B. J. Terwiel Livres

Fresh insight into Thailand's history over the 250 years, from the fall of the old capital Ayutthaya in 1767 in the opening scene, to today, with the country's massive economic expansion.

Born in November 1941, the fall of 2012 saw me in my 70th year. I felt highly privileged to be offered a teaching position in a top-rate American university. Optimistic, for I was sure I could do a good job teaching a course on Buddhism. Thrilled, for the first time to live and work in an American environment. Happy, that Gitty, my wife shared this adventure. - I am an experienced diarist, having worked as an anthropologist in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Burma and Assam and havingfilled thousands of pages with my observations in those alien places. Whenever I left home to work abroad, I had spent the hour before going to bed writing up what I had done and seen. - But as a septuagenarian I faced the fact that most of my life is over and what my eyes have seen and what I have pondered will soon all be wiped off the slate. I have four dear daughters living in Australia and there, far away are a umbergrandchildren growing up. It was not as anthropologist, butwith the cominggenerationsin mind that I wrote. I regularly typed these chapters on my computer, freshly observed, with them as my imaginary audience. If one of them will ever think: „what was my ancestor Baas Terwiel like?“ this booklet will provide some clues. In a way, this is an attempt to delay my inevitable oblivion.

This booklet is intended for people possessing little or no prior knowledge of Thai history, who wished to be informed on what happened in Thailand’s past. It was written by someone who relied mainly upon primary sources and who has the ability to critically appraise theories that are no longer tenable. At the same time this work is intended in a modest way as a contribution to Thai history itself, particularly in its presentation of Thai history according to a set of themes. There are two advantages of this thematic approach. In the first place it avoids the hotchpotch of kings, Buddhism, rice and revolution that characterises much historical writing on Thailand. Secondly, each chapter can be read as an entity in itself. Finally, the short reading and reference list at the end of each chapter can be the basis for further study.

Shan people can be found in a belt stretching from Assam (Northeastern India) over Myanmar (Burma) to the Chinese province Yunnan. In this volume Shan manuscripts from collections in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg are described. In this catalogue a total of 335 manuscripts and inscribed pieces of cloth are introduced. For each document there is mentioned its title, the date, the author, its appearance as well as a summary of the contents. In the introduction many topics are raised, such as a short history of the Shan, the Shan script, famous authors, material writing culture, a typology of written documents, and the principles of prosody. „In compiling this catalogue of Shan manuscript, Terwiel and Chaichuen have done valuable work which will be appreciated by everyone who is doing research on Shan or Tai culture or cultural history and related themes by using original indigenous sources. […] The completion of this work marks a new milestone in Shan studies and Tai studies as a whole.“ Tai culture

In 1833 Prince Mongkut found a remarkable inscription, reputedly written in the year 1292. When the text was finally deciphered it revealed the existence of an ideal state, ruled from the town of Sukhothai by a wise and devout king, named Ram Khamhaeng. This inscription has long been regarded as Thailand's most important historical document. It came therefore as a shock when in the late 1980s two renowned scholars announced that they had proof that the inscription was a recent fabrication. From that moment on the authenticity of the inscription was fiercely debated, and up to the present there are some who consider the matter to be unresolved. Terwiel, who has taken part in the debate from the outset, presents some novel ideas and interpretations as a contribution to the closure of the debate. At the end of this booklet the inscription is presented line by line, transcribed and with a fresh translation.