VIEWING THE CHINESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH MURAL PAINTINGS

Abstract

Thailand and China had established commercial contact under the tributary system long before the Sukhothai period However, Chinese art only started to appear in mural paintings at the beginning of the Ayutthaya period. During the reign of King Rama lll, the depiction of Chinese motifs became the Royal taste, as the King was especially fond of Chinese art. Since mural painting from the early Rattanakosin period primarily depict the Chinese as merchants, the article focuses on this immigrant group. Additionally, because social backgrounds of the merchants were varied, the author traced the origins of the immigrants back to their mother country in order to understand the social context of different merchants present in the murals. The images reflect the real lives of the different classes of Chinese merchants during the early Rattanakosin period. Someone selling goods by boat, wearing a cone hat and three quarter length black pants was a common sight in everyday life. In contrast, images of wealthy merchants wearing long traditional silk gowns can mostly be found only on murals in royal temples such as wat Phra chetuphon or Wat Suthat. While the social standing of the latter had directly or indirectly stimulated the artistic direction on temple murals, the status of the former had no influence.