When visiting Thailand, at least one temple or royal palace will be included in your tour itineraries. These sites are usually excellent places to view the splendor of Thailand’s range of fine arts. Thai architecture and sculpture are immediately evident. It’s a pity that another masterpiece of Thai fine arts, the mural painting, often tends to be overlooked.
That lack of interest is understandable. It’s not easy to comprehend what was being presented in the mural paintings. It’s even more difficult for people without any background in Buddhism to totally understand the paintings’ hidden messages. But if you just learn a little about the stories, you will find mural paintings fun, interesting and entertaining.
In fact, mural paintings were meant to be a source of knowledge for anyone wanting to study and practice Buddhism. This has been so since mural paintings were introduced in the Ayutthaya period. Temple murals as such did not reach their zenith until well into the Rattanakosin period. It was, in fact, during the reign of King Rama III (1824-1851) that the mural painting as an art form reached its height. The king encouraged a huge program of construction and restoration of Buddhist temples. Bangkok’s artists took Chinese and Western influences to perfect the art of mural painting, which later achieved its full glory alongside Thailand’s other forms of artistic expression.
Since ancient times, the temple has played the most prominent role as a social and educational center for people in the community. Monks usually doubled as teachers and their teachings were, undoubtedly, related to Buddhism. They preached about the Buddhist concept of virtue, which laid out the basic codes of morality for people to follow. The mural painting was introduced as a teaching aid, to help people understand some of the concepts being taught. Through mural paintings, local people were able to learn about Buddhism in an easy and entertaining way.
Painting was a particularly good teaching aid at the time as most people were illiterate. Knowledge was traditionally passed on to the younger generation verbally. With mural paintings, the concepts were much easier to understand.
Today, with the development of a modern education system in Thailand, the Thais no longer learn at the temples. Today people study a myriad of subjects that are more practical for modern society. No longer do they learn about Buddhism through mural paintings. Nonetheless, these masterpieces remain a truly significant chapter in Thai history. The local and traditional ways of life are depicted vividly in the paintings. They offer good evidence for the glorious days of a bygone era.
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