A New Perspective of the Thai History : An Evidence from Buddhist Canon

Abstract

People had different ideas concerning historical background of the Thais. Someone said the Thais originally came from certain parts of China; they moved Southward and settled in the area of Thailand today. Others did not agree with the idea; they thought the Thais migrated from Malaya Peninsula. Today more people believed that the Thais did not migrate from anywhere else; they were in Thailand from the beginning. The blood group tests and archaeological evidence indicated that the Thai original place was in the northeast of Thailand. Later they expanded throughout the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. The civilization of the Thais was as old as those of Chinese and Indians. In the Tripitaka Canon, Buddha mentioned two states located in Thailand. They were Yonok and Kampoch. Yonok covered the whole area of northern part of Thailand and its centered city was Chiangrai. Kampoch was in the central plain of Thailand and its centered city was Lopburi. These two states were of the Thais and had developed high civilization as those in other parts of the world. It also indicated that the Thais have lives in this Golden Peninsula since the beginning of the Buddhist Era.