buddha’s hand (a type of fruit) brings happiness, the Botan flower (pe-ony) brings high rank and riches.The influence of traditional Thai archi-tecture can be seen in the use of the narrower, width side of the building for the entrance. Teochew shrines usually open lengthways. Also, how the roof overhangs the front of the building, which is not usually seen in Chinese architecture. This hybrid architecture is often found in the buildings of Kings Rama I to IV’s reigns probably because it better suits Thailand’s climate of heavy rain and strong sunshine.The door carvings are also symbolic and indicate prestige. They show Chi-nese table arrangements (“Krueng Toa,”

เครื่องโต๊ะ Popular at the time, Thai no-bility would compete in having the

The Three Plenties (sanduo) is an auspicious grouping of 3 fruits: the peach represents longevity, the pomegranate progeny, and the Buddha’s Hand cit-ron happiness. It is a wish for the 3 abundances: long life, descendants, and mon-ey.Peonies that are much loved by the Chinese symbolize royalty, rank, wealth and honor.

Photos Courtesy of Patricia Welch’s “ Chinese Art”

24 | SALA SALA | 25

best display of Chinese shrine vessels and decorations). The vases represent-ed here contain auspicious flowers and peacock feathers, representative of high rank and good fortune.

What would have been inside the

shrine as the object of worship and

who would have been allowed to use

the shrine?

It is difficult to know which deity, if any, was worshipped in the shrine as there is no photographic or documentary evi-dence. The only thing that points to this having been a shrine with a deity inside

is the murals depicting the “Investiture of the Gods” which is a story usually found in shrines. Nevertheless, it is still hard to tell which god would have been worshiped here as this story can be found in a number of shrines and with different deities.It is possible that the deity was a Tao-ist one or one of the Mahayanan gods. Even though Thais are not Taoist, there is an example of some worship of Chi-nese deities in the court: Keng Narai in the royal place, for example, has the fig-ure of Tian Hou (Mazu) the Chinese sea goddess as its deity.

GUIDE GUIDEOver to the Expert

The Kengnukijrachaboriharn con-tains colourful mural paintings made by Chinese artists using brushes and techniques similar to those used in calligraphy. It tells the story of the “In-vestiture of the Gods,” or the birth of the gods. This is an eventful, fantastic tale full of demons, magic, and won-derful creatures such as flying tigers. The story is read from the right wall in an anticlockwise direction, as com-mon with Chinese paintings. There have been several restorations of the shrine that added openings in the walls and resulted in the loss of some of the murals. The “Investiture of the Gods,” known in Chinese as “Fengshen Yanyi” and in Thai as “Hong Sin” (ห้องสิน), was writ-ten in the 16th century CE. The story is set in the 11th century BCE when the Shang dynasty was replaced by

the Zhou dynasty. In its telling, history is mixed with myth and preexisting folktales, for the back story of many of the gods are in-cluded. The story was translated into Thai during the reign of King Rama II. Today it is popularized throughout East Asia as TV series, animation and computer games.With a story based on the overthrow of a ruling dynasty that was suppos-edly corrupt and cruel, the murals mainly show scenes of battle. Each warring side enlists the help of mortal warriors, who are given magical tools such as wheels-on-fire that allow the user to fly (see picture below), oth-erworldly beings with supernatural powers, wise sages and even one spectral pipat (musical instrument). Epic battles are fought, sometimes with strategic military manoeuvres,

sometimes with trick-ery and oftentimes by spiritual possession, until the victor estab-lished a new dynasty. Then heroes from both sides were elevated to heavenly status, and canonized in the pan-theon of Taoist celes-tials. Noticeably the Guardians of the Four Cardinal directions (see Insights) were given their roles at the end of this epic.

Summary of the Investiture of the Gods

Top left: View inside the Keng Jeen. Photo: Pichada Rajavechpisal.

Left below, top right and opposite page: de-tails of the murals inside the Keng Jeen de-picting the “Investiture of the Gods”.

26 | SALA SALA | 27

stand in front of the building, facing the entrance, the male lion is supposed to be on the right, and the female on the left side. The male, representative of Yang, rests his right front paw on an embroidered ball, which is sometimes carved in a geometric pattern known as the ‘Flow-er of Life’. In the imperial context this would represent the supremacy over the world. He is the protector of the grounds and the structures on it.The female on the other hand, rests her left paw on a playful cub that’s lying on its back (sometimes the cub will be sit-ting on her back). She represents Yin, nurture, and protects the people inside the dwelling.Sometimes the male will be shown with his mouth open, while the female has her mouth closed. This is interpreted as expressing the ‘o’ and ‘m’ sound respectively, togeth-er enunciating the sacred word ‘Om’. In other cases, both lions can be seen with a pearl in their mouths – this in itself is a sign of the craftmanship of the stonemason as this ball is carved inside the mouth of the lion and not put in afterwards. It is done in such a way that the ball can move freely inside the

mouth, but can never be taken out with-out damaging the teeth.Guardian lions were never meant to be a natural depiction of an actual Asian lion, but more a representation of the in-ner spirit and the emotion of the animal. The bulging eyes, mischievous smiles, claws, teeth and sometimes wide-open roaring mouths all contribute to a fierce appearance, the better to drive off un-wanted spirits. Throughout the early history in China, there was a great variation in the form of these lions, but over the centuries,

and then especial-ly during the Ming and Qing d y n a s -ties, the pose, ap-pearance, and ac-cessories b e c a m e more and more for-ma l i s ed . H o w e v -

er, there still is plenty of room for the individual stonemason to put his own mark on the stone lions they craft. As the Chinese, in their travels around the globe, took along their traditions and customs, it won’t come as a surprise that these stone lions were brought along to protect the temples they erect-ed, their houses and the businesses they established.

Details of the male (left) and female lions of the Red House, Wang Na, Bangkok. Photo: Pichada Rajavechpisal

Ever since I saw my first pair of stone lions in China, I fell in love with them, keeping an eye out for them wherever I went. They

never ceased to amaze me, some huge and fearsome, others graceful and ma-jestic, still others small and even cute. So, you can imagine my delight when, after moving to Thailand, I discovered they were abundantly present in Bang-kok as well. Even the National Museum has a few pairs of Chinese lions guard-ing the entrance of some of the build-ings.The name ‘Chinese lions’ can be a bit confusing, as lions are not native to Chi-na. The first introduction of these ma-jestic animals in its history dates back to the Later Han dynasty (25-220 CE) when emissaries from Central Asia and Persia presented them as tribute to the Han court. But lions had been known for much longer in the empire.

Buddhism had introduced this mythical creature as a protector of the Dharma well before the Chinese first set eyes on a real-life Asian lion. Over time, lions were gradually incorporated as guard-ians of the Chinese people and, by the sixth century, they had become popular guardian figures. Due to the high cost of the materials (marble, granite, bronze or iron) and the amount of high-skilled labour required to produce them, their private use was the privilege of the wealthy and elite families. Guardian lions are believed to have the ability to distinguish between good and bad intentions and, for this reason, they are placed at the entrance of temples or other buildings. They are facing out-ward, to ward off evil spirits. They nor-mally come in pairs of two, a male and a female, representing the long-stand-ing Taoist beliefs of Yin and Yang, thus providing balance and harmony. If you

The Chinese Guardian Lions of the Red HouseIlse Peters

The Chinese lions of the Red House at Wang Na. Photo: Pichada Rajavechpisal

My Favorite PieceGUIDE GUIDE

28 | SALA SALA | 29

Chinese Art, as the title prom-ises, is a guide to motifs and imagery. The book is divided into three main sections where

the author deciphers the symbols from nature, mortals and religious beings, and inanimate objects. Patricia B. Welch ex-plains with great simplicity the meanings behind hundreds of common motifs and symbols you may have seen yourself on tea pots, in shrines, on beautiful cloth without knowing it was not only beautiful but also meaningful. It is so eye-opening that you won’t be able to put it back on its shelf for a while. You’ll enjoy no less than 600 exquisite illustrations, the clear and concise explanations complimented with an impressive section of detailed references and amazing bibliography. It is very well organized with an extensive index.

Among the many striking pieces of infor-mation which the author shares with the readers, two really caught my attention. On the one hand, Chinese art is a serious matter, managed with strict rules and in-variable patterns where everything has a meaning; for example, a landscape will respect very precise codes of colors, po-

sition of the natural elements, combina-tion of flora and fauna according to the season. But on the other hand, looking at a painting can be very entertaining be-cause as everything has a meaning and therefore, powerful messages can be guessed by whomever is lucky enough to admire the painting; this is indeed the fascinating strength of tradition and continuity. We might admire a painting and enjoy the challenge of deciphering its messages the exact same way as a thousand years ago. There are different ways of delivering a message through a painting. The common understanding and knowl-edge of the symbols are one of them. In-deed, each flower, fruit, animal, or min-

Bookworms GUIDEFred’s Sketchpad

Chinese Art A Guide to Motifs and Visual ImageryA book by Patricia Bjaaland Welch

Review by Niamke-Anne

Dr Vilas Wongtrakul is a long-time NMV member and works as the Hotel Manager of Ra-

mada D’MA Bamgkok. He has served as an outside exam-iner and course outline committee for the Hos-pitality department at Assumption Univer-sity for the last 10 years. He held the position of GM of the Kwong Siew Association a couple of years ago.

Raymond Chow is the current General Man-ager of the Kwong Siew Association of Thailand. He is a Chinese b u s i n e s s man from Hong Kong who settled in Thailand 15 years ago. After study-ing in Hong Kong, he completed a MBA in the US and flew back to HK to teach Can-tonese, Marketing and Commerce. He retired 11 years ago.

Because of the sanitary situation, the library team could not choose a book for this issue. Jane Purananda, who was aware of our difficulties, advised us to write a review on the book written by an NMV member and graciously lent it to the SALA team. A big Thank You to her, because there could not be better choice for the NMV members!

SCAN ME

Click on the link to open the sketchpad: shorturl.at/erPQY

For this issue addressing the influences of the Chinese cultural assets on Thai life and culture, Fred wanted to look at the Chinese origins of what composes the daily life of Thai people. His investigations have led him to the Kwong Siew Association, its current General Manager and a former one who happens to be a truly respected NMV member.The Kwong Siew Association initially known as Kwong Sao Pavilion (Residence of the Cantonese) is situated in the Canton Shrine that was founded in 1877 by a group of Cantonese Immigrants. They collected 13,000 baht to buy a piece of land on Charoen Krung Road and form an unofficial association. It was used as a meeting place to help each other and a Cantonese school for the new gener-ations.

30 | SALA SALA | 31

Most Buddhists in Thailand follow Theravada Buddhism, but the Thai of Chinese ancestry are Mahayanan Buddhists. There are only four Mahayana Buddhist temples in the Bangkok area in-cluding the 150-year-old Wat Mangkon Kamalawat and its sister temple Wat Borom Raja Kanjanapisak (or Wat Leng Noei Yi) in Nonthaburi. There are sixteen others in Thailand. However, there are count-less Chinese shrines. Despite looking familiar to anyone living in Thai-land, they are mysterious for those with no Chi-nese background. Thanks to a long interview with Dr.Thawatchai Kaewsing a monk at Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, here are some secrets revealed to help you identify the objects and symbols you see when you enter a Chinese shrine or temple.

Deciphering the Images in Chinese Mahayana

Buddhism

Tasnee Sirikantraporn

based on the interview with Monk Dr. Thawatchai Kaewsing

Monk Dr. Thawatchai Kaewsing is one of the teachers in the tem-ple school for novices at the Ma-hayanan Temple in Bangkok, Wat Mangkon Kamalawat. Apart from teaching, he also performs various Buddhist rites at the temple and is often invited to perform cere-monies elsewhere. His most fre-quent duty outside of his temple together with other monks would be “Gong Teck”, a memorial ser-vice performed at Chinese funer-als.

Insights INSPIreBookwormsGUIDEeral, conveys a specific characteristic or attribute. For example, the peony sym-bolizes royalty and wealth as mentioned on p.23. However, if the delicate flower is associated with a butterfly, it means fidelity. So, you’d better look proper-ly before making your conclusions. The symbol’s language exploits the fauna too: they were used as rank insignia on royal officials’ robes. The lion would be for the first rank officials whereas the seahorse would be allocated to the 9th and last grade. The dragon was usually used for the emperor since the mythical animal is the highest animal in the Chinese animal hierarchy. If the dragon symbolizes the yáng, the masculine force, the phoenix is associated with the yīn, the feminine force; this is the reason why the phoe-nix is often associated with the empress. Therefore, the presence of a dragon and a phoenix on a wall could symbolize the imperial couple.A message on a painting can also be delivered through a play on words. For example, the Chinese word for per-simmon, a very auspicious fruit, is shì. This name resembles other words such as the shì for “matter, business”. So, a

painting with a persimmon and manda-rin oranges (jú) is a wish for good for-tune. But, apparently, another character of shì is “official, gentleman”. Hence, one can feel puzzled in front of a scroll titled “The Gentleman Scholar” featuring not a human but a crow (homonym of elegant) and six persimmons instead. Do you get the rebus?Will you try another one? The recently infamous bat has been a symbol for luck for a very long time because both words share the same sound “fú”. Whereas the swastika, introduced in China ca 200 BCE and named “wán” by the Empress of the Tang Dynasty, shares the same sound as “10,000”. Therefore, combining a bat together with a swastika leads to “wán-fú” and equals wishing for “lots of bless-ings”.This book provides countless explana-tions or treasures of the kind that will enlighten you with great excitement. No doubt you will be even more in a hurry to go out and walk freely in the streets again to decipher the Chinese symbols that can be seen and finally understand the messages hidden in the beauty of the paintings and carvings that surround us.

Patricia B. Welch, MA, is a former lecturer in Chinese philosophy and art at Boston University. She has been a docent for over two decades in promi-nent museums in Boston, Bangkok, and Singapore. She has written several in-house training manuals for docents and is a frequent lecturer on subjects relating to Chinese art and history. She is a member of the NMV.

Detail of a kesi starring the beau-tiful and mature goddess, Queen Mother of the West, known as Jīnmŭ. She rides on the back of a phoenix and she bears an arm-load of her peaches of immortal-ity. Courtesy of the Chris Hall Collec-tion Trust.

Published by Tuttle Publishing, 2008; ISBN-13: 978-08048-3864-1

32 | SALA SALA | 33

The day we went to see him, Wat Mangkon was really busy with devotees coming to pray and ask for favors and the

blessing of the Buddha and the deities relevant to their needs. It was a few days before Chinese New Year. In spite of this busy annual event, the monk (the devotees address him as “Xihia”) guid-ed us through the Ubosot and different Viharns of the temple. Xihia told us that the temple was built mainly with donations from the Bang-kokian Thai-Chinese community. The first Chinese immigrants to settle in Thailand had to pray in Thai Theravada Buddhist temples until Mahayana tem-ples were built by the following gen-

eration. The compound consists of the Ubosot and Viharns; around the temple there are shrines dedicated to a variety of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian dei-ties, and other religious figures and im-portant objects in local Chinese beliefs. Wat Mangkon Kamalawat is located in the district of Pom Prap Sattru Phai in the city’s Chinatown, in a courtyard off Charoen Krung Road. Previous-ly (and still commonly) known as Wat Leng Noei Yi, it is the largest and most important Chinese Buddhist temple in Bangkok. Founded in 1871 by the monk, Phra Archan Chin Wang Samathiwat (also known as Sok Heng), the temple hosts celebrations of a number of an-nual events, including the Chinese New

Offerings ahead of the Chinese New year in Wat Mangkon, Bangkok. Credit: Caroline Larriere.

Year, and the annual Chinese vegetarian festival known as Kin Jay. The temple is built in a classic Southern Chinese architectural style, the typical sweeping tiled roofs decorated with animal and floral motifs, including the ubiquitous Chinese dragons. The architects and builders were brought in from Southern Chinese cities.

The Three Buddha imagesThe Ubosot (ordination hall) houses the temple’s main gold-colored Buddha images in a fusion of Thai and Chinese style, and is fronted by an altar at which religious rites are performed. Unlike the Thai temples here you will find images of three different Buddhas (see image below):- Phra Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha of Medicine holding an herbal medicine jar, - Phra Shakayamuni or Siddharta Gau-tama the Buddha in the Karuna mudra,

- and Phra Amitabha Buddha, the Bud-dha of the Pure Land, holding a pagoda.In the courtyard, in front of the Buddha images, devotees put their offerings on the table, like Mandarin oranges; their orange-gold color represents “gold” for prosperity.

The Four Guardians of the cardinal pointsIn the main entrance (Viharn – sermon hall) one is welcomed by large figures of the Four Guardians of the world (the Chatulokkaban), two on each side of the hall, clothed in warrior costumes and holding their respective attributes. The Four Heavenly Kings or the Four Guardians are said to be currently living in Caturmaharajika Heaven on the low-er slopes of the Mount Sumeru, in the lowest of the six worlds of the devas called Kamaloka (a plain in Buddhist cosmology into which a wandering soul

From left to right: Phra Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha of Medicine holding an herbal medicine jar, Phra Shakayamuni or Siddharta Gautama Buddha in the Karuna mudra, and Phra Ami-tabha Buddha, the Buddha of the Pure Land holding a pagoda.

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From left to right, - The Guardian of the North holds a pagoda, the Guardian of the East has a pipe or harp, the one of South holds a sword and the one of the West is represented with a Naga holding a pearl. Look for them on doors or on the right and left walls next time you enter a Chinese shrine.

may be reborn). These Guardians are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the Dharma.

MaitreyaIn a heavily carved wooden cabinet in the same sermon hall sits the statue of Maitreya, the Bodhisattva who will ap-pear on earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. He is the Future Buddha. In the prophecy the arriv-al of Maitreya occurs in the future when the Dharma has been for-gotten on the terrestrial world. In Theravada Bud-dhism, as we can see in the Srivijaya room of the Nation-

al Museum, Maitreya is represented in reasonably healthy shape, with a stupa in his hair. However, Chinese Mahayan tradition represents him with a very fat body, bald and jolly, holding a rosary in one hand and money in the other. He is wrongly called Happy or Laughing Buddha. According to some hypoth-esis, the Laughing Buddha may have emerged from a 10th century’s Chinese folktale centered on an eccentric Zen

monk called Ch’i-t’ze or Qui-ci, who revealed himself

to be an incarnation of Maitreya Buddha just before he died. As the tales of Ch’i-t’ze spread throughout China, his name is said

to have slid to Pu-tai (Budai), which

means cloth/hempen

sack. Indeed, he carries a sack of good-ies for children. Not only is he the pro-tector of children, but of the poor and the weak as well. In popular belief in China and other parts of Asia, Budai has become an Enlightened master who spreads the Dharma and gives ordinary people his blessings for enlightenment. He has also been incorporated into Chi-nese Taoism as a deity of abundance.

Guan Yin Mostly it is lady devotees who come to pray to the Goddess of Mercy or God-dess of Compassion, the Bodhisattva Guan Yin. “She who hears all suffer-ing in the world” is the meaning of the name Guan Yin. The Bodhisattva’s po-sition is above the Arahants and below the Buddha. Legends about Guan Yin first appeared in the Middle Kingdom more than two thousand years ago. Her

popularity exploded around the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and she contin-ues to be hailed and worshipped as the “Goddess of Mercy” to this day. It is said that there are over two million pictures of Goddess Guan Yin around the globe.

Guan YuThe figure with a red face is the God Guan Yu (God of war), a great warrior in the tale of the Three Kingdoms. He is often found in Chinese shrines around Bangkok. He is a legend and mythically famous because of his unbending jus-tice. His character was a war general in the Han Dynasty (220 AD) made known and famous around the globe by the his-torical reappraisal of the 14th century. Films were made of his exploits and

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Above: Guan Yin at Wat MangkonRight: Guan Yu on the mural of a shrine in Thonburi.

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these days there are even video games featuring him. He either rides a horse fiercely to war or sits in a peaceful manner.

Wei Tuo Among the Four Heavenly Kings in the Viharn there is another important Bodhisattva, Skanda (Wei Tuo in Chi-nese). The Bodhisattva is facing the Ubosot where the main Buddha images are seated.As a Bodhisattva, he is the Protector of the Dharma and Buddhism. His swords,

in both hands, point downward to the ground. See image below left.

The ArahantsOn both sides of the Ubosot there are pavilions where the shrines of the Ara-hants are exhibited. An Arhat (in San-skrit) or Arahant (in Pali) is a “worthy one” or “perfected one”. He is the high-est ideal of a disciple of the Buddha. He or she has completed the path to nirva-na (spiritual enlightenment) and is free from all suffering by his/her own effort. He or she is not to be reborn. We were told that in Thailand there are 18 Arah-ants. In Chinese, the word for arhat is lohan or luohan.

Hok, Lok, and Siew, the Three Im-mortalsHok, Lok, and Siew in the Teochiew di-alect or Lu, Fou, and Chou in Mandarin, the Three Stars Deities, who might date from the Ming Dynasty, are the three star gods commonly used in Chinese culture to denote the three attributes of a good life: Longevity (Chou), Power (Lu), and Luck (Fou).• The Star Chou, according to legend,

was carried in his mother’s womb for ten years before being born, and was born an old man. Chou (Siew) is recognized by his high and domed

Above: Wei Tuo, facing the main Buddha, points his sword downward.Here below we see the 9 Arahants exhibited on the left side of the room.

forehead, carrying a peach as a symbol of immortali-ty, and sometimes a gourd filled with the elixir of life.

• The Star Lu was wor-shipped as the Deity dictat-ing success in the imperial examinations, and imperial bureaucracy. The word lu specifically refers to the sal-ary of a government official. As such, the Lu Star is the star of status, rank, and influence. The Lu Star (Hok) is usually depict-ed in the dress of a mandarin, with a prominent hat, holding a sceptre and sometimes a saddle shape of ancient Chinese money.

• The Star Fou refers to the planet Jupiter, an auspicious planet in tra-ditional astrology. Fou (Lok) is gen-erally depicted in scholar’s dress, holding a scroll and a child to illus-trate fertility and prosperity.

In the home of Thai Chinese families, it is auspicious to put the statues of the Three Chinese Immortals on a table fac-ing South or facing the front door, or in a prominent place in the living room. The Three Deities should not be placed in a bedroom. If placed in the office, they should be above the desk but lower than Guan Yu, himself below Guan Yin.However, there will be neither offerings nor worship rituals for the Three Deities.

When you hear of someone that is a “Hock Lok Siew”, you understand that this person is blooming with happiness and doesn’t lack anything in life.Nevertheless, we are told that only dev-otees who practice the 5 Sila (the 5 moral Buddhist precepts – see Beliefs article in Sala #16) will be granted what they wish for.

Bells and drumsAt the side of the Ubosot there are bells and drums hanging in the upper cor-ner. The monks use them to announce the time to pray: the sound of these instruments is very comforting for pi-ous devotees, but upsetting for those in hell. It announces and spreads the good news of one’s good deeds, such as merit-making, donation. The sound serves to prevent evil from disturbing Buddhism.

The Three immortals. From left to right: Fou the god of good luck, Chou the god of longevity, and Lu the god of good fortune.

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Rituals and PaperPaper is used extensively in Chinese temple rituals. There are heaps of var-ious paper money shaped like old Chi-nese money: some are in the form of a saddle. There are also beautiful and elaborate paper clothing used in dif-ferent rituals, some are for requesting blessings from deities and some are for the ancestors. On Chinese New Year, devotees also buy paper money, paper cloth and ac-cessories (hat, shoes, glasses, watch-es and so on) which later will be burnt in the big furnace: they are offerings for the ancestors who are in the other world.The Chinese strongly emphasize hav-ing the Gong Tek rituals performed be-fore the passed-away family member is buried. The family of the deceased will burn the paper money, clothing, house

and electrical equipment etc. to rep-resent sending these to the deceased. The Gong Tek services are performed sometimes for three days with monks chanting and the descendants praying and begging the God who is judging the deeds of the deceased to forgive and purify his soul, before letting him into heaven. The close family members, children, and grand-children hold bowls containing coins that they throw to pay the guards allowing the dead to cross the bridge into the other world. The eldest son must carry the deceased fa-ther’s/mother’s shirt or blouse symbol-izing the soul crossing the bridge, other family members follow in line according to their seniority. During this ritual the families wail loudly, so that the soul is aware that his territorial life has ended, thus they enter into the other world.

Left and below: paper money for the an-cestors and paper clothes for the deities.Credit: Caroline Larriere.

According to Chinese astrology, our destiny is tied to the karma of the year in which we are born. The Chinese god of Destiny (Karma) is called “Tai Suay Ear” – he is very busy during Chinese New Year psychological-ly comforting the people who come asking for his help and blessing.This year is the year of the Rat, one of the twelve animal zodiac signs in the Chinese calendar. People who were born in 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, are said to not be harmonized with the people in the Horse, Rabbit and Rooster years. It is also a “chong” year which means people who are born in the year of the Rat are not very lucky this year. To undo or prevent the misfortune, they come and pray to ask for the as-sistance of the God of Destiny (De-

ity Tai Suay Ear). The worshippers buy silver, gold, and red papers on which temple officials assist them to write down their names, dates and years of birth. Then, facing Tai Suay Ear’s altar, they hold their papers up above their heads, wave them along the body from head to toe 13 times and pray for help from the God. Xihia explained that the devotees will do this exceptionally 13 times this year, as there are 13 months. Otherwise, they would do it 12 times for the 12 months of the year. After completing this ritual, they hand the papers to the temple officials sitting next to the shrine who will burn them. Once the ritual is complete, the devotees leave with a light heart knowing that Tai Suay Ear will protect them through-out the year.

The Chinese God of Destiny (Karma) called “Tai Suay Ear” is very busy receiving the prayers of the devout invoking his help by swiping their body from head to toe 12 to 13 times.

Astrology

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One worships the Buddha in a Ma-hayana temple the same way as in a Theravada temple. In a Chinese temple one kneels and bows three times, lights three joss sticks and two red candles. More offerings may be added such as golden-colored fruits (that can be brought back home once blessed), gold and silver paper money to be offered and later burnt.

Those who worship Guan Yin the Goddess of Mercy, are not allowed to eat beef. They may bring white or pink lotus flowers, or white pearls as offerings to the Goddess. In Thailand there are numerous shrines and sa-cred places, on top of hills, dedicated to Her.

Guan Yu is usually placed and honored at home. He is very popular among shop and business owners. There is no offering for Him.

Worship and Prayers

Right: Devotees kneel in front of the three Buddhas.Below: Mahayana devotees burn 3 joss sticks and 2 candels for Buddha and the deities.Credit: Caroline Larriere.

Insights INSPIreNMV JuniorText and photos by Mellow Cammaert

Many of our junior visitors are from expatriate families and during their busy daily com-mutes from home to school

and home again, via extra curricular activities they have limited exposure to the culture of their fascinating home from home. Many Thai children enrolled in the international schools have never visited the National Museum either! We are delighted to be able to share some of the glories of the museum with this dynamic group in an entertaining way.

At NMV Juniors we present the trea-sures of the National Museum in a tai-lor made, interactive format to children aged around 10 years old in English, French and German. It serves as an in-troduction to Thai culture and religion while at the same time educating the children on the importance of appreci-ating and respecting diverse beliefs and preserving the country’s cultural heri-tage. The programme takes the form of a Treasure Hunt where small groups of students are invited by NMV volunteers to discover some of the key pieces in the museum.

After the introduction to each piece the

students are involved in a hands-on ac-tivity that broadens their understanding of the concepts introduced and enliv-ens the museum experience. As we all know, the Museum environment is often

In many ways the most important visitors to cultural heritage sites and museums are children. At NMV Juniors we try to share some of the magic of the National Museum Bangkok with inter-national school students, hopefully sparking an appreciation for the history, culture and art of this beautiful country.

The kids in the Charriots Hall.

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42 | SALA SALA | 43

changing and developing, and with it the Juniors team are kept busy developing our program to include new rooms and themes, or to include specific elements of a school’s curriculum on request.

If you are a member of the NMV and have completed any of the Guiding Workshop courses this format is the prefect introduction to guiding in the Museum, as you put your knowledge to the test in bite-sized pieces. You can choose to join forces with a more expe-rience member of the Junior’s team or jump right in and guide you first piece, with the support of the Junior’s co-or-dinator of the day. We run mini-train-ing sessions either at the museum or at

one of our homes to explain the format and fine-tune the activities. Everyone is welcome to contribute ideas, knowledge and help us improve the programme.

The really fun parts are the chance to interact with the children and to guide with other language groups, to learn from each other and experience some of the camaraderie of other NMV activ-ities but in the glorious environs of the NMB. None of this would be possible with out the generosity and creativity of our wonderful and diverse team of guides and volunteers. And we always learn something from the children and they always keep us on our toes!

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Our discussion is conducted in the lower floor of Issaret Rachanuson Residence

(Pinklao House) where the children are blindfolded and asked to try and identi-fy the mystery objects under the cloth: these are Garuda or Vishnu/Garuda statuettes. We ask them to describe the materials, the form and the weight and to guess what it might be. Once they re-move their eye masks some of the chil-dren are able to correctly identify the figures and from there the discussion develops to encompass how the King of Thailand is considered an incarnation of Vishnu and how closely linked the Bud-dhist and Hindu faiths are in Thailand.

The children always like to see Garuda features on bank notes and to think of the many different place they can spot the mythical beast in their daily lives.

The Chakri Dynasty and the blend of buddhism and hinduism in Thailand.

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When we greet the children in the Arms and Armoury Room in the Palace the impressive model elephant and the cas-es of lethal weapons capture their imag-ination. We use this striking backdrop to explain the role of the Prince Successor and the Elephant corp.

The vitrine containing the little case of ‘armour’ helps convey the importance of belief and spiritual protection.

This discussion continues around the maquette of a famous battle and finally we ask the children to command their own armies. They are dispatched to opposite sides of the room armed with peacock feather flags and a decoding sheet and charged with communicating with each other across the battle field.

Believe me, when the museum is very busy and the room is packed it is not such a stretch of the imagination!

How do we introduce the concept of Wang Na and its role as the

headquarters of the army to school children?

NMV in Action

After discovering the Khon masks room, the kids can make their own Khon mask.

44 | SALA SALA | 45

SALA’s BackstageNiamke-Anne

Photos by Stephanie Lavolle and Caroline Larriere

It takes us about six weeks to make one issue from A to Z, six weeks to build a content plan, find contribu-tors, follow up with them and edit

their work, work on illustrations, lay the magazine out, proofread the whole mag-azine, and print it.We always started with a meeting. We gathered at least once a month to brain-storm on the topics we would like to address, on the contributors we should contact. Setting regular meetings helped us focus and make our deadlines easy to remember. We either dispatched the lead on an ar-ticle within the team or shared the re-sponsibilities according to our skills and hobbies. • Dimpy who’s got such a social abil-

ity gathered amazing contributions we would have never ever dreamt of without her daring calls; she also led all the interviews with experts who were more comfortable to speak in Thai;

• Mellow the tremendous NMV guide mastering any topic related to art and history of art, who has worked in Angkor and uses English so elegant-ly naturally became our copywriter, helping out the non-Native-English

After two years and 11 issues, the current SALA team has decid-ed to hand the magazine over to a new team. We hoped we would be able to name the successor in this issue but unfortunately we have no candidate so far. We thought we could share how SALA has been done for the last 24 months and show you that it is more fun that it seems! Hopefully, some of you will consider it after reading this testimony?

Ha Dimpy...Do we let people take the spare copies or

do we defend them to the death?

SALA Booth at the Annual Reception

INSPIreNMV in Action

If you would like to join the team, or come along and observe our

next Treasure Hunt please contact nmvjuniors@gmail.com

Le regard émerveillé et la curiosité sans limite des jeunes participants sont une occasion unique de redécouvrir le musée, de questionner nos certitudes pour expliquer et raconter différemment la grande histoire de la Thaïlande au plus enthousiaste des publics!

For me, Treasure Hunt has been the great discovery of NMV activities. Work-ing with children is really fun, as they are so curious, especially if you give them the information like a sto-ry rather than just facts. Also they very much enjoy the games in each station, which makes it easier for them to learn. It is such a positive activity!

Me: Now put your blind-folds on and feel the ob-ject. Guess what it is!Kid: No way, I am not do-ing this! What is it? Some-thing slimy?! Do I get my hand bitten by something? Is this a haunted museum?Me: of course not!Kid: how do you know………..have you ever been here at midnight?!!

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From left to right: Marie-Aude, Elodie, Peta, Andree-Marie. Silvia. Caroline and Mellow.

46 | SALA SALA | 47 ??

??

MOMONTHLYNTHLY

MEETINGS

MEETINGS

How Peter, famously a fan of Khun Mai, “accidently” bumped into our interviewed guest star of Sala #17.

Storming brains facing a talking maniac, surviving thanks to Caroline’s madeleines, determined to fill in their spreadsheet, possibly before lunch!

So much dedication for Sala #19: testing the first Thai draft beer machine in Paris.

Loretta was our interpreter for the interview with Khun Saneh, a passionnate scientist at FAD. (See Over to the Expert Sala#21).

mummumbobommumumbobo

mmuumm

bboo

jujumbmboo

jujumbmboojujum

bmboo

Oh Perfect! Thanks Tiziana!

What about a book on Ramayana for Sala #15?

??

Oh ya, I can totally proof-read SALA, no probs. I hope you don’t mind if I am obsessed with Oxford commas.

Alice previously volunteered at the NMV Library. She came back with her two babies: her adorable daughter and a book (see Beate’s review in Sala #17).

Pi See, author of ‘Beliefs’, al-ways ready for exciting adven-tures!

Discovery of a forgotten gigantic masterpiece for Sala #21.

Caroline, our photographer, struggling with reflections for Sala #22.

How Solene made food look sexy in Sala #19.

Honey?! Any chance we can eat on the table within the next 3

weeks? ...

?#&!!!@?

hum...

“...!?”

#...”

Phew, one article solved! 7 more to go...

... What would Confucius answer?

48 | SALA SALA | 49

contributors to finalize their articles beautifully;

• Bobby (Robert Arnold) who has helped hundreds of students to complete their thesis and who is -believe this as a genuine state-ment- obsessed with Oxford com-ma, read and corrected the laid out Sala with the speed of light, playing catch up with the always-delayed lay out;

• Caroline a sweet and open-minded future guide who discovered her passion for photography in India lent her eyes and enthusiasm to il-lustrate Sala in a new way;

• and last but not least Sir John our senior and adorable super knowl-edgeable lover of history acted both as a proof writer and copywriter graciously challenging the accura-cy and relevance of the articles. He ensured our meetings were proper-ly fed with a decent dose of English humor, thank the gods!

Sometimes these roles were conve-niently ignored to match our availability, centers of interest and capabilities. We got out of our comfort zone to help a team mate out: Dimpy writing an article, Caroline working on the layout, Mellow popping up with her camera during an interview… Where is the fun if you can’t break the rules?

Oh let’s not forget our indispensable columnists who thanks to their regular contributions, are considered to be fully part of the team:• Fred who combines an artistic

mindset and an endless curiosity on things became our non-official artist and brought poetry into the density of our articles,

• Pi See, the famous, unstoppable, glamorous guide Khun Pichada Rachavejpisal, who lives like a pas-

sionate tornado and has no end of unique inspirations to share with NMV members, as she revealed in “Beliefs”,

• The Library team and Tiziana in particular who sometimes strug-gled to find the one book that would match the theme we had picked. Did you have the feeling you had read the book after reading their review?

• Peter who so kindly accepted our ideas with trust and benevolence, never failed to give us guidance when we were looking for advice. Yes I mean it!

• Khun Adisorn’s Speedjet team who welcomed us in the middle of ev-ery other month: our coordinator, the adorable Khun Noi; our publish-ing hero Khun Jem who beautifully transferred Fred’s uneven sheets of painted artwork into a neat 3-page flyer and magically erased the mis-

SPEEDJET our friendly partner

Khun Jem is the magician turning Fred’s sheets of art into a digital gem.

INSPIretakes in the layout of the chief ed-itor without letting her know; and the ladies in the shadow, printing, cutting, binding and packing so that you could receive your SALA every other month in your mailbox.

Oops! I’d better add a line on the chief editor’s role if I don’t want to be scold-ed by my SALA mates. So what is it all about? My best accomplishment for a successful SALA formula was gather-ing this AMAZING team. Then I just had to be organized and make things achievable, and worthy for each team member. I learned how to use Indesign with Speedjet, followed the advice of the team and the readers, learned from each unexpected obstacle, and allowed myself space for creativity and mistakes to keep enjoying the process.

Meeting every month and keeping in touch on our Line group looked very professional and never felt like we were

working!This is the recipe we have been using from SALA #13 to #23: leveraging our skills and centers of interest, learning from each other, believing that sanuk and learning were the perfect com-bo, stating that no meeting could take place without a few snacks, and where friendship should always prevail.What will your recipe be? There is no one formula. Whatever you decide to do next, the outcome will be awesome as long as you have fun. We hope a new team will be created soon, to build a new SALA that looks like you, that brings you joy and passion. We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we have! We are looking forward to reading your SALA.

In the meantime, the whole SALA team thanks you all for trusting us and en-couraging us every step of the way these last two years!

Last but not least, let’s go to PRINT!

Printing, Cutting, Assembling, Checking, and Voilà!

INSPIreNMV in Action

From left to right, Khun Samai, Khun Rin, and Khun Noi.

50 | SALA SALA | 51

How did it become fashionable? Returning from Shanghai, noble men used to give this type of clothing as gifts to Thai governors or to the Thai royal family who had some family roots in China. It is said that between the late King Rama V era until King Rama VII’s reign, it was quite trendy for rich fash-ionable men to wear Kang Kaeng Prae with a front fastening shirt in thin cotton (Kui-Heng-เสื้อกุยเฮง) at home or as sleep-wear. During King Rama V’s era, men used to wear Rajapattern (a costume consist-ing of a white Nehru-style jacket with five buttons, a Jongkraben, knee-length socks and dress shoes) to go to the of-fice or during special occasions. It was not unusual then to use Kang Kaeng Prae pants instead of the silk sarong.

No matter the background and rank of the man, Kang Kaeng Prae was the per-fect piece to show off one’s wealth.Some articles mention that Krom Luang Chumporn, son of King Rama V, and “Father of the Navy”, was wearing a Kang Kaeng Prae and a light cotton top when he passed away. Another son of King Rama V, Prince Paribatra Suhum-bandhu, the owner of Bang Kun Prom Palace, was wearing a light cotton shirt (เสิ้อกุยเฮง) with Kang Kaeng Prae when he was arrested in his palace and held in the Anantasamakom Throne Hall during the 1932 revolution. Since King Rama IX’s era, Kang Kaeng Prae have been used at home only as men now mainly wear western-style outfits. Kang Kaeng Prae, however, has remained a hit as a gift to male elders (from dads to respectable seniors) for the New Year, Songkran, or as a birth-day gift. My dad is always happy to get a new pair of Kang Kaeng Prae from me on any occasion.

Beliefs

Kang Kaeng Prae (กางเกงแพร)Chinese silk pants or the revolution of menswear at home.

Pichada Rajavechpisal

I believe that wearing Kang Kaeng Prae was a way for rich common-ers to show off their wealth without breaking etiquette, and for high-rank-

ing men to show that they were humble towards commoners.

In tropical Siam, for as long as one can remember, men, at home, would wrap a sarong or cloth sim-ply around the waist (sarong, “Loy Chai” ลอยชาย style). But if a visitor popped in to see them, they would rear-range their sarong into a “Jongkraben” โจงกระเบน

pants-style to look more formal.

According to the law, there was a specific pat-tern of fabric for each rank of nobility (see the Pha Lai Yang in the Tex-tile room of OUR muse-um). You can therefore imagine that if a noble could not wear a pattern dedicat-ed to a higher rank, a commoner would never dare challenge the etiquette, no matter how rich he may be. On the other hand, the luxurious Chi-nese silky pants called Kang Kaeng Prae

which had been introduced by the Chi-nese merchants during the Rattanako-sin era, did not fall under the strict rules of the etiquette. It might explain why it became so popular among the Thai rich bourgeoisie.

What does Kang Kaeng Prae mean and what is it?

In English we could translate it as “Chi-nese Silk pants”. Ac-tually, they are not made from 100% silk, as the fabric is a mix of tree pulp and silk, among other fibers. The pants come in many colors. The col-ors might fade after repeated washing. However, the more they are washed, the softer they become, and the more addict-ed the men who wear

them. If the fabric is mainly composed of silk, the pants will remain shiny and become soft over time. The fabric is cool in summer and warm in winter. The dif-ferent textures available make this fab-ric either perfect for sleepwear or as an outfit for a relaxing day at home.

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The gentleman above wears a Kang Kaeng Phrae with a Kui Heng, King Rama VI era.Source: http://valuablebook2.tkpark.or.th/

A rich merchant at Tha Chalorm, Samut Sa-korn, a fisherman’s wharf and prosperous trad-ing center back in the 1930s. The man wears a Kang Kaeng Prae with a Neru-style jacket.Source: saenghathai.blogspot.com

Online sale of a Kang Kaeng Prae on central.co.th

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SANUKLet’s play!

Instead of a tricky question, let’s relax with a crossword dedicat-ed to Chinese influences. Reading the articles of this issue will help obviously! All words composed of two or three words don’t need spaces in between. The answers are upside down some-where in the magazine. Good luck!

Chinese Influences Puzzle

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

X

Z

SANUKACROSSA- “Chinese dragon” in Thai.B- White-bearded immortal, in Mandarin.C- Cute old Chinese area in Bangkok. / High above Sanam Luang, these colour-ful fancies originated as a spying tool in China.D- The powerful immortal holding a scep-ter and money (yunbao), in Mandarin.E- The 18 perfect ones who won’t need to be reborn. / Made into symbolic shapes and sent to heaven in smoke form.F- Chinese breakfast, especially in South-ern Thailand. / God of war.G- The empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan.I- Religious, tiered tower. / The fruit of longevity.K- Basics in Chinese food. / This animal sounds like “good luck” in Chinese! M- Pray to him and your misfortunes will fade away, especially on your chong yearN- English transcription of a Cantonese cabbage cooked with oyster sauce in Thai-land.O- The name of this famous craft manu-factured in China for Thai royals meant 5 colours in India.R-Its production in Phuket attracted many Chinese migrants.S- These Chinese noodles have undoubt-edly become Thai.T- Teochew name of the bearded immortal. U- Chinese funeral ritual to bid farewell to the deceased.V- Flanked on either side of Buddhai-sawan chapel they prevent any ghost from entering the palace.X- The “Greater” of the two./ This dy-nasty made their presence felt beyond its borders thanks to the silk road.Y- The Chinese deity protecting the Dhar-ma.

DOWN1- Then, only the Chinese knew how to produce what Thais are now famous for.

2- He or she? That is not the point, it is a question of compassion. / Chinese steamed bun./ His treaty jeopardized the Chinese trade supremacy in Thailand.4- Guan Yin’s favorite jewelry. / Thai-style Chinese cruller.6- Chinese word for “kale” cooked in Thai cuisine./ The post of Royal Minister of the Treasury was occupied by a Chinese sev-eral times during the Ayuthayan era.8- Lots of laughs for a bald one. / From rat to dragon, no one can escape their fate./ This Chinese ethnic group migrated to Sukhothai and it became their kingdom. 10– Chinese dynasty contemporary to the Ayutthayan era.11- Chinese children of Thailand.12- Chinese migrants made a fortune out of it in Phukhet.13- Most Chinese don’t reach Nirvana this way. Same, same but different / He pro-tects and entertains the kids, so says the legend.14- The main dialect spoken by the Chi-nese diaspora nowadays.15- Although never having roared in Thai-land or China, it is found in both. / This ancient practice can be witnessed in the architecture of Wang Na.17- On the Southward route of Mainland migrants. / New futures start at this port.19- Famous Chinese black tea. / Symbol-izes the queen in China./ Lucky immortal holding a scroll and a child.21- This performance artform has trav-elled from China to all over Asia./ Bor-rowed from a Teochew word, it can mean building, palace, school or shrine.22- Respectful title for a monk. / Chinese boat with 3 pieces of wood.23- Jasmine, brown, or sticky, Thailand has surpassed China in quality./ Where the only Thai king with a Chinese father settled the capital of his kingdom.25- Kneel and bow here to get your wish fulfilled./ Shake it, shake it! to find out what’s on the road ahead.

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Peter Henri Hufschmid-HirschbuehlBorn and raised in Swit-zerland. Peter is married with two kids. He spent his pro life as media producer and science journalist. He worked as a foreign corre-spondent in SEA for Swiss and German newspapers before he became Deputy Director of SRI, a Swiss Broadcasting Corp.

Dimpy KongsiriKhun Dimpy is currently the NMV Lecture Chair. Although Thai she was brought up abroad and missed all the usual Thai schooling, so is instead happily learning about Thai-land with the NMV! She is interested in history and culture, especially of the Rattanakosin era.

Mellow CammaertBorn in Manila but raised in the UK, Mellow’s love of Southeast Asian art began when working for the World Monuments Fund Project in Angkor, Cambodia. She has been an NMV guide since 2016, helps run the NMV Juniors Team and has 4 children at school in Bang-kok.

Stephanie LavolleAfter living for many years in Spain and then Russia, Stephanie arrived in Bang-kok 4 years ago. The NMV gave her the keys to love Thaïland and understand it better in historic times such as King Rama 9’s funeral and his heir’s coronation. She has been a guide for 3 years, loves acting and tak-ing photos.

Pichada RajavechpisalKhun Pichada was born and raised in Bangkok. Her mother is related to the roy-al family, whereas her father comes from a Thai-Persian line of Ayutthaya. As a child, she was told so many sto-ries and taught so many do’s & don’ts stemming from an-cient beliefs that she feels she should share this fasci-nating knowledge with you all.

Frederic RennTrained as a social and cul-tural anthropologist, Freder-ic spent 27 years between France and other parts of the world, especially India. He is interested in human culture as well as wild na-ture. Beyond words, design is a nice medium to express beauty and diversity.

Ilse PetersBorn and raised in Belgium, I set out to discover other horizons in 2002. The past 15 years I lived in Asia, first in China and since 2015 in Thailand. I love reading, writing, photography, his-tory and grabbing every opportunity to venture out in Bangkok and learn more about this amazing place.

John QuarmbyJohn Quarmby was born in the UK but left there in 1972 already to work in Logistics in Germany, Iran, Syria, Egypt and Thailand. He arrived here in 1988 and retired in 2010. Since then, he lives in Bangkok with his wife Andree-Ma-rie.

Tasnee SirikantrapornKhun Tasnee was born into a third-generation of Thai-Chi-nese family in Bangkok. She continues to enjoy the chal-lenge of living in a multi-cultur-al society, Having gained a lib-eral outlook after an education in England, she lived in Malay-sia, and then Switzerland. Back to her hometown, she joined the NMV as an English-lan-guage guide at the NMB.

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Incredibly quiet, Yaowarat Avenue, Bangkok. Photo: Stephanie Lavolle