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Chit Phumisak (also spelt Jit Poumisak; th, จิตร ภูมิศักดิ์, ; 25 September 1930 – 5 May 1966) was a Thai Marxist historian, activist, author,
Born into a poor family in
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
, poet, songwriter, and communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...
. His most influential book was ''The Face of Thai Feudalism'' (โฉมหน้าศักดินาไทย, ''Chom Na Sakdina Thai''), written in 1957 under the pseudonym Somsamai Srisootarapan (สมสมัย ศรีศูทรพรรณ). Other pen names used by Chit include Kawi Kanmuang (กวีการเมือง, 'Political Poet') and Kawi Srisayam (กวี ศรีสยาม, 'Siamese Poet'). He has been described as the "Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...
of Thailand".
Biography
Born into a poor family in Prachinburi Province
Prachinburi province ( th, ปราจีนบุรี, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (''changwat''), it lies in eastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Nakhon Ratchasima, Sa Kaeo, Chachoengsao, ...
, eastern Thailand, he studied philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
and history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
at Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University (CU, th, จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, ), nicknamed Chula ( th, จุฬาฯ), is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally fo ...
in Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...
. It was as a student that Chit first became exposed to Marxism
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialec ...
; in 1953 he was hired by the U.S. embassy to help assist William J. Gedney
William J. Gedney (April 4, 1915November 14, 1999) was an American linguist notable for his work on Thai and related Tai languages.
Life
Gedney was born in Orchards, Washington, and spent his childhood there. He was the son of John Marshall Ge ...
, an American linguist working in Thailand, to translate ''The Communist Manifesto
''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Comm ...
'' into Thai (in an attempt to scare the Thai government into taking a tougher stance against communism).
His writings were anti-nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and progressive
Progressive may refer to:
Politics
* Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform
** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context
* Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
and were viewed as a threat to the state by the harshly anti-communist government of Sarit Thanarat
Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat (also spelt ''Dhanarajata''; th, สฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์, ; 16 June 1908 – 8 December 1963) was a Thai general who staged a coup in 1957, replacing Plaek Phibunsongkhram as Thailand's prime ...
. He was arrested in 1957, branded a communist, and after six years in jail was declared not guilty by a court and set free.
In 1965, he joined the Communist Party of Thailand
The Communist Party of Thailand ( Abrv: CPT; th, พรรคคอมมิวนิสต์แห่งประเทศไทย, ) was a communist party in Thailand active from 1942 until the 1990s.
Initially known as the Communist Party ...
, headquartered in the jungles of the Phu Phan Mountains
The Phu Phan mountains ( th, ทิวเขาภูพาน, , ) are a range of hills dividing the Khorat Plateau of the Isan region of Thailand into two basins: the northern Sakhon Nakhon Basin, and the southern Khorat Basin.
The silhouette ...
, in Sakhon Nakhon Province. On May 5, 1966 he was shot dead by villagers near the village Nong Kung in Waritchaphum district. His body was burned and no proper ceremony for his death occurred until 1989, when his remains were finally placed in a stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as '' śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumam ...
at the nearby Wat Prasittisangwon.
There is a small dispute over his death. Paul M. Handley
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...
, the author of ''The King Never Smiles
''The King Never Smiles'' is an unauthorized biography of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej by Paul M. Handley, a freelance journalist who lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in Thailand. It is published by Yale University Press and was r ...
'', states that Chit was executed by government officials near the Phu Phan mountains shortly after he was released from jail.Handley, Paul M. (2006),''The King Never Smiles.'' Yale University Press
Selected works
* โฉมหน้าศักดินาไทย (''Chom Na Sakdina Thai''; "The Real Face of Thai Feudalism") * รวมบทกวีและงานวิจารณ์ศิลปวรรณคดีของ กวีการเมือง (''Ruam botkawi lae ngan wichan sinlapa wannakhadi khong Kawi Kanmueang''; "Collected Poems and Literary Reviews by 'Political Poet'"), under pseudonym "Kawi Kanmuang" * ความเป็นมาของคำสยาม ไทย, ลาว และขอม และลักษณะทางสังคมของชื่อชนชาติ (''Khwampenma khong kham Sayam Thai Lao lae Khom lae laksana thangsangkhom khong chue chonchat''; "Etymology of the terms Siam, Thai, Lao, and Khom, and the Social Characteristics of Nationalities") * ตำนานนครวัด ("Tamnarn nakhon wat"; "The Legendary of Angkor Wat") * เพลง "แสงดาวแห่งศรัทธา" ("Phleng Sangdao Hang Sat-tha"; "Song of the Stars of Faith") * เพลง "ภูพานปฏิวัติ" ("Phleng Phuphan Patiwat"; "Song of the Revolution of Phuphan")Further reading
*References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phumisak, Chit Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak 1930 births 1966 deaths Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak 20th-century linguists 20th-century poets Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Chit Phumisak Anti-nationalism 20th-century philosophers