Thailand History & Culture
Thailand's origin is traditionally tied to the short-lived kingdom of Sukhothai founded in 1238, after which the larger kingdom of Ayutthaya was established in the mid-14th century. Thai culture was greatly influenced by both China and India.
Contact with various European powers began in the 16th century but, despite continued pressure, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. Western influence, however, including the threat of force, led to many reforms in the 19th century and major concessions to British mercantile interests. This included the loss of the 3 southern provinces, which later became Malaysia's 3 northern states.
Thailand was never colonised by a European power. There are two main reasons for this. First, Thailand had a series of very able rulers in the 1800s. Secondly, it was able to utilise the rivalry and tension between the French and the British and thus remained as a buffer state between parts of S.E.Asia that were colonised by the the two colonial powers.
A mostly bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. Known previously as Siam, the country first changed its name to Thailand in 1939, and definitively in 1949 after reverting to the old name post-World War II. During that conflict Thailand was in a loose alliance with Japan; following its conclusion Thailand became an ally of the United States. Thailand then saw a series of military coups d'?tat, but progressed towards democracy from the 1980s onward. In 1997 was hit by the Asian financial crisis and the Thai Baht was soon worth 56 baht to the US Dollar compared to about 20 Baht to the dollar before 1997. Since then the baht has regained some strength and currently trades around 36-38 baht to the dollar.
The official calendar in Thailand is based on the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian (western) calendar. For example, the year AD 2006 is equal to the year 2549 BE.
The Culture of Thailand is heavily influenced by Buddhism. Other influences have included Brahmanism, conflict and trade with Southeast Asian neighbors such as Laos and Myanmar, and repeated influxes of Chinese immigrants.
Thai visual art was traditionally primarily Buddhist. Thai Buddha images from different periods have a number of distinctive styles. Contemporary Thai art often combines traditional Thai elements with modern techniques.
Literature in Thailand is heavily influenced by Indian culture. The most notable works of Thai literature are a version of the Ramayana called the Ramakien, written in part by Kings Rama I and Rama II, and the poetry of Sunthorn Phu.
There is no tradition of spoken the role instead being filled by Thai dance. This is divided into three categories- khon, lakhon and likay- khon being the most elaborate and likay the most populist. Nang drama, a form of shadow play, is found in the south.
The music of Thailand includes classical and folk music traditions as well as string or pop music.
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