The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen - Abridged Version tr & ed by Chris Baker & Pasuk Phongpaichit.pdf

(3136 KB) Pobierz
The Tale of
Khun Chang Khun Phaen
ABRIDGED
TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY
Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit
CONTENTS
Preface iv
Principal characters viii
Three births 1
The deaths of the fathers 9
Phlai Kaeo is ordained 25
Phlai Kaeo meets Phim in a cotton field 37
Khun Chang asks for Phim’s hand 53
Phlai Kaeo goes into Saithong’s room 62
Phlai Kaeo marries Phim 76
Phlai Kaeo goes to war 85
Laothong is given to Phlai Kaeo 100
Phim changes her name to Wanthong 109
Siprajan gives Wanthong to Khun Chang 120
Khun Phaen and Wanthong quarrel 129
Khun Phaen states his case 141
Khun Phaen is parted from Laothong 151
Khun Phaen forges a sword 158
Khun Phaen enters, Khun Chang’s house 163
Khun Phaen flees with Wanthong 177
Khun Chang follows Wanthong 185
Khun Chang accuses Khun Phaen 196
Khun Phaen gives himself up 207
Khun Phaen is jailed 215
The birth of Phlai Ngam 227
Phlai Ngam volunteers 242
Phlai Ngam romances Simala 259
Khun Phaen rescues Phra Thainam 278
The capture of the King of Chiang Mai 294
The army returns home 304
The princesses are presented 319
The marriage of Phra Wai 329
Khun Chang is found guilty 342
Khun Chang petitions the king 351
The death of Wanthong 361
Glossary 377
Silkworm Books e-Publication 380
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
“ Rich man’s house”
“ Central Siam”
“ Sugar palms”
“ Monks clowning”
“ Building sand stupas”
“ Bathing jetty”
“ Monks’ quarters”
“ Eye-level shrine”
“ Dowry boats”
“ Camp in the forest”
“ Betel tray”
“ Abbot examining horoscope”
“ Dowry procession”
“ Canopy boat”
“ Nobles at court”
“ Palace ladies embroidering”
“ Swords”
“ Basin with fish”
“ Banyan tree”
“ Yantra”
“ Elephant and howdah”
“ Lotus seedpod”
“ The full five irons”
“ Soul ceremony”
“ Porter with panniers”
“ Looking glass”
“ Shirt with yantra”
“ Musicians asleep”
“ Royal barge”
“ Palace governesses”
“ Monks chanting”
“ Ordeal by water”
“ A lord in a masked play”
“ Incense, candles, and flowers”
PREFACE
Khun Chang Khun Phaen is the great classic of Thai literature. The plot is a love
story set against a background of war and ending in high tragedy.
The tale is set in Siam, the old name for Thailand, in the era when Ayutthaya
was the capital, or prior to 1767. Exactly when the tale is set and when it was
created are unknown. We believe it emerged around 1600, but that is no more
than an informed guess, and others have different theories.
The tale was originally recited by storytellers for local entertainment and
passed on by word of mouth, becoming very popular. Starting probably in the
eighteenth century, the court took up the tale and started writing it down. In the
early nineteenth century, court poets, including two kings of Siam, revised many
chapters. The first printed edition appeared in 1872, and the standard edition was
edited and published in 1917–18 by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, a half-brother
of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).
In 2010 we published the first-ever English translation of the tale, based on
Prince Damrong’s edition with over a hundred passages restored from other
versions, and with over two thousand footnotes to explain many unfamiliar
things, from dress and weapons to flora and magic.
The aim in this abridged edition is to tell the full story and leave out no scene,
incident, or significant speech. We have reduced the length by shedding detail,
repetition, and poetical flourishes. The one exception is at the start of the Chiang
Mai campaign, where the original has two and a half chapters about regional
diplomacy in which none of the main characters of the tale appear. We have
summarized this passage into a couple of paragraphs.
We also present the text without the distraction of footnotes, and with the
number of unfamiliar words reduced to a minimum (and explained in a glossary at
the back). For background, look up the Wikipedia entry for Khun Chang Khun
Phaen.
Much of the action takes place in two towns to the west of Bangkok. Suphan
(now Suphanburi) is a very old town that was important as a strategic and
religious center. Kanburi (which has been shifted and renamed Kanchanaburi)
was a frontier outpost defending the route between Siam and Burma.
The storytellers of the original tale often used flowers and trees as metaphors.
To retain the flavor of the metaphors, we have invented several new names for
these flowers and trees, including hiddenlover, secretscent, and pupil tree.
“Khun” is one of the lowest titles in the old Siamese official nobility. Khun
Phaen is named Phlai Kaeo at birth and receives his title after winning a military
victory. Khun Chang probably had a birth name but it does not appear in the text.
“Chang” means elephant. His father was a local keeper of the king’s elephants
and the name Khun Chang was probably a local nickname passed on to his son.
“Chaophraya” and “Phraya” were the two highest titles in the old Siamese
nobility, held by ministers and governors of major provinces. “Phra” and
“Luang” were slightly lower titles.

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin