The different views on the epic Khun Chang Khun Phaen
Khun Phaen and son (noiAkame / Shutterstock.com)
Any literary work can be read in many ways. This also applies to the most famous and admired epic in the Thai literary tradition: Khun Chang Khun Phaen (hereinafter KCKP).
It was traveling narrators and troubadours who performed it in parts in villages for laughing and crying audiences. The story may date back to the 17e century, was passed on orally and was always supplemented with new narrative lines. In the beginning of the 19e century, the royal court took care of it, adapted it according to the norms and values of the time and recorded it in writing. Around 1900 it was Prince Damrong who published the most famous edition in print.
This article has been ready for a while but is now up to date after the beautiful translation of the epic by Rob V.
A brief summary of the story:
Chang, Phaen and Wanthong grow up together in Suphanburi. Chang is an ugly, short, bald man, foul-mouthed, but rich and connected to the royal family. Phaen, on the other hand, is poor but handsome, brave, good at martial arts and magic. Wanthong is the most beautiful girl in Suphanburi. She meets Phaen, who was a novice at the time, during Songkran and they begin a passionate affair. Chang tries to conquer Wanthong with his money but love wins. Phaen leaves the temple and marries Wanthong.
A few days later, the king summons Phaen to lead a military campaign against Chiang Mai. Chang seizes his chance. He spreads a rumor that Phaen has fallen and, with Wanthong's mother and his wealth as allies, succeeds in capturing the reluctant Wanthong. Wanthong enjoys her comfortable life with her new, considerate and faithful husband.
Then Phaen returns from his victory on the battlefield with a beautiful woman, Laothong, as spoils. He goes to Suphanburi and claims his first wife, Wanthong. After a jealous argument between Laothong and Wanthong, Phaen leaves, leaving Wanthong with Chang. For an offense, the king takes possession of Laothong.
Phaen returns to Suphanburi and kidnaps Wanthong. They live in solitude in the jungle for several years. When Wanthong becomes pregnant, they decide to return to Ayutthaya where Phaen annoys the king by asking for Laothong's return. Phaen is imprisoned where Wanthong takes good care of him.
But then Chang in turn kidnaps Wanthong and takes her to his house where she gives birth to Phaen's son. He is given the name Phlai Ngam and grows up as the spitting image of his father. In a jealous mood, Chang tries to kill him by leaving him in the jungle, which fails, and Phlai Ngam retreats to a temple.
Years pass in which Phlai Ngam follows in his father's footsteps. He is victorious on the battlefield of war and love. Chang does not give up the fight for Wanthong. He begs the king to definitively recognize Wanthong as his wife. The king summons Wanthong to him and orders her to choose between her two lovers. Wanthong hesitates, naming Phaen as her great love and Chang as her faithful protector and good caretaker, whereupon the king rages and condemns her to be beheaded.
Wanthong is taken to the execution site. Her son Phlai Ngam makes an utmost effort to soften the king's heart, the king pardons and commutes the sentence to imprisonment. Swift horsemen, led by Phlai Ngam, immediately depart from the palace. Unfortunately too late, as from afar they see the executioner raise the sword and just as Phlai Ngam arrives, it falls Wanthong's head.
Beheading (not Wanthong but Khun Phaen's father) – (JaaoKun / Shutterstock.com)
The Thai view of literature
Initially, the discussion of literature in Thailand focused most of its attention on form, and this is still the case in most textbooks today. It was about choice of words, alliterations, rhyme and rhythm, while it was not considered necessary to discuss or judge the content in more detail.
That changed in the turbulent XNUMXs. In addition to discussing social and political changes, a new movement emerged that felt more attracted to the content of literature. The epic KCKP could not escape that either. I found it extremely surprising and informative to read how many sometimes very different interpretations of the epic appeared. They are in the book mentioned below. I will mention them briefly and add my own interpretation.
The Siamese society knew (and has) no principles
That was the opinion of ML Boonlua Debryasuvarn. She was the thirty-second child of a noble father and the first female student at Chulalongkorn University, made possible after the 1932 revolution. She studied literature, later taught and wrote articles and books. Her essay on KCKP appeared in 1974. In it she shows how nobody in the epic cares about principles or rules. The authorities are incompetent and offenders are rarely punished. Incidentally, she gives the same harsh judgment about the state of affairs in her own time.
Phaen continued his journey, in a cemetery he found the body of a deceased pregnant woman. With his mantras, he controlled her mind and removed the fetus from her womb. He took the crying child in his arms and baptized this spirit as his Kuman Thong
The aggression of the characters in the epic KCKP
Cholthira Satyawadhna also graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a dissertation approved in 1970 entitled: 'The Application of Western Methods of Modern Literary Criticism to Thai Literature'. Cholthirak's psychological analysis is based on the opposing Freudian concepts of 'death wish' and 'life wish', especially in sexual relationships. From there she explains the aggressive and sadistic attitude of Khun Phaen and the masochistic disposition of Wanthong.
“You are so full of yourself Wanthong, I almost chopped Khun Chang to pieces, but it is YOU who are cheating here. Die Wanthong!” He stamped his feet and drew his sword.
The epic KCKP represents the moral Buddhist landscape
The epic KCKP is set in the early 19e century adapted by the Siamese court to the prevailing norms and values that the court wanted to establish and propagate. Warunee Osatharom previously wrote extensively about human rights, the position of women and the relationship between state and society. In an essay around 2010 she shows how the court uses the moral code from Buddhist scriptures to establish the ideology of a Buddhist and royalist state. Khun Phaen is a 'good' man because loyal to the king and Wanthong a bad woman because she ignores the king's wishes and according to the logic of karma she pays for it with her life.
“Phlai Kaeo is your partner from past lives. Not a hundred thousand other men could win your heart. I'm worried if you even know how to take care of him. You should not make mistakes that could anger your spouse. Keep your cool no matter what the situation, show him humility and listen to him. Don't get jealous and don't cause trouble. If someone makes a mistake, talk about it together first. Don't fight and shout. May you be blessed with constant happiness. Come go now, your husband is waiting for you”. And with those words Phim entered the bridal house. As befits a good woman, Phim prostrated herself at the feet of her lord, master and husband.
City, village and jungle are co-determining factors for identity and (free) will
David Atherton wrote the first foreign thesis on KCKP in 2006. In doing so, he shows how the views, behavior and identity of persons in the epic can differ according to their whereabouts. In the city they are largely bound by the binding regulations that apply there, while that is much less the case in the village and the household. In the jungle where Phaen and Wantong spend many months, they can finally be themselves. Almost all love scenes from KCKP are described from natural phenomena: pelting rain, furious gusts of wind, thunder and lightning, and then serene peace and quiet.
Once deep in the jungle, the couple enjoyed the impressive nature. Slowly her love for Khun Phaen returned and they made love under a big banyan tree.
The rebellious Phaen and the struggle for power
Many traditional folk tales from Thailand turn the existing reality and underlying beliefs upside down. The Rice Goddess is stronger than the Buddha, Sri Thanonchai is smarter than the King and so in this epic. A commoner from the people, Khun Phaen, in many ways opposes the power and wealth of the ruling class that they possess from their formal position. Khun Phaen opposes his individual power and knowledge. It is mastery he has mastered himself. Chris Baker and Pasuk Pongpaichit compare it to the legend of Robin Hood. Wantong is not sentenced to death for being a bad woman, but for openly undermining the king's authority. Many popular stories from the old days are about this. The power of the king and the opposing power of the people. The audience must have loved it.
Phra Wai hurried to the palace, and used mantras to put the king in a positive state of mind. "What brings you here? Have they already executed your mother?” asked the king
Wanthong is a rebellious and independent woman, an early feminist?
My contribution is this. Almost all commentaries on the epic KCKP portray Wantong as an evil woman. She loves two men, is strong-willed, emotional and never minces her words. Refusing to conform to prevailing societal norms for women's behavior, she makes her own choices and goes her own way. She does not even submit to the king and has to pay for it with beheading. That makes her a modern woman in some ways, maybe we should call her a feminist although that is more of an activism. It is possible that in all those centuries that the epic was performed in the villages and towns, Wantong was admired by many, secretly and especially by women.
Mother approached Wanthong, “As a widow you become the king's property. Just accept Khun Chang's hand. The only thing wrong with him is his head, but he is a rich man and can take good care of you”. Wanthong fires back, “You only see his money, even if it was a dog or a pig you would still give me away. I am only sixteen years old and already two men?!”
And that brings me to a final observation. In the past, too, there were many opposing views. I think that these folktales often had the intention of placing the ruling class and the prevailing norms and values in a different light through the behavior of the main characters in the stories, no doubt to the delight of the audience. That's why they were so popular
Resources and more
- Five studies on Khun Chang Khun Phaen, The Many Faces of a Thai Literary Classic, edited by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit, Silkworm Books, 2017 – ISBN 978-616-215-131-6
- The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, Siam's Great Folk Epic of Love and War, Silkworm Books, 2010 – ISBN 978-616-215-052-4
- The summary of KCKP by Rob V:
www.thailandblog.nl/cultuur/khun-chang-khun-phaen-thailands-most-famous-legende-part-1/
www.thailandblog.nl/cultuur/khun-chang-khun-phaen-thailands-most-famous-legende-part-2/
www.thailandblog.nl/cultuur/khun-chang-khun-phaen-thailands-most-famous-legende-part-3/
www.thailandblog.nl/cultuur/khun-chang-khun-phaen-thailands-most-famous-legende-part-4/
www.thailandblog.nl/cultuur/khun-chang-khun-phaen-thailands-most-famous-legende-part-5-slot/
An earlier piece of mine about:
- KCKP with more information: www.thailandblog.nl/cultuur/khun-chang-khun-phaen-het-most-famous-epos-thaise-literatuur/
- About Sri Thanonchai being smarter than the king: www.thailandblog.nl/cultuur/sri-thanonchai-iaanse-tijl-uilenspiegel/
In earlier times, the region was often matriarchal, so family ties went through the mother and not the father. At one point that has tilted to a patriarchal society, but you don't erase traces like that 1-2-3. No wonder so much of that feminine power and appreciation has lingered. Wanthong may have been 'wrong' according to the views of the upper class at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century by not knowing her place, but she will certainly also have been praised by other groups. A beautiful woman, who has not fallen on her mouth and does not let tubers be sold for lemons. A woman to fall in love with.
You also see it in a large number of other women from this saga, but also in old stories from the past (more than a century ago), that the women knew how to handle things and did not assume a prudish or submissive role. Take the openly flirting women, for example, which clearly comes from real practice. So yes, I also think that in the days of the itinerant storytellers, many a spectator listened to this epic with approval and amusement. 🙂
Women are still more powerful than men in Thailand.
The men are the boss, the women are the boss.
Tino, thanks for this explanation! And with a belated word of thanks from me to Rob V for his contribution.
For the enthusiast of further analyses, with some Googling the following can be found online:
1. Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaich with:
— “The Career of Khun Chang Khun Phaen,” Journal of the Siam Society 2009 Vol. 97
(partly overlaps their analyzes in KCKP)
2. Gritiya Rattanakantadilok with her thesis (June 2016):
– “Translating The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen: representations of culture, gender and Buddhism”
(Of which Chapter 2.2 deals with the content: creating ghosts and cleaning up the stories through “Siwalai” and also with regard to female identity).