Development of Thai Literature Creative Perpetuation

Abstract

This article examines the development of creative perpetuation in Thai literature from 1345 to 2025, spanning from the Traibhūmikathā (Three  Worlds According to King Ruang: A Thai Buddhist Cosmology) to contemporary online literary works. It analyzes selected Thai literary works with distinctive characteristics that exemplify creative perpetuation within the socio-cultural contexts of their respective periods. The study finds that literary perpetuation is rooted in processes of cultural assimilation, evolving from oral to written traditions; the incorporation and adaptation of foreign cultural materials as sources for reinterpretation; the creation of new literary works; and the extension of literature into other artistic disciplines through artistic amalgamation. Such continuities of literary and artistic integration align closely with the missions and contexts of kingdom formation and consolidation. In response to social development, creative perpetuation in Thai literature encompasses the emergence of print culture and cultural hybridity, the establishment new literary standards alongside nation-building policies that promote the Thai language and culture, the reinterpretation of classical literature through emerging media and artistic forms, and the repurposing of literature as a symbol of “Thainess” and a form of cultural capital. The selected literary works demonstrate evolving modes of creative perpetuation in both form and significance, reflecting the socio-cultural conditions of each historical period.