In recent years, research on Laos has made great strides in several fields of human and social sciences. This collected volume with articles by Lao and Western scholars (sixteen written in English, eleven in French) reveals an expanded vision of Laos―a vision no longer confined by strict geographical, political, or cultural borders, but resituated within the overarching movement of regional history. The book is divided into three major sections―the Making of History, Heritage Issues, and Social Dynamics―that provide readers with both a broad brushstroke of history and the micro-kinetics of modernday life in Lao PDR. The book contains numerous illustrations of archaeological excavation sites, documentary photos, architectural plans, and dozens of maps that together with the text bring to light new perspectives, problematics, and questions in the field of Lao studies.

New Research on Laos (English and French Edition)

History

Asia

Silkworm Books

Lao royalty’s engagement in all the major events of the country in the last century forms a rich and complex narrative. But with the 1975 Communist revolution this history fell into oblivion and has all but disappeared from public memory. The Last Century of Lao Royalty recovers this history by presenting a wealth of rare documents and photographs. They bring to life the political, social, and cultural activities of the members of the royal families and provide a unique perspective on the role of royalty in modern Laos. Royalty was, in fact, a force for moderation, modernization, and democracy during the period of the Royal Lao Government (1947–1975). The last king, King Sisavang Vatthana, for instance, refused to give his imprimatur to a military dictatorship because he was so doggedly committed to constitutional rule.

The Last Century of Lao Royalty: A Documentary History

Evans,Grant

Burma's pro-democracy movement emerged in 1988 when massive demonstrations swept across the country. This book gives an account of the movement, its emergence and growth, and Aung San Suu Kyi's prominent leadership role since its inception. Woven into this history is an outline of how Aung San Suu Kyi herself has become a highly respected pro-democracy icon internationally while being revered nationally as the "female Bodhisattva" who will deliver the Burmese people from the evil of the military regime. Lintner considers her strengths as well as her weaknesses, and traces her life not only in Burma, but also in India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Bhutan, and Japan. She was greatly inspired by her father, Aung San, Burma's independence hero who was assassinated when she was an infant, and also by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Lintner analyzes the staying power of Burma's military regime and points out the obstacles to achieving what Aung San Suu Kyi is striving for: a free and democratic Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Democracy

Biographies & Memoirs

Lintner, Bertil

Community & Culture

This biography of the Ninth Panchen Lama, the second highest spiritual authority in Tibetan Buddhism, offers new insights into the tumultuous history of the relations between China and Tibet at the start of the twentieth century. It demonstrates how the Panchen Lama's flight from his monastery on the night of December 22, 1923, remains an essential characterizing event of Tibet's modern history. His flight from his country set the stage for Chinese Republican, and later Communist, control over the selection of his successors, with repercussions even today for Sino-Tibetan relations. This is the first publication in an innovative new series of research work on Asia, a collaboration between the École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) and Silkworm Books to translate French publications for an English-language readership.

The Ninth Panchen Lama (1883-1937): A Life at the Crossroads of Sino-Tibetan Relations

Jagou, Fabienne

Historical

So begins this lovely volume of exquisite photographs from Laos, a country whose remote regions are still hidden away to all but a few inquisitive scholars and venturesome travelers. The capital city of Vientiane and far-flung regions of the country are richly illustrated in 150 color images. The photographs recount the author's personal journey to towns and villages in the 1990s, portraying ethnic minorities and lowlanders, their traditional life and work, and the natural environment and terrain. Apart from a descriptive introduction, the captions provide the only text. The author observes signs of modernization with each subsequent visit--traditional dress replaced by Western clothing, forests destroyed by a new road. The book provides a rare and nuanced glimpse into the country and people of Laos as they stand at the crossroads of change.

Recollections of a Hidden Laos: A Photographic Journey

Arts & Photography

Reinink-Smith, Linda

Individual Artists

This pioneering dictionary focuses primarily on the dialect of Dai Lue spoken in Sipsong Panna, China, but also notes differences with the Dai Lue dialect in Thailand. Containing more than 13,000 Dai Lue entries, the dictionary provides a phonetic pronunciation guide and complete English definition for each word, as well as the part of speech, classifiers, and spelling variants. Helpful usage examples of the word in context are all accompanied by English translation. An index of English terms keyed to the Dai Lue entries follows the dictionary proper. A bilingual English/Thai introduction to the Dai Lue language is included. Extensive appendixes provide lists of Dai Lue classifiers, pronouns, onomatopoetic words, final particles, geopolitical terms, color terms, and a frequency list of 150 of the most commonly used words. The dictionary is an essential reference for both learners of Dai Lue and for Dai Lue speakers who are interested in their own language or in learning English. It will prove invaluable for Tai scholars as well as linguists interested in Asian languages.

Dai Lue-English Dictionary

Hanna, William J.

Our understanding of the history of Buddhism in Southeast Asia has often been oversimplified, biased, or vague. The twelve innovative essays presented here shed new light on terms such as sthavira, theravada, theriya, or theravasa, each of which may carry a variety of meanings and connotations. Some of the contributors reconsider known data to present new and challenging perspectives on the complicated history of the Mahavihara and Abhayagiri schools in Sri Lanka, or the Indian historiographical tradition on the formation of Buddhist orders/schools (nikaya/acariyavada). Others stress the central role of lineages and their transmission, as well as the dynamic impulse that this problematic provokes in terms of long-distance exchanges. Topical inquiries based on epigraphical material reveal the force of institutional practices, or invite scholars to analyze the textual traditions of Southeast Asia more deeply, particularly its "transitive" mode of translation. Essays range across Buddhism in early Lanka, in Burma during the Pagan and Dhammachedi periods, in nineteenth-century Cambodia, and in Thailand from the late eighteenth- to early twentieth-centuries.

How Theravada Is Theravada?: Exploring Buddhist Identities

Literature & Fiction

Essays & Correspondence

Siam's folk epic of love, war, and tragedyKhun Chang Khun Phaen is one of the most famous works of old Thai literature. The plot is a love story, set against a background of war, and ending in high tragedy. This folk epic was first developed in oral form for popular performance with lashings of romance, adventure, violence, farce, and magic. It was later adopted by the Siamese court and written down, with two kings contributing. This first-ever translation is based on Prince Damrong’s standard edition of 1917-18, with over a hundred passages recovered from earlier versions.This English translation is written in lively prose, completely annotated, with over four hundred original line drawings and an afterword explaining the work’s historical background, social context, and poetic style. The first volume presents the entire poem in translation and the companion volume contains alternative chapters and extensions, Prince Damrong’s prefaces, and reference lists of Thai terms. The volumes are available separately or as a slipcased set.According to the leading Thai linguist William Gedney, "If all other information on traditional Thai culture were to be lost, the whole complex could be reconstructed from this marvelous text.”Read a blog by the translators: http://www.silkwormbooks.com/blogs/kckp/

The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen: Siam's Great Folk Epic of Love and War

Literary

Mediums, Monks, and Amulets is a sophisticated yet accessible study of the state of popular Buddhist beliefs as they are practiced in Thailand today. Using a combination of focused case studies and analysis, Pattana Kitiarsa explores the nature and evolution of popular Buddhism over the past three decades by focusing on those individuals who practice, popularize, and profit from it. The case studies profiled include prominent spirit mediums and magic monks, the lottery fever surrounding the posthumous cult of folk singer Phumphuang Duangchan, the Chatukham-Rammathep amulet craze, and the cult of wealth attributed to preeminent monk Luang Pho Khun. It also explores the history of both popular and official opinion surrounding supernatural Buddhism, and its clashes with the rationalist, modernizing policies of Thailand's monarchy and government. Mediums, Monks, and Amulets contests the viewpoint that supernatural elements within popular Buddhism are a symptom of the decline of the religion. Instead, it argues that this hybridity between traditional Buddhist beliefs and elements from other religions is in fact indicative of the health and wealth of Buddhism as it negotiates large-scale commercialization and global modernity.

Mediums, Monks, and Amulets: Thai Popular Buddhism Today

Kitiarsa, Pattana

The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen

Siam's folk epic of love, war, and tragedy The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen is one of the most famous works of old Thai literature. The plot is a love story, set against a background of war, and ending in high tragedy. This folk epic was first developed in oral form for popular performance with lashings of romance, adventure, violence, farce, and magic. It was later adopted by the Siamese court and written down, with two kings contributing. This first-ever translation is based on Prince Damrong’s standard edition of 1917-18, with over a hundred passages recovered from earlier versions. The English translation is written in lively prose, completely annotated, with over four hundred original line drawings and an afterword explaining the work’s historical background, social context, and poetic style. The main volume presents the entire poem in translation. The companion volume contains alternative chapters and extensions, Prince Damrong’s prefaces, and reference lists of Thai terms. The volumes are available separately or as a slipcased set. According to the leading Thai linguist William Gedney, "If all other information on traditional Thai culture were to be lost, the whole complex could be reconstructed from this marvelous text.” Read a blog by the translators: http://www.silkwormbooks.com/blogs/kckp/

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