Mhai Proverbial, U-phaipak and Phiphitpak Poems:The Relationship between Proverbial Poems inVajirayanna Viset and the creation of modern civil servants during the reign of King Rama V

Abstract

Background and objective (s): To study Thai didactic texts, most researchers agree that the Mhai proverbial, Phiphitpak and Uphaipak poems, which were published for the first time in the Vajirayanna Viset, contain doctrine about admonishing or teaching ethics to ordinary citizens. In addition, a meeting of elite poets to compose poetry during the reign of King Rama V was probably just an entertaining activity among poets. However, in dissemination and social contexts, the researcher noticed that the composition of the poems more than likely had a specific group of readers. Moreover, the three poems may have a played greater role in teaching morals and ethics to citizens. Therefore, this study aimed to study the concepts and teachings of the Mhai proverbial, Phiphitpak and Uphaipak poems and the relationship between the content and the social context to enhance the knowledge of the history of Thai didactic literature during the reign of King Rama V.

Methodology: The researcher used literary data with sociocultural context data to demonstrate the relationship between the proverbial poems in the Vajirayanna Viset and Thai society during the reign of King Rama V.

Main result: Elite poets who played a role in national affairs and education during the reign of King Rama V jointly composed proverbial poems to persuade a group of readers, namely government officials, to be representatives of the state, coordinate with the people and help support the country to be more stable. Based on the dissemination of the content in the Vajirayanna Viset, which collected most of the writings on the learning of various Western technologies to be adapted for the modernization of the administrative system, one could make an assumption that the presentation of the teachings of civil servants in the proverbial poems should have been part of learning about Western culture applied to the elites and officials who were members of the Phra Vajirayana Royal Library. Concepts and teachings from the Mhai proverbial, Phiphitpak and Uphaipak poems in the Vajirayanna Viset reflected that characteristics of modern civil servants should consist of 1) recognition of the importance of education and self-development as knowledgeable civil servants suitable for their positions in government service, 2) a change in the image from elites with superior power over the people to graceful, polite and benevolent elites to the subordinates according to civilization characteristics and 3) open-mindedness and the ability to work with others in harmony and unity. The reign of King Rama V was a time when the full-time working system was applied to the bureaucratic system while modern civil servants were still expected to be honest and loyal to the traditionally idealized monarchy.

 Relevance to Thai Studies: This research expands the scope of knowledge about thestudy of didactic literature and worldviews among the Thai elites during the reign of King Rama V to enhance an understanding of the role of poetry writing gathering activity in the society of King Rama V, which was a turning point of literary history and Thai social context.

 Conclusion: The composition of the Mhai proverbial, Phiphitpak and Uphaipak poems in the Vajirayanna Viset was not just an entertaining activity for the elite poets conveying ethical teachings to ordinary citizens, but was also the process of creating works to reveal the relationship between literature and society where the elite poets jointly defined the roles and duties of modern civil servants during the process of changing the administrative structure of the country. Moreover, the Western concepts of science that were introduced to Thai society also affected the process of text composition, such as the establishment of the Phra Vajirayana Royal Library of the elites based on the club’s characteristics, job creation through focus group discussions to exchange ideas and evaluate values, and book publication to disseminate teaching concepts among the members.