Research on “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” in the Thai Academic Database during the Period of 1966-2018

Abstract

This study was documentary research that employed thequalitative synthesis method. The aims of the study were to 1) survey the current situation and tendency of research on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the ThaiJo and TDC databases, including quantitative data on the number of documents and study fields, and qualitative data on the significance of the study's findings, and 2) look into how the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has influenced Thais' explicit knowledge construction. First, the findings showed that 55 documents from 9 fields of study existed for quantitative data from 1966 to 2018. Also, the number of publications and academic fields using the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as research
papers is continually increasing, especially since 1977, when Thailand and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations. The majority of research, according to qualitative findings, was in the areas of politics, military science, literature, and linguistics. Second, it was found that, for the most part, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms served as the primary source of explicit knowledge about the languages, literature, cultures, and histories of Thailand and China, followed by the source of practical knowledge in organizational, political, military, and personal attributes, as well as leadership development. However, it was noteworthy to remark that most knowledge from both perspectives is primarily focused on understanding Thainess or adapting it to suit Thai people, rather than being explicitly used to learn about China.