Chit Phumisak (also spelt Jit Poumisak; th, จิตร ภูมิศักดิ์, ; 25 September 1930 – 5 May 1966) was a Thai Marxist historian, activist, author,
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 th ...
, poet, songwriter, and
communist revolutionary. 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 "
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, an ...
, 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 th ...
and
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
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 populati ...
. 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 dialectical ...
; 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 G ...
, 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 Commu ...
'' into Thai (in an attempt to scare the Thai government into taking a tougher stance against communism).
His writings were
anti-nationalist and
progressive 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 m ...
. 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 at the nearby
Wat
A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」 (w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...
Prasittisangwon.
There is a small dispute over his death.
Paul M. Handley, 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 ...
'', 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
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
1930 births
1966 deaths
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
20th-century linguists
20th-century poets
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Chit Phumisak
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prachantakham, Prachinburi, Siam
, death_date =
, death_place = Waritchaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
, occupation =
, signature = ChitPhumisakSignature.png
Chit Phumisak (also spelt ...
Anti-nationalism
20th-century philosophers