Chit Phumisak (also spelt Jit Poumisak; th, จิตร ภูมิศักดิ์, ; 25 September 1930 – 5 May 1966) was a Thai Marxist historian, activist, author, philologist, 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 s ...

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 of Thailand".

Biography

Born into a poor family in Prachinburi Province, eastern Thailand, he studied philology and history at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. It was as a student that Chit first became exposed to Marxism; 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'' 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. 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, 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, circumamb ...

at the nearby Wat Prasittisangwon. There is a small dispute over his death. Paul M. Handley, the author of '' The King Never Smiles'', 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")

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

Biography

Selected works

Further reading

References