- Date
- Sunday, September 24, 2017 (11:00-13:00)
- Venue
- Main Hall, ELGALA HALL 8F（External link）
Public lecture was held at Main Hall, ELGALA HALL by inviting Prof. Pasuk PHONGPAICHIT & Dr. Chris BAKER, laureates of the Grand Prize.
Part 1 Keynote Speech
Literary works pose questions to contemporary society about the role of love, the importance of cooperation, and tolerance
Love, the power of attraction, and loss, the pain of parting, are perhaps the most powerful human emotions. We will examine the themes of love and loss in three classic works of literature from Thalaind.
The first story, Suthon-Manora, Everybody in Thailand knows it. Manora is a kinnari, a fabulous creature, part-bird, part-human, and very beautiful, and Prince Suthon are married and love each other in the human world. But politics intervenes and she escapes. The main part of the story is a quest, in which the Prince overcame difficulties for a long time in order to be reunited with his loved one. This story is a means of teaching people in these very mixed cosmopolitan societies about the importance of tolerating differences between people.
Our second literary work is Lilit Phra Lo, a narrative poem of 4,000 lines. While Phra Lo, the young ruler of a city-state, secretly makes love with Phuean and Phaeng, two young princesses in a nearby city-state, they are massacred because they come from families that are in conflcit. The king, father of the princess, has the three lovers placed in one coffin and cremated together in a magnificent ceremony. Then the relics of the royal three are divided in two parts. The story which the extraordinary massacre ends in reconciliation represents for the compassion of the Buddhist.
Our third text is The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a long narrative poem developed in an oral tradition of performances for local audiences. The plot is a love triangle. Khun Chang and Khun Phaen are two men who compete over one woman, Wanthong. Khun Phaen is handsome and dashing, but poor and hopelessly unreliable. Khun Chang is rich but fat, ugly, and crass. Wanthong represents a familiar female dilemmachoosing between the passion offered by Khun Phaen and the comfortable domesticity offered by Khun Chang. The king condemns her to death for failing to make this choice.
All three of these old literary works are, at heart, boy-girl stories, but address broader important aspects: the role of love and the importance of cooperation. The great human messages found in classical literature remain relevant in today’s dangerous world, which we must never forget
Part 2 Panel Discussion
The collaboration between these two people that transcends their cultural differences is the epitome of the love and cooperation found in Thai classical literature
Professor Shimizu gave his impressions of the keynote speech, saying, "This couple has, through their own experiences, continued to transcend their cultural differences with love and cooperation. Their perfectly timed dialogue felt just like a recitation of a Shakespeare play."
Professor Udo provided some background comments about the era classifications, major works, and general characteristics of Thai classic literature on which the keynote speech was based, and said, "The three works discussed in the speech are outstanding examples of the genre."Referring to Khun Chang Khun Phaen, which is a subject of Professor Udo's own research, he described it as "an important work that conveys excellently the politics, economics, society , culture, customs, and private worship of Thailand's Ayutthaya Period" and as a "treasure trove of proverbs and aphorisms." He gave high praise for the couple's work of translating this work into English over many years. He extolled their achievements, commending them for the passion they have poured into classical literature from their different positions as an economist and an historian and their wonderful joint work that has produced results that would put any researcher of literature to shame.
In response to a question from the audience, "In the story, there is a scene in which the character escapes into the forest. What significance does the forest have in Thailand?" Professor Pasuk and Dr. Baker explained, "As well as being a place that is fraught with danger, it is also a place of hiding for forces of resistance against society and authority."