The modern Thai are descended from a much larger group of peoples who speak Tai languages. Tai-speaking peoples are found from extreme northeastern India in the west to northern Vietnam in the east and as far south as the central Malay Peninsula. In the past scholars held that a parent group called the Proto-Tai originated in southern China and pushed south and west from the China landmass into northern mainland Southeast Asia. Most scholars now believe that the Tai came from northern Vietnam around the Dien Bien Phu area and that about 1,000 years ago they spread from there northward into southern China, westward into southwestern China, northern Myanmar (Burma) and northeastern India, and southward into what are now Laos and Thailand.
Early Tai culture
The Tai were lowland peoples who historically settled along river valleys in northern mainland Southeast Asia and southwestern China. There they formed small settlements where they practiced subsistence agriculture based on rice cultivation, supplemented by fishing and gathering forest products. Early in their history the Tai domesticated animals: they used water buffalo for plowing and ritual purposes and pigs and fowl for food. Women were accorded relatively high social status and could inherit property. The Tai practiced animism; they believed that spirits could be benevolent or malevolent and needed to be propitiated through offerings and special ceremonies.
The basic unit of Tai political organization was the müang, or group of villages, ruled by a chao, or hereditary chief or lord. During the 1st millennium AD the political strengths of the müang system enabled the Tai to move out of their original homeland until, by the 8th century, they had expanded across much of northern mainland Southeast Asia. By the 11th century they had begun to filter down into the area of present-day Thailand, and by the middle of the following century they had formed petty principalities there.
Mon-Khmer civilizations
As the Tai moved into mainland Southeast Asia, they came in contact with peoples speaking Mon-Khmer languages who had long inhabited the region. During the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD, Indian traders traveling to China had carried Hindu and Buddhist beliefs and practices to some of these peoples. Among them were the Mon of Myanmar, the first peoples in mainland Southeast Asia to adopt Buddhism. Between the 6th and 9th centuries the Mon established several small Buddhist kingdoms within the area encompassed by present-day southern Myanmar and central Thailand. From what are now the towns of Nakhon Pathom and Lop Buri (Lopburi) in west-central Thailand, they extended their power eastward across the Khorat Plateau, northward as far as Chiang Mai (Chiengmai), and northeastward into what is now Laos. These Mon kingdoms collectively are called Dvaravati. The Dvaravati period is noted for its artwork, particularly its Buddhist sculptures and votive images made of terra-cotta or stucco.
As the Tai moved south into mainland Southeast Asia, they also encountered the Khmer of Cambodia. Between the 9th and 13th centuries Khmer rulers expanded their domains from their capital at Angkor, establishing an empire that at its height under Jayavarman VII (ruled 1181–c. 1220) extended over approximately half of modern Thailand. While Mon kingdoms were predominantly Buddhist in character, Khmer civilization—which found its supreme expression in the great temple complex at Angkor—was heavily influenced by Hindu ideas and practices. Tai contacts with the Khmer led to many Hindu elements entering Tai culture, particularly in regard to royal ceremonies or classical dance and literature. Many of these elements can still be found in modern Thai culture today.
By the beginning of the 13th century, the Tai were starting to place pressure on both the Mon and Khmer empires. The Tai were settled throughout the Chao Phraya basin, and a Tai ruler was established as far south as the principality of Nakhon Si Thammarat, on the Malay Peninsula. Through Nakhon Si Thammarat a new form of Buddhism—Theravāda—had entered mainland Southeast Asia from Sri Lanka. Theravāda Buddhism was carried by monks not only to areas under Mon or Khmer rule but also to the new Tai principalities that were beginning to emerge. Sukhothai and Lan Na (Lanna), the first major Tai kingdoms in Thai history, were Theravāda Buddhist.
Sukhothai and Lan Na
The kingdom of Sukhothai, situated in the upper Chao Phraya basin, was founded in the mid-13th century when a local Tai ruler led a revolt against Khmer rule at an outpost of the Khmer empire. During its first two reigns, Sukhothai remained only a small local power. Under its third ruler, Ramkhamhaeng (ruled c. 1279–98), however, Sukhothai power was extended to the south as far as Nakhon Si Thammarat, to the west into what is now Myanmar, and to the northeast as far as Luang Prabang in modern Laos. Not all these territories were conquered by force: many became vassal or tributary states to Sukhothai based on ties of kinship or personal loyalty and linked to it in a loose confederation.
Ramkhamhaeng is renowned not only for extending the territory under Sukhothai control but also for leaving a remarkable stone inscription, which is considered by most scholars to contain the earliest example of writing in the Thai language. Written in 1292 and utilizing Khmer script adapted to the sounds and tones of Tai speech, it pictures the Sukhothai kingdom as prosperous, active in trade, and benevolently governed by a paternal monarch. According to the inscription, the state taxed its citizens modestly, treated all citizens (including non-Tai) alike, and provided justice for all. The Sukhothai period (mid-13th to mid-15th century) also is noted for its sculpture and pottery. Graceful bronze sculptures of the Buddha, especially those showing him in the walking position, are typical of the period, while the celadon ware made at Sukhothai and nearby Sawankhalok was exported throughout Southeast Asia.
Sukhothai was not the only Tai state in Southeast Asia during this period. In the mid-13th century in what is today northern Thailand, a Tai ruler, Mangrai (ruled c. 1259–1317; from 1292 to 1317 in Chiang Mai), conquered the ancient Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya and built a new capital at Chiang Mai. Under Mangrai and his successors, Lan Na—with Chiang Mai as its capital—became not only powerful but also a centre for the spread of Theravāda Buddhism to Tai peoples in what are now northeastern Myanmar, southern China, and northern Laos. Under Tilokaracha (ruled 1441–87), Lan Na became famous for its Buddhist scholarship and literature. During the 16th century Lan Na was conquered by the Myanmar and incorporated into the Burman empire. Subsequently, the central Tai (Siamese) states of Ayutthaya (Ayudhya, or Ayuthia) and Bangkok challenged Burman control over the area, but it was not until the 19th century that Lan Na was brought fully under Siamese rule.
The Ayutthayan period, 1351–1767
Map/Still:Ayutthaya (Ayudhya) kingdom, mid-15th century.
* Ayutthaya (Ayudhya) kingdom, mid-15th century.
Whereas Sukhothai was an independent kingdom for only about 200 years, its successor, Ayutthaya—situated in the rich rice plains of the Chao Phraya River basin, about 55 miles north of present-day Bangkok—lasted more than 400 years. During the Ayutthayan period the Tai consolidated their position as the leading power in what is now central and north-central Thailand, as well as throughout much of its southern peninsular region. Since many of Ayutthaya's neighbours called the country “Siam,” or a name similar to it, the Tai of Ayutthaya came to be known as the Siamese.
Ayutthaya at first was only a small city-kingdom on the northwestern edge of the powerful Khmer empire. Within less than a century, however, Tai kings succeeded in pushing back the Khmer, and in 1431 they sacked their great capital of Angkor. Wars against neighbouring powers remained endemic, however, throughout the Ayutthayan period. In 1438 a greatly weakened Sukhothai was made a province of Ayutthaya. Lan Na, however, remained free of Ayutthayan control, although it was later brought under Burman influence.
When the Siamese conquered Angkor, they brought many Khmer captives back to Ayutthaya with them. Some had been officials or craftsmen at the Khmer royal court. From them Ayutthaya's rulers adopted many Hindu practices that had been followed by the Khmer, including the concept of the ruler as god-king (devarāja). The king acquired powers of life and death over all his people. None but members of the royal family might gaze upon his face. He could be addressed only in a special language used exclusively for royalty, while those speaking to the king referred to themselves as “the dust beneath your majesty's feet.”
The power of the ruler was enhanced not only through symbolic and ideological concepts drawn from Khmer-Hindu beliefs about the god-king but also through the centralization of political power. Trailok (ruled 1448–88) created a state in which the ruler stood at the centre of a series of concentric circles. As in the müang system, the outer circles were governed by hereditary lords, or chao. The inner circles, however, were administered by officeholders appointed by the king, and thus these operated to a limited degree on bureaucratic rather than hereditary lines.
The kings of Ayutthaya also issued formal codes of civil and criminal law based on the ancient Indian body of jurisprudence called the Dharma-śāstra. At the same time, a formal and highly complex hierarchical system assigned each person a varying number of units (called sakdi na) that designated one's rank within society. At the bottom of the scale, a slave was worth 5 units; freemen were ranked at 25 and above, while the heir apparent was assigned no fewer than 100,000 units.
The mass of the people in Ayutthayan times were peasant farmers, either freemen or slaves. The latter included war captives, bondsmen, and debtors. Freemen were obliged to work for six months each year for the local representatives of the king, to pay taxes, and to provide military service as required. An intricate patronage system extended throughout society, whereby clients provided their patrons with services in return for the protection of the patrons. Ayutthaya was an underpopulated society, and the constant need for manpower helped protect clients from excessive demands by patrons; if the demands of the patrons became too burdensome, the freeman could always move and take up new land as a last resort.
Despite the introduction of Brahmanism into court ritual and the admixture of animism and superstition that pervaded religious practice at all levels of society, Theravāda Buddhism took deep root throughout Siam during Ayutthayan times. The Buddhist monastic establishment played an important role in society, forming a focal point for village life, providing young males with an education, and offering those who elected to remain in the monkhood (sangha) a channel for upward social mobility.
Map/Still:Ayutthaya (Ayudhya) kingdom, mid-15th century.
* Ayutthaya (Ayudhya) kingdom, mid-15th century.
Ayutthaya at its height was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities of its day. Although it lay inland, it was easily accessible to oceangoing vessels traveling up the Chao Phraya River, and it became a thriving international trade emporium. It was during this period that European traders and travelers first started coming to Siam. The Portuguese reached Siam as early as 1511, following their conquest of Malacca (Melaka) on the Malay Peninsula; they were followed in the 17th century by Dutch, English, Spanish, and French traders and missionaries. Ayutthayan kings permitted settlements of Chinese, Indian, and Persian, as well as European, traders; they employed Japanese warriors and allowed Western missionaries to preach within Ayutthayan domains. In addition to engaging in extensive trade with China, Southeast Asia, and India, the rulers of Ayutthaya also sent triennial tribute missions to the Chinese imperial court, established Buddhist missions in Sri Lanka, and sent emissaries abroad as far afield as Europe. King Narai (ruled 1656–88) initiated a series of diplomatic exchanges between Ayutthaya and the French court at Versailles and even appointed a Greek adventurer, Constantine Phaulkon, as his chief minister. Eventually, however, the Europeans became overly zealous in their efforts to convert Buddhist Siamese to Christianity. In 1688 the Siamese expelled the French from Ayutthaya and all but closed their doors to the West for the next 150 years.
The primary threat to Ayutthayan sovereignty came not from Europe, however, but from Myanmar. In 1569 a force from the Burman state of Toungoo overran Ayutthaya and devastated the country for miles around. Led by Naresuan (ruled 1590–1605), Ayutthaya recovered its independence. Conflict with Myanmar persisted, however, and in the mid-18th century Burman armies once again captured Ayutthaya. This time the city was not to recover. Following the sacking of the city in 1767, the king and members of the royal family, along with thousands of captives, were deported to Myanmar. All Ayutthayan records were burned and its works of art destroyed.
The Thon Buri and Early Bangkok periods
A new era in Thai history began with the rise to power of Taksin, a military commander of great skill and charismatic personality who succeeded in pushing back the Burmans and seizing political power. In 1767 Taksin established his new capital at Thon Buri (Thonburi), on the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River from modern Bangkok. The new location was less accessible to the armies of Myanmar than Ayutthaya had been and was ideally situated for the conduct of seaborne trade and commerce. Capitalizing on the trade relations that Siam had already developed with China, Taksin encouraged Chinese merchants and craftsmen to take advantage of the economic opportunities offered by the site of his new capital. Large numbers of Chinese settled permanently in Siam, where their involvement in business and trade—coupled with the tax revenues that these activities provided—helped restore the country's devastated economy.
Taksin not only recovered the territories that had formerly been part of the Ayutthayan empire but set out to extend Siamese control over new areas. His armies annexed part of what is now northeastern Cambodia and advanced up the Mekong River as far as present-day Vientiane, Laos. In the south they subdued the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, while to the north they pushed the Burmans out of the old northern Tai kingdom of Lan Na.
Within a few years of seizing power, however, Taksin showed signs of serious mental instability, and in 1782 he was overthrown. He was succeeded by his former military commander, known by his official name of Chao Phraya (“Great Lord”) Chakri. As Rama I (ruled 1782–1809), he became the first king of the still-reigning Chakri (or Chakkri) dynasty.
The early Chakri kings and a resurgent Siam
One of Rama I's first acts was to move his capital across the Chao Phraya River to Bangkok, which at the time was still a small village. By the mid-19th century, Bangkok had become a city of some 400,000 people, swelled by the huge numbers of Chinese who had poured into Siam during these years. In addition to settling in Bangkok, the Chinese established trading settlements inland, some of which grew into small towns. The Chinese thus gained control over both the internal and foreign trade of the country.
Myanmar continued to harass Siam throughout the early Chakri reigns. In 1785 it launched a massive invasion of the country, which was defeated only with great difficulty. Other lesser attacks followed. Not until the 1820s, when British encroachment on Myanmar forced Burman attention inward, was Siam able to relax its vigilance along its western borders. In the east Rama I and later Rama III (ruled 1824–51) reduced Khmer territories to vassal status, while in the south Rama III strengthened Siamese control over tributary states of the Malay Peninsula. Rama III also put down a major uprising in the north under Chao Anou, the young Lao ruler of the kingdom of Vien Chan (Vientiane). In 1827, Siamese armies razed and plundered Vientiane; thousands of Lao were taken prisoner and deported to central Siam.
The early Chakri kings sought to restore the cultural heritage of Ayutthaya. New temples and palaces were built following the same styles and even using the same bricks that had embellished Ayutthaya. Rama I reestablished court rituals, issued comprehensive law codes and authoritative Buddhist texts, and helped revive the sangha by placing learned and pious monks in leading positions within the Buddhist hierarchy. The early Bangkok period was also one of great literary flowering. The Ramakian, the Thai version of the Indian epic Rāmāyaṇa, was set to verse during the reign of Rama I, and the popular Chinese novel San-kuo chih yen-i (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) was translated into Thai. Rama II (ruled 1809–24), an accomplished poet, was a noted patron of the arts; Sunthon Phu, Thailand's greatest poet, wrote some of his best-known works during Rama II's reign.
Western influence also grew in mainland Southeast Asia during the early years of the 19th century, and with it came increasing Western pressures on Siam. When Britain declared war on Myanmar in 1824, Rama III feared that the British might also attack Siam. He subsequently agreed to sign the Burney Treaty (1826), which set conditions for the conduct of trade between the two countries.
Mongkut and the opening of Siam to the West
Demands for free trade and diplomatic representation in Siam accelerated with the British advances into Myanmar and Malaya and the opening of several Chinese ports following the first Opium War with China (1839–42). In 1855 Queen Victoria sent Sir John Bowring as her personal emissary to Siam to push for an end to all trade restrictions and to secure the rights to establish a British consulate in Bangkok and to set up separate law courts to try cases involving British subjects (extraterritoriality). The resulting Bowring Treaty (1855), in which Siam acceded to these demands, was followed shortly by similar treaties with other major European powers and with the United States. Although these treaties left Siam intact politically, they severely reduced the country's sovereignty and independence.
The opening of Siam to world trade and the development of a cash economy brought major changes to the country. The Bowring Treaty deprived the Siamese government of large sums in customs duties, one of its major traditional sources of revenue, forcing it to increase taxes in their stead. Large areas of the Chao Phraya basin were planted in rice and other cash crops for the world market, while the need to transport goods from the interior to the port of Bangkok led to the growth of canal systems and marketing networks.
The years following the Bowring Treaty were also marked by an increase in foreign influence in Siam. King Mongkut (Rama IV; ruled 1851–68) appointed several Western advisers and assistants to his court, including the Englishwoman Anna Leonowens, who became tutoress to his children. She later published her romanticized and inaccurate depiction of Mongkut's court. Foreign nationals began to take up long-term residence in Bangkok. Missionaries, although largely unsuccessful in converting Siamese to Christianity, set up the first Western medical facilities, secular schools, and printing presses in the country. Mongkut took great interest in the new Western ideas that were beginning to c
参考资料：大英百科全书