What drives humanity?

Professor Pasuk Phongpaichit and Dr. Chris Baker have analyzed, in a multidisciplinary and comprehensive style, the social changes Thailand has experienced since the period of rapid economic growth in the 1980s. Their analysis combines Western and Eastern intellectual approaches with methodologies from the social sciences and humanities, adding breadth and depth to their research in both subject matter and methodology. Through history as seen in these poems, the scholars question what is needed for humanity.

The lecture was delivered on the four long poems written in Thai some 500 years ago. These works are shrouded in mystery; their titles, authors, dates of composition, and intended purpose or audience remain unknown, as Thailand's humid climate deteriorated the original manuscripts. The poems were translated into English by Professor Phongpaichit and Dr. Baker, who painstakingly deciphered and interpreted the ancient texts, thus creating a much wider readership to share the wonder and excitement of the works.

The first poem is Nirat Hariphunchai [The Journey to Hariphunchai] (currently a town called Lamphun). It is the only poem with a date in the text, from which it is presumed to have been written in 1517. The poem features a pilgrimage while also including words to his beloved. As it portrays specific scenes like the splash and the thrash of crocodiles protecting the city of Chiang Mai and the red flower of Asoka trees filling the wat (Buddhist and Hindu temple), it also radiates the author's devotion to his loved one and religion.

The second poem, Ocean Lament, is a poignant portrayal of the landscape teeming with life, expressing the author's profound awe of the ocean and his deep longing for his lover. His distress is vividly described as a purely physical sensation. The poem ends abruptly, leaving the reader with a haunting image of loss-a small boat adrift in the vast, empty sky. Both Professor Phongpaichit and Dr. Baker believe the poem was intentionally left open-ended, inviting readers to share in the author's emotional journey.

The third on the list is Twelve Months, most likely written by a king or future king. He presents himself as nakedly human as he illustrates the changing seasons. Perhaps he wrote it for the same reason that Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the famous elegy, In Memoriam: "I do but sing because I must." Composing this poem allowed the author to manage his own grief.

The fourth poem is Lilit Phra Lo. It is about young King Lo's passionate romance with two princesses in the neighboring state and the following tragedy. The hatred between the two states led to a war, and because of this, the king and the princesses fell to poisoned barbs. There is an outpouring of grief, and the nobles warn the rulers against thoughts of revenge. This poem has been celebrated in many forms, including paintings and statues, as well as dance performed by the Patravadi dance troop.

They are the poems of devoted and beautiful love. The works illustrate an interplay between emotions and the changing seasons. In 2022, on the 505th anniversary of the poem Nirat Hariphunchai, the two scholars retraced their author's journey on foot. They watched the full moon rise from the wat and envisioned the scenery of the time. Love, loss, and landscape. What empowers and drives humanity? As the two academics read the poems, the audience felt swept into the storyline and the Thai landscape.