King Chulalongkorn Day

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Lesson Transcript

Culture Class: Holidays in Thailand, Lesson 15 – King Chulalongkorn Day

Hello, and welcome to the Culture Class- Holidays in Thailand Series at ThaiPod101.com. In this series, we’re exploring the traditions behind Thai holidays and observances. I’m Eric, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson 15, King Chulalongkorn Day. In Thai, it’s called วันปิยมหาราช (wan bpì-yá-má-hăa-râat).

In this lesson, we’re going to talk about King Chulalongkorn Day,

which falls on October 23 each year. This was the day King Rama V passed away. As the king did great things for Thailand, bringing development to the country in several aspects, Thai people show their respect for him by calling him “the beloved king,” and declared this day as a national day.

Now, before we get into more detail, do you know the answer to this question-

King Rama V played an important role in saving the country from being colonized by Western countries. How did this happen?

If you don't already know, you’ll find out a bit later. Keep listening.

The king’s abolition of slavery was an important act that changed Thailand’s political system. In his time, slaves were quite common. Anybody who was born from slave parents would also become a slave, or ทาส (thâat). This would continue generation by generation, until the slave had accumulated enough money to redeem himself. As King Rama V wanted everybody to have equal rights, he legislated several laws which allowed children born from slave parents to be free, or อิสระ (ìt-sà-rà), from slave status. He also deemed slave trading illegal and commanded slave owners to reduce the price of their slaves until it became zero. Within thirty years, Thailand’s slavery was abolished without bloodshed, as had occurred in other countries.

Another important act of his was to change the court system. Previously, whenever a person had an issue, he would be sent to a court of a relevant department for judgment. However, the court system was disorganized. Therefore, the king established the Ministry of Justice to take charge of the investigation and judgment of legal cases, so that all cases were judged on the same principles. Moreover, he ceased the practice of torture often used to obtain confessions, as under this method, suspects were likely to wrongly confess because they could not suffer the pain, despite their innocence. Instead, the king enforced an evidence- and witness-based investigation method. As the torture-based investigation method was dismissed, the court system has become fairer and better able to serve justice to society.

After the king passed away, civil servants, merchants, the rich, and the general public were all grateful for his grace, all donating money to build a statue to represent the king. The statue was built as if the king were riding a horse, or ม้า (máa), hence its name, the “Equestrian Statue.” On October 23 of each year, people bring flowers to pay respect to the king, or กษัตริย์ (gà-sàt), to remind themselves of his grace, as well as offer food to monks. Moreover, there are exhibitions about the king’s stories and activities held at numerous government agencies, schools, and universities to allow younger generations to continue to commemorate his grace.

Now it's time to answer our quiz question-

King Rama V played an important role in saving the country from being colonized by Western countries. How did this happen?

In the past, many Western countries invaded and colonized Asian countries. During his reign, King Rama V gave up some areas of Thailand in exchange for the compromise of maintaining the country’s independence. In order not to lose more land, he started to establish a relationship with Russia. He also sent his sons to study abroad to build alliances. Since then, Thailand has never lost its land to any other nation.