Thai literature is the literature of the Thai people, almost exclusively written in the Thai language Thai, Central

Thai or Ayutthaya or Siamese(Thai: ภาษาไทย), is the sole official and national language of Thailand Most of
imaginative literary works in Thai, before the 19th century, were composed in poetry. Prose writing was reserved
to historical records, chronicles and legal documents. Consequently, the poetical forms in the Thai language are
both numerous and highly developed. There is thus a sharp contrast between the Thai literary tradition and that of
other East Asian literary traditions, such as Chinese and Japanese, where long poetic tales are rare and epic poems
are almost non-existent. The Thai classical literature exerted a considerable influence on the literatures of the
neighbouring countries in mainland Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, Laos, and Burma.

Origins

As speakers of the tai language family, the Siamese share literary origins with other Tai speakers in the
Suvarnabhumi region (i.e., mainland Southeast Asia). It is possible that the early literature of the Thai people may
have been written in Chinese.

The Thai poetical tradition was originally based on indigenous poetical forms such
as rai (ร่าย), khlong (โคลง), kap (กาพย์) and klon (กลอน). Some of these poetical forms - notably Khlong - have
been shared between the speakers of tai languages since ancient time (before the emergence of Siam).

The Siamese poetical medium consists of five main forms, known as khlong, chan, kap, klon and rai; some of these
developed indigenously while others were borrowed from other languages. Thai poetry dates to the Sukhothai
period (13th–14th centuries) and flourished under Ayutthaya (14th–18th centuries), during which it developed
into its current forms. Though many works were lost to the Burmese conquest of Ayutthaya in 1767, sponsorship
by subsequent kings helped revive the art, with new works created by many great poets, including Sunthorn Phu
(1786–1855). Prose writing as a literary form was introduced as a Western import during the reign of King
Mongkut (1851–68) and gradually gained popularity, though poetry saw a revival during the reign of King
Vajiravudh (1910–25).

An early representative work of Khlong poetry is the epic poem Thao Hung Thao Cheuang, a shared epic story,
about a noble warrior of a Khom race, of the tai-speaking people in the mainland Southeast Asia.

1. Khlong
The khlong (โคลง, [kʰlōːŋ]) is the among oldest Thai poetic forms. This is reflected in its requirements on the
tone markings of certain syllables, which must be marked with mai ek (ไม ้เอก, [máj èːk], ◌่) or mai tho
(ไม ้โท, [máj tʰōː], ◌่ ้). This was likely derived from when the Thai language had three tones (as opposed to
today's five, a split which occurred during the Ayutthaya period), two of which corresponded directly to the
aforementioned marks. It is usually regarded as an advanced and sophisticated poetic form.
 2. Chan

The chan (ฉันท์, [tɕʰǎn] from Pali chando), is derived from Pali and Sanskrit metres, and based on the
Vuttodaya, a Sri Lankan treatise on Pali prosody. It developed during the Ayutthaya period, and became a
prominent poetic form, but declined afterwards until it resurfaced in a 1913 revival. [3]

The main feature of the chan is its requirements on the "heaviness" of each syllable. Syllables are classified as
either "light" (lahu, ลหุ, [lahù]), those with a short vowel and open ending, or "heavy" (kharu, ครุ, [kʰarú]; See
also Light and heavy syllables under Sanskrit prosody). The Thai metres follow their Pali/Sanskrit origins, with
added rhyming schemes. Modern authors have also invented new forms for their compositions.

3. Kap

There are several forms of kap (กาพย์, [kàːp]), each with its specific metre and rhyming rules. The kap may
have originated either from the Indic metres or from Cambodian forms.

4. Klon

In the generic sense, klon (กลอน, [klɔ̄ːn]) originally referred to any type of poetry. In the narrow sense it
refers to a more recently developed form where a stanza has four wak, each with the same number of
syllables. It is usually considered an original Thai form.[5] The klon metres are named by the number of
syllables in a wak, e.g. klon hok (กลอนหก, [klɔ̄ːn hòk]) has six syllables per wak (hok means six). All metres
have the same rhyming scheme, and there are also requirements on the tone of the final syllable of each wak.
The klon is also divided into several types according to their manner of composition, with klon suphap
(กลอนสุภาพ, [klɔ̄ːn sù.pʰâːp]) being the basic form.

5. Rai

The rai (ราย, [râːj]) is probably the oldest Thai poetic form and was used in laws and chronicles. It is also the
simplest. It consists of a continuing series of wak of unspecified number, usually with five syllables each, and
with rhymes from the last syllable of a wak to the first, second or third of the next. Some variations don't
specify the number of syllables per wak and are actually a form of rhymed prose. A composition consisting of
rai alternating with (and ending with) khlong is known as lilit (ลิลต
ิ , [lí.lít]), and suggests that the khlong
developed from the rai.

Epic Poem of Thao Hung or Thao Chueang

The greatest literary work to appear in any tai-languages before the branching off of tai-speaking people into
separate nations is the Epic Poem of Thao Hung or Cheuang (Thai: ท ้าวฮุงท ้าวเจือง). The poetic form of Thao
Cheuang is not found elsewhere in Thai or Lao literature.It gives the most comprehensive account available of the
Tai civilization that is shared by the whole tai-speaking world - stretching from eastern China, Northern Vietnam, to
Laos, Thailand, Burma, Yunnan and Assam. Unlike much of the extant literature of Thailand or Laos which are
closely modeled after Indic themes and stories, most notably Ramayana, Thao Cheuang represents a wholly
Southeast Asian tradition. With the length of 5,000 quatrains of Khlong poetry, Thao Cheuang is much longer than
contemporary French (Song of Roland) or English (Beowulf) epics.

The epic was discovered in the national library of Thailand, written in both Lao and Thai scripts, in 1943.
Thai literature was traditionally heavily influenced by Indian culture. Thailand's national epic is a version of the
Hindu Ramayana called the Ramakien.

“The Ramakien (“Rama’s Story), also known as the Ramakirti (Rama’s Glory), is a localised version of the originally
Indian epic, the Ramayana. It describes the life of Prince Rama (Phra Ram in Thai), Crown Prince of Ayodhya and
also an avatara of the god Vishnu. His consort Princess Sita (Nang Sida) is abducted by the demon king Ravana
(Tosakanth, also Tosakan, Tosachat, Thotsakan) to his island kingdom of Lanka (Longka). The lengthy story recounts
the ultimately successful efforts of Prince Rama and his half-brother Lakshmana (Phra Lak), assisted by the white
monkey Hanuman and the brave monkey army, to rescue Princess Sita from Lanka

Most countries in Southeast Asia share an Indianised culture. Traditionally, therefore, Thai literature was heavily
influenced by the Indian culture and Buddhist-Hindu ideology since the time it first appeared in the 13th century.
Thailand's national epic is a version of the Ramayana called the Ramakien, translated from Sanskrit and rearranged
into Siamese verses. The importance of the Ramayana epic in Thailand is due to the Thai's adoption of the Hindu
religio-political ideology of Kingship, as embodied by the Lord Rama. The former Siamese Capital, Ayutthaya, was
named after the holy city of Ayodhya, the City of Lord Rama. All Thai Kings have been referred to as "Rama" to the
present day.

A number of versions of the Ramakien epic were lost in the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Three versions
currently exist. One of these was prepared under the supervision (and partly written by) King Rama I. His son,
Rama II, rewrote some parts for khon drama. The main differences from the original are an extended role for the
monkey god Hanuman and the addition of a happy ending.

Sukhothai Period-The Thai alphabet emerged as an independent writing system around 1283

Ayutthaya Period- One of the representative works of the early Ayutthaya period is Lilit Ongkan Chaeng Nam
(Thai: ลิลต
ิ โองการแช่งนา้ ), an incantation in verse to be uttered before the gathering of courtiers, princes of
foreign land, and representatives of vassal states at the taking of the oath of allegiance ceremony. It was a ritual to
promote loyalty and close domestic and foreign alliances.

Early Rattanakosin Period- With the arrival of the Rattanakosin era, Thai literature experienced a rebirth of
creative energy and reached its most prolific period. The Rattanakosin era is characterized by the imminent
pressure to return to the literary perfection and to recover important literary works lost during the war between
Ayutthaya and the Konbuang Empire. Notably Ramakien and Khun Chang Khun Phaen, were recomposed or
collected - with aid of surviving poets and troubadours who had committed them to memory

The most important poet in Thai literature was Sunthorn Phu, He is Thailand's best-known royal poet who is best
known for his romantic adventure story Phra Aphai Mani also known as "the Bard of Rattanakosin" (Thai:
กวีเอกแหงกรุงรัตนโกสินทร์). It is considered to be one of Thailand's national epics. With 48,686 couplets, it is listed
the longest Thai single poem. Suthorn Phu started working on this epic fantasy from 1822 and took 22 years to
finish in 1844.

Late 19th Century to Early 20th Century-

Kings Rama V and Rama VI were also writers, mainly of non-fiction works as part of their programme to combine
Western knowledge with traditional Thai culture.

20th century and Beyond-

20th century Thai writers tended to produce light fiction rather than literature.