Thursday, March 17, 2016

The Rider of Crocodiles --Discussion about my Thai/Burmese history research with Fan--from my Facebook page

Narasuan shrine in Phitsanulok, Thailand, and Chan Palace ruins--+ Chinnarat Buddha and Phitsanulok environs. The black statue is the Black Prince Narasuan, and the gold figure is his sister Supankalya, given in marriage to Bayinnaung to get Narasuan back in a 16th century prisoner/hostage exchange.
Solo Woman Traveler
Copyright KMKaung, 2010
posted 3-16-2016
Kyi May Kaung's photo.
Kyi May Kaung's photo.
Kyi May Kaung's photo.
Kyi May Kaung's photo.
Kyi May Kaung's photo.
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6Maggie Flynn, U Ye Myint and 4 others
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U Ye Myint
U Ye Myint Very interesting to read your
presentation.It must be a long
story and related to Burmese
history of king Bayint-naung.At
the same era..
Thanks Sayamagyi.....
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 9 hrs
Kyi May Kaung
Kyi May Kaung Yes, I worked on it 10 hours yesterday and will try to keep going. Previously, I had a fact checker who runs an Ayuthia blog check the Ayuthia related matters. I will try and find his very comprehensive website again. The names of the monuments keep changing and I have to find out if they existed in N's lifetime, 1555-1605, and what they were called then. Also the names of the people and titles change too. Quite confusing. Try and read Tin Than Oo, Ayuthia Thitsar in Burmese--2 volumes, very nice novel all based on Burmese chronicles. I found it as 2 Thai scholars in Phitsanulok helped me find it. One was Thai professor of Burmese--Sunait has also written on it, but I did not contact him. He consulted on the movies. I will message you privately if you wish to be First Reader for drafts, but you may not share any of the privileged materials, not even with your wife and family, before or after publication. I think best is to wait. The Ayuthia website person worked for me free and was very reliable, very detail oriented but he did not comment on story and plot.
Like · Reply · 23 mins
Kyi May Kaung
Kyi May Kaung Tin Than Oo's novel is like a movie. He also writes from Narasuan's point of view, but only using Burmese sources, rather romantic view. I also am writing from N's p o v, but using Thai and other sources, chiefly Prince Damrong's biography of N., translated & edited by Kennon Breazeale. Still, the Prince's Thai was very repetitive, so like his Thai Rop Hpama, Our Wars with the Burmese, translated by U Aung Thein Yodaya, (Daw Sein Sein's father) it is frustrating to read as the sentences are long and vague and as royalty himself, he is title conscious, so he will say Somdet Pra Narasuan every time, dozens of times in each chapter, and "the uparaja" w/o saying which one, Nanda, Thai or Burmese, or "the king" also w/o saying which king. smile emoticon My entire copy is full of edit marks scratching out unnecessary words, though I am sure it has already been edited by translators. Not at all like Ernest Hemingway or mine or U Win Tin's style of terse writing. I also write notes to myself in the margins. So far I have only got to the point when N's father switched sides and becomes a Burmese vassal. Of course I made up many scenes and dialog as I am writing historical fiction, not history, which would be very boring and confusing and also next to useless, cheers, kmk
Like · Reply · 13 mins
Kyi May Kaung
Kyi May Kaung Photos are from my self financed research trip of 2 days driving down from Chiangmai to Bangkok with guide and driver(one person) in a big van in Nov 2010, with stops in Sisatchanalai (Suwankhalok), Sokhotai, Phitsanulok and Lopburi. I saw temple image where Narasuan addressed his followers, Narai Palace (later than Narasuan)--Narai sent a mission to France--several centuries before Kinwun Mingyi, pavilion where Narai was killed (Read Maurice Collis' Siamese White for Narai era and trade through Beik, East India Co-.)-- and Constantin Phaulkon's house--Greek Foreign & Trade Minister for Narai!'. Phaulkon was impaled, I think, takyin sho thut khan htii tair, his street has a French name, and his wife was Siamese-Japanese, taken into kitchens as a slave by Narai's successor, Petraraja? I try not to get too spread out, but as you see very fascinating.

Photos--ruins of Wichayan House (Phaulkon's House) in Lopburi.

Photo copyright KMKaung
3-17-2016



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