Thai classic available in English after four-century wait (Feature)

By Peter Janssen Nov 17, 2010, 4:18 GMT

Bangkok - The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a Thai literary classic, can now be read in English thanks to the endeavours of a British-Thai husband and wife team who spent seven years researching and translating the epic.

Khun Chang Khun Phaen is one of Thailand's most popular folk tales, a love triangle that ends tragically, possibly based on a true story that took place some time around 1600, during the Ayutthaya period.

The epic developed in the oral tradition, recited to audiences for centuries before it was first compiled and published in Thai in 1872. A version republished by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab in 1917 has served as the standard Thai text since.

The epic, written in verse, runs for 75 chapters and is more than 1,000 pages long.

'It's not like any Western piece of literature, written by one person at a precise time; it grew,' said Chris Baker, a British writer and historian who translated the book into English with his wife Pasuk Phongpaichit, an academic.

The couple have co-authored several other books on Thailand, including A History of Thailand; Thaksin - The Business of Politics in Thailand; Thailand's Boom and Bust, and Thailand's Crisis.

Due to the length and complexity of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, the book took Baker and Pasuk seven years to complete before it was launched this month, published by Silkworm Books.

Given the popularity of the story, which is still required reading at Thai schools and has spawned a plethora of songs, proverbs and several film adaptations, it is remarkable that no one has translated it into English before.

'We are not very good with translations,' acknowledged Sulak Sivaraksa, a well-known historian, writer and social critic. 'And Khun Chang Khun Phaen is written in verse, which is much more difficult to translate than prose. We have to admire this couple.'

The story is built on a love triangle. Khun Chang, the chubby son of a rich man, vies with Khun Phaen, a handsome warrior, for the love of Khun Wanthong, a beautiful maiden whose failure to decide between the two leads to her demise.

'If you've seen the film Moulin Rouge, then you know the plot,' Baker said.

There are a few differences. Instead of dying from consumption, the heroine of Khun Chnag Khun Phaen is executed at the order of the king.

In a Solomon-like scene, at the end of the first half of the epic, King Phanwasa orders Wanthong to chose between her lovers.

When she dithers, the king lets loose a royal tirade at the poor woman. 'You're baser than base, the dregs of the city, lustful, insatiable, oily-eyed. Anything new, you'll take. Hundreds or thousands, you'd not be satisfied.'

Wanthong is executed even though infidelity was not a capital offence.

'We think it became so popular because it has two classic themes,' Baker said. 'The first is obviously about the position of women in a society so much dominated by men, but the other theme, less appreciated, is one of the little man going against wealth and power.'

Khun Chang Khun Phaen is also a treasure trove of linguistic and cultural trivia on Thailand, which Baker and Pasuk elaborate on with extensive footnotes.

This makes the English translation an even lengthier read, but an educational one.

While the main storyline ends at chapter 36, with the death of Wanthong, the epic goes on for another 39 chapters of sequels, most of which take place in a royal setting rather than the more rustic, bawdy and violent scenes of the first 36 chapters.

'Khun Chang Khun Phaen was the Star Wars of its day, so popular that people wanted to keep the franchise going so they created sequels and sequels,' Baker said.

Most readers will probably find that the first 36 chapters are a sufficient sampling.

Several writers have attempted to translate the opus before but failed to deliver.

Baker has his own theory on why. 'Because it's so damn long,' he said.

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