The Historical Literary Works of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and Thai Literature

Abstract

This research article aims to study His Royal Highness Prince Damrong Rajanubhab’s prefaces, explanatory notes, and historical accounts (tamnan) on Thai literary works in terms of their background and origin, as well as examine the value of his writings and their contributions to Thai literature. The research results, analyzing the principles of his writings, revealed that His Royal Highness Prince Damrong Rajanubhab played a role in the contexts of the Archaeology Club, the Literature Club, and later, the Royal Society and the Literature Association. He wrote prefaces, explanatory notes, and historical accounts for printed books to enhance their significance and encourage readers to appreciate the background of the books. In terms of style, prefaces, explanations and historical accounts differed in form. Prefaces were short and began with the writer presenting the reasons for publishing the books. Explanatory texts typically highlighted the distinctive characteristics of books or literature while omitting the reasons for printing books, or these reasons might be included at the end of the explanatory texts. Regarding his writings on historical accounts, he defined history in a modern sense. As for his research, he employed a method to delve into the issues or problems he studied to make fiction and poetry more engaging. He would gather additional information after examining and editing books or literary works, and he established guidelines for studying information, which later served as a model for scholars.