Thailand,
officially the Kingdom of
Thailand, formerly known as Siam,
is a country at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the
north byBurma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia,
and to the west by theAndaman Sea and
the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the
southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
Thailand is a monarchy headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX and governed by a military junta that took power in May 2014. The king is the ninth of the House of Chai, and has reigned since
1946 as the world's longest-serving current head of state and the country's longest-reigning monarch.
With a total
area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the world's 51st-largest country. It is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million
people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok,
which is Thailand's political, commercial, industrial, and cultural hub. About
75–95% of the population is ethnically Tai.
The country's official language is Thai and the primary religion is Buddhism, which is practised by around
95% of the population.
History
The earliest identifiably Thai kingdom was founded in Sukhothai in 1238, reaching its zenith under King Ramkhamhaeng in the
14th century before falling under the control of the kingdom of Ayutthaya, which ruled most of present-day Thailand and much of
today's Laos and Cambodia as well, eventually also absorbing the northern kingdom of Lanna.
Ayutthaya was sacked in 1767 by the Burmese, but King Taksin regrouped and
founded a new capital at Thonburi. His
successor, General Chakri, moved across the river to Bangkok and became King Rama I, the founding father of the Chakri dynasty that rules (constitutionally) to this
day.
Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only
Southeast Asian country never to have been colonised by a foreign power, and is
fiercely proud of that fact. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a
constitutional monarchy. During World War II, while Japan conquered the rest of
Southeast Asia, only Thailand was not conquered by the Japanese due to smart
political moves. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a
US ally following the conflict. After a string of military dictatorships and
quickly toppled civilian Prime Ministers, Thailand finally stabilized into a
fair approximation of a democracy and the economy boomed through tourism and
industry. Above it all presided King
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama
IX), the world's longest-reigning monarch and a deeply loved and respected
figure of near-mythic proportions.
In September 2006, a swift and bloodless military coup
overthrew populist tycoon Thaksin
Shinawatra's democratically elected but widely criticized government,
exposing a fault line between the urban elite that has ruled Thailand and the
rural masses that supported Thaksin. Thaksin went into exile and a series of
unstable governments followed, with the successors of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party and the royalist-conservative People's Alliance for Democracy duelling both behind the scenes and,
occasionally, out in the streets, culminating in Bangkok's airports being
seized and shut down for a week in November 2008. The political scene remains
in flux and the direction of the country once the ailing King passes away is a
major question mark because of the perceived inadequacy of the current heir.
People
Thailand's people are largely indigenous, although
there are significant minorities of ethnic Chinese and assimilated Thai-Chinese
throughout the country, Muslims in the south near the Malaysian border and hill tribes such as the Karen and the Hmong in
the north of the country. The overwhelmingly dominant religion (95%) isTheravada
Buddhism, although there are adherents to Confucianism, Islam, Christianity
and animist faiths.
Culture
Mainland Thai culture is heavily influenced by Buddhism. However, unlike the
Buddhist countries of East Asia, Thailand's Buddhists follow the
Theravada school, which is arguably closer to its Indian roots and places a
heavier emphasis on monasticism. Thai temples known as wats, resplendent with gold and
easily identifiable with their ornate, multicoloured, pointy roofs are
ubiquitous and becoming an orange-robed monk for a short period, typically the
three-month rainy season, is a common rite of passage for young Thai boys and
men.
One pre-Buddhist tradition that still survives is the spirit house (ศาลพระภูมิ saan phraphuum), usually
found at the corner of any house or business, which houses spirits so they
don't enter the house and cause trouble. The grander the building, the larger
the spirit house, and buildings placed in particularly unlucky spots may have
very large ones. Perhaps the most famous spirit house in Thailand is the Erawan
Shrine in Bangkok, which protects the Erawan Hotel (now
the Grand Hyatt Erawan) - built in 1956 on a former execution ground - and is
now one of the busiest and most popular shrines in the city.
Some traditional arts popular in Thailand include
traditional Thai dancing and music, based on religious rituals and court
entertainment. Famously brutal Thai
boxing (muay Thai),
derived from the military training of Thai warriors, is undoubtedly the country's
best known indigenous sport.
In addition to the mainland Thai culture, there are
many other cultures in Thailand including those of the "hill tribes"
in the northern mountainous regions of Thailand (e.g., Hmong, Karen, Lisu,
Lahu, Akha), the southern Muslims, and indigenous island peoples of the Andaman
Sea.
Calendar
In addition to the Gregorian calendar, Thailand also
uses the Thai solar calendar,
which is 543 years ahead. Thus, Thai year 2557 corresponds to the Western year
2014. Thai dates in English are often written as B.E., short for "Buddhist
Era".
Some Thai holidays are still calculated with the older
Thai lunar calendar, so their dates change every year.
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