History

About 10 years ago, I had a page on the history of Thailand, but it was lost at some point. It's just as well because after exploring all regions of Thailand and Thai people over 13 years, as well as Lao, Cambodian and some Burmese, I've got a much greater understanding of the culture and natural history of the Thai people. Thus, I have started the process of rewriting a history page.

In response to an academic inquiry about the origin of the word "Siam":

There is not complete academic agreement on the origin of the name Siam, but I think it's fairly certain that the prevailing school of thought is correct: It comes from a Chinese word "sian" (or hsien) which meant "gold". The Chinese words for "sian" and "Siam" are spelled identically.

(Chinese is not a phonetic language, e.g., the same spelled word in Chinese in two different parts of China can have two entirely different pronunciations, as I found out from a Chinese associate during a visit to China.) Chinese records going back centuries before westerners arrived refer to what's present day Thailand as well as the Thai people as "Sian".

There is also the Shan state and Shan people in Myanmar (Burma) along the northern Thai border between Thailand and China, and it is also thought by many of these scholars that the name Shan also came from Sian / Hsien.

You can find Thai language in some parts of southern China. It's also notable that Indians called old Siam "Suvarnabhumi" which means "Land of Gold", and Suvarnabhumi (pronounced like "Suwannapoom") is the name of the new international airport in Bangkok. There is considerable historical literature referring to places in modern day Thailand which in early recorded history were centers for gold trade and perhaps the origin of some gold.

In later recorded history, the Siamese were known for adorning religious icons and structures with gold in large quantities (which attracted Burmese invaders), and the Thais still rub on small, thin foil leafs of gold onto Buddha statues as everyday rituals.

Thailand was previously known as Siam, and the Thai people as Siamese, until 1939 when a constitution amendment changed it to Thailand and Thai people.

Thai People

There have been books written about Thai people and how to deal with them in personal and business realms. In this article, I will keep it to just a few pages.

Of course, not all Thai people are the same, so it would be nonsense to say that all Thai people are one way or another. In this article I describe the average or typical Thai person, and the tendencies of the culture relative to others in the world. Nonetheless, there are always exceptions and all sorts.

There are variations in Thai culture depending on where you are -- in a suburban community vs. in an expat go-go bar, in an office, in the country, and which region of Thailand. The variations are not great, except if you go to the go-go bars (where they tend to be quite crude, aggressive, mercenary, selfish, and greedy, albeit less than equivalent places in other countries, so I hear).

The values and traits of Thai people include these:

• Relaxed, not in a hurry about anything, cannot be hurried
• Polite interaction, pleasant
• Family, friends, community and good food are most important
• Be happy, have fun ("sanuk")
• Avoid conflict, keep your cool, don't lose your temper
• In case of conflict, stay cool and reasonable, and compromise
• Follow the authority(s)
• Conform fairly well, but tolerate
• Tolerate different kinds of people

Some people think they can come to Thailand and throw money around to get Thai people to do things. Sure, you can find some Thai people like that. However, it will be a much lower percentage than in other countries, and the results may not be the same.

Forcefulness and ruling by fear have even less longterm results than in other parts of the world. Notably, Thais are very good at cooperating with each other to cover up things from the boss and avoiding confrontation.

Thais don't tend to be self-starters or very creative people (except at humorous things). There aren't many inventions in the world from Thailand. While some products are improved here, many others are just made more cheaply which includes cutting corners on quality.

Discipline must be maintained in a workplace. What tends to work best is constant auditing whereby they know they are being audited, and a little bit of fear of the big boss. Not too much fear or they will go crazy and leave, but not too much fear or "when the cat's away, the mice will play". Be firm, yet polite. To be respectable, you should be respectful.

If confrontation is necessary, it is extremely important to do it in private, not in front of other people. Thais are much more sensitive to "Saving face", which is much more important in Thai culture than in European descended cultures.

If you learn the language, then you will learn the "polite particles" in the Thai language for which no equivalent exists in Western society. (Learning the Thai language and customs is a good way to learn the culture.)

Thai culture is fairly homogenous, compared to many other countries and regions of the world. It is remarkable that the Thai language is the native language of the indigenous people over such a large country, approximately 1500 km by 500 km. (In fact, the Lao (Laos) language is very similar to the Thai language, using essentially the same written characters and most of the same words. The Thai language also extends into the southernmost edge of China.)

The "religion" is Buddhism (and there has never been a war or fighting over Buddhism), which over 90% of Thais call themselves. The main exception is the small southernmost provinces bordering Malaysia which are predominantly Muslim.

The homogeneity of Thailand's culture and language has contributed to the peaceful and smooth nature of Thai people.

Thai Names

Thais are given a nickname by their family at a very young age, and this is what family, friends, and familiar associates call each other. This name is NOT a legal name, and does not exist anywhere in legal paperwork.

Thais are given a legal first name and surname at birth, but no middle name. When you first know a Thai person in an office or other fairly formal setting, then you address them as Khun [Firstname]. Later, this may switch to their nickname.

However, in very informal settings, Thai people will introduce themselves by their nickname only, and you may never know their real name unless you ask.

The nicknames are usually one syllable words though some are two syllable and sometimes three. Their translations mean silly things like "shrimp", "baby chicken", "eyes", "gift", and lots of other things.

Regional Differences

There are some slight regional differences between Thai people as they see each other.

Thais from the northwest are seen as the most compassionate and peace loving.

Thais from the northeast are the poorest on average, and tend to be the most resilient as well as the best labor pool for unpleasant jobs. Many Thais in the northeast are a merge between Thai and Lao (Laotian) culture, and in fact a lot of Lao words are spoken within Thai sentences there.

Thais from the south (down the western peninsula) tend to be more independent minded and a little bit more assertive. This is a long coastline and you can see in their features that there is a lot of immigrant blood in them. Similar things can be said about parts of the southeast, but the southeast is a small part of the population.

Bangkok is populated mostly by people from all over Thailand who came to Bangkok for work or higher education.

In the big city of Bangkok, Thais tend to be much less community oriented, like people in any big city in the world. There is a stark difference between city people and country people in Thailand.

Chinese Thais

There have been many Chinese immigrants over the past few hundred years. Many Thai families have Chinese blood in them. In most of them, you cannot see any cultural difference; nonetheless, in MANY partly or wholly "Chinese Thai" families there is a MAJOR difference between them and mainstream Thais.

Most Chinese came to Thailand due to crop failures in China or just looking for better opportunities overseas, and so many arrived destitute. Most of the immigrants actually didn't leave offspring, but many did survive and thrive here based on sheer effort and smarts.

A large subset of Chinese immigrants have created descendants instilled with a strong work ethic and who value education. When you look at the top people in the banks, business, and society, you will see a disproportionate percentage of Chinese Thais.

It is a nice blend of work ethic, education, and pleasant Thai ways.

There are some interesting studies about why Thailand has achieved a relatively high per capita income for the Asian region, and modernity with good infrastructure, compared to other countries, despite the fact that Thailand was the only country in the region never colonized.

One of the most interesting analyses is that it's because the Thai people were much more tolerant of immigrants, and readily assimilated them into Thai society, rather than the usual tribal ways of bigotry, xenophobia, resistance and overly nationalistic laws against immigrants. The old Thai kings especially fostered the assimilation of immigrants.

(Of course, the United States did likewise in the 1700s. Also, 2500 years ago, Rome was originally a low class poor town in Italy, but was known as the most tolerant and hospitable town for immigrants.)

This hospitality extends into the present time, which is a major reason why Thailand is a favored destination for tourists and businesspeople alike. Including myself, who has travelled around Asia and settled down in Thailand!

Thai Culture Upon Arrival

1. The practical yet important things about Thai culture are discussed in subsections of this website, embedded into pages on specific topics -- in context, not separated and put into this section.

When you hit the ground in Thailand, here's what stands out most:

• The pace is very slow, unlike most of the rest of Asia.

   

• The cost of things is less, except in the foreigner areas. There just aren't many hustlers in Thailand per capita.

   

• Most people are easygoing, soft-spoken and gentle. Politeness is the norm in Thai society. You must be fairly respectful before you will be well respected.

   

• The language barrier is one of the worst in the newly industrialized world. Mainstream Thais cannot speak English, though they can read and write a fair amount. There is plenty of written English around, but if you haven't traveled the world much, the different alphabet here can be intimidating.

   

• Bangkok is remarkably safe for foreigners, compared with other countries and especially big cities. There are a few exceptions: certain places within certain tourist hot spots, and an occasional slum that's overrun by drug addicts. (Most "slums" by western standards are actually fairly safe.)

Of all the places I've been, Thailand is in the top class in terms of safety -- despite the low per capita income.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country (mainly Theravada Buddhism) mixed in with a lot of Thai animism. Approximately 95% of the inhabitants of Thailand are Buddhist.

In Thai culture, to lose your cool is to lose face. In interactions, you get furthest when you are polite. Excessive impatience and assertiveness generally result in others turning the other way, including officials and vendors, basically avoiding you and tuning you out. Patience usually results in a strong effort to help you when your turn comes.

Class is important in Thailand, and if you don't show any class, you won't get much respect. The class of strangers is judged on-the-spot based on appearance and behavior.

Thai culture is one of the most civil civilizations in the world.