Puck Ilegal

251k), p. 2 1 8.

97

In this magazine Thai readers were widely exposed to new kinds of literature. Besides Khwam Phayabat, the novel in trans-_{^■iiwiwmiTu im*> « fM ii mil ■■inijMjiiiii) '} lation, which had been serialized for several months from July

^902, Lak wjtthaya published short stories written in a new style, A dramatized narrative, instead of a simple narrative, has often been used to tell short, fictional stories. As the short story is a forerunner of the novel in Thailand, more detail about it will be discussed separately in chapter V , But as far as Lak V/itthaya is concerned, it is important to note that since the time it was in circulation, a new door had been opened to the Thai world of

words, the door that brought in "Sweetness and Light" from a Western culture. And, from Laic Wjtthaya, the Thai literary stream had been turned into a new direction, the turn that marks the modern period in the history of Thai literature* Laic Wjtthaya, nevertheless, came to an end still in its glory. The team led by Prince Bidya- lankarana, however, found in Thawl Panya a new ground to play on,

Thawl Panya was the journal of the Thawl Panya JSam5s$n founded by The Crown Prince Vajiravudh in 190A* Like Lak Wjtthaya, the name of the journal explicitly defines its main objective, that is, to increase the intellect. The journal contained both literature of knowledge and literature for pleasure* Besides, the Crown

Prince himself, the leading writers of Thawl Panya are unsurprisingly M9 £9", "Mae Wan" and "Khieo Hwan", the three inspiring literary

98

personalities of the time. And besides fTNithan Th<?ng In11

(Tales of lh9ng In) , a series of detective stories written by the Crown Prince under a pseudonym ”Nai Kaeo Nai Khwan", another widely read story published in Thawi Panya was nN$ Mp Sp11 fs

v ^ \> __

’Chotmai Changwang Ham*’, a series of letters written by a father to his son. Like the periodicals in the early days, Thawl Panya was short-lived. It was only about three years old when it

disappeared. But, about seven years after having been on the throne, King Vajiravudh issued another periodical - Dusit Samit.

Dusit Samit, as it stood, was a periodical issued by citizens of an experimental town - Dusit Thanl. As the king advocated freedom of expression, and liked to encourage his people to see a role for journalism in relation to a democratic system of govern­

ment, the citizens of Dusit Thanl, therefore, issued two daily newspapers: Dusit Samai and Dusit Recorder. Having seen that the

journalists of both teams had strayed from the proper professional ethics of journalism," the king, thus promoted the issuing of

^1. c/hammn A-m9ndarunarak ($ham Bunthprawet) (ed.), Dusit Thani - MUang Prachathippatai Khong Phrabatsomdet Phra Mongkut

mwwii■»>■!■iiny wniii't—ii uwii^iilp.uriiii»M»^pa»iimi rnaiw— Mwiiiipnm«rL.ninifM% »anwi m miwihpiw pjifinanwinn iuhw h m w i i i I<nam

klaochaoyuhua, Dusit Thani - King Vajiravudh's Experimental De;

cratic Town (Bangkok; National Library, 2513) •

2* For example, the groups attacked each other with personal diatribes.

99

Dusit Samit♦ Its primary aim was to point out where the defects were and how to make them right* Dusit Samit used humorous vsatire as a means to eliminate the illnesses in journalism in Dusit Thani.

However, literature of other kinds had its place in Dusit Samit too, as most of the stories published here were written by the king,

who himself v/as a playwright, an essayist, a poet, a translator as well as a writer of detective stories. In spite of its v/ide range of subscription - both outside the town and abroad - Dusit Samit was short-lived. It came out weekly from December 7» 1918 and ended in 1 9 2 1, 'j At any rate, Dusit Samit was not a popular

magazine, compared to its contemporaries, such as, Sena Sflksa Lae Phas WitthaygLSSLt, Siam rat, Sap Thai and Thai Khasem.

Sena S&ksa Lae Phs"e Witthayasat is a journal issued monthly by the Department of Military Education since 1915* It aims, predictably, at presenting military nev/s and knowledge. But, in its early period it also published fictional stories. And, in this latter aspect, Sena Sflksa Dae Phae Witthayasat v/as widely read. In this journal Luang Saranupraphan, a famous writer of

1, The writer obtained detailed information concerning Dusit Samit from M, L. Pin Malakul, who himself vras a member of the editorial staff, from his personal letter to the writer dated May 8, 1 9 7 2, 139 Sukliumvit, Bangkok 1 1, Thailand.

100

detective and mysterious stories - Phrae Dam (The Black Satin) and Na Phi (A Ghost Pace), was born. Both stories had been serialized in this journal one after another from December 1922*

Because these two stories were sensational, the journal had been stimulating for non-military readers, the most prominent of whom was Kulap Saipradit, who later worked and wrote for it for some time. But, because his works make up a large part of the history of the novel in Thailand, the early period of which is the sub­

ject of this thesis, they will be discussed separately. Among the periodicals issued in that period, Sena Sflksa Lae Phae

Witthayasat is one of the most long-lived. It is still in circu­

lation at the present time.

During 1920-1925, while fictional stories adapted and/or translated from Western literature had been flooding nearly every periodical since 1 9 0 2, Siam Pat filled its pages with

Chinese fiction retold in the Thai language. Siam Pat was a daily newspaper, but had very little to do with news of any sort. Its main role was to publish Chinese fictional stories in Thai. In relation to the early development of the novel, Siam Hat too had played a very important role. Like Lak Wjtthaya, Sena Sflksa Lae Phae Witthayasat, and other periodicals such as Si Krung, Ph<?

iw a te A !!,■— w M im w w iw u n iP i^ 11, Ml m i n m» » ' ■ » * p » w m n n w iW i '

101

— _ _ 1 „

Wjtthaya, Phadung Wjtthaya, Niyal Rai M a n , in that Siam Rat encouraged writers to translate and rewrite foreign literature in Thai, But, instead of following the same line as the above periodicals, all of which concentrated largely on Western liter­

ature, Siam Pat paid all its attention to Chinese, Compared to Lak Wjtthaya, which started by publishing an English novel in

translation, Siam Pat was more successful in so far as the quantity of the works produced were concerned. While Lak Wjtthaya attracted a small group of the more sophisticated readers, Siam Hat attracted the majority and wider range of readers. Female shopkeepers,

housewives, male students and noblemen were normally the reading public of Chinese fiction, besides journalists and writers themselves.

Chinese fictional stories retold in Thai were so popular that one could find them read even in Buddhist monasteries*2

The success of Siam Bat in publishing Chinese fiction retold in Thai led to a period when nearly all the periodicals used some pages for fictional stories written in the Thai language, but in a Chinese atmosphere. In spite of its many rivals, Siam Bat still

1. These periodicals can be found in the archives of the National Library in Bangkok*

2, Sathit Semanin, Wisasa (Bangkok: International P.E.N.

Thailand Centre, 2j?1J*), pp. 1^8 -1 ^9.

remained at the top* Its team was competent and seriously con­

cerned with the art of translation* But, Siam Bat met a pathetic

•p 1

end when its founder, Bukrl Wasuwat, died. However, the trans­

lation and adaptation of Chinese fictional stories in Thai as well as an original invention of Thai fictional stories in Chinese

coating have been carried on until the present day*

Another inspiring periodical issued in this period v/as Bap Thai* Like Lak Wjtthaya, this monthly magazine aimed not prima­

rily at satisfying the taste of the general public, but at more sophisticated readers. However, it published not only works of such writers and translators as Kaim -chitti, Khru Thep, Saengthpng, and other scholars, but also works of ambitious high school students such as Kulap Saipradit and Prince A-kat Damkoeng, both of whose works later mark the beginning of a phase of the novel in Thailand.

Although Bap Thai was one of the leading monthly magazines in the 1920’s, it was only about seven years old when it disappeared.

1. Ibid*, pp. 282-289 and 315-316.

2. Bor actual names of Thai writers see National Library,