The story of the story of King Naresuan
In the popular history of Siam, King Naresuan is the big hero. Than Mui's new series of films takes this to a new level. But Naresuan did not always play this starring role. The story of how he got the part is a drama all of its own.
The raw material was not promising. Naresuan did not hail from the capital, but from Phitsanulok, a provincial outpost. His family was installed on the throne of Ayutthaya by the Burmese (imagine an Irish king installed on the throne of England by the French). He spent so little time in the capital that he hardly functioned as a monarch. His dynasty lasted only 23 years after his death, and is the shortest in Siam's history.
The two earliest chronicles dating from the 17th century (Luang Prasert and Van Vliet) do not make a big deal out of him at all. The only European account that dates from his reign does not portray him as a hero.
Naresuan was first promoted to star billing around 200 years ago. After the disastrous fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese in 1767, the chroniclers wanted a story showing that Siam could stand up to Burma. In their new version of the chronicle, the section on Naresuan is far longer than that focusing on any other king. It does not read like an historical account but a grand historical novel, full of stirring tales, riveting incidents, memorable dialogue, and deft insights into character. The whole thing is designed to sweep the reader along on a tide of emotion.
Naresuan was launched as the star of Siamese history, but once Burma ceased to be a threat, the story was no longer a box-office draw. In the histories compiled later in the 19th century, Naresuan is again nothing special.
The first revival came in the late 1910s, when Prince Damrong authored Thailand's first modern-style history book. Damrong had been a leading architect of the new European-style nation-state in Siam. In his book, he gave that nation a history, with Naresuan in the starring role.
The climax of Damrong's portrayal is the incident in 1584 when Naresuan breaks with Hongsawadi (Pegu). This incident does not appear in the oldest Siamese chronicle. Naresuan just goes to help his old Peguan patron in a local spat and then returns home after two of his elephants get into a tussle. In the early Bangkok rewrite of the chronicles, the incident became a much more elaborate, romantic tale. The King of Pegu fears his old protege is getting too big for his boots, so plots to have Naresuan killed. Naresuan finds out and stomps off home with this fine parting speech: "Because the King of Hongsawadi has not adhered to the ways of faithful friendship and royal tradition ... Ayutthaya and Hongsawadi shall not form a single golden kingdom as in the past, but shall be totally divorced from each other from this day."
This is the language of courtly politics, of king against king, of fealty. When Damrong rewrote this scene, he made a subtle but momentous change. He added a line stating that Naresuan had "declared independence". With these two words, he moved Naresuan out of the old world of kings and fealty and into the modern world of states and nations. He placed Naresuan alongside Thomas Jefferson and Giuseppe Garibaldi as a leader fighting for the independence and unity of a nation.
Prince Damrong's history book was a huge popular success, and became the main source for school textbooks down to the present day. Even so, Naresuan was still not assured of star billing because fashions change. After the absolute monarchy was overthrown in 1932 and the Army took power six years later, many dramas and films were written to celebrate the heroic role of the Army in Thai history, but they steered clear of Naresuan, and cast ordinary folk in the leading roles.
The next Naresuan revival began in the 1960s. Thailand again faced an external threat, this time from the communist states to the east, and a growing revolutionary movement in the countryside. Palace and Army again looked to Naresuan as a great historical symbol of Thailand's ability to defy its enemies. Statues of King Naresuan were erected all over Thailand in places historically associated with his name. Many were built by the army, and some major ones were inaugurated by the King.
The statues and stories of this era did not focus on the declaration of independence which Damrong played as the climax, but an incident eight years later. A massive army led by a Burmese prince invades Siam and reaches the outskirts of the capital. The Siamese army is much smaller, and when the Burmese attack, it dissolves in total disarray. Naresuan becomes detached from his forces and surrounded by the enemy. All seems lost. But Naresuan challenges his opponent to single combat on elephant-back and wins against all the odds. The massive Burmese army promptly packs up and goes home.
The story is improbable in all sorts of ways. Historians are unsure whether it happened, where it might have been, and how the war was truly resolved.
But such matters are immaterial. Against the background of the massive threats against Thailand in the Cold War, this tale was portrayed over and over again in print, in statuary, and on murals.
After the Cold War ended, the enthusiasm for Naresuan faded, but only a little. It revived when Thailand again seemed under attack in the 1997 financial crisis. The focus of the story shifted again, to Naresuan's sister Princess Suphankalaya, who was taken hostage by the Burmese, as the Thai economy was taken hostage by the International Monetary Fund.
The fact that Than Mui's films are launched when Thailand is again ruled by the military might be seen as pure coincidence � or as no coincidence at all.
chang noi