Myths about Thai People in Thailand Guide Books Written by Chinese

Abstract

The research article on “Myths about Thai People in Thailand Guide Books Written by Chinese” aims to study the myths of Thai people and strategies for creating myths through the construction of symbolic meanings which reflects the various ideologies in Chinese society that govern the existence of those myths through a guidebook to Thailand written by the Chinese. This research is a qualitative research, using text analysis based on the myth of Roland Barthes, which is to focus on meaning at the second level which is a social implication together with text analysis in in-depth interviews of 6 Chinese people who have resided in Thailand for more than 1 year.

          The research found that there were 5 myths in the study book. However, in this article, three outstanding myths will be discussed: 1) "Katoeys" representing Thai people 2) China is the backbone of Thai prosperity and culture 3) Royal families and nobility represent Thai luxury. These myths arise from the formation of strategies: 1) selecting words to create meaning 2) selecting other symbols to be compared to create like, similar, different meanings 3) The arrangement of the signs to achieve the meaningful transfer 4) Choosing to provide detailed information. All 3 myths have nationalistic ideologies, patriarchy class ideology and rulers in conservative states. It is the main ideology behind these myths.