THAILAND OLD AND NEW

By Dr. LILY ABEGG

"ThfJ future of tAe Far Ecut depends at prcsfJnt upon Thailand,1uhic'" haB bccom~ tke powder·keg 01 Asia," declared th.fJ oflicicl organof the Kttomintang in Chungking on A1lnWJt 8. A lew years ago thisstatement would have made 1<0 senile whatever to the greater patrt of theworld, for it was not until 1939 that people heard the word "Thailand"for the first t'ime. That was 1.vhen the National As'semblll a.t Bangkokdecided to chunge their countr1l's name from Siam to Thailand.

Sin e tlle,l-this is hardly (In exaggeration-the term_ Thailand hasappeared more freqlte1ttly in the pa.fles of neWspal>ers and magazines thanthe old name had done in all thfJ centuries of its exutence. PMticularlllduring th-is spring a"ld summfJr the lit.tle country has been consta.ntly itt.the 11e1US. While Thailand emphasizf!B the friendliness of its relations1uith all the world. the two cOltntries most concerned, Japan and GreatBritain, are watching each other with grave suspicion. Japan's "NewOrder" and British ItnperialiBm are now, after the occupation of southernIndo· China. b'll Ja'1'a.n, separated Onl'll by the width of Thailand.

What is this country like, that has lJecome such an important pawnin thfJ ga'm.e of the great powers? It is described in the following pages.

The author, Dr. Lily AbfJgg. is a writer and journalist of internationQ.1backgrQlmd. A Swiss citizen, IJhe epntt the firet twelve J/cQr/J 01 her lilein Japan. wt'nt to school in Zurich, Switzerland, am st1tdied at theUnivcrsitice of Geneva and Ha11lb".TIl where in 1 9!t5 she obtained Mrdoctor's degree in 'Political science. Since then site has been in journalisticwork i.1 E-UTOpC and in the Ori"",t, t"ToveHnp "lJ.'tenlli1}l!lv, nl-wfl.t/B tr1Jin.Dto come as close as possible to the scene 0/ action and to see things forhersell. Tn this wall. althounh a. member oj the so-called "1,vea.ker sex,"8lte covered the campaigns in China by visiting both the Chinese andJapane8e fronts, and thOSe of Belgium and France bll 1Ilo'ving 'with th9troops.

Alt.houoh a highly quali/it'd ;oltnralist. Miss AbenD 1vas Mver satisfiedwith 111ere da'1l-bll-dap reporUng. Her desire to get at the root of things11I0re thoroughlJI than newspaper writing tt8'ltally pennits found express1/}nin two thoughtflLl books: one on Japa.n, "Ya-mato," th.e oth,er 011 Ckilla.."China's Rebirth," a 're1,iew of whioh 1vill be found in thi8 iS8ue. Dr. Abegghas just Tet'Ul'1ted from a vi8it to Thailand.-K.M.

PEOPLE OF BUDDHA

On the evening of the birthday ofBuddha special ceremonies in honor ofthe Great Master took place in thetemples of Bangkok. We were invitedto be present at the ceremony in theWat Phra Keo, one of the mostmagnificent of the temples. It standsnext to the royal palace and containsa famous statue of Buddha made ofjasper.

Our little group was composed ofEuropeans, Japanese, and Indians, allof whom were in Thailand for thefirst time, and I think the beauty andstrangeness of the Thai temple archi­tecture made an equally strong im­pression on all of us. The sky wascloudless, and, although late in theafternoon, it was still very hot. Thelast rays of the sun reflected from thegolden eaves of the roofs and fromthe many stupas, each of a different

THAILAND-OLD AND NEW 37

color. The red light of the eveningsun layover the great ceramic figuresof the temple guardians, representingancient seamen of Holland, and overstone statues in Chinese style.

THE RULER AS HIGH PRIESTThere are few trees and plants near

the temples of Bangkok and in thetemple-courts, so that there is nothingto subdue the shapes and colors of thebuildings under the high dome of thesky. The accumulation of tall whitecolumns, pointed irridescent roofs, in­numerable green, blue, red, yellow, andwhite stupas, of galleries filled withimages of Buddha, of variegated ceramicpanels and statues of stone, bronze, andporcelain, all this at first seems some­what cold and naked to the foreigner,until he is entirely captivated by thebeauty of pure form.

More and more people, with burningincense-sticks in their hands, gather inthe courts and galleries. They aredressed lightly in pale colors, as gayand brilliant-hued as the glitteringtemples and the tropical sunset. Alight breeze tinkles the hundreds oflittle golden bells decorating the galleriesand pavilions. Many high officials andofficers in white uniforms now appear.This meaws that the Prince Regent,who is to worship Buddha in thistemple today, must soon arrive.

While the last rays of the sun dis­appear and the moon rises, smallcandles are lighted everywhere.Which was more beautiful, we wonder:the majestic splendor of the rays ofthe sun or the tender light of candlesand the moon? Although we come fromquite different countries, the style ofThai temple architecture impresses allof us with the same surprising force.It is quite different from anything wehave seen further east or further west.The Japanese try to gra=,p the unac­customed height of the temples withtheir slender, aspiring columns and theextravagant use of varied materialsand colors. The Indians are impressedabove all by the roofs and the numeroussmall decorations which betray Chinese

influence. One of the Indians cannotget over the fact that the Prince Re­gent himsel! will conduct the holyceremony as High Priest. He holdsforth at length about how this demon­strates that Thailand is a Buddhistmonarchy-the only one in the world­and that all the people of Thailand,with the exception of a few MohammedanMalays in the south, belong to the samereligion, that of Buddha. Coming fromthe country of many religions, of in­numerable sects, and thousands uponthousands of gods, he can only repeat,"That is interesting, extremely in­teresting."

WHERE INDIA AND CHINA MEET

We foreigners from the Occident, onthe other hand, in spite of so muchstrangeness, feel one step nearer Europe.After Japan s.nd China, lands of mas­sive roofs and horizontal lines, thesesoaring columns remind us almost ofGothic architecture. When we find our­selves in one of the high temple-halls,with the sacred figure in the back­ground, we are reminded much moreof a Catholic church than of a Chineseor Japanese temple. The entrance, too,is at the narrow end of the buildingand not at the side as elsewhere in theOrient, and the walls are massive andwindowed. Strangely enough, in theirbizarre forms and glorious colors, thetemples of Bangkok offer the Europeanjust that which he usually expects tofind in the Orient, while in the detailsof their construction they are moreclosely related to the buildings of thewest than of the Far East.

We are still philosophizing about this"Country where India and China meet,"and agree that the Thai race, in spiteof influence from the east and the west,has not disintegrated, but rather hasde\'eloped its own original style. Sud­denly we are startled by loud music.The people bow their heads: the PrinceRegent is coming! With a friendlysmile he walks through the crowd intothe temple and bows before the imageof Buddha. After a while he appearsin the colonnade with a lighted candle in

38 THE XXth CENTURY

his hand, and the high officials andofficers approach him one by one tolight their candles from his. Then theprocession, with the Prince Regent atits head, slowly walks three times roundthe temple. In the meantime the nighthas become quite dark. The crowd,silent and respectful, watches thecandle procession of their highest ruler,the representative of their boy-king.Each time the Regent passes the en­trance the music becomes louder, thento die down again.

After the Prince has left with hisretinue the whole crowd, with candlesand sticks of incense, begins a pro­cession round the temple. Tonightthis is happening not only at the WatPhra Keo, but in all the other templesin Bangkok. Buddhist nation! Buddhais the supreme Lord and Master, andhis earthly representative is the King.

DEVOUT THAILANDERSThe Thai are a religious people.

Almost every Thai has, as a youngman, spent at least two or three monthsas a monk in a monastery, while manylike later on to retire into a monasteryfor a considerable time. During thisperiod the strict ruIes of the monasterymust of course be observed. Everymorning for example, the monks haveto go round with their bowls to beg fortheir daily rice themselves. Moreover,they may eat nothing after twelvenoon. Phya Bahol, the leader of therevolution of 1932, now known as an"elder statesman," recently withdrewinto a monastery for some time, whilethe present Prime Minister and ener­getic leader of the nation, Luang Bipul,is about to do the same thing forseveral weeks.

There are no sects in Thailand; alladhere equally to the Hinayana (thesouthern branch of Buddhism, originatedin Ceylon). For this reason all thepriests and monks are similarly dressedin yellow, and this yellow of the monk'srobe forms part of the characteristicand everyday picture of Thailand.There is hardly a town or village whichdoes not contain several temples and

in which one does not meet innumer­able yellow-robed monks. Every dayschool, too, begins and ends withprayers during which not even theteacher may dare to enter the class­room.

The Buddhist religion forms the basisof this nation's way of life, regardlessof whether it may be the old Thailandor the new.

BANGKOK MODERNIZEDAlthough the Thai are so deeply

influenced by their religion, it does notmean that they have not developedin the course of history. Particularlyduring the last ten years these peoplehave effected great changes and madethe utmost effort to attain universalmodernization. Whoever expects to seeonly fine old temples, bronze statues,and Sawankalok bowls will learndifferently the first time he drivesthrough the city.

The city of Bangkok consists of thebusiness quarter, forming more or lessthe centre of the city, and a largeresidential district, containing mainlyprivate houses, built in western orThai style, and Government buildings.

The business quarter reminds one ofthe large coastal cities of China, fromTientsin to Canton. And not withoutreason, for this part of the city isbuilt in the Chinese manner and isinhabited mainly by Chinese. Eventhe western-style buildings, the "NewRoad" and the foreign business houses,banks, and consulates. fit into the picture,for they too can be found everywherein China. The economic life of Thai­land, especially its commerce and trade,is still largely in the hands of Chinese,who, during the last few decades, haveimmigrated into Thailand in largenumbers. However, the Governmentis making every effort to change thissituation, and today numerous largeand purely Thai economic enterprisesalready exist.

Of course there is no room in thedensely populated old business quarter,with its narrow streets and dirty

THAILAND-OLD AND NEW 39

canals, for new building activities. Forthis reason the city is extending furtherand further. Out in the residentialdistrict are many new houses: ad­ministration buildings. schools. andfactories. Right in the country. some­times in places where the roads havenot yet been completed, modern build­ings with flat roofs have arisen in thelast few years, testifying to the Thais'will to progress an:! development. Oneis reminded of Hsinking, the capitalof Manchukuo, where a new city alsoarose quite recently from the fields.

In strange contrast to the modernbuildinlls are the Thai dwellings,standing on piles over six feet high.This way of building resembles that ofthe Malays and the Filipinos. Only thetemple3 and most of the royal palaces ofthe Thai are built on firm ground. Thiscan probably be traced to Indian in­fluence, as the Thai religions, Buddhismand Brahmanism~thelatter at one timetemporarily exercising great influence­came from India.

Looking at the farmers' hub in thesurroundings of Bangkok, one can imme­diately determine whether they areinhabited by a Thai or a Chinesefamily: one lives on high stilts, theother stays close to the "good earth:'The Thais are occupied almost exclu:sive­ly with the cultivation of rice andfruit, while nearly all vegetables aregrown by Chinese.

TROPICAL TRAFFIC

In Bangkok one can never forget oneis in the tropics. This eternal heat!Even in the coolest months, Decemberand January, the mercury rarely dropsbelow seventy degrees, and in thehottest period, in April, it often hoversfor days at over a hundred. The rainyseason begins in May and lasts wellinto the autumn. During this time itdoes not, it is true, rain incessantly.however there are showers nearly everyday, relieving the heat for a fewhours. Life in the city is entirely ad­justed to the tropical climate. All thehouses, even the foreign ones, arewithout glass windows; during heavy

rain one simply closes the shutters.Also the walls of the houses are providedwith numerous slits and openings tolet the air pass through.

The trams and buses are entirelyopen, with no doors or window8. Thereare no special bus-stops: one can geton anywhere-a pleasant arrangement,for in that heat one is glad to saveoneself every unnecessary step. Inaddition to these means of transporta­tion and to the taxis and private cars.there is a special vehicle in all thelarger places in Thailand-the Clsamlo,"meaning "three wheels." It is a tricyclewith a fairly wide seat behind thedriver with room for two people. It istherefore a kind of rickshaw with aman riding instead of running. Thesesamlos are much faster and more po­pular than the old-style rickshaws,which are rapidly disappearing.

Of course the work of the samlo­driver causes him to sweat almostcontinuously. Sometimes there are twogrown-ups, one or two children, and alot of baggage in a samlo, but in spiteof the load the driver dashes throughthe streets with incredible speed. For­tunately nearly all the roads of Bangkok,with the exception of the businessquarter, are fine avenues with greatshady trees. Many of these avenueswere laid out by King Chulalongkorn,who reigned at the turn of the century.His motto was, "My people shall walkin the shade."

"KLONGS," A MALODOROUSSUBJECT

Bangkok has not only streets bu t alsoinnumerable canals, called "k1ongs,"which carry a large part of the traffic.Many people do not own a house, livinginstead entirely in their boats, just asin Canton and South China. Every daya large market is held on the water,where mainly fruit and vegetables arefor sale. If one wants to buy, onemust, of course, go there by boat.

These klongs of Bangkok have beengiven a rather unfortunate reputationby the authors of many travel-book.The reason for this is their indescrib-

40 THE XXth CENTURY

able filthiness; the water is brownish,often even black, and evil-smelling.The foreigner is shocked to see peoplewashing laundry and vegetables in thiswater, and even bathing in it. Actuallythe Thai are a cleanly people, a factthat is often not believed by thoseforeigners who only know Bangkok. Ihave visited many towns and littlevillages from the extreme north to theextreme south of the country, and haveseen nothing but clean, well-kept housesand huts. I also saw everywhere thatthe people bathe several times a dayin the rivers which, in the country, areclean and limpid, and that they arealways cleanly dressed. One gains theimpression that the Thai are not yetproperly accustomed to life in a cityof the size of Bangkok, and that theymake the mistake of transplanting ruralcustoms into the city.

Improvements are graduaUy beingeffected, and Bangkok has had a watersystem for many years, so that at leastfor boiling their rice people can usewater from the tap and not from thefilthy klongs. But as yet there is notenough opportunity for clean bathing.The heat is 80 unbearable and thedesire for a cooling bath so great thatpeople prefer to go into dirty waterrather than give up bathing altogether.The Thai really have a craze for bath­ing; not only do humans bathe con­tinually, but also animals, especiallythe water-buffaloes. In the evening onecan often see humans and water-buf­faloes seeking coolness in the river sideby side - a picture of peace. Some­times tiny children, 8tiU unable towalk properly, crawl by themselves tothe nearest fountain, where they situnder the jet of water, squeaking withjoy.

WHERE DO THE THAI COME FROM?Among the many tribes that, in the

course of time, were forced out of theenormous Chinese territory by the as­tonishing power of expansion of the"Sons of Han," the Thai are the onlyones who have succeeded in retainingtheir integrity, thanks to their ability

in founding and maintaining a state.The Thai are a Mongoloid race, relatedto the Chinese, which has strongly inter­mixed with other races. In prehistorictimes they inhabited the north as faras the Yellow River and later, abouttwo thousand years ago, the present­day provinces of Szechuan, Yunnan.and Kweichow. In the first and secondcenturies A.D., Chinese pressure forcedone part of the Thai toward the south­west, so that they came to the terri­tories of present-day North Thailandand North Burma. From then till thethirteenth century the intlu.'C of Thaigradually pouring into what is nowThailand and French Indo-China neverceased. The first small Thai principali­ties came into existence, and therebegan the conflict with the Khmercivilization, the greatest example ofwhich is Angkor.

Nevertheless, a large part of theThai race remained in China until thethirteenth century, mainly in present­day Yunnan, where the Thai occupiedthe great Nanchao Empire from theseventh to the thirteenth centuries.From here they undertook wars ofconquest, which temporarily took themas far as Szechuan, Tibet, Burma. anda great part of French Indo-China.Often, however, the Chinese had theupper hand, and at the end of theninth century a Thai king, worn outby many wars, declared himself avassal of the Emperor of China. Thishad also happened from time to timein previous centuries. After this untilthe end of the eighteenth century theChinese considered the Thai kingdomsas vassal states.

The Nanchao Empire was destroyedin 1253 by the assault of the world­conquering Mongols. The Nanchao-Tbaifollowed their brothers, who had beenwandering southwards for a thousandyears, into the territory of what is nowThailand. Not until then did the realnational history of the Thai in Thailandbegin. The pressure they exerted onthe neighboring Cambodians forcedthese to transfer their capital in 1431from Angkor to Phnom Penh.

THAILAND-OLD AND NEW

"THAILAND" AND "SIAM"The word "Siam" appeared compari­

tive1y late in the history of the Thai.Originally it was only the designationfor a small district which later (as oftenhappens in history) became the nameof the whole country. The expressionThai is in relation to Siamese more orless what the designation Slav is toRWI8ian. With the decision of the Na­tional Assembly in Bangkok of 1939 tochange the name of the country fromSiam to Thailand, Thailand raises thepolitical claim to embody in one greatempire all Thai and not only theSiamese.

Among :the people belonging to theThai race, more than half live in neigh­boring lands. The Laos, inhabitinglarge territories in French Indo-China,are now called Northern Thai in Bang­kok, and the Shan in Burma are calledWestern Thai. The Thai maintain. thatthere are now forty million people be­longing to the Thai race. This figure,however, seems exaggerated. In Thai­land itself there are ten to elevenmillion Thai, in French Indo-Chinaabout two million Laos, and in Burmaabout the same number of Shan. Thereare only divergent estimates of thenumber of Thai left in China, but onecan hardly suppose that the total num­ber of more or less pure Thai exceedstwenty to twenty-five million.

THE REVOLT OF 1932Thailand is one of the countries

where old-fashioned and modern or­ganizations and customs continue toexist side-by-side. The last decadeseems to have been the period ofgreatest progress. It began with therevolt of 1932, which turned the ab­solute into a constitutional monarchy.The change of the constitution atthat time took place comparativelysmoothly and without bloodshed; ithad more the character of a reformthan that of a revolution. The prestigeand popularity of the royal house,which was then robbed of its absoluteprerogatives, were in no way diminish­ed ,by .the reform. This was especially

apparent three years ago when theKing, who is only fifteen and is beingeducated in Switzerland, came on avisit to Bangkok. The entire popula­tion turned out to greet their youngruler. As the King has not yet reachedhis majority he is now represented bythe Prince Regent.

As a result of the overthrow, youngerand more energetic men took over lead­ing positions, men who till then hadhad scant chance of participating inthe government. Under the absolutemonarchy all important positions wereoccupied almost exclusively by princesand members of the royal house, whilethe educated upper class had but littleinfluence. The reform at the time wasinstigated mainly by the army, andthe present Government is consequent­ly formed preponderantly by officers.The leading personality of the Govern­ment is the Prime Minister, Major­General Luang Bipul, who simulta­neously occupies other important posts.One can say that new Thailand is ledby the military. The main efforts ofthe Government during the last fewyears have been directed toward thecountry's economic advance and theraising of a healthy and capable youth.

ECONOMIC EFFORTSThailand economically is in a rather

difficult position, being still too de­pendent on other nations. In formertimes too little was done for thedevelopment of the country, and itcannot be expected that this loss shouldbe made up in a few years. Almostas large as Japan (without Formosaand Korea) and larger than Italy,Thailand has only fourteen millioninhabitants. While most countries inAsia are overpopulated, Thailand isthe only one that is underpopulated.Doubtless many more millions of peoplecould live there.

The main exports are rice and wood,also tin and rubber which are producedin the south of the country on the MalayPeninsula. The export of rice could nodoubt be multiplied by the recla:nationof large wastelands. In many districts

THE XXth CENTURY

where only one crop a year is harvested,two crops could be harvested if theirrigation system were improved, so thatthe rice could also grow during the dryseason. Up till now the people saw nonecessity for a more intensive cultiva­tion, as they had always enough tolive on. Famines such as devastateChina and India are practically un­known.

The country needs larger exports inorder to acquire the necessary meansfor building up industry. In Thailandthere is even less industry than, forexample, in China. Experience hasshown that countries without industrycan hardly maintain themselves in thestruggle for existence, since industryis the basis of defense. It is impossibleto raise a formidable army if everypiece of equipment, from leather-strapsto cannons, must be imported fromabroad.

What Thailand needs, and what thepresent Government is now trying tolaunch, is a general boom, as aUdomains of economic life-industry,commerce, trade, and agriculture-are80 closely interwoven that one requiresthe flourishing of the other to existhealthily.

To the industrial backwardness mustbe added another weakness: the lack ofinterest, one can almost say the distasteof the Thai for commerce. The Thaireally only have two professions-theyare either rice farmers or officials. (Weneed not mention here the more primi­tive tribes, living in Thailand yet notbelonging to the Thai race, as theyform only an uninfluential minority.)There is little left of the traditionalcrafts such as silver and lacquer workor weaving.

Commerce as well as crafts wereuntil recently exclusively in the handsof Chinese, Indians, and other foreigners,Le. Europeans, Americans and Japanese.The Chinese, however, had a definitepreponderance.

TWO MILLION CHINESEOf a total population of fourteen

million, there are two million Chinese.

Considering their proverbial diligenceand business ability, one can readilyimagine the influence the Chineseexercise in Thailand. Since economicpower may easily entail political in­fluence, the main effort of the Govern~

ment is directed towards recapturingeconomic key-positions for the Thai.Consequently very strict measures havebeen taken against Chinese immigration,which had assumed extraordinary pro­portions during the last fifty years.

The attempts of the Government toregain the economic lead for the Thaihave encountered many difficulties.First there are inhibitions of apsychological nature, innate in theThai; secondly, the Chinese and otherforeigners do not allow themselves tobe easily supplanted. One reason thatthe Chinese regard the Government'sefforts at independence with suspicionis that lately the Thai have been try­ing for a closer economic co-operationwith Japan. The Chinese, with theirrather anti-Japanese feelings, are re­sisting this tendency, and often find anally in the British, who have alwayshad a strong financial and economicinfluence. Up till now most of theexports went to different parts of theBritish Empire. In fact the importanttin production went exclusively toPenang and Singapore, as there is nota single smelting-plant for this ore inThailand. Also in their imports-ofgasoline, for example-the Thai arecompletely dependent on England andthe Netherlands East Indies.

EXEMPLARY EDUCATION

Realizing that the economics of acountry cannot, after all, be organizedonly from above. but that they aredependent on the p('ople, the Thai Gov­ernment has directed its main atten­tion during the last few years towardthe education of youth. I believe thatthe successful reorganization of educa­tion is the greatest achievement ofthe Government since the revolt of1932. When one sees the numerous newschools and the present-day youth ofThailand, one gathers the impression

THAILAND-OLD AND NEW

that this people has a promising future,even if, according to our standards,much is still painfully backward.

I have traveled a great deal inChina, where, for the last twenty years,new plans for the "final" abolishmentof illiteracy have been announced overand over again. Although some im­provement can be seen, I have foundthat a large part of these "final" plansis stiJI on paper. In Thailand this isnot the case. Today all children, ex~

-capt those of primitive tribes livingin distant jungles, go to elementaryschool.

One should insert here that the Thai,though originating from the territory,of present-day China, and with alanguage of purely Chinese origin, do.not use the difficult Chinese characters;instead they have a phonetic system ofwriting, similar to the Indian andMalayan. Without doubt this fact sim­plifies the struggle against illiteracy.In fact, the proximity of Indian andChinese influence is one of the charac­teristics of Thailand. Even the outward.appearance of the Thai race revealsthat it must have intermixed consid­·erably with Indians, Cambodi.ans, andMalays. A large proportion of theThai race is today much darker thantheir ancestors, who were a purelyMongoloid tribe when they emigratedfrom China to the territory of present­day Thailand.

Furthermore, new middle schools andespecially trade schools were foundedby the Government in order to traina new generation of tradesmen andcraftsmen. It also aimed at directingthe interest of young students towardsnatural science and technology. Forhitherto, Thai students, regardless ofwhether they were studying abroad orin their native Chulalongkorn Univer­sity, were interested in little but theBeaux Arts. These efforts were suc­cessful, for in the last two years theenrolment at the Chulalongkorn Uni­versity in Bangkok for the courses inengineering and medicine has risen.considerably.

THE SYMBOLS OF NEW THAILANDIf I were asked what I considered

to be the symbol of the new Thailand,I would answer: the school-house andthe Yuvajon, the great youth-organiza­tion of Thailand. Everywhere thereare new schools. In every town andvillage they are the most strikingbuildings. Sometimes they are at thevery edge of the jungle, where snakescrawl and monkeys play screaming inthe trees. These schools are beautifullybuilt according to sensible plans. I badthe opportunity of visiting many schoolsin different parts of the country, andeverywhere I was delighted by thepleasant manners, the discipline, andthe eagerness of the children. Theyoung people are quite different fromthe older generation, much more na­tionally-minded and anxious to servetheir country. In every school inThailand, from kindergarten to theUniversity, the national flag with itsred, white, and blue stripes is solemnlyraised every morning, while pupils andstudents stand at attention. Of course,also in the realm of education every­thing cannot be done at once, so thatin practice there are still some thingslacking. For instance there is a shor­tage of modern teaching equipment;in the middle schools the equipment forteaching chemistry and physics is stillquite insufficient.

All school-children in Thailand wearthe same uniform-the girls usuallyblue skirts and white blouses, the boysgreenish-khaki jackets and shorts. Manyboys wear a red band around theircaps as a sign that they are membersof the Yuvajon.

YUVAJONIt is not every boy who can become

a member of the Yuvajon. He mustfirst undergo a test and a medical ex­amination. The membership is volun­tary, and greatly sought after. Althoughthe training is very strenuous, everyboy wants to become a member.

The organization of the Yuvajon ischiefly the work of Colonel PrayoonMontri, Vice-Minister of Education,

THE XXth CENTURY

who is the leader of the movement.It may be noted in passing that Thainames are often used incorrectly byforeigners. When I was in Tokyo be­fore leaving for Thailand, I often heardof the Vice-Minister of Education,"Colonel Montri," who happened to bein Tokyo at the time. In BangkokI immediately made enquiries about"Colonel Montri," but no one knew whoI was talking about. Finally it turnedout that in his country he is calledColonel Prayoon. The real family-nameis hardly ever mentioned in Thailand,and even in the case of well-knownmen one sometimes does not knowwhat their family is really called.

The Yuvajon is an organizationsimilar to the youth movements inJapan and in Germany. The fact thatactive army officers are in charge ofthe training, and not, as in Germany,young leaders from the ranks of themovement, is reminiscent of the J apa­nese system. On the other hand theYuvajon, as' a unified, national organ­ization, exists independently of theschools, much like in Germany.

The supreme aim of the Yuvajon isto strengthen the young people's na­tional conscioueness, spirit of sacrifice,and eagerness to serve. Almost purelymilitary methods are used to reachthis goal. First place is given todiscipline, drill and athletics. Theseboys with their marching, drilling, andsharp-shooting seem more like youngcadets from a military school. Dutyis very strict. Every SaLurday, forin tance, the Yuvajon have to carryout military maneuvers for three tofour hours in full uniform and armedwith a carbine. I have seen these boysdrilling on a large square in Bangkokwith the temperature at 107 degrees.Under the tropic sun the cement squareradiated a paralyzing heat. The boyssweated so much that there was not adr) shred of clothing left on them, andthe soaked uniforms appeared quitedark.

TANKS AND TEMPLESIt is sometimes said that the Thai

have been weakened through centuries

of living in a tropical climate and thatthey have lost their powers of physicalendurance and resistance. I believethat this is at most a half-truth, andthat their weakness is more of apsychological nature and can consequentlybe overcome by will-power. In anycase, Thai studying abroad, wheresport is more popular than was untilrecently the case in Thailand, haveproved to be quite the equals of otherstudents. Incidentally, it is amusingthat these children of the tropics makeexcellent skiers when the opportunityarises.

On June 24, Thailand's National Day,a large military display of the Yuvajontook place in Bangkok. On one side ofthe square a sort of Maginot Line hadbeen constructed, with several concretedomes and artificial tank-traps. Thiswas attacked by fourteen to eighteen­year-old members of the Yuvajon in a'completely modern manner, with motor­ized troops, tanks, artillery, and air­planes. The C'battle" lasted about fortyminutes. The thunder of the artillery'duel was ear-splitting, airplane-motorsroared overhead, and tanks and flame­throwers spat terrifying fire. Finall)"'a large white flag appeared; the garri­son surrendered, the fortifications hav­ing collapsed under the artillery-fireand the bombs.

The entire maneuver was carried outby boys; only the airplanes were mannedby regular soldiers. At the end aparade under the command of ColonelPrayoon was held before the PrinceRegent.

As we drove home, the tanks rattledpast the walls of the picturesque palaceand the Wat Phra Keo, a symbol ofThailand today: old temples and royalpalaces with weird, colorful roofs,towers, and stupas-and modern tanks.Thailand too has entered, for betteror for worse, the ranks of nationalisticstates and follows the familiar modernpattern. The tropic land of jungles,elephants, and beautiful old Wats, isdetermined to arm, and to maintainits independent position in the presentworld of tension and danger.

1111

X~CENTURY

Y ·ltuw rob·d Buddhi"t high pri('~t at'olden la 'quer Ilatc of temple

\\'"ter buffalo walkilW in "i,· ... fit·ldsamong >,ugar palm". The nativ(''; tap

the palm!; fllr "yl'up

Thailand

Old and

New

1.if!' 011 tlll'

"Klnngs..,

tin: ("anal,:

of Bangkok

r

Girl ,,~ction uf the YU\'ajon 'ullllo;; in front of I1Imlernpo::;1 offke in Banglwk, built

by a Thai archilcd