The Royal Society of Literature, or, the Birth of Modern Cultural Authority in Thailand

Thanapol Limapichart

On 23 July 1914, King Vajiravudh (r. 1910–1925) issued a royal decree to establish the prestigious Royal Society of Literature, or Wannakhadi samoson (hereafter the RSL). The fundamental aim of the RSL, according to Vajiravudh, was to improve contemporary Thai writing. In the decree, the king lamented that despite the significant increase in both writers and readers, writers of the day neither paid any attention to the proper use of language nor attempted to compose anything knowledgeable or useful. Instead, they imitated what others had done, or they translated mediocre works of foreign origin. Besides, they often based Thai grammatical structure on foreign models, and considered the practice proper and modern, even though it was, according to Vajiravudh, having a ruinous effect on their own language. Worse still, because the number of these books was growing, some readers mistakenly understood that these styles of writing and language use were a sign of progress in modern literature (wicha nangseu samai mai) (Prachum kotmai prajam sok 2457 [1914], 283–288).

In terms of practice, the RSL's principal task as assigned by Vajiravudh himself was to select works from the past and present, and from various literary genres — namely, poetry, Thai drama in verse, tales (nithan), spoken drama and essays (athibai) — to stand as exemplars of Thai literary excellence. These chosen works would be further awarded with certificates and allowed to use the RSL's seal, a design that featured the Hindu deity Ganesha, the patron of the arts and sciences, and the god of wisdom and obstacles (Prachum kotmai prajam sok 2457 [1914], 285–286).

Historiographically speaking, the establishment of the RSL has been commonly viewed in two ways. The first, which merely follows the king's own explanation, regards the RSL as his genuine effort "to salvage the situation (as noted in the decree above) by trying to promote literary writings of high quality" (Nitaya 1995, 8). Proponents of this view also often interpret the RSL as the royal elite's measure to fend off Western influences on Thai writing and culture (e.g., Chonlada et al. 1998, 113–114; Thanya 1996, 93–95). In the second account, the RSL, particularly its selection of "excellent works in Thai literature", is interpreted as Vajiravudh's attempt to claim for Siam its literary heritage and achievement, from the past and present (Vella 1978). This latter account, in other words, sees the RSL as part of Vajiravudh's nationalist project.

Not only are these two standard views of the RSL politically and ideologically simplistic in their interpretation, but they are also void of historical depth in their analysis. For instance, these views hardly take into account Siam's crucial historical developments since the second half of the nineteenth century — namely, Siam's semi-colonial conditions; the rise of print capitalism, which brought about a shift in Siam's mode of textual production, distribution and consumption; and the emergence of Siam's modern public sphere.

This chapter aims to situate the establishment of the RSL in these complex historical transformations. It contends that by viewing the RSL in tandem with these transformations, it will become clear that the RSL