There are many people who think of themselves as “original” Thais — descendents of the tribe who inhabited the territory that is now Thailand before anyone else came. But there is no way for them to prove that the Thais were the first ethnic group to live there, or that their remote ancestors did not intermarry with other populations like the Mon, the people of the Tai language group who lived in southern China along the Mekong River, with hill tribes who were already living in the North, or with ethic groups of Indian origin.

The relationship between the Thais and the Chinese is also ancient and very close. There is evidence of it dating back more than 700 years to the Sukhothai period. The Sangkhalok glazed ceramics that were produced and exported from the Sukhothai kingdom were made using a technique that had been learned from the Chinese.

During the Ayutthaya period, there were Chinese communities in the city, including the Nai Kai Community, named after a wealthy Chinese inhabitant. Today there is a canal in the city that still bears his name.

Old Thai chronicles state that King Taksin the Great, who moved the Thai capital from Ayutthaya to Thonburi in the late 1760s, was of Chinese descent. Near the site of the royal palace in the new capital was an old Chinese community called Kuti Jeen which contained a shrine to the goddess Kuan Yin that can still be seen today.

The end of the Thonburi Period came in 1782 when King Rama I moved the capital directly across the Chao Phraya River to Rattanakosin on the Bangkok side. Two concentric canals were dug around the new city to create an island, the inner one called Khlong Rawb Krung and the outer one Khlong Ong Ang. But before construction of the waterways could begin, the old Chinese community that stood in the way of this huge public works project had to be moved.

Its residents were resettled along the bank of the Chao Phraya River, beginning at Wat Sam Pluem (also known as Wat Jakrawat Rachawat) and extending to Wat Sampheng or Wat Pathum Khongkha in what is now known as the Talat Noi area. When the community was relocated, a leader was chosen to oversee it and maintain peace and order. His position was similar to that of a civil servant.

The Chinese community formed the most densely populated area in Bangkok, and it is believed that the number of its inhabitants was greater than that of the Thais who occupied the rest of the city, and who were scattered through the surrounding area tending their farms and orchards. They built their homes from simple materials with brick or wooden walls and roofs woven from nipa palm leaves. Since the houses were crowded so closely together there were sometimes disastrous fires. Not long after the Rattanakosin Island was created, one blaze consumed all of the homes in an area that stretched for more than a kilometre.

During the early Rattanakosin period, and especially during the reign of King Rama III, relations flourished between the Thai kingdom and China. It was a golden age of trade between the two countries, with ships loaded with merchandise arriving and departing from wharfs located right inside the dense Chinese community.

Goods imported from China included cloth, ceramic plates and drinking vessels, glass and gunpowder. In return Thailand sent raw lac (for laquering), tin, rice, pepper and palm sugar. This vigorous trade generated a great amount of money from tariffs which made its way into other businesses in Thailand.

The interchange between the two countries wasn’t limited to commerce. Thailand’s culture was also strongly influenced by that of China. Thai temples built during the reign of King Rama III were basically Thai in their structure and artistic style, but the ornamentation was created using Chinese coloured tiles arranged into decorative designs.

Wat Sam Pluem or Wat Jakrawat Rachawat, located at one end of the old Chinese community, was rebuilt by Phraya Bodin Decha, a high-ranking civil servant during the reign of King Rama III. It was decorated with coloured tiles from China with Chinese dragon designs at the entry gates. The whole reconstruction was presented as a merit-making offering for the king.

Slavery was still part of the system of government during this period, but Chinese arriving in Thailand were exempt from becoming slaves. Instead they were registered individually. This practice was done away with during the reign of King Rama V, as was slavery.

Whenever there have been serious problems in China — natural catastrophes, floods, droughts, internal wars or general oppression, great numbers of Chinese would leave their country to seek a better life elsewhere. This was especially true of the people of Canton province in the south of China. The favoured migration route brought them to Bangkok, although many continued on southward to Malaysia.

The Chinese who came to Thailand during this period were called Jeen mai, or New Chinese. When many Chinese immigrants arrived together they had to compete among themselves for basic jobs like carrying heavy goods in warehouses or pulling rickshaws. The work that was available to them required heavy physical labour and nothing else: transporting rock for the construction of roads in Bangkok or railroad tracks in the provinces or digging canals. The massive Rangsit canals north of the capital, of which there are more than 16, were all dug using Chinese labour.

Some new immigrants found friends and acquaintances from their villages back in China who had arrived earlier and who had found work and established themselves well enough to be able to help them get started. Chinese immigrants were always willing to help new arrivals who spoke the same dialect. They would live in the same vicinity and form communities.

The Taechew-speaking community, the biggest in the country, lived along New Road and Yaowarat, while the Cantonese settled from Talat Noi up to Bang Rak. The Khae ethnic group also lived at Talat Noi, while the Hainanese found homes in the northern part of Bangkok at Sri Yan and Bang Po.

Each of these ethnic groups traditionally specialized in a particular type of work. The Taechew excelled in business and trade, while the Cantonese were expert cooks and often ran restaurants. The type of cooking they did best was grilling, especially grilled duck and grilled pork, or dishes that used wheat noodles known as ba-mee. There are still old families in the Bang Rak and Talat Noi areas that make these foods for sale.

The Khae community were metalworkers who made rainwater draining pipes and pots. They were also good shoemakers. The Hainanese were carpenters and furniture-makers, laundry operators and cooks of their own traditional cuisine.

Apart from their own languages, these groups also had their own cultural life and traditions that often survive largely intact. For example, each has a shrine devoted to its own special protective deity. Even young people who move out of the community return at festival time or for religious ceremonies to make offerings there.

Most of the Chinese families in Thailand have been Buddhists since before they emigrated. On important occasions like Chinese New Year, they worship at major temples and sites like the Buddha’s footprint in Saraburi, Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon in Ayutthaya and Wat Kalayanimit in Thonburi.

	If they have the opportunity and enough money, they also build Buddhist temples. One example is Wat Trimit on New Road. It was built by three Chinese millionaires and named Wat Sam Jeen — “The Temple of the Three Chinese” — when construction was completed. Later, when it was restored, the name was changed to Wat Trimit — “The Temple of the Three Friends”. In the years since, it has become very famous as the temple that houses a huge Buddha image made of solid gold. It is the largest golden Buddha image of its kind in the world and a major tourist attraction.
It is believed that the image was cast in the Sukhothai period. When it was moved from there, to ensure its safety and conceal its value, the image was covered with a thick layer of white plaster. Eventually it was placed in a small temple at the end of New Road, exposed to the sun and rain, and no one took any special interest in it. When that temple wanted to make use of the space, it moved the image to Wat Trimit, where it was also set out in the open. It was only later, when it was being moved, that some of the plaster broke off and the gold underneath was exposed. After that it was moved into a small building that became one of the city’s main tourist destinations.
	More than 40 years later Wat Trimit initiated a project to build a huge new stupa that will house the image and also serve as a centre for the study of Chinese history. The golden image will be moving for the third — and probably last — time. Most of the people who planned this latest chapter in the golden Buddha image’s amazing history are Thai Chinese. Once completed, it will be one more example of the treasures Thailand has been given by the interaction of the many cultures that have formed the country over the centuries.

‘DESCENDANTS OF THE DRAGON’ CHINESE MUSEUM
AT THE SUPHAN BURI CITY PILLAR SHRINE

People of Chinese descent are considered to be descendents of the legendary Golden Dragon. According to traditional Chinese beliefs, this mythical creature was endowed with awesome powers.

The source of the elements — water, wind, earth, and fire, and custodian of the seasons, the Golden Dragon is the font of life and prosperity.

It is believed that individuals who come into contact with the Golden Dragon are imbued with some of this vital force and that good fortune and success in life are bestowed upon them.

The newly-opened ‘Descendants of the Dragon’ Chinese Museum at the Suphan Buri City Pillar Shrine offers a magnificent cultural showcase that traces Chinese history as well as the history of Chinese communities in the Thai kingdom through the centuries.

Along with everyone else, descendants of the Golden Dragon can go back in time, retracing the footsteps and exciting voyages of discovery undertaken by their courageous forefathers. These extraordinary achievements are a source of great pride to many.

‘Descendants of the Dragon’ Chinese Museum
At the Suphan Buri City Pillar Shrine
Open from 10.00 - 16.00 on Wednesday through to Sunday and on public holidays
(The museum will remain open for visitors throughout the Chinese New Year holidays on Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th January, 2009.)

RESERVING TICKETS IN ADVANCE
Please reserve tickets in advance before making the trip to the Museum.
Contact information for reservations:
Tel: 0 3552 6211, 0 3552 6212