Phak Hai: In the Lives and Memories of National Figures

Abstract

The objective of this academic article was to study and paraphrase the local history of Phak Hai district, Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya province. The key information was collected via relevant documents, books, writings, and memoirs which are historical archives. The areas of Phak Hai in the past, including environments, society, people and way of life, were included in many pieces of writings, references, and historical textbooks belonging to national dignitaries such as the Royal Writings of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V of the Chakri Dynasty), the Royal Writings of HRH Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong, the Father of Siamese Artisans, the Writings of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, the Father of Thai History, as well as the writings of M.R. Kukrit Pramoj, the 13th Prime Minister of Thailand. Phak Hai district, furthermore, was mentioned in other genres of writings such as Niras Suphanburi composed by Muen Promsompatsorn and Nai Tab (Sunthorn Phu’s son) Love Poem. Although Phak Hai today is just a little district in Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya province, its stories are considered extremely important at the national level since they could be used as educational information to study local conditions, culture, traditions, and people's way of life in the past two hundred years through the lives and writings of prominent figures representing the ruling class, high-ranking government officials, or even ordinary people. Consequently, Phak Hai is not only a district of Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya province, but it is also a local area filled with the history of Thai society in the past, linked to a rapid social change and the proud recognition of the new generation of Phak Hai people in the present day.